**You buy Labuan Bajo boat tickets in two ways as of 2026: the public local boat to Komodo Village is sold on the spot at the harbor for IDR 50,000 per person (cash, no online option), while shared speedboat “open trip” seats are booked in advance online or through a reservations desk — usually cheaper and safer than buying from touts on the pier.**
That split — cash-at-harbor versus book-ahead-online — is the single thing most first-timers get wrong. Below is exactly where each ticket type is sold, when to show up, and how to avoid paying tout prices for a seat you could have reserved yourself.
What kinds of boat tickets are actually sold per seat?
Not every boat leaving Labuan Bajo sells single seats. Private charters go by the whole boat. But two categories are genuinely per-person, and those are the ones this guide covers:
- Public local boat — the government-adjacent ferry-style boat from Labuan Bajo harbor to Komodo Village. Fixed schedule, fixed price, bought at the harbor.
- Shared speedboat open trips — one-day group tours hitting 4-6 stops (Padar, Pink Beach, Komodo or Rinca, Manta Point, Taka Makassar). Sold online and through operator desks.
Multi-day liveaboard cabins are also per-person, but those are almost always reserved online in advance rather than bought at the pier. Here is the quick map:
| Ticket type | Where sold | When to buy | Price (as of 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public boat to Komodo Village | At the harbor, on the spot | Same morning, before 10:00 | IDR 50,000 / person |
| Shared speedboat 1-day open trip | Online / reservations desk | 1-7 days ahead | ~USD 50-80 / person |
| Shared liveaboard (3D/2N) | Online in advance | Weeks ahead in peak season | from ~IDR 3,334,000 (~USD 205) |
Where do you buy the public boat ticket?
At the harbor itself, in cash, on the morning of departure. There is no website, no app, and no reservations line for the IDR 50,000 public boat — you walk to the pier and pay on the spot. It departs Labuan Bajo for Komodo Village on Monday, Wednesday and Friday between 10:00 and 12:00, taking roughly four hours each way. The return leg from Komodo Village runs Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, also 10:00-12:00.
Because it is cash-only and unbookable online, arrive early — ideally 60-90 minutes before the 10:00 window — with small denominations. This boat is transport, not a tour: it does not stop at Padar or Pink Beach, and it does not include a park guide. If your goal is to actually see the islands in a day, the speedboat open trip is the better buy even though it costs more.
Where do you book a shared speedboat open trip?
Online, ahead of time, through an operator’s reservations channel rather than at the dock. Shared one-day speedboat tours depart early — roughly 05:30 to 06:30 — and return by late afternoon or sunset, so there is no realistic “walk up and buy this morning” option the way there is with the public boat. Seats on the best-run boats sell out in high season.
Booking ahead also locks in what is and isn’t included. A neutral directory like this one exists precisely because there is no single official site pricing every boat class from the harbor — the information stays scattered across individual operators. If you’d rather compare classes and reserve a specific departure in one place, you can buy boat tickets through the Bajo Harborline desk operated by Komodo Luxury, a Labuan Bajo operator founded in 2015 whose reservations team handles the booking directly.
When you compare open-trip quotes, check three things before you pay:
- What’s included — lunch, snorkel gear, guide, hotel pickup. A USD 55 seat with gear and lunch can beat a USD 50 “bare” seat.
- Park fees — separate. Komodo National Park and Padar entrance fees are collected on their own, paid directly to park authorities, not folded into the tour price.
- Departure day and boat name — so you know exactly which vessel and date you’re on.
Are the Komodo park fees included in my ticket?
No — and this is the most common surprise. A 2026 Komodo tour guide confirms that speedboat tour prices exclude park entrance fees, which must be paid separately, directly to the park authorities. One commercial one-day island-hopping tour lists the Komodo National Park and Padar Island entrance fees at about IDR 450,000 (around USD 33) per person, collected on top of the seat price.
Budget for it as a line item. Whether you’re on the IDR 50,000 public boat or a USD 70 speedboat seat, the park fee is extra. The park sits under management by Indonesian park authorities within the Ministry of Environment and Forestry; specific fee amounts can change, so treat the IDR 450,000 figure as a 2026 reference and verify on the day.
How do you avoid overpaying touts at the harbor?
Touts thrive on travellers who arrive with no reference price. The fix is knowing the numbers before you reach the pier.
| Situation | Tout risk | What protects you |
|---|---|---|
| Public boat to Komodo Village | “Special price” above IDR 50,000 | The fare is fixed at IDR 50,000 — pay that, nothing more |
| One-day speedboat seat | Inflated walk-up rate, vague inclusions | Pre-booked seat at a quoted ~USD 50-80 with written inclusions |
| Park entrance | “I’ll handle your fee” markups | Pay the ~IDR 450,000 park fee directly to authorities |
| Airport transfer to harbor | Overquoted taxi | Taxi runs ~IDR 100,000; ojek ~IDR 20,000 with light bags |
A few practical habits:
- Carry the reference prices above and say them out loud. Confidence ends most haggling.
- Book the tour, not the transfer, in advance. Komodo Airport (LBJ) is about 10 minutes by car from the harbor where boats moor; the taxi from airport to ferry harbor is roughly 15-20 minutes and around IDR 100,000, or about IDR 20,000 by ojek motorbike with light luggage. You don’t need a tout for that.
- Skip anyone selling “guaranteed” seats on a boat they can’t name. Legitimate operators tell you the vessel and departure day.
When should you buy — and when might departures not run at all?
Timing matters as much as price. The dry season — described by one guide as April-December and by another as April-November — brings calm seas and strong visibility, and it’s when open trips run most reliably. January to March brings wind, heavy rain and big waves that can cancel or reshuffle speedboat and liveaboard departures and close hiking trails, so a ticket bought for those months carries weather risk.
Book open-trip seats a few days to a week ahead in dry season, and further out around peak dates. For the public boat, there’s nothing to pre-book — just match your travel day to its Mon/Wed/Fri departure rhythm and bring IDR 50,000 in cash. All prices here are stated as of 2026 and are subject to change; confirm current fares with the operator and park authorities before you travel.