Questions about sailing Komodo, answered

For most people, yes. For three days the boat is where you sleep, eat and travel. You wake up beside a new island each morning instead of driving back to town. Open-trip fares start at IDR 2,950,000 (≈ USD 181) on Bombana 1 and IDR 4,250,000 (≈ USD 261) on Bombana 2.

You book a cabin, not the boat. Other guests fill the remaining cabins, and the route, the meals and the guide are shared. Both boats run a 3-day, 2-night open trip on Monday and Friday. We confirm the meeting point with your date, and you arrive by 10:00.

A private trip puts your group alone on the whole boat, so you set the pace of the days within the route and nobody else shares the deck. It is priced by group size, not by cabin. The guide and documentation are separate lines, quoted on request, and they are not in the charter fare.

Solo travellers, couples and small groups who want the sailing without paying for a whole boat. You'll share the deck and the table with people you've just met, for three days. If you want the boat to yourselves, or need a fixed menu or a fixed schedule, a private charter fits better.

Yes. Sisters, not twins. Bombana 2 holds the master cabin with a bathtub, a balcony cabin and a round tub at the bow, for up to 13 guests. Bombana 1 is the lower fare and the larger group, up to 15. Both have 5 cabins. Our comparison page sets them side by side.

Three days, two nights is the length both boats sell as an open trip. It reaches Padar at sunrise, Pink Beach, Komodo Island, Taka Makassar and Manta Point. Two days and one night fits only a private charter. A fourth day adds Gili Lawa, Kanawa and Rangko Cave.

Yes, with a ranger. Treks start at the Loh Liang station, and the shorter trail is the one most itineraries take. Wear closed shoes, because there is little shade. Dragons are not guaranteed, but rangers know where they rest. The park entry covers the walk.

Check four things before you pay: the boat's name, your cabin, what the fare leaves out, and the group size. A fare with no park-fee line is a warning sign. So is a missing boat name, or a meeting point nobody can tell you. Ours names the boat, lists the exclusions and puts the deposit terms in writing.

Bombana 1 sleeps up to 15 guests and Bombana 2 up to 13, across 5 cabins each. How full a sailing is varies from date to date. The dates page lists every Monday and Friday, and we confirm which cabins and beds are free by message before you pay.

Padar at sunrise, a manta drift and an evening with the bats at Kalong make for a full trip, and some guests come back for a different season. The park changes with the month, as the season page shows.

Some guests do and many don't. We can't promise either way, and the month matters more than anything else. If you're worried, spend the crossings on deck near the middle of the boat, looking at the horizon. Our seasickness guide goes through it.

That depends on the month. The park has calm seas from April to June and in October and November, windier water in July and August, and the roughest seas from December to February. Our season page shows the month by month picture.

Go outside and look at the horizon, sit near the middle of the boat, sip water and eat something plain. Stay out of the cabin, where the motion is felt more. Tell the crew early, so they can help.

The chef cooks three meals and the snacks for the day, and drinks are in the fare. The menu follows what the market has that week. Vegetarian and allergy requests are confirmed in writing with your date.

Plan to be mostly offline for the three days. Local mobile signal is patchy between the islands, and a local SIM helps near Labuan Bajo. Tell people at home the day you sail and the day you return.

A soft bag is easier to stow than a hard case, and a small daypack covers the shore stops. Cabins are compact, so leave the extra luggage at your hotel in Labuan Bajo, since you return to the same town on day 3.

Swimwear, a rash vest, reef-safe sunscreen, a hat, sturdy shoes for Padar, a head torch, a dry bag and your own medicines. Bombana 1 has towels on board. The packing guide ends with a list to copy.

From December to March, yes, a light one. Showers in the wet season are short and heavy, and the foredeck gets wet in them. In the dry season, April to November, it hardly matters. A sun hat counts for more.

A snorkel mask is in the fare on both boats. Life jackets are on board. Fins are not promised, so bring your own pair if you want them. Strong swimmers get more from Manta Point, where the current carries you.

Yes. Most stops have shallow water, and Taka Makassar is the easiest. A life jacket makes Manta Point manageable, because the current does the work. Tell the guide at the start of the day. Nobody has to get in the water, and the crew stays with anyone who prefers the deck.

April to June and October to November give calm seas and clear water. July and August are windier and busier, and manta numbers peak then. December to February is the wet season, with the roughest seas. The season page goes month by month.

You sail. The boat leaves the Labuan Bajo harbour, and Kelor is the first stop, about an hour away. Komodo National Park starts beyond that. There is no road. Pickup to the harbour from your hotel inside the city area is free.

Only from Labuan Bajo, so you fly in. The flight from Bali takes about 1 h 10 min to 1 h 20 min. Land the day before you sail, and fly home after 13:00 on day 3. The hotels page covers flights and pickup.

Yes. It is a separate line, not in the fare, and it is bought online in your name. Foreign visitors pay IDR 250,000 per person per day. Your boat company registers you, so we need the name and passport number of every guest.

It is the ranger and pier levies, which sit on top of the entry ticket and can change. They are not in any Bombana fare. We tell you the current amounts before you travel, so the total is clear before you board.

