Komodo Phinisi Boat Guide: The Seven Boats We Sail from Labuan Bajo

A Komodo phinisi boat is a wooden ship you sleep on while it sails the national park from Labuan Bajo. We work with seven of them, from the 25-metre Akassa with three suites to the 34-metre Lady Grace with ten cabins. Four sell cabins on a shared three-day trip from IDR 6,000,000 (about $336) per person, one sells berths on the four-day crossing to Lombok, and two go out only as a whole boat.

The one-day Komodo trip does not use a phinisi. It runs on a speedboat, which reaches Padar in about 75 minutes. A phinisi takes around three hours, so it stays out in the park overnight.

The phinisi boats, side by side

Sizes and guest numbers are the ones shown in October 2026 on our tour pages and on our Komodo boats page, where each boat has its cabin photos and deck plan.

A cabin on a shared trip, or the whole boat

Most people book one cabin. On the three-day shared phinisi trip you choose the Ballona or the Elbark, then a cabin tier. The cheapest berths are on the lower deck at IDR 6,000,000 on the Ballona and IDR 6,500,000 on the Elbark, and the upper-deck suites run to IDR 9,000,000 and IDR 11,500,000.

A whole boat costs one price however many of you sail. Our private phinisi charter starts at IDR 45,000,000 for up to five guests over three days. The Akassa is IDR 56,500,000 for two days with up to four guests, or IDR 64,000,000 for five to ten.

What a phinisi cabin is like

Every cabin on the Ballona and the Elbark has its own bathroom. Lower-deck cabins have the lowest price, and on the Elbark they have a round marine window. The Elbark's main-deck cabins have wide ocean windows and sit a few steps from the dining table. Upper-deck suites cost the most, and on the Ballona one has a balcony and a bathtub.

Deck matters more than people expect. Lower cabins are darker and cheaper, upper ones catch the view from bed. Our guide to the best Komodo liveaboard sorts the boats by budget and by who is travelling.

Phinisi or speedboat

The speedboats on the day trip are the Red Whale I, II and III, carrying up to 13, 20 and 7 guests. They cover six stops between 06:30 and 17:00 and bring you back to town for dinner.

A phinisi is slower, steadier and sleeps in the park. That puts its guests on Padar at 05:00, before the day boats arrive, and at Kalong Island at dusk when the bats fly.

Where these boats come from

Phinisi are built by hand on the beaches of South Sulawesi, at Tana Beru, Bira and Batu Licin. The Ballona was shaped there from ironwood and launched in 2026. The craft is on a UNESCO heritage list, and our article on what a phinisi is explains the name and the building method.

Choosing and booking

Start with the group size. Two people fit a shared cabin. A larger group should price a whole boat first, because the boat costs the same however many beds you fill. Then tell us your dates, and we will say which phinisi are free.