What Is Included in a Luxury Komodo Liveaboard Price — and What Is Not?
Hendra Gunawan
August 1, 2026
9 min read
Included: your ensuite cabin, all meals cooked aboard, crew service, the sailing itself, tender transfers to each island and standard snorkelling gear. Excluded almost everywhere: national park entry at IDR 250,000 per foreign visitor, diving as a separate product, premium drinks, flights, and crew gratuity. Those four are where quoted prices and final totals separate.
Vessel data and rates on this page come from the operator’s published Magika rate card and specification sheet and were checked on 1 August 2026. Rates are reviewed annually and move with fuel, route changes and regulation. Ask for the current sheet in writing before you transfer a deposit.
The inclusion and exclusion table
| Item | Normally included | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ensuite cabin for the stated nights | Yes | Rate is cabin-class specific: USD 310–520 per person for 3D2N on Magika |
| All meals aboard | Yes | Full board, prepared by the galley crew |
| Drinking water, tea, coffee | Yes | Assume basic beverages only |
| Crew service, six crew | Yes | 1:3.7 at full 22-guest load, 1:2.7 at sixteen guests |
| Sailing, fuel, anchorage | Yes | Route as published; sequence adjusts with tide and wind |
| Tender transfers to islands | Yes | Number of shore runs depends on guest count |
| Standard snorkelling equipment | Yes | Confirm mask sizes and fins for children |
| National park entry | No | IDR 250,000 per foreign visitor per visit under Government Regulation 36/2024 |
| Scuba diving | No | Separate product; Magika private diving 3D2N is USD 11,000 for 1–5 guests in 2027 |
| Alcohol and premium drinks | No | Ask whether bringing your own is permitted and whether corkage applies |
| Flights to Labuan Bajo | No | Denpasar–Labuan Bajo ≈ 1–1.5 hours; Jakarta–Labuan Bajo ≈ 2–2.5 hours |
| Hotel before or after | No | A pre-cruise night is strongly advised; morning departures do not wait for delayed flights |
| Travel insurance | No | Check that it covers boat travel and, if relevant, recreational diving depth |
| Crew gratuity | No | Discretionary and normal |
The four items that surprise people
1. The park fee — and the number that is not the park fee
The statutory tariff is straightforward. What is not straightforward is the folklore around it.
| Component | Foreign visitor | Indonesian visitor |
|---|---|---|
| Park entry, per person, per visit | IDR 250,000 flat | IDR 50,000 weekday · IDR 75,000 weekend and public holiday |
| Trekking, wildlife observation, snorkelling | Included in the figure above | Not itemised separately in the official source |
A correction worth carrying: the IDR 600,000–900,000 “Komodo entrance fee” quoted on several booking sites is not the national park ticket. It is a bundle — the statutory fee plus regional levies plus ranger and trail-management charges. The membership fee of IDR 3,750,000 floated in 2022 was cancelled and has never applied.
2. Diving is a different boat product
People reasonably assume that a boat which anchors at Karang Makassar will let them dive it. Diving requires certified guides, compressor time, tanks and a different daily rhythm — so it is quoted separately everywhere in the park, not only here.
| Package | 2026 | 2027 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3D2N | 9,500 | 11,000 | +15.8% |
| 4D3N | 12,650 | 14,600 | +15.4% |
| 5D4N | 15,750 | 18,200 | +15.6% |
If you want to dive Batu Bolong, Castle Rock or Crystal Rock, the certification requirement is real rather than decorative: those are advanced sites with currents rated four or five out of five, and Castle Rock is generally restricted to Advanced Open Water divers with 30 to 50 logged dives and a reef hook. Karang Makassar, by contrast, is a gentle drift open to Open Water divers with around ten dives.
3. Drinks
Standard beverages are aboard. Wine, spirits and specialist soft drinks generally are not. The question worth asking before you pack is whether you may bring your own and whether corkage applies — the answer varies by operator and it is cheaper to know than to assume. Dietary and beverage handling is set out on onboard dining and special diets.
4. Getting to the boat
Flights, one night ashore, and an airport transfer are three separate line items that no boat rate has ever covered. Budget realistically: Denpasar–Labuan Bajo one-way economy runs around IDR 600,000–900,000 on promotional fares and IDR 900,000–1,500,000 at normal fares, with Jakarta routes higher.
What about a whole-boat charter — does it include more?
It includes the same categories, applied to the entire vessel rather than a cabin. What changes is control: your departure hour, your route sequence, your meal times.
| Package | 1–5 guests | 6–10 | 11–15 | 16–20 | Each extra guest | Per night (1–5) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2D1N | 4,700 | 5,300 | 5,800 | 6,200 | 350 | 4,700 |
| 3D2N | 5,750 | 6,450 | 7,150 | 7,750 | 400 | 2,875 |
| 4D3N | 7,050 | 7,900 | 8,900 | 9,950 | 450 | 2,350 |
| 5D4N | 8,200 | 9,600 | 11,000 | 12,350 | 450 | 2,050 |
| 6D5N | 9,600 | 11,300 | 12,800 | 13,850 | 500 | 1,920 |
What a charter does not change: the park fee still applies per person, diving is still separate, and the national park still closes its trails when its rangers say so. Charter buys you the boat, not the park.
How to get a clean total before you pay
Ask for one message containing: the cabin or charter rate for your exact dates and party size; whether park entry is collected by the boat or paid at the gate; the diving supplement if relevant; the drinks policy; and the deposit ladder. Five answers, one screen. Then compare that against the 2027 rate, deposit and cancellation policy and, if you are still weighing the decision, whether a luxury Komodo liveaboard is worth it. The tier context behind the headline numbers is in our budget-versus-luxury price breakdown.
How to check dates and book
A quote that fits on one screen with no asterisks is the sign of an operator who has done this before. Magika’s calendar is held by the reservations desk at Komodo Luxury, the operator that markets and charters the vessel — trading since 2015 and part of Juara Holding Group.
- WhatsApp: +62 811 3823 875 — quickest route to a live availability check or a date hold
- Email: [email protected] — better for written quotes, contracts and invoices
Ask for the rate sheet, the cabin allocation and the deposit ladder in one written message. Anything an operator will not put in writing is not a policy.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Komodo National Park fee included in a liveaboard price?
Usually not. The statutory tariff under Government Regulation 36/2024 is IDR 250,000 per foreign visitor per visit, and IDR 50,000 on weekdays or IDR 75,000 on weekends and holidays for Indonesian visitors. Confirm in writing whether the boat collects it or you pay at the gate.
Are meals included on a Komodo liveaboard?
Yes. Full board is standard on Magika — all meals are cooked aboard, along with drinking water, tea and coffee. Alcohol and premium drinks are not included.
Is diving included in a Komodo liveaboard price?
No, diving is quoted as a separate product across the park. Magika’s private diving charter for 1–5 guests is USD 11,000 for 3D2N in 2027, USD 14,600 for 4D3N and USD 18,200 for 5D4N.
Is snorkelling equipment provided?
Standard snorkelling equipment is provided. If children are aboard, confirm mask sizes and fin sizes in advance rather than on the first morning.
What is not included that people forget?
Four things: national park entry, diving, alcohol and premium drinks, and everything before the gangway — flights, transfers and a pre-cruise hotel night. Crew gratuity is discretionary and also excluded.
Does a private charter include more than an open trip?
It covers the same categories but applied to the whole vessel, and it adds control over departure time, route sequence and meal times. Park fees, diving and premium drinks remain separate in both cases.