How Do You Pay for a Komodo Charter? Deposits, Transfers and Bank Charges
August 1, 2026
9 min read
A private Komodo charter confirms on a 50% deposit, with the balance due no later than 30 days before departure. The deposit is non-refundable, dates cannot be rescheduled or transferred, and bank charges are borne by the sender — meaning the amount that lands must equal the invoice, not the amount you typed. Get every figure in writing first.
The payment ladder, exactly as published
| Term | What it says |
|---|---|
| Confirmation | 50% deposit |
| Balance | Due no later than 30 days before departure |
| Booking about one year ahead | 30% to confirm · 20% at 120 days · balance at 30 days |
| Deposit | Non-refundable |
| Cancellation | Amounts paid are forfeited in full |
| Rescheduling | Not permitted; the trip cannot be transferred to other dates |
| Name changes | Guest names on a confirmed booking can be substituted |
| Force majeure | No refund provided |
| Bank charges | Borne by the sender |
| Children | Aged 3 and above are charged the full rate |
Publish those terms next to almost any other charter page in Indonesia and you will notice something: most operators do not publish them at all. That is not because their terms are gentler. It is because strict terms are easier to explain after a deposit than before one.
The bank-charge trap, and how to avoid it
“Bank charges borne by the sender” sounds like small print until an international wire arrives short. A correspondent bank in the chain can deduct a handling fee, so an invoice for USD 7,150 can land as USD 7,110 and the booking sits unconfirmed while everyone works out why.
Three practical defences:
- Instruct your bank to send with charges marked OUR (sender pays all charges), not SHA or BEN.
- Add a small buffer — a common convention is USD 30–50 on an international wire — and ask reservations to credit any excess against the balance.
- Send the SWIFT confirmation by email the same day. It is what lets reservations chase a slow correspondent bank instead of waiting.
What to confirm in writing before the first transfer leaves
A charter is a five-figure purchase made remotely from a boat you have not seen. Insist on the boring paperwork:
| Item | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Current-year rate sheet | Rates are reviewed annually; a figure quoted from an old page is not binding |
| Exact package and guest band | Rates step at 6–14, 15–21 and 22–28 guests |
| What is excluded | Park tickets, flights, insurance, alcohol and extra diving are all outside the rate |
| Beneficiary name and bank | It should be a company account matching the operator’s legal entity, never a personal account |
| Cabin allocation | Ten cabins in five types; confirm who sleeps where before you split the bill |
| Cancellation wording | Confirm the non-refundable and no-reschedule terms apply as published |
The beneficiary line deserves a sentence of its own. A legitimate operator invoices from a company account. If you are asked to send a five-figure deposit to an individual’s personal account, stop and escalate — regardless of how convincing the conversation has been. The full commercial terms for this vessel are on the rates, deposit and cancellation page.
Budget the money you will spend after the deposit
Two large items sit outside the transfer. National park entry under PP No. 36/2024 is Rp 250,000 per foreign visitor per visit, and the site charges collected by operators — USD 100 per person for Komodo and Padar, USD 40 for Rinca, USD 25 for Gili Lawa — are settled locally rather than in the charter invoice. Alcohol, extra diving requests, personal insurance and additional land transport are also billed separately; everything that is covered is itemised on the inclusions page.
Insurance is the only refund mechanism that exists
Read the force majeure line again: no refund provided. That is unusually blunt, and it is the honest position — a chartered vessel with a full crew has committed its costs whether a storm arrives or not. It also means travel insurance is not optional on a purchase this size. Buy a policy that covers trip cancellation and the specific value of the charter, and buy it at the same time as you pay the deposit, not the week before departure.
If you are still deciding whether to buy the whole vessel at all, the arithmetic against a shared seat is worked through in our comparison of booking direct versus through an agent.
Getting a written quote
Ask reservations for the figure in writing before you transfer a deposit. [email protected] handles quotes, contracts and invoices; +62 811 3823 875 on WhatsApp is the fast lane for “is this week free”. The vessel is operated and chartered by Komodo Luxury, in business since 2015.
Rate and specification figures on this page come from the operator’s published Mutiara Cruise Phinisi listing and were checked on 1 August 2026. Charter rates are reviewed annually. Ask for the current sheet in writing before paying anything.
Frequently asked questions
How much deposit is required for a Komodo charter?
50% of the charter value confirms a standard booking, with the balance due no later than 30 days before departure. Bookings made roughly a year ahead can use a staged ladder instead: 30% to confirm, 20% at 120 days, and the remaining 50% at 30 days.
Is the charter deposit refundable?
No. The published policy states the deposit is non-refundable and that amounts paid are forfeited on cancellation. Dates cannot be rescheduled or transferred to another trip, so trip-cancellation insurance is the only route to recovering the money.
Who pays the international bank transfer fee?
The sender. Instruct your bank to send with charges marked OUR so that intermediary deductions do not leave the invoice short, and email the SWIFT confirmation to reservations on the same day.
Can I change the names on a confirmed charter?
Yes. Guest names on a confirmed booking can usually be substituted, which is the practical workaround when one member of a group drops out. What cannot change are the dates — the trip is not transferable to another departure.
Do children pay full price on a charter?
Children aged three and above are charged the full rate under the published policy. Because a private charter is priced per vessel rather than per seat, this matters mainly when your group size pushes you across a band boundary.
What happens if bad weather cancels the trip?
The published force majeure clause provides no refund. In practice the crew will reroute to sheltered water wherever possible, but the commercial risk of weather sits with the guest, which is why insurance matters on a purchase of this size.