Most cabins sleep 2; capacity is shown on each. Price is per person.
Who's coming?
1 guest
Solo · whole cabin to yourself
Travelling solo? The cabin is yours
Cabins are twins, so a single guest pays for both beds and has the cabin entirely private. The price above is the full cabin.
Grand Suite
20 m² · 2 pax · +1 pax
USD 1,011
total · solo
USD 506 per person
The best cabin on the ship, high on the upper deck. Sliding doors open onto your own balcony with a jacuzzi in it, looking straight out over the water. Bed, air conditioning and a private ensuite behind you.
Ocean Suite
14 m² · 2 pax · +1 pax
USD 787
total · solo
USD 393 per person
Upper deck, wrapped in warm teak. Wide windows open onto the bay and a private balcony sits just outside, with your own ensuite bathroom behind.
Ocean Suite
14 m² · 2 pax · +1 pax
USD 787
total · solo
USD 393 per person
The same layout as Ocean Suite I but one deck lower, on the main deck. Slightly less motion at night, the same wide windows and private balcony.
Family Suite
16 m² · 4 pax · +1 pax
USD 674
total · solo
USD 337 per person
Lower deck. Two single beds flank a double, so a family or a group of friends can take the whole room. Portholes on both sides and an ensuite bathroom.
Deluxe Suite
12 m² · 2 pax
USD 674
total · solo
USD 337 per person
Tucked into the hull on the lower deck, panelled in polished teak. A porthole frames the passing sea. The quietest and coolest cabins on board, and the easiest on the budget.
Paid at the park in cash. Foreign visitors: USD 22. Indonesian nationals: USD 11. Pre-pay via add-on above to skip the cash hassle.
Ballona launched in 2026, and she is the newest phinisi we put guests on. Thirty-two metres of hand-finished teak and ironwood, built by Bugis boatbuilders in the traditional way, then fitted out for people who would rather not share a bathroom with strangers.
Every one of the eight cabins is private and ensuite, with air conditioning and a real bed rather than a bunk. The Grand Suite on the upper deck has a sliding door onto its own balcony with a jacuzzi in it, which is the photograph everyone sends their friends. The two Ocean Suites have private balconies of their own. The Deluxe and Family suites sit below deck, cooler and quieter, with portholes framing the water.
The route is the classic three-day loop: Padar at sunset, Manta Point, Pink Beach, the dragons on Komodo Island, the flying foxes at Kalong. What changes on Ballona is everything between the stops. Two air-conditioned indoor lounges with a television and karaoke, three separate relax areas from the bow deck up to an open-air lounge ahead of the wheelhouse, and a crew that includes a cruise director, a guide and a photographer.
She carries a maximum of 25 guests, so the boat never feels crowded even when full.
Day 108:30 to late evening
Hotel or airport pickup
Your driver collects you anywhere in the Labuan Bajo city area and runs you down to the harbour, a few minutes away. Step aboard Ballona, settle your bags into your cabin, then a short welcome briefing on the main deck while the crew casts off.
Sebayur and Siaba
The first snorkel of the Komodo island tour is a deliberately gentle one. Sheltered water, a shallow coral shelf, and time to get used to the mask before the busier sites. A guide goes in with you if you would rather not swim off alone.
Lunch under way
Indonesian cooking served on deck as Ballona motors east toward the sandbank. Coffee, tea and cold water are free flow for the whole trip.
Taka Makasar
A thin crescent of white sand that surfaces at low tide and is gone again a few hours later. You can walk its length in about two minutes, swim off either side, and this is where the onboard photographer tends to get the shot of the trip.
Manta Point
Drift snorkelling above the cleaning station where reef mantas hold position in the current. Wild animals make no promises, but this is the most dependable manta site in Komodo National Park and the crew read the tide before dropping you in.
Padar Island
The climb up the ridge to the viewpoint over three bays, each a different colour of sand. Ballona takes it at golden hour rather than at dawn, so you get warm light, a breeze on the ridge, and a fraction of the sunrise crowd.
Dinner and the first night at anchor
Dinner on the main deck, then the air-conditioned lounge with the karaoke set, or the upper relax area if you would rather sit out under the stars. Overnight in a sheltered bay.
Day 2Early morning to after dark
Pink Beach
Breakfast, then ashore before the day boats arrive from town. The sand really is pink, crushed red coral mixed through the white, and the reef starts a few metres out, so you can snorkel straight off the beach.
Komodo Island
The ranger walk at Loh Liang, looking for dragons in their own territory. A ranger is mandatory inside the park and is arranged for you. The route is flat, takes about an hour, and you are on foot in dry forest rather than looking through glass.
Lunch on board
Back aboard and eating as Ballona repositions to the afternoon reef.
Pengah Island
Quieter than the headline stops and often the best coral of the trip. Strong colour, big schools of fish, and a fair chance of reef sharks passing below you.
Free time on deck
The gap between the reef and the bats is left deliberately empty. Paddleboard, canoe, swim off the stern, or take the bow deck and do nothing at all.
Kalong Island
Ballona anchors off the mangroves and waits. At sunset thousands of flying foxes lift off the island in one long stream heading for Flores, much of it directly over the boat. Dinner is served on deck while it happens.
Day 3Sunrise to 12:00
Kelor Island
A short, steep climb, twenty minutes at most, for a last view back over the islands you have spent two days in. Swim off the beach below while breakfast is laid out on deck.
Manjarite
The final snorkel of the Komodo boat tour, in calm shallow water over a bank of soft coral. An easy, unhurried one to finish on.
Cruise back to Labuan Bajo
Pack, rinse off, and take the last of the coffee on the upper deck as the harbour comes back into view.
Labuan Bajo harbour
Ballona docks late morning. Your transfer runs you to your hotel, the airport, or anywhere else in the city area, so an afternoon flight out is comfortable.
Compare options
Three curated ways to see Komodo. Pick the one that fits your time and group.
Day Trip1 DayOne unforgettable day from Labuan Bajo: hike Padar, swim at Pink Beach, trek with Komodo dragons, sandbar at Taka Makasar, snorkel with manta rays at Manta Point, and finish at Turtle Bay.
From
USD 81
Liveaboard3 Days / 2 NightsThree days, two nights aboard a modern Phinisi liveaboard with 9 cabins. Sunrise on Padar, swimming with mantas, dragons on Komodo Island, and Kalong's flying-fox sunset.
From
USD 365
Private Charter3 Days / 2 Nights (or 2D1N)Charter our partner Phinisi privately for 3 days, 2 nights. Up to 10 people: IDR 120M for 2D1N, IDR 140M for 3D2N (under IDR 14M per person). Your itinerary, your crew, your boat. No strangers.
From
USD 6,742