No, we only sail from Labuan Bajo. Lombok is a smaller feeder airport, and the flight takes about 1 hour. Land the day before. Open trip guests are at the meeting point by 10:00 on day 1.

Open trips leave on Monday and Friday, from both boats. Guests are at the meeting point by 10:00 on day 1. Private charters set the date with you. The next open trip is Friday, 6 November 2026.

Message us the date, the number of guests and the boat. We confirm availability and the fare in writing. You pay a 50 percent deposit, and the balance falls due 30 days before sailing. The booking page has the steps.

Eat light. Have something plain beforehand, and skip the heavy, greasy meal and the alcohol the night before. An empty stomach and an overloaded one both make the first morning harder. Breakfast is served aboard, so you don't need to carry food from town. Drink water through the morning.

We can't tell you that. It isn't ours to prescribe. Ask a doctor or pharmacist before you leave home, and take any tablet before you board, not after you feel unwell. Test it at home first, so a side effect doesn't find you on day 1.

In an open trip you pay per person, and the shared-cabin fares start at IDR 2,950,000 (≈ USD 181) on Bombana 1 and IDR 4,250,000 (≈ USD 261) on Bombana 2. Private cabins and the master cabin cost more. The cabins page prints every cabin fare.

On Bombana 1 the whole boat for 1 to 8 guests is IDR 35,000,000 (≈ USD 2,147) for 2 days and 1 night. Prices step up in bands of guests. Bombana 2 has its own table, starting with 1 to 4 guests. There is no open trip at this length. Park fees are extra.

No. Neither Bombana 1 nor Bombana 2 sells a day trip. The shortest product is a private charter of 2 days and 1 night, and the open trip runs for 3 days and 2 nights. If one day is all you have, tell us, and we'll point you to what exists.

The cabin, meals, snacks and drinks, pickup and drop-off in the city area, a snorkel mask, a guide and documentation on the open trip. Park fees are not in it, and neither are personal extras or tips. The booking page lists the lines.

Yes. Meals, snacks and drinks are in the fare on both boats, and a chef cooks aboard. Special diets are confirmed in writing with your date. Tell us about allergies when you book, not on the jetty.

No. The park ticket is bought in your own name and is not in any Bombana fare, open or private. Foreign visitors pay IDR 250,000 per person per day. The park fees page has the rates and a calculator.

Foreign visitors pay IDR 250,000 per person per day. Indonesian citizens pay IDR 50,000 on weekdays and IDR 75,000 at weekends. These are the PP 36/2024 rates, last verified on 10 October 2026. Ranger and pier levies are separate.

Yes. It's charged per day in the park, so a longer route means more days and more fees. We confirm how many days your route is registered for. Entry covers snorkelling, but ranger and pier levies come on top and can change.

No. The ticket is bought online through the park's own system, SiOra, in your name. Your boat company registers you, and we ask for your passport details before the date. Keep a little cash for ranger levies and tips, since there are no cash machines on the islands.

Yes. Pickup from your hotel or the airport inside the city area is free, twice, on both boats. Menjaga, Melo and Rangko are charged extra, and we quote that before adding it. Open trip guests are at the meeting point by 10:00 on day 1.

On Komodo Island a ranger-led walk finds dragons on many mornings, but nobody can promise one. They rest in the shade and move little in the heat. Padar is a viewpoint stop, not a dragon walk.

Stay with the ranger and do as he says. A ranger leads every walk on Komodo, and the rule is to keep at least 2 m from a dragon. Don't run. Don't turn your back, and don't leave the trail, because the ranger decides where the group stands and where it waits while a dragon passes, and he knows how the animal is likely to move. A ranger-guided walk is the only walk we sail to.

Yes. They're the largest lizards alive, and a bite is serious, which is why every walk goes with a ranger, in a small group, on set trails. Closed shoes and long sleeves are advised, and sick or bleeding guests should tell the ranger.

Each day holds one or two main stops and some time on the water. Padar starts about 65 minutes before sunrise and the climb takes 25 to 45 minutes. Snorkelling stops run about an hour. The 3-day route sets out the hours.

Then a sailing trip isn't for you. No day trip is sold on Bombana 1 or Bombana 2, so a one-day speedboat tour has to come from someone else. We don't sell a rushed version of the park.

Not as a standing rule. Closures come in short blocks: Komodo and Padar were closed from 6 to 8 August 2026 for waves and wind, and staged closures ran from late December 2025 to early February 2026. This was checked on 11 October 2026. Ask us about your date.

Yes, with a ranger and a licensed boat. The harbour master's rules require life jackets and liferafts for everyone on board, no more passengers than the boat's capacity, and a weather check before each sailing permit. Follow the ranger on land.

No dives are sold on the open trip of Bombana 1 or Bombana 2. The fare covers snorkelling, with a mask in the fare. If you hold a diving certificate and want to dive, tell us in your first message so we can say what is possible on your date.

Many solo women sail on open trips, in a shared cabin or a private one. We arrange sharing cabins with you at booking. The solo women page gives the detail.

Day 1 runs from Kelor towards Kalong for the bats at dusk. Day 2 starts with Padar at sunrise, then Pink Beach, Komodo Island, Taka Makassar and Manta Point. Day 3 ends at Siaba or Sebayur, and you are back in Labuan Bajo around midday.