Neptune
Neptune Phinisi
Whole boat or one cabin: how to choose between Neptune's two formats
Updated 4 November 2026
Private charter or open trip on a phinisi in Labuan Bajo: Neptune sells both. The whole boat starts at IDR 140,000,000 (≈ USD 8,589) for 1 to 14 guests; a cabin seat on the shared 3D2N sailing starts at IDR 10,800,000 (≈ USD 663) per person. Seats include a guide and documentation, which a charter adds only on request.
Hire the hull or take a seat: Neptune's two formats
Neptune is sold two ways on the same hull, and the formats differ in what you share, what you choose and what the price includes.
A private charter hires the whole boat. You choose the length, anything from two days and one night to five days and four nights, and one price covers the boat for 1 to 14 guests. Apart from your party, only Neptune's crew is aboard. The day charter, for up to thirty guests with no overnight stay, is sold separately.
An open-trip seat buys a place in one cabin on the shared 3D2N sailing. You pay per person with two sharing a cabin, other guests fill the other cabins, the route is the one planned, and the dates are fixed.
Four numbers sum up the difference. A charter is priced per boat and a seat per person. A charter runs from 2D1N to 5D4N, a seat only on 3D2N. A charter takes 14 guests, or 18 at most overnight, while a seat means two to a cabin. And a seat includes a guide and documentation, which a charter leaves out.
In either format, each cabin has one double bed.
| Format | nights | From | Sunrise stop |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speedboat day trip (not us) | 0 | — | no |
| Open trip on Neptune | 2 | IDR 10,800,000 per person | |
| Private charter on Neptune | 0/1/2/3/4 | IDR 110,000,000 per boat | |
| Dive liveaboard (not us) | 3–7 | — | yes |
Dividing the hull by eight, by twelve or by fourteen, against one seat
Split the three-day boat across a party and the share drops fast: eight guests pay IDR 22,500,000 (≈ USD 1,380) each, twelve pay IDR 15,000,000 (≈ USD 920) each, and fourteen pay IDR 12,860,000 (≈ USD 789) each.
Compare those with the seats on the same route, where the Junior Suite costs IDR 12,800,000 (≈ USD 785) per person and a Deluxe studio IDR 10,800,000 (≈ USD 663). Fourteen guests on the boat pay close to the Junior Suite fare each, and they have the boat to themselves.
That does not make the boat the better buy for everyone. A seat sails with strangers on set dates; the boat sails on your dates with only your party. A seat also includes a guide and documentation, which cost extra on the boat.
We never add up seats to set against the boat sum, because a party buying seats is taking cabins on a shared sailing, with other guests in the rest.
For eight or fewer, a head on the boat costs more than a seat. That is simply what a per-boat price does.
| Group size | 1D | 2D1N | 3D2N | 4D3N | 5D4N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | IDR 55,000,000 | IDR 70,000,000 | IDR 90,000,000 | IDR 115,000,000 | IDR 140,000,000 |
| 4 | IDR 27,500,000 | IDR 35,000,000 | IDR 45,000,000 | IDR 57,500,000 | IDR 70,000,000 |
| 6 | IDR 18,330,000 | IDR 23,330,000 | IDR 30,000,000 | IDR 38,330,000 | IDR 46,670,000 |
| 8 | IDR 13,750,000 | IDR 17,500,000 | IDR 22,500,000 | IDR 28,750,000 | IDR 35,000,000 |
| 10 | IDR 11,000,000 | IDR 14,000,000 | IDR 18,000,000 | IDR 23,000,000 | IDR 28,000,000 |
| 12 | IDR 9,170,000 | IDR 11,670,000 | IDR 15,000,000 | IDR 19,170,000 | IDR 23,330,000 |
| 14 | IDR 7,860,000 | IDR 10,000,000 | IDR 12,860,000 | IDR 16,430,000 | IDR 20,000,000 |
| 16 | IDR 6,880,000 | — | IDR 12,000,000 | IDR 15,190,000 | IDR 18,440,000 |
| 18 | IDR 6,110,000 | — | IDR 11,330,000 | IDR 14,220,000 | IDR 17,220,000 |
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per person · Whole boat ÷ group size
Order of stops, and who dines beside you
On a charter, you agree the stops with the captain. You pick a route of two to five days, and the weather and the captain set the sequence of stops and the anchorage. Kanawa is on no printed route, so asking for it means a request we pass to the captain. Everyone aboard belongs to your party, and dinner at the long outdoor table or in the indoor dining room is for your group alone.
A seat follows the printed 3D2N: Sebayur, Manta Point, Taka Makassar, Padar, Pink Beach or Long Beach, Komodo or Rinca, Kalong, Kelor and Manjarite, still reordered by the captain with the weather. Your fellow guests are whoever bought the other cabins, and you eat together. A full sailing fills seven cabins with up to 14 guests, or more where third guests use extra beds.
