Labuan Bajo: 2 Nights Komodo Liveaboard on Phinisi Boat

About This Experience

Three days and two nights aboard a traditional Phinisi — the twin-masted Indonesian sailing vessel the whole Komodo liveaboard fleet is built around — with superior, deluxe and luxury cabin grades sold as separate options on the same boat.

The route covers what the park is famous for: the Padar summit hike for the three-bay view, ranger-guided dragon walks on Komodo or Rinca, coral snorkelling across the park's reefs, and sunsets from the open deck. Sleeping on board is what puts you at each of them outside the day-boat window.

Harbour transfers, all meals, free-flow coffee, tea and water, snorkel equipment and the guided dragon walks are included. Two costs are not, and both are worth reading before you book: the national park entrance fee, and a per-person fuel surcharge that scales with the cabin grade you choose.

Highlights

• Two nights aboard a traditional Indonesian Phinisi
• Superior, deluxe and luxury cabin grades on the same sailing
• Padar Island summit hike for the three-bay view
• Ranger-guided Komodo dragon walk on Komodo or Rinca Island
• Coral reef snorkelling across the park
• Open-deck sunsets at anchor

What's Included

• ✓ 3-day, 2-night accommodation aboard a traditional Phinisi boat
• ✓ Round-trip harbour transfers in the Labuan Bajo area
• ✓ Breakfast, lunch and dinner as per the itinerary
• ✓ Free-flow coffee, tea and mineral water
• ✓ Snorkelling equipment (mask and snorkel)
• ✓ Guided tours to see Komodo dragons
• ✓ Padar Island viewpoint hike

Not Included

• Komodo National Park entrance fees (up to IDR 750,000)
• Fuel surcharge, charged per person by cabin grade: superior IDR 350,000, deluxe IDR 500,000, luxury IDR 750,000
• Flights
• Personal expenses, tips and gratuities

What to Bring

• Reef-safe sunscreen and a wide-brimmed hat
• Swimwear and a quick-dry towel
• Light, loose clothing for the deck and closed shoes for the Padar and Komodo trails
• A dry bag for phones and cameras on the tender transfers
• Cash in rupiah for park fees, drinks and crew tips
• Any personal medication, including seasickness tablets
• A power bank — cabin sockets run off the boat's generator and are not always live

Good to Know & Caveats

• GetYourGuide quotes this boat PER GROUP OF UP TO TWO, not per person — so the $855 headline is about $428 each for a couple, which makes it cheaper per head than the VIP boat listed above it. Check the basis before comparing.
• The fuel surcharge is a real, separate cost that rises with the cabin grade — add it to the headline price before comparing this boat against others.
• Komodo National Park entry, ranger and conservation fees are collected separately by the park authority and are usually payable in cash in Indonesian rupiah. Budget roughly IDR 650,000-750,000 per foreign visitor for a multi-day trip; operators quote the exact figure at booking and some now require it in advance.
• Itineraries are weather-dependent. Skippers reorder or drop stops when the swell between Padar and Komodo builds, and Manta Point in particular is skipped whenever the current runs too hard to snorkel safely.
• Komodo dragons and manta rays are wild animals in a national park. Rangers know where the dragons usually rest and manta season peaks December to February, but no operator can guarantee a sighting.

Meeting Point

Round-trip harbour transfers within the Labuan Bajo area.