When to book a small private boat in Komodo, and what you pay at each step

You pay for a private charter on Sea Familia 1 or Sea Familia 2 in two parts. A deposit of 50 percent confirms your booking. The remaining 50 percent is due 30 days before departure. Book within 30 days of sailing and you pay the full amount up front.

You pay PT Komodo Explorer Indonesia by card payment link, bank transfer (IDR), Wise, Revolut, PayPal, QRIS, Alipay or WeChat Pay (through a payment partner). PayPal adds 7.2 percent, so for a large sum a bank transfer is the simpler choice, and your written quote shows the exact figure for each method. We need a passport or ID for every guest 7 days before sailing, for the passenger list the harbour checks.

Three costs fall outside those two payments. Komodo National Park tickets and ranger fees are never part of the fare. A fuel surcharge applies while marine fuel prices are high; it is paid separately and the current amount is confirmed in your written quote. Prices exclude 1.1% tax. Each is named in the quote, so your deposit is half of a figure you've already seen, with the extras listed alongside.

Take a party of six on Sea Familia 1. The whole-boat rate for 3 days and 2 nights is IDR 97,100,000 (≈ USD 5,957). The deposit is half of that figure, and the balance is the other half. Park tickets and the other items above come on top.

What you get back depends on how close to departure you cancel.

• 60 days or more before departure: 50 percent is refunded.
• From 30 days up to 59 days before: 25 percent is refunded.
• Fewer than 30 days before: no refund.

Force majeure is dealt with case by case. If a booked Sea Familia cannot sail for a reason beyond our control, we arrange a replacement boat of the same class, or refund you in full within 14 days. That promise covers the boat, not a change of mind.

Flights and hotels have their own rules, and they aren't ours. We recommend travel insurance covering trip cancellation, medical evacuation and belongings, bought on the day you pay the deposit rather than later. Check the policy actually says trip cancellation, because cover varies.

A date change 30 days or more before departure is free, subject to availability. Between 14 and 29 days before departure the change costs IDR 500,000. Closer than 14 days, the change is treated as a cancellation under the refund steps above.

On a six-cabin boat, "subject to availability" is simple: there's one boat, and it's either free on the new dates or it isn't. We answer in writing, and nothing moves until the written confirmation is in your inbox.

Open-trip seats are a little different. The sailings are fixed on the calendar: Sea Familia 1 starts on Mondays and Fridays and Sea Familia 2 on Fridays, always 3 days and 2 nights. A change for a seat is confirmed in writing too, and the fee steps above apply.

We're often asked how many months ahead a boat fills up. It varies by boat and season, so we confirm availability for your dates in writing.

This is how dates are settled. The calendar lists open-trip sailings. The next one is Friday, 6 November 2026. A date taken by a private charter is not listed. A private date is yours only when we confirm it in writing, and a calendar page, a WhatsApp reply or a hold on a cabin is not that confirmation.

School and public holidays narrow the choice for every boat on this coast. The order that works is: agree the dates with everyone who's coming, ask for the boat, then book flights once the written confirmation arrives. Booking flights first is where it goes wrong.

Count back from the day the boat leaves. These steps apply to any private charter we book.

• The day you book: the 50 percent deposit confirms the date, and you hold the written quote.
• 60 days before: the last day a cancellation refunds 50 percent.
• 30 days before: the balance is due, the last free date change falls here, and inside this window a cancellation refunds nothing.
• 14 days before: the last day a date change can be made for IDR 500,000.

If your trip is less than 30 days away, forget the steps: you pay in full up front, and the only question is whether the boat is free. Send your dates and party size on WhatsApp and we tell you in writing. Pickup in Labuan Bajo is free, and the time and the meeting point are confirmed in writing with your booking. Keep that message with your flight details; it's the one that tells you where and when.