Vhale
Vhale Phinisi
Whole boat or one cabin: the sum done both ways
Updated 4 November 2026
Komodo whole boat versus cabin booking, in all-in cost per guest: Vhale for 3D2N is IDR 148,000,000 (≈ USD 9,080) entire, which is IDR 7,400,000 (≈ USD 454) a head at twenty guests, against a seat from IDR 4,450,000 (≈ USD 273). Below, the two sit next to each other, each with its own ledger.
Boat or berth: the comparison laid flat
There are two ways aboard one boat, and a surprising amount of confusion about which costs less. Set side by side, line by line, they look like this.
- Who picks the day. Whole boat: your party, any date the boat is free. One cabin: the boat sails every Monday and Friday on the 3D2N.
- The price. Whole boat: one fare for the party, IDR 93,300,000 (≈ USD 5,724) for a day on the water and IDR 148,000,000 (≈ USD 9,080) for the 3D2N. One cabin: a per-person fare by cabin type, from IDR 4,450,000 (≈ USD 273).
- Per head on the 3D2N. Whole boat: IDR 7,400,000 (≈ USD 454) at twenty guests, IDR 6,170,000 (≈ USD 379) at twenty-four, IDR 5,290,000 (≈ USD 325) at twenty-eight. One cabin: the cabin fare, whatever the head count aboard.
- Guide and photographs. Whole boat: on request, quoted separately. One cabin: both inside the fare.
- Cabins. Whole boat: all twelve yours to assign. One cabin: the one you booked, with other guests in the rest.
Both go over the same water and eat at the same long table; what differs is who picks the day and the pace, and who else is lying on the sundeck. The next sections put numbers on it.
Eight people and two ways of paying
Take eight people. The whole-boat fare is what it would be for twenty-eight, so eight friends carry it between them and the share is steep. Eight seats, four in the two Oceanic cabins and four in the two Pacific cabins, two guests to a cabin, cost four times IDR 7,450,000 (≈ USD 457) plus four times IDR 6,200,000 (≈ USD 380), which stays well under the whole-boat fare of IDR 148,000,000 (≈ USD 9,080), and the seats include the guide and the documentation as well.
We give no per-head figure below twenty guests, because the fare was written for a full table and a smaller party only feels the sum more sharply. For eight, the arithmetic points to the seats, and we would rather say so unprompted. A private boat is a fine thing, but not a bargain for eight.
Twenty friends, one fare, and the arithmetic
Now take twenty friends. Dividing the fare gives IDR 7,400,000 (≈ USD 454) a head, which is almost exactly the price of an Oceanic seat at IDR 7,450,000 (≈ USD 457). For that the party gets the whole boat, its own timetable for meals and swims, and a day of its own choosing, where the seat has a Monday or a Friday.
At twenty-four the figure shrinks to IDR 6,170,000 (≈ USD 379), a little under a Pacific seat at IDR 6,200,000 (≈ USD 380). At twenty-eight it is IDR 5,290,000 (≈ USD 325), close to an Azure seat at IDR 5,200,000 (≈ USD 319). The guide and the photographer are what still separate the two, carried by a seat and quoted separately on a charter if you ask.
The scheduled-trip seat, with the guide and photographs inside it
A seat is the small party's honest bargain, and it brings two things the charter sets aside: a guide and the photographs come with the price, and no date needs arranging, because the boat leaves every Monday and Friday and the calendar page lists the sailings ahead.
Its limits are plain. You sleep in the cabin you booked, you share the table with strangers who may become friends by Padar, and the captain decides, for everyone aboard, which stop comes next. Each seat is confirmed live on WhatsApp before any payment. Prices run from IDR 4,450,000 (≈ USD 273) to IDR 8,950,000 (≈ USD 549), and the lowest is a Coral sharing berth.
| Cabins | Deck | per person |
|---|---|---|
| Atlantic | Upper deck | IDR 8,950,000 (≈ USD 549) |
| Azure | Upper deck | IDR 5,200,000 (≈ USD 319) |
| Oceanic | Main deck | IDR 7,450,000 (≈ USD 457) |
| Pacific | Main deck | IDR 6,200,000 (≈ USD 380) |
| Coral Private Room | Lower deck | IDR 5,700,000 (≈ USD 350) |
| Coral Sharing Room | Lower deck | IDR 4,450,000 (≈ USD 273) |
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Atlantic, Azure and Oceanic cabins can take an extra bed on request; we confirm the bed and its price in writing before you pay.
Open trips start every Monday (Mon-Wed) and Friday (Fri-Sun) on the dates listed; we confirm your cabin live on WhatsApp before you pay. Next departures: 6 November 2026, 9 November 2026, 13 November 2026, 16 November 2026
Checked 4 November 2026
What both ways carry, and what both leave out
Whichever way you board, the ledger is the same. Carried by the fare: the hotel or airport transfer both ways, the meals on board, snacks, free-flow mineral water, tea, coffee, milk and juice, and the snorkel gear are in the fare, whichever way you sail, together with the crew of 9.
Left outside it, on both: the park package for the trip type, flights, hotels before and after, alcoholic drinks and tips for crew and guide. Pay through a card link and 3 percent goes on top. Only the guide and the photographs change columns, as the table above shows.
Included
- Hotel or airport transfer in Labuan Bajo, before and after the trip
- The boat: 12 air-conditioned cabins, crew of nine
- Meals on board (full board)
- Snacks, and free-flow mineral water, tea, coffee, milk and juice
- Snorkelling gear and life jackets
- 2 paddle boards
- Speaker and karaoke set
- Open trip: tour guide and photo/video documentation (mirrorless, drone, GoPro) included; private charter: on request, quoted separately
Not included
- Komodo National Park package (entrance ticket, ranger and local levies)
- Flights to and from Labuan Bajo
- Hotels before and after the trip
- Alcoholic drinks
- Tips for the crew and guide
- Private charter: guide and photo/video documentation (available on request, quoted separately)
Komodo National Park package per guest: 3D2N: IDR 650,000 per foreign guest, IDR 350,000 per Indonesian guest; 4D3N: IDR 750,000 per foreign guest, IDR 350,000 per Indonesian guest. It includes the government entrance ticket, the ranger fee and local levies.
FAQ
How do I decide between hiring Vhale whole and taking a cabin?
Count your party. From twenty guests up, the whole-boat fare divides to about the price of a seat or below it, and you choose the day. Below twenty, the seats cost less per head and carry the guide and documentation. We run the sum with you, in writing.
Is a private charter worth the price for twenty people?
At twenty guests the 3D2N fare is IDR 7,400,000 (≈ USD 454) a head, close to an Oceanic seat at IDR 7,450,000 (≈ USD 457). For that you get the whole boat and a date of your choosing. The guide and photo documentation are extra, quoted apart on request.
Is a Komodo boat tour worth the money either way?
If you want Padar at sunrise, a ranger-led walk at Rinca and two snorkel stops, the three-day route covers them. Dragons and mantas are wild and never promised. Whether it is worth the sum depends on how you divide it, which the sections above work through.
How many guests share the boat on a cabin seat?
The boat takes up to 28 guests on standard beds, and how many are aboard on a given Monday or Friday depends on the cabins sold. We tell you when we confirm your seat, and the pairing in any shared cabin is confirmed 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.