Komodo National Park fees on a charter: who pays what, and what is disputed

By Komodo Cabin Charter Editorial Desk

Sourced figures: rates in the table carry their source and check month. Most are published by a single seller for a single boat, so they are not a market price, and nothing here is legal advice.

Usually not. Most sellers we checked leave the Komodo park ticket out of the charter price, though one says it is included on its cruise. Operators report one flat daily ticket per foreign visitor since October 2024, with ranger and diving charges on top. Conservation and harbour lines are disputed, so get every line in writing.

Are park fees included in a charter price?

Treat them as extra until a seller tells you otherwise in writing. The sellers below publish different positions, and the same word, "shared" or "private", does not settle it.

Hello Flores is the outlier, and it is useful for that reason. It proves you cannot assume exclusion any more than inclusion. Our wider list of what fares cover and leave out shows the same pattern for meals, transfers and gear.

What is the daily park ticket?

It is a single entry ticket charged per person, per day. Neptune Liveaboards, a liveaboard operator, reports one flat rate for foreign visitors, in force since 30 October 2024 under Government Regulation 36 of 2024, and unchanged on holidays. Indonesian citizens have a separate rate that does differ between weekdays and holidays. Samara Liveaboard, a second operator, gives the same date and regulation. The amounts as reported are shown in the price table on this page.

Both accounts come from companies that sell boat trips. The park authority's own tariff notice and the regulation's text are not something we could check, so everything here stands as operators reported it when we checked in November 2026.

Children need their own question. Neptune Liveaboards says it passes on a reduced park fee for children even though it charges them the full boat fare, so the fee line and the fare line can move in opposite directions.

What happened to the old activity tickets?

Operators say they were merged. Neptune Liveaboards reports that separate tickets for trekking, wildlife watching and snorkelling no longer stand apart from the entry ticket. Samara Liveaboard says the regulation merged four activity tariffs into one ticket and replaced Government Regulation 12 of 2014.

The practical consequence is a quick test for any itemised quote. If you see a separate line for trekking or for snorkelling inside the park, ask what it is, because both operators' accounts say that charge no longer stands alone. It may be something legitimate under a loose label, such as a guide's service. It may be left over from an old template. Either way the seller should be able to explain it.

Three charges did not disappear in the merger, according to operators:

• Diving. Neptune Liveaboards says divers pay a separate surcharge per diver, per day. Snorkellers and non-divers pay the entry ticket only.
• Drones. Samara Liveaboard says a drone needs its own permit in advance, and that processing is reported to take up to three days. Komodo Resort lists a fee, shown in the table on this page.
• Sport fishing. Samara Liveaboard says it needs a separate ticket, and that fishing is banned in protected zones.

Rules about what you may do on land and in the air sit in our guide to rangers, drones and wildlife.

Are conservation and harbour lines still charged?

We cannot confirm whether per-person conservation and harbour fees still apply, because the sources conflict and we have no official text to settle it. Here is each position.

• Listed as extra:Komodo Resort's fee guide adds a conservation fee and a harbour fee per person on top of the entry ticket. Both lines are in the price table, marked unresolved.
• Disputed:Neptune Liveaboards says a per-person harbour fee is a seller recovering its vessel costs, not a separate government ticket. The conservation row records that another operator says that fee was folded in.

The two companies look related, which makes the difference odder, not less important. Two further totals show why you should ask for a breakdown. Labuan Bajo Tourism gives one park fee line, stated as an average for a foreign visitor, and Green Rinjani gives one park entrance line in its 3-day shared tour. Both sit above a single day's reported ticket. We print them as published and cannot say what they contain, so check the source and ask for a breakdown.

When a quote carries one of these lines, ask three things: is this paid to a government body or kept by the seller to cover boat costs, what is the basis for the amount, and will you receive a ticket or receipt for it? A straight answer matters more than the sum.

Who pays for rangers?

Guests do, on the accounts we can cite, and usually on the island. Dive Komodo, an operator, treats the ranger fee as its own item, outside both the ticket and its standard package quote, payable in cash on the island before you walk. Samara Liveaboard says one fee covers a party of no more than five, and that no group goes ashore without a licensed ranger on Komodo, Rinca or Padar.

Komodo Resort's guide lists different ranger amounts for Komodo or Rinca and for Padar, shown in the table on this page. So a trip with several landings can pay more than once. Larger parties should ask how they will be split: on a per-group basis, six guests may count as two groups rather than one. Komodo Trips also lists tips for rangers as outside its fare, which is a separate matter from the fee itself.

How do you estimate fees for a multi-day trip?

Build the estimate line by line from the rates in the table, and keep disputed items apart. Samara Liveaboard says each guest pays the ticket again for every day spent in the park, so the sum depends on days, not nights.

1. Count park days. Ask the seller which days of the trip are counted inside the park. A 3D2N trip does not settle this by its name alone.
2. Multiply the ticket. Guests times park days gives you ticket-days. Two guests over three park days means six ticket-days at the rate for their nationality.
3. Add diving. Divers times diving days, at the surcharge rate. Leave out anyone who only snorkels.
4. Add rangers. Guarded landings times ranger groups, using the rate for each island.
5. Add permits you actually need, such as a drone permit per drone per day.
6. Show unresolved lines separately. Note conservation and harbour amounts on their own row, so you can see how your total changes with and without them.

Then plan how the money moves, because some of it may have to be cash. Neptune Liveaboards says that on its boats guests hand over cash, rupiah or US dollars, at embarkation or during the trip. Salam Ransel includes cash for park fees on its packing list. By contrast, Dive Komodo asks for 100 per cent of park tickets with the deposit, and says it needs full ticket payment before it buys them. The timing matters, because on its account each ticket carries one guest's name, cannot pass to anyone else and cannot currently be refunded by the park. For how registration works, see our guide to park permits and SiOra.

Which charges are billed to the boat, and can they reach your fare?

Charges billed to the vessel do not appear as your ticket, though they can still reach you through the fare. Neptune Liveaboards says boats carry a daily park ticket of their own plus a harbour charge. It adds that West Manggarai Regency has, since June 2026, withheld sailing clearance until its taxes are settled, and that those taxes include 10 per cent on accommodation and food served aboard.

You will not normally queue for any of these, but someone has to cover them. Sellers can absorb them in the fare or, as Neptune Liveaboards says of harbour charges, pass them on per person. One private listing shows yet another approach by naming harbour clearance as included. Ask whether the fare already carries the regional tax. A line appearing late in the process, after you have paid a deposit, deserves a firm question.

What else should you know about park fees?

Do I pay the park ticket once or every day?

Every day. Samara Liveaboard says each guest owes it again for every day in the park, so a longer trip means more tickets.

Do snorkellers pay the diving surcharge?

No. Neptune Liveaboards says snorkellers and non-divers pay the entry ticket only, while divers pay a separate surcharge per diver, per day.

Should I carry cash for park charges?

Yes, unless your seller confirms otherwise in writing. Dive Komodo collects ranger fees in notes ashore, and Neptune Liveaboards collects its park charges in cash too.

Can park tickets be refunded if my plans change?

Generally no. Dive Komodo says tickets are name-locked and currently non-refundable by the park. Samara Liveaboard adds a date lock on e-tickets, in force since 22 September 2026.

Will the same fees apply in 2027?

We cannot say. We have found no published 2027 rate, and the figures on this page are what operators and guides reported when checked in November 2026.

Which sources support this page?

• Salam Ransel, Komodo boat tour comparison
• Komodo Trips, 3D2N open-trip listing
• Phinisi Trip, 3D2N tour packages
• Komodo Resort: yacht charter guide
• Tripadvisor: one private 3-day boat listing
• Hello Flores, shared cruise review by a seller
• Neptune Liveaboards, park fees guide
• Samara Liveaboard: guide to park regulations
• Neptune Liveaboards, terms
• Komodo Resort (operator): park entrance fees guide
• Labuan Bajo Tourism: three-day cruise guide
• Green Rinjani: three-day shared tour
• Dive Komodo, terms and conditions

How do I reach the desk?

Paste the fee lines from your quote into a message on WhatsApp 6281139414563 or to bd@juaraholding.com, and say how many guests and divers are travelling. The desk can tell you which lines match the published reports and which are in dispute. It cannot rule on what a government body will charge you.