Vhale
Vhale Phinisi
Terms in plain words: what you owe, what you get back
Updated 4 November 2026
Booking terms for Vhale, in short: a 50 percent deposit reserves your dates, and what is left is wanted 30 days before the gangway. A cancellation refunds 50 or 25 percent depending on the window. When the boat cannot sail, you are given a replacement boat or a full refund.
Deposit and balance, in writing
Your dates are yours once 50 percent has arrived; what is left is wanted 30 days before the gangway. The deposit is paid by the route you choose, and the table below shows both amounts as percentages of your invoice. A child of 2 or under sails free; from age 3 a child pays as an adult does.
Every fare is rounded, with VAT of 11 percent already counted in. Our quote names, in writing, what no fare covers: the park package, flights, hotels, alcoholic drinks and tips. Terms are best when dull, and these are meant to be.
| Deposit | 50 percent of the total |
| Balance | 30 days before |
| Bookings inside 30 days pay in full | |
| Children | Under 3 free, accompanied by a parent |
| Prices include 11 percent VAT · Passport details 7 days before sailing |
Deposit 50% to confirm, balance 30 days before departure. You can also settle the balance in Labuan Bajo on the departure day, in cash or by card on the EDC machine. Fees: card payment link 3%, PayPal 7.2%, EDC card machine 3%. Your issuing bank may add its own charges.
If you cancel: the windows and the percentages
Cancel with two months or more in hand and 50 percent of your payments comes back to you. Between one and two months, 25 percent is returned. Fewer than 30 days before sailing, nothing is returned, because the date has been held and the boat cannot be sold twice.
Moving a date is a separate thing. A change a month or more ahead costs nothing. Between two weeks and a month the fee is IDR 500,000. Closer than two weeks, the change is treated as a cancellation. The table below lists each window. Travel insurance is your own to buy, and we would buy it.
| Notice | Refund |
|---|---|
| 60 days or more | 50 % |
| 30 to 59 days | 25 % |
| 29 days or less | 0 % |
| Notice | Fee |
|---|---|
| 30 days or more | Free |
| 14 to 29 days | IDR 500,000 |
| 13 days or less | Treated as a cancellation |
If we cancel, you are refunded 100 percent · Once the refund conditions are met, the money is usually transferred within 2 × 24 hours.
When Vhale herself cannot go out
Boats are wooden and weather is not, so the terms cover the day Vhale herself cannot go. Should the boat's owner cancel, or Vhale be swapped out, the choice is yours: a boat of Vhale's class or above for the same dates, at no charge, or every rupiah back within 2 days. You choose, and we write it down.
Nothing is deducted from that refund, and nothing is asked in return. The captain and the harbour decide when the sea is closed to boats, and we do not argue with their judgement. We argue only for your dates.
What a booking does not promise
No booking can guarantee you a calm sea, a dragon or a manta in view, a fixed sequence of stops, or a named bay to sleep in. The route we propose is the plan, and the captain, the weather and the tide can change it. Cabin details beyond those on the cabins page are confirmed in writing before you pay.
If some detail decides the trip for you, raise it before paying; our answer comes back in writing. That includes the bathroom arrangement of an Azure or Coral cabin. A promise we cannot keep is a promise we do not make.
FAQ
What are the deposit and the balance deadline?
The deposit is 50 percent and holds your date. What is left is wanted 30 days before the gangway, though cash, or a card at the EDC machine, can close it on boarding morning too.
If we cancel our plans, how much comes back?
Two months or more before sailing, 50 percent is returned. Between one and two months, 25 percent. Fewer than 30 days before sailing, nothing. Rescheduling a month or more ahead is free; between two weeks and a month it costs IDR 500,000.
And if Vhale is swapped out or the owner calls the trip off?
You choose: an equal or better boat on your own dates, free of charge, or the whole sum returned within 2 days. You choose between the two, and we confirm your choice in writing.
Check availability — Vhale
Bookings for Vhale are made with the Komodo Explorer team in Labuan Bajo; the boat sails with its own crew of nine.