Private charter or open trip: the break-even group size in Komodo

An open trip sells seats. You pay per person for a cabin, the boat leaves on a Monday & Friday for 3 days and 2 nights, and the other cabins belong to other groups. A private charter sells the whole boat to your group at one price, and the dates and route are agreed with you.

The break-even is simple to state. Divide the whole-boat price by your head count, then compare that share with the seat each of you would actually book. The whole boat wins when its share is the lower number. That is all.

Which seat you compare against matters more than the group size. Arham Jaya 2 sells a Share Cabin seat at IDR 3,350,000 (≈ USD 206) and a Private Cabin seat at IDR 4,250,000 (≈ USD 261). On Nusantara Karya the Private Cabin seat is IDR 4,250,000 (≈ USD 261). The Share Cabins have bunk beds, which is the reason for the lower fare. On Nusantara Karya they are wooden bunks with a ladder, each Share Cabin with its own bathroom.

Start with the Private Cabin seat at IDR 4,250,000 (≈ USD 261) per person. At 9 guests the whole boat works out at IDR 4,610,000 (≈ USD 283) each, which is higher. At 10 guests it is IDR 4,150,000 (≈ USD 255), which is lower. The break-even against that seat is 10 guests. Ten, not nine.

Now the Share Cabin seat at IDR 3,350,000 (≈ USD 206). At 12 guests the whole boat is IDR 3,710,000 (≈ USD 228) each, and at 13 guests it is IDR 3,420,000 (≈ USD 210). Both are higher than the seat. At 14 guests it drops to IDR 3,180,000 (≈ USD 195), and only then does the whole boat undercut the bunk seat per head. Thirteen is not enough.

The 14th person does the heavy lifting. Between 13 and 14 guests the whole-boat total does not change, so the share falls only because one more person joins the split. The same total is simply spread over a longer list of names. If your group is 13, find one more friend before you decide.

Nusantara Karya has one whole-boat price up to 10 guests and a higher one for 11 to 14. That creates two break-even points, one per cabin class.

• Against the Deluxe Cabin seat at IDR 4,650,000 (≈ USD 285): 9 guests pay IDR 4,890,000 (≈ USD 300) each, which is higher, and 10 guests pay IDR 4,400,000 (≈ USD 270), which is lower.
• Against the Private Cabin seat at IDR 4,250,000 (≈ USD 261): 11 guests pay IDR 4,360,000 (≈ USD 267) each, which is higher, and 12 guests pay IDR 4,000,000 (≈ USD 245), which is lower.
• Against the Share Cabin seat at IDR 3,350,000 (≈ USD 206): even 14 guests pay IDR 3,430,000 (≈ USD 210) each, which is higher.

So on Nusantara Karya no head count takes the whole boat below the bunk seat. You choose it for the privacy, the dates and the route, and you choose it knowing that.

A fair comparison needs three more lines. Each cuts a different way.

• Park tickets are extra on both. Add IDR 50,000 per domestic guest on weekdays, IDR 75,000 on weekends and holