Private Sumbawa liveaboard charter: what operators actually publish

By Sumbawa Liveaboard Editorial Desk

Sourced figures: prices in the table are published by the operators and guides named, with source and check month. They are not our offers, and they change. Nothing here is legal or medical advice.

The cost of a private Sumbawa liveaboard is rarely published. Tiger Blue offers trips by private charter or by the cabin, and Sumbawa Tour sells a private four-day programme, but we found no public whole-boat rate from either. The one charter figure we found is approximate and covers the Lombok to Labuan Bajo route.

Who offers whole-boat trips around Sumbawa?

Few sellers say so openly, and on a Sumbawa liveaboard listing the word private covers several different things. Tiger Blue describes a 4-night, 5-day trip from Sumbawa Besar and a 10-night trip from Labuan Bajo, offered as a private charter or by the cabin. Sumbawa Tour sells a private programme of 4 days and 3 nights from Sumbawa Besar, with two whale shark mornings, Satonda and Moyo. Its last night is in a hotel, so it is two nights on board.

Others use the word for products that are not liveaboards at all. Sumbawa Adventour sells a full private whale shark day trip, priced per person. Amanwana runs a whale shark excursion from its resort on Moyo by speedboat, in about two hours by its own 2023 trade guide, limited to 6 guests. Both are worth knowing about, but neither gives you a cabin that moves.

Which charter figures are public?

Three rows in the price table on this page come close, and each measures something different. The Asik Travel row is a whole-boat figure with crew, marked approximate and "from", for a Lombok to Labuan Bajo route rather than a Sumbawa round trip. It also looks low beside the same guide's per-person cabin range for that route, so take it as written, do not budget from it, and check the guide itself. The Sumbawa Adventour row is a per-person rate for a day out. The Amanwana row is a per-guest range from a 2023 trade document, shown before 21 percent tax and service. Those units do not convert into one another, so nothing there tells you what a week on a dive boat costs.

We found no public whole-boat rate for any of the larger Sumbawa boats named on this site. Komodo Resort describes Neptune One as a 39-metre phinisi with 8 cabins for 16 guests and publishes a per-person rate. Tropical Snorkeling gives Naga Biru seven cabins for 12 guests and publishes cabin rates per person sharing. It is tempting to multiply a berth rate by the guest count and call that a charter price. Please do not. A whole-boat price may depend on routing, season and other things no public source breaks down. Asking is the only way to learn the figure, which is also why a charter quote is hard to compare without a clear list of what it covers.

What should a charter offer spell out?

A charter transfers decisions to you, so the offer has to carry more than a cabin booking does. Use this list on any offer, and that includes one you receive from us. A charter enquiry sent here may end in a contract with one of our companies, so hold our paper to the same standard. Where an operator's published terms give a useful example, we name it, though none of them is a market norm.

• The named vessel. The boat itself, with its cabin count and how many guests that price assumes. Capacity differs boat by boat, so look at this vessel and no other.
• The route as a list of stops. Naga Biru's organiser says the order of stops depends on conditions, which is a fair warning. A good offer says who decides on a change, on what grounds, and what you get if a stop is lost.
• Inclusions, line by line. Sumbawa Tour's list is a helpful model of how specific one can be: transfers, the bagan fee and a local guide boat, entrance fee, meals, a licensed guide and snorkel gear are in, flights and alcohol are out. Ask for the same level of detail, and ask about fuel by name.
• Diving, if any. Number of dives per day, guides per diver, tanks, weights and Nitrox.
• Park and port charges. Who pays, at what rate, and whether the figure is fixed. This needs a direct answer.
• Payment stages. Tropical Snorkeling's staged plan, with deposits at set intervals before the balance, is one example of how long-range bookings are handled.
• Cancellation. One shared-boat seller's terms are quoted in the comparison checklist, and a whole-boat charter may differ. Read the clause, and ask what happens if the weather cancels the trip and not you.
• Who the contract is with. The legal name of the company taking your money, and where any dispute would be heard.

The wider test of any boat, private or shared, is in our comparison checklist.

When does a whole boat make sense?

Mostly when the group is large enough to fill most of the cabins and has a reason to control the days. Without those two conditions, a cabin on a scheduled trip is usually simpler, and the arithmetic is out of our hands anyway because the charter rates are not public.

• A family or friends group wanting one boat. Sharing with strangers stops being an issue, and meal times and stops can follow your group.
• A mixed group of divers and non-divers. A dive boat's schedule may not suit both. On a private trip you can ask for time ashore on Moyo while others dive, if the crew and the plan allow it.
• A fixed window outside the published calendar. When a scheduled crossing runs once a year, private is one of the few ways to sail another week, and even then the season still decides. Neptune Scuba Diving explains why boats rarely cross in the rainy months.
• A short trip focused on one thing. The private programmes are built around whale shark mornings and island stops, as the four-day page describes.

A private boat may not give a large group private time in the water, going by the two published figures. A Konservasi Indonesia carrying-capacity study concluded a maximum of 8 people for diving and snorkelling at a bagan, and Amanwana's guest rules cap the water at 6 guests. Those figures differ, and we are not presenting either as the text of a law, but a party of 12 should plan on taking turns. Fuller context sits in the Saleh Bay rules page.

How does the desk handle a charter enquiry?

Send the group size, dates, start point and what the group wants to do. The desk reads the request and replies with what it can and cannot say. There is no boat or date on this site waiting to be held, so the reply is a conversation and the terms come later, in writing. Charter marketing contracts, if any arise, are issued by PT Komodo Bahari Nusantara. Whatever comes back will state any fee and payment terms in the offer itself, so you can set it beside any other quote you hold.

A clear enquiry saves a round of questions. It helps to say whether the dates can move, whether a four-night trip would do or you really want ten, and whether anyone in the group needs a particular cabin. It does not help to send a passport copy or card details at this stage, because nothing has been agreed.

What do groups ask about private Sumbawa charters?

How much does a private Sumbawa liveaboard charter cost?

It depends on the boat, and the public figures do not settle it. The nearest published numbers are for other formats and routes, and they are shown in this page's table with their labels.

Can I work out a charter price from a cabin rate?

No. Multiplying a per-person rate by the number of berths gives you a number, but no operator here says it prices a whole boat that way. Ask for a written quote on the named boat and route.

Is a private whale shark day trip the same as a charter?

No. Sumbawa Adventour's full private trip is a day out by road and boat, priced per person, and you sleep on land. A charter means the boat and its cabins are yours for the length of the trip.

Does Tiger Blue offer private trips around Sumbawa?

Yes, by its own description. Its destination page offers trips as a private charter or by the cabin, including a four-night programme from Sumbawa Besar. It publishes no charter rate that we have found, so ask it directly.

How far ahead should a group book?

No norm is published for Sumbawa charters. Scheduled trips give a rough guide at best: Tropical Snorkeling already lists Naga Biru departures for 2028, so that organiser publishes its calendar well ahead.

Which sources support this page?

• Tiger Blue: Sumbawa destination page
• Sumbawa Tour: private 4 days, 3 nights programme
• Sumbawa Adventour: whale shark day trip
• Amanwana: whale shark experience trade guide, 2023 (PDF)
• Asik Travel: Komodo tour from Lombok
• Komodo Resort: Sumbawa liveaboard page
• Tropical Snorkeling: West Komodo and Sumbawa trip
• Neptune Scuba Diving: Sumbawa liveaboard page
• Konservasi Indonesia: whale shark tourism study (PDF)

How do I reach the desk?

Send your group size, dates and start point, and the desk will reply with what it can say. WhatsApp +62 811-3941-4563 or email bd@juaraholding.com.