Labuan Bajo Boat Tickets: What You Actually Buy Per Seat
**Only two boat options in Labuan Bajo sell a per-person ticket: the public local boat to Komodo Village at IDR 50,000, and shared open-trip seats on speedboats or liveaboards (from around USD 50 per seat). Everything else — private phinisi and standard charters — is booked as a whole boat per day, not per ticket. Park entrance fees are always paid separately, as of 2026.**
That single distinction decides how you pay. If you are one or two travelers looking to reserve a seat rather than rent a vessel, you want a ticketed trip. If you are a group that wants the boat to yourselves, you charter the whole hull and split the day rate. This page sorts every boat leaving the Labuan Bajo harbor into those two buckets so you know exactly what you are handing money for before you show up at the jetty.
Which Labuan Bajo boat trips are sold per seat?
Per-seat means the price is quoted per person and you share the boat with strangers. Three things fit here: the government public boat, one-day shared speedboat tours, and the shared “open trip” cabins on multi-day liveaboards. The public boat is the only one you can reliably buy on the spot at the harbor; the shared tours and open-trip liveaboards are near-always booked ahead because seats sell out and departures run on fixed days.
Here is how the ticketed and whole-boat options split, with 2026 pricing:
| Boat type | Ticket basis | Price (as of 2026) | Duration | Where it sells |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public local boat (Labuan Bajo → Komodo Village) | Per person | IDR 50,000 | ~4 hours each way | On the spot at the harbor |
| One-day shared speedboat tour | Per person | ~USD 50-80 | ~05:30-06:30 to sunset | Reserved ahead (concierge/operator) |
| Multi-day liveaboard — basic shared cabin | Per person (open trip) | ~IDR 3,334,000 (~USD 205) | 3-day / 2-night typical | Reserved ahead |
| Multi-day liveaboard — luxury phinisi shared cabin | Per person (open trip) | from ~IDR 8,800,000 (~USD 545+) | 3-day / 2-night typical | Reserved ahead |
| Labuan Bajo ↔ Lombok crossing | Per person | ~USD 250-400 | Multi-day | Reserved ahead |
| Standard phinisi charter (8-12 guests) | Per boat, per day | IDR 12,000,000-25,000,000 (~USD 750-1,550) | Flexible dates | Whole-boat booking |
| Higher-end charter | Per boat, per day | IDR 19,000,000-53,500,000+ (~USD 1,200-3,300+) | Flexible dates | Whole-boat booking |
Read the price column carefully. When you see “per person,” you are buying a ticket. When you see “per boat, per day,” there is no ticket — you reserve the vessel and the rate is the same whether two of you or ten of you board.
Where and when do the tickets actually sell?
The public local boat is the outlier. It departs Labuan Bajo harbor to Komodo Village Monday, Wednesday and Friday between 10:00 and 12:00, returning Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday in the same window, and you pay the IDR 50,000 in cash at the harbor. No online booking, no reservation — it is genuinely a walk-up ticket. The trade-off is the fixed timetable and the roughly four-hour one-way crossing, which is transport, not a sightseeing tour.
Shared speedboat day-tour seats and open-trip liveaboard cabins work differently. Departures leave on set days, seats are limited, and prices swing with season and boat class, so these are reserved before you arrive rather than bought at a kiosk. A shared speedboat typically pushes off around 05:30-06:30, hits four to six stops such as Padar Island, Pink Beach, Komodo or Rinca, Manta Point and Taka Makassar, and returns by late afternoon or sunset. The Lombok crossing runs on a weekly rhythm — boats leave Labuan Bajo on Sundays and depart Lombok on Thursdays — so the ticket is tied to the sailing day, not bought on demand.
One planning note worth repeating: open trips run on fixed departure days, while private charters can leave on flexible dates. If your calendar is rigid, check the departure day before you fall in love with a specific boat.
What about the park entrance fee — is it in the ticket?
No, and this is where budgets slip. Your boat ticket buys the seat, not entry to Komodo National Park. A commercial one-day island-hopping speedboat tour lists Komodo National Park and Padar Island entrance fees at about IDR 450,000 (USD 33) per person, collected separately. A 2026 guide confirms that quoted Komodo tour prices exclude park entrance fees, which must be paid separately, directly to the park authorities.
So the honest way to read any per-seat quote is: ticket price + park fees + any pickup/gear extras. A USD 60 shared speedboat seat is really closer to USD 90 once the park fee lands. The park is managed by Indonesian park authorities under the Ministry of Environment and Forestry; we do not cite specific regulation numbers because the public sources do not state them. Always verify current fees with park authorities and your operator before you travel — figures here are dated 2026 and subject to change.
How does reserving a seat work?
For anything beyond the walk-up public boat, seat booking follows a simple sequence. This mirrors a real boarding flow — for example, Neptune Liveaboards has drivers bring guests to the jetty between 11:00 and 12:30, where crew check names and passports, handle luggage, assign cabins, then run the tour, lunch, safety briefing and departure.
- Tell us your date, group size and boat class. One seat or two on a shared trip, or a full open-trip cabin — this decides which departures are open.
- We confirm a departure day. Shared speedboats and open-trip liveaboards run fixed days, so we match you to the next sailing that fits.
- You get the all-in number. Seat price plus the separately collected park fee (about IDR 450,000 / USD 33 per person as of 2026), so there is no surprise at the jetty.
- Reserve and receive boarding details. Airport-to-harbor timing, the jetty meeting point, and what to bring. Komodo Airport (LBJ) is about 10 minutes by car from where liveaboards moor; a taxi to the ferry harbor is roughly 15-20 minutes at around IDR 100,000.
- Board. Crew check names and passports, take your luggage, and run the safety briefing before departure.
Reserve your Labuan Bajo boat seat
Bajo Harborline is the neutral boat directory operated by Komodo Luxury, a real operator founded in 2015 in Labuan Bajo, with bookings handled directly by its reservations team. There is no single official website that lists and prices every boat class from the harbor — we built this directory to close that gap honestly.
Want a single seat on a shared trip, or a full open-trip cabin? Message the Komodo Luxury concierge on WhatsApp +62 811-3823-875 or email sales@komodoluxury.com. Tell us your travel date and group size and you will get an all-in quote — seat price plus the separately paid park fee — with the exact departure day confirmed before you commit. Prices are dated 2026 and subject to change; park fees are set and collected by the park authorities.
*Published by Juara Holding Group. Boat classes, timetables and fares are compiled as of 2026 from operators and public guides and may change — verify current prices and park fees directly with operators and the park authorities before booking.*