Komodo day trip or liveaboard: the stops, the hours and the per-head sums on King Cirox 2

A full-day charter costs IDR 30,750,000 (≈ USD 1,887) for a group of up to five. The boat's booklets print no day route, so our sample is three stops near town: Kelor, a ranger walk on Rinca and the pier at Manjarite, with the boat back in Labuan Bajo before sunset.

That sample leaves out Padar, Pink Beach, Komodo Island and Manta Point. They lie further south, and on a phinisi the run there and back eats most of a day. A day that is mostly passage is a poor buy, and we say so.

So be clear about what a day on this boat is for. It is for a group that wants the boat itself: the roof deck, the bow nets, lunch at the dining table, a birthday or a team outing on the water. The nets are rope platforms with blue cushions, slung on both sides of the bow, a short drop above the sea. For a group of fifteen it costs IDR 2,470,000 (≈ USD 152) each.

If one day is all you have and your list is Padar, Pink Beach and the dragons, a speedboat reaches more of the park in one day than a phinisi does. That is a different kind of boat from this one.

If you have a second day, read on.

One night changes the map. On the 2D1N, day one runs Kelor, Manjarite and Kalong, and day two reaches Padar, Komodo Island, Pink Beach and Manta Point. Four of the park's best-known stops arrive in one morning and afternoon, because you start the day on board instead of at the harbour.

The night is spent at anchor or under way, depending on the weather and the captain's decision that day. You sleep in your cabin, eat dinner and breakfast on board, and watch the bats from the deck the evening before.

As an open trip, the 2D1N costs IDR 2,900,000 (≈ USD 178) for a bunk; a private cabin starts at IDR 3,900,000 (≈ USD 239) per person. Chartered, it costs IDR 37,500,000 (≈ USD 2,301) in the one-to-five band.

The cost of the first night is a long day two. Four stops share one day, and the charter version drops Taka Makassar to fit. On a 2D1N charter you fly the day after the trip ends.

The second night is the one the open trip is built around. The 3D2N adds Taka Makassar to day two, and a third morning at Seture before the return between 10:00 and 11:00. The pickup window and the return window are the same: ten to eleven.

On the open trip that costs IDR 3,350,000 (≈ USD 206) for a bunk, against IDR 2,900,000 (≈ USD 178) for the 2D1N. The difference is the price of the second night, the sandbar and the last morning.

A third night, on a 4D3N charter, adds Gili Lawa as a fixed stop, Siaba and Kanawa, and spreads the same big stops across more days: three stops on day two instead of five. A fourth night, on a 5D4N, adds Sabolon, Rangko Cave and Senator.

Beyond two nights, the gain is pace more than new places. If you have the time and a group to share the boat, it is pace worth paying for. If you are two travellers on a budget, the 3D2N open trip is the efficient answer.

There are three ways onto this boat, and each is paid for differently. A bunk is IDR 3,350,000 (≈ USD 206) for three days. A private cabin is IDR 4,300,000 (≈ USD 264) per person, for two people at least. The whole boat for three days is IDR 47,500,000 (≈ USD 2,914) for one to five people, IDR 51,000,000 (≈ USD 3,129) for six to ten, and IDR 57,000,000 (≈ USD 3,497) for eleven to fifteen.

Divide the charter by the group and compare. Two people chartering the 3D2N pay IDR 23,750,000 (≈ USD 1,457) each, many times the bunk price. Ten people pay IDR 5,100,000 (≈ USD 313) each. Fifteen pay IDR 3,800,000 (≈ USD 233). A full boat of 23 pays IDR 3,260,000 (≈ USD 200) each.

The pattern is plain. Small groups pay for privacy and should only charter if privacy is the point. Large groups close most or all of the gap with the open trip and get their own route and the whole of the roof deck.

A child under 3 sails free. Park fees are extra in every column. Send us your headcount and we put the three sums in one message.