Neither format promises wildlife. Mantas are never promised, and the dragons are wild.
Dates are the other big difference. A charter is booked for the dates you want, provided the boat is free. A seat sails on set dates, each confirmed on WhatsApp before you pay.
Guide and documentation: inside a seat, on request on a charter
An open-trip seat includes a guide plus photo and video documentation. A private charter price does not; both are available on request and quoted separately before anything is added.
It pays to price this both ways. If you want a guide and a photographic record of the voyage, a seat folds them into the fare while a charter adds them as a separate quote. If you want neither, a charter does not make you pay for them.
Neither format includes the Komodo park package, which we quote by trip type, or drinks, tips, flights and travel insurance. A card link adds 3 percent, and PayPal 7.2 percent.
Both include three meals a day, afternoon coffee and a snack, snorkelling gear, linen and towels, and the transfer between your Labuan Bajo hotel or the airport and the harbour.
| Cabins | Deck | per person | Extra bed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mansard I | Upper deck | IDR 14,800,000 (≈ USD 908) | IDR 6,500,000 (≈ USD 399) |
| Mansard II | Upper deck | IDR 14,800,000 (≈ USD 908) | IDR 6,500,000 (≈ USD 399) |
| Junior Suite | Upper deck | IDR 12,800,000 (≈ USD 785) | IDR 6,000,000 (≈ USD 368) |
| Deluxe (studio) | Lower deck | IDR 10,800,000 (≈ USD 663) | — |
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Open trips: 3D2N, sailing on Mondays and Fridays. Dates are not printed here; we confirm the live cabins on WhatsApp.
Checked 4 November 2026
Included
- Pickup and drop-off between your Labuan Bajo hotel or Komodo Airport and the harbour
- The boat Neptune with its crew
- 7 air-conditioned double cabins, each with an en-suite bathroom with hot shower and a private balcony
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner on board
- Afternoon coffee break with a snack
- Snorkelling gear
- Linen and towels
- Free set-up dinner on the beach on 4D3N and 5D4N charters
- Open trip: local guide and premium documentation (drone, GoPro, DSLR) included; private charter: guide and documentation on request, quoted separately
Not included
- Komodo National Park package (entrance ticket, ranger and local levies)
- Park drone permit
- Flights and visas
- Travel and medical insurance
- Drinks, including alcoholic drinks, and personal snacks
- Hotels before and after the trip
- Personal expenses
- Crew tips
- 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.
Choosing by party size before budget
Decide by who is coming before you look at budget, because the party settles most of the question.
- One or two travellers: take a seat. The boat is priced for 14, and two people on it pay for the whole of it.
- Four to seven guests: look at both. Four in two Deluxe studios pay IDR 10,800,000 (≈ USD 663) each on a seat, and the boat costs more per head but is yours alone.
- Eight to fourteen guests: the boat, if you want the vessel, your own dates and your own table. The 3D2N share falls from IDR 22,500,000 (≈ USD 1,380) at eight to IDR 12,860,000 (≈ USD 789) at fourteen.
- More than 14 and up to 18 overnight: the boat, with extra beds in the upper cabins, at the extra-person rate.
- A gathering of up to 30: the day charter.
Keep two limits in mind. Seats sail on set dates, confirmed on WhatsApp, and you cannot choose them. Each cabin has one double bed, so friends who need their own beds ask us before they book.
If you are still unsure, send us the party and the dates, and we will reply with both figures.
FAQ
What is the difference between chartering Neptune and taking one cabin seat?
A charter hires the whole boat, from 2D1N to 5D4N, for 1 to 14 guests. A seat is a single cabin place per person on the shared 3D2N sailing, from IDR 10,800,000 (≈ USD 663). The seat includes a guide and documentation; on a charter they are available on request.
What does each of us pay if we share the whole boat between eight, twelve or fourteen?
On 3D2N, eight guests pay IDR 22,500,000 (≈ USD 1,380) each, twelve pay IDR 15,000,000 (≈ USD 920) and fourteen pay IDR 12,860,000 (≈ USD 789), out of a boat price of IDR 180,000,000 (≈ USD 11,043). Seats on the same route run from IDR 12,800,000 (≈ USD 785) to IDR 14,800,000 (≈ USD 908) per person.
We are four friends. Should we take the boat or two cabins on a shared sailing?
Two Deluxe studios on the shared sailing cost IDR 10,800,000 (≈ USD 663) per person, with a guide and documentation included. For four, the boat costs more per head, but the sailing and the dates are yours. If your own timing matters most, take the boat.
Can friends who need separate beds take a seat or the boat?
The format makes no difference to the beds. Each cabin has one double bed, and the only separate beds are the extra beds in Mansard I, Mansard II and the Junior Suite. Tell us who sleeps where before booking and we will check the plan.
Check availability — Neptune
Neptune sails with its own crew and captain; Komodo Explorer plans the voyage, takes your payment and answers every message before you board.