What a private phinisi costs two people in Komodo, line by line

Gandiva prices a private charter by band, not by head. The first band covers one to four guests, so two people pay the same figure as four. So the first sum is quick: take the band price and halve it.

• 2D1N: IDR 80,000,000 (≈ USD 4,908), or IDR 40,000,000 (≈ USD 2,454) each.
• 3D2N: IDR 100,000,000 (≈ USD 6,135), or IDR 50,000,000 (≈ USD 3,067) each.
• 4D3N: IDR 120,000,000 (≈ USD 7,362), or IDR 60,000,000 (≈ USD 3,681) each.

Each figure covers the boat for the whole trip. In it you get the harbour transfer, the boat's crew and cruise director, breakfast, lunch and dinner, free-flow coffee, tea and water, snacks, fruit, towels, snorkelling gear and local Wi-Fi. Every cabin has air conditioning, an ensuite bathroom and a hot shower. Two people sleep in one cabin. Four stay empty. The empty ones cost the same as full ones, and we would rather a couple weighing up what to spend on one anniversary heard that from us than had it hidden behind a tidy per-person figure.

Add two more guests and the band still holds: four people on 3D2N pay IDR 25,000,000 (≈ USD 1,534) each. The price steps up only at the fifth guest.

The other way to sail is by the cabin, on a three-day, two-night open trip that leaves on Monday & Friday. The next date on sale is Friday, 6 November 2026, and 101 departures are on the calendar. A cabin sells to two people, so a couple pays for both seats.

• Arjuna (upper deck, balcony, bathtub): 2 seats at IDR 11,500,000 (≈ USD 706).
• Nakula or Sadewa, upper deck, sea view: 2 seats at IDR 10,000,000 (≈ USD 613).
• Bima, lower deck: 2 seats at IDR 9,000,000 (≈ USD 552).

Put the Arjuna pair next to the whole boat and the gap is obvious. The charter costs just over four times as much. What the extra buys is a boat with nobody else aboard and a route ordered around the two of you. The seats already carry the guide and the photo and video footage in the fare; the trade is that up to ten other guests share the decks.

One caveat. Arjuna is the only cabin with the balcony and the bathtub, and on a given Monday or Friday it is the first to sell.

Neither route covers the park. We quote Komodo National Park as one package per guest, set by trip type. On 3 November 2026 the package for a three-day, two-night trip is 650 thousand rupiah for a foreign guest and 350 thousand for an Indonesian guest. Inside it sits the government entrance ticket (PP 36/2024 sets it at IDR 250,000 per foreign visitor for each day), plus ranger and local levies. It is our package, not the government ticket, and we never call it that. Two foreign guests therefore pay it twice. For 2D1N and 4D3N we send the package figure in writing.

Also outside the fare: flights, hotels before and after, personal expenses, travel insurance (we recommend it), alcoholic drinks and tips for the crew. A drone needs its own park permit at two million rupiah, so ask us before you pack one.

Payment fees are separate again. The card link carries a 3 percent fee, PayPal 7.2 percent, and the card terminal in Labuan Bajo 3 percent. Your own bank may add a charge of its own. The boat price itself is one all-in figure, with no separate tax line.

A private charter fare carries no guide and no documentation. If you want either, tell us and a separate written quote follows. The shot list is yours; the camera is yours unless you add a photographer.

Decoration, a cake and a private beach dinner are services on request as well. The boat's own photo folder shows a beach dinner with lanterns set in a circle on the sand, which shows the set-up exists. It says nothing about the price, and we give none until a quote is written. None of these is free and none sits inside the boat price. On the day, the wind, the sea state and the captain's call settle whether the dinner is on the sand.

The open trip leaves you less to arrange. Open-trip guests get the guide in the fare and the documentation too (camera, GoPro, drone), but not the park's drone fee.

• Arjuna, open trip, 3D2N: Monday & Friday; 2 seats at IDR 11,500,000 (≈ USD 706); guide and documentation included.
• Nakula or Sadewa, open trip, 3D2N: the same days; 2 seats at IDR 10,000,000 (≈ USD 613).
• Whole boat, 3D2N: any free date outside January and February 2027; IDR 100,000,000 (≈ USD 6,135); guide and photographer on request.
• Whole boat, 2D1N: IDR 80,000,000 (≈ USD 4,908), the lowest private price on the list.

Park package, flights, drinks, tips and payment fees are extra on every line.

The sums change as the party grows. Add a third couple and six guests need the 5 to 8 band, IDR 105,000,000 (≈ USD 6,442), which is IDR 17,500,000 (≈ USD 1,074) each. Three Arjuna, Nakula and Sadewa pairs on the open trip would cost less, but you would share the boat with strangers in the other two cabins. Beyond eight guests we recommend asking for both sums before you decide.

• Fares as of 3 November 2026, valid for the 2026 and 2027 sailings on the calendar; we confirm your date in writing before payment.
• Gandiva is in annual maintenance in January and February 2027, with no trips.
• The deposit is 50 percent. You settle the balance 30 days ahead of sailing; cash or the card terminal on the departure day also works.

Send us two dates and a head count on WhatsApp. We answer with the open-trip seats and the whole-boat figure for those dates, side by side.