**Boats leave Labuan Bajo for Komodo on different days depending on the trip type. The public local boat sails Monday, Wednesday and Friday only. One-day speedboat tours depart almost every morning, year-round. Multi-day liveaboards run on fixed open-trip days set by each operator, while private charters can leave any day you book them.**
That one sentence is the whole answer most people are hunting for. But “which day” splits into four very different products with four very different rhythms, and picking the wrong one costs you either a wasted day at the harbor or a trip that doesn’t exist on your chosen date. Here’s how departure days actually work in the Komodo gateway, as of 2026.
Which boat types leave Labuan Bajo, and on what days?
The harbor doesn’t run one schedule. It runs several, stacked on top of each other. Below is the quick-scan version of when each boat class leaves Labuan Bajo for Komodo National Park.
| Trip type | Departure days | Typical departure time | Fixed or flexible |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public local boat (to Komodo Village) | Mon, Wed, Fri | 10:00–12:00 | Fixed |
| One-day speedboat tour | Almost daily | 05:30–06:30 | Fixed morning slot |
| Multi-day liveaboard / phinisi (open trip) | Set days per operator | Varies (often morning boarding) | Fixed departure days |
| Private charter | Any day you book | Flexible | Flexible |
| Labuan Bajo–Lombok crossing | Departs Sundays | Multi-day | Fixed weekly |
Two rules explain the whole table. Shared, per-person trips run on fixed departure days so operators can fill seats. Private, per-boat charters run on flexible dates because you’re paying for the entire vessel and set your own calendar. Everything else is a variation on those two ideas.
What days does the public local boat leave?
The cheapest way onto the water is also the most rigid. The public local boat from Labuan Bajo harbor to Komodo Village departs Monday, Wednesday and Friday between 10:00 and 12:00, takes roughly four hours each way, and costs about IDR 50,000 per person — bought on the spot at the harbor, not online.
The return leg matters just as much. Boats sail Komodo Village back to Labuan Bajo on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, again in the 10:00–12:00 window. So if you ride out on a Friday, your earliest scheduled return is Sunday. This is transport for people staying in Komodo Village, not a day-trip loop — plan the overnight, or you’re stranded.
Do one-day speedboat tours run every day?
Close to it. Shared one-day speedboat tours are the workhorse of the Labuan Bajo harbor and depart on almost every morning of the dry season, pushing off around 05:30–06:30 and returning by late afternoon or sunset. A typical run hits four to six stops — think Padar Island, Pink Beach, Komodo or Rinca Island, Manta Point and Taka Makassar — with shared seats starting around USD 50–80 per person.
Because seats sell individually, these still run on a fixed departure day and time; you join the day that’s scheduled rather than naming your own. If you want to see how the different open-trip days line up before you commit, our schedule page maps out exactly when [boats leave Labuan Bajo](/labuan-bajo-boat-schedule/) across every class, so you can slot a speedboat day around your flight in and out.
One honest caveat, dated as of 2026: park entrance fees are not included in that USD 50–80. A commercial one-day island-hopping tour lists Komodo National Park and Padar Island entrance fees at about IDR 450,000 (USD 33) per person, collected separately and paid directly to the park authorities. Budget for it.
What days do multi-day liveaboards and phinisi leave?
Liveaboards are where “what day” gets operator-specific. The classic format is a 3-day / 2-night cruise, and each vessel publishes its own fixed departure days rather than sailing on demand. One boat might leave on set days one week and different ones the next, so the answer is always: check the specific boat’s calendar.
Here’s the pricing landscape those departures sit inside, as of 2026:
- Basic shared liveaboard — about IDR 3,334,000 per person (around USD 205)
- Luxury phinisi with AC cabins — from IDR 8,800,000+ per person (around USD 545+)
- Standard private phinisi charter (8–12 guests) — IDR 12,000,000–25,000,000 per day (about USD 750–1,550), per boat
- Higher-end private charter — IDR 19,000,000–53,500,000+ per day (about USD 1,200–3,300+), per boat
Notice the split again: the first two are per-person open trips on fixed days; the last two are per-boat charters you can schedule for any date. A group of 8–12 that charters a standard phinisi effectively buys the freedom to pick its own departure day.
For boarding, Neptune Liveaboards gives a useful real-world example of how the departure day unfolds: a driver brings guests to the jetty between 11:00 and 12:30, the crew checks names and passports, handles luggage, assigns cabins, and only then does the tour, lunch, safety briefing and departure follow. Komodo Airport (LBJ) sits about 10 minutes by car from where the liveaboards moor, so a same-day fly-in-and-sail is realistic if your flight lands by mid-morning.
What about the Labuan Bajo–Lombok crossing?
If your “Komodo trip” is actually a longer sailing route westward, the multi-day Labuan Bajo–Lombok crossing runs on a weekly rhythm: boats depart Labuan Bajo on Sundays and depart Lombok on Thursdays, priced roughly USD 250–400 per person depending on cabin, as of 2026. It’s a fixed-day open trip, so your travel dates have to bend to the schedule, not the other way around.
Which departure day should you choose?
Match the day rule to your traveler type:
- Budget backpacker staying in Komodo Village — public boat, Mon/Wed/Fri out, Tue/Thu/Sun back. Commit to the overnight.
- Day-tripper wanting the highlight reel — speedboat tour, almost any dry-season morning. Most flexible on which day, least flexible on time (early start).
- Couple or small group wanting cabins — open-trip liveaboard on the operator’s fixed days. Book around the specific boat’s calendar.
- Group of 8+ or anyone wanting a private date — charter. Depart any day you like; you’re paying per boat.
Does the season change which days boats leave?
Yes, and this is the caveat that overrides every schedule above. The dry season — cited by guides as roughly April–December (one source says April–November) — is when seas are calm, visibility is excellent, and departures run reliably. From January to March, wind, heavy rain and big waves can cancel or reshuffle speedboat and liveaboard departures and close hiking trails, so a “scheduled” Wednesday sailing may simply not go.
A few dated timing notes to weave into your planning as of 2026: diving is best March–October, visibility stays good November–January, and the best manta-ray sightings fall in the rainy December–February window — though many operators skip the choppy January–March seas entirely. If you’re traveling in the wet months, treat any published departure day as provisional and confirm with the operator the day before.
The bottom line on departure days
There is no single official website that lists, compares and prices every boat class leaving the harbor — the information stays scattered across individual operators and guides, which is exactly why departure days confuse first-timers. Reduced to essentials: public boats go Mon/Wed/Fri, speedboats go almost daily in dry season, liveaboards go on each operator’s fixed days, private charters go any day, and the Lombok crossing goes Sunday out, Thursday back. All figures here are dated as of 2026 and subject to change — always confirm the exact departure day and current park fees with the operator and park authorities before you lock in flights.