Who is behind Patungan Pinisi

Patungan means everyone chipping in, and a pinisi is the boat. That is the whole idea of this site: a group, one boat and a bill that everyone can see divided.

We are the team at PT Komodo Explorer Indonesia in Labuan Bajo, and we are straight about money. We say the real total, the real share per head, what is not included and which boat fits your head count. Then we tell you one honest way to keep the cost down.

Three boats are on the books, and none of them is ours. Arham Jaya 2 and Nusantara Karya are phinisi with private bathrooms in every cabin, and Segara Liveaboard is a phinisi where 5 of 6 rooms have their own bathroom and the Standard room shares one. All three stop at 14 guests. A group bigger than that needs two boats, and we say so.

The boats' owners don't run this site. It is where we show you what we book and what it costs.

People answer your messages: the booking team in Labuan Bajo, in the hours shown below. Start on WhatsApp for speed, or write by email if you want the quote in one document.

We answer every day from 08:00 to 20:00 WITA. A message in those hours gets a written reply the same day, and a message outside them gets one the next morning. The email address is info@komodoexplorer.com.

The same people write the quote, take the booking and arrange the pickup, so you do not repeat yourself.

Work divides cleanly. We handle everything on land and on paper. Each boat's crew handles everything at sea.

• Our job: the quote, the booking, the deposit and balance, the free pickup in Labuan Bajo and the replacement boat if yours cannot sail.
• The crew's job: sailing the boat, cooking, safety on board and the daily plan. The captain decides the order of stops and the anchorage on the day.

Park tickets, ranger fees and pier charges belong to neither of us. They are the park's, and they are paid on top of the fare.

The crew works for the boat's owner. We do not manage the crew, and we do not promise what only the crew can do, such as a sighting of a manta.