How much deposit does a Komodo phinisi booking need?

By Komodo Cabin Charter Editorial Desk

The deposit on a Komodo phinisi booking depends on the seller. Komodo Trips and Komodo Island Tour publish at least 50 per cent, Neptune Liveaboards and one TourRadar listing publish 30 per cent, and charters can follow other schedules. Read the balance date and any card charge beside the share before you pay.

What deposit do sellers publish?

Seven sellers publish enough to compare, and each of them asks for money before the trip. The table keeps them apart because they are not describing the same thing. A dash means we have not found a figure for that line in the seller's terms.

Two things in that table need care. The first is the base. Dive Komodo's share is calculated on activities, with park tickets taken whole on top, so the same percentage elsewhere may buy something different. Ask what the percentage is a percentage of. The second is who is speaking. Komodo Resort and Neptune Liveaboards look to be part of a single business group, which makes them one voice in the market. Even so, they publish different arrangements: Komodo Resort calls an even split common for private charters, while Neptune's own charter schedule opens much lower. Published sources give no single norm for a private charter, and we will not invent one.

Salam Ransel's row looks thin, but it holds the most useful sentence on the page. The agent says money only changes hands once the boat has agreed to the cabin. Whatever percentage you end up paying, that order of events is worth asking for.

When is the balance due?

It depends on the seller, and the published dates sit far apart. Neptune Liveaboards sets its line 90 days out. TourRadar's listing sets 50 days, Dive Komodo 14 days, Komodo Island Tour 7 days, and Komodo Trips collects on the date of departure.

The date matters for three reasons:

• Your money sits with someone for longer. A 90-day line means the seller holds the full fare for at least 90 days, and a late line leaves more of it in your hands if plans change.
• It often sits next to a cancellation line. Neptune Liveaboards pays back 90 per cent if you cancel with 90 days or more to go, and nothing after that, so its balance date and its last refund date fall together. Dive Komodo keeps the full amount once 14 days or fewer remain, which is also when its balance falls due. The cancellation and refund page lays these out seller by seller.
• It decides who you pay. Under Komodo Trips' terms the boat organiser collects the balance on the day, so you could be paying a party you have not dealt with. Ask how they expect to be paid, and whether they take cards.

The refundable part of what you pay may also be smaller than it looks. Dive Komodo treats deposits as non-refundable after a three-day cooling-off period and says park tickets and third-party charges stay non-refundable. If a deposit includes park tickets, as Dive Komodo's does, part of it may be gone once the tickets are bought.

Do cards cost extra?

Sometimes, and two sellers say by how much. Komodo Island Tour adds 3 per cent on credit card deposits. Dive Komodo adds 2 per cent on cards used in its office. Salam Ransel says it takes deposits by card, transfer or online payment. We have no surcharge figure for it, so ask.

The wording is narrow in both cases. Komodo Island Tour's line refers to deposits, and Dive Komodo's to in-office cards. Neither tells you what happens with a card balance paid later or a card used online. Ask the seller to write the total your card will be charged, not the fare plus a note. Your own bank may also add a foreign transaction fee, and no seller can tell you what that is.

In which currency will you pay?

Ask, because the listing's currency may not be the invoice's. Dive Komodo says its prices are quoted in rupiah. Agents such as Salam Ransel publish in rupiah as well, while GetYourGuide and TourRadar show from-prices in US dollars, as our comparison of published rates shows. Park charges can follow their own rule: Neptune Liveaboards wants them as cash, in either of two currencies, when you board or once aboard.

We keep every figure in the currency its seller used, and we do not give exchange rates. Four questions close the gap:

• In which currency will the invoice be written?
• If I pay in another currency, whose exchange rate applies, and on what date?
• Who pays the bank charges on an international transfer, the sender or the receiver?
• If bank charges leave you short of the full amount, is my booking still secure?

What should you ask before you transfer money?

Pin the boat down before any money moves. Send these eight questions, and keep the replies:

1. Which boat, cabin and date does this payment secure, and can you put that in writing with the price?
2. Has the boat confirmed that cabin for that date?
3. What exactly is the percentage calculated on, and are park tickets inside it?
4. When is the balance due, how do I pay it, and who collects it?
5. What do I get back if I cancel, and by which date?
6. What do I get back if the boat cannot sail? Terms differ by seller, so you need this seller's answer.
7. Does my payment method carry a charge, and what is the total I will be billed?
8. Whose name is on the receiving account, and does it match the company named on my quote?

Then ask for a receipt that names the boat, the cabin and the date. The wider buying sequence is on our page about how to book a cabin charter.

The eight apply to us too, because this desk can end in a contract with a group company, and any fee and payment terms are stated in that offer.

What do readers ask about deposits?

Is a deposit required to book a Komodo cabin charter?

Yes, on the terms of all seven sellers compared on this page. The share and the timing differ, and Salam Ransel says it asks for nothing until the cabin has been confirmed with the boat.

How much deposit does a private Komodo charter need?

It varies by seller. Komodo Resort calls 50 per cent, with the balance about a month before departure, one common arrangement, while Neptune Liveaboards splits group and charter bookings into a 10 per cent payment, a 20 per cent payment and the balance.

Are card fees added to Komodo cabin charter payments?

Sometimes. Komodo Island Tour adds 3 per cent on credit card deposits and Dive Komodo adds 2 per cent on in-office cards. Ask for the total your card will be charged before you pay.

What currency are Komodo cabin charter payments made in?

It depends on the seller. Dive Komodo quotes in rupiah, while marketplace listings such as TourRadar show US dollars. Confirm the invoice currency and whose exchange rate applies before you pay.

Is the deposit refundable?

Often not, or only until a set date. Dive Komodo treats deposits as non-refundable after a three-day cooling-off period, and Neptune Liveaboards says group and charter payments do not come back. Read the seller's own line before paying.

Which sources support this page?

Every share, date and surcharge above is the named seller's own published term, as it stood when we checked in November 2026. Terms can change, so read the current page before paying.

• Komodo Trips, terms and conditions
• Komodo Island Tour, terms and conditions
• Salam Ransel, Komodo boat tour comparison
• TourRadar, 3-day phinisi listing
• Dive Komodo, terms and conditions
• Neptune Liveaboards, terms
• Komodo Resort: yacht charter guide
• Neptune Liveaboards, park fees guide
• GetYourGuide, 3-day Komodo sailing tour

How do I reach the desk?

Have a payment request you are unsure about? Send the wording to the desk before you transfer anything. WhatsApp +62 811-3941-4563 or email bd@juaraholding.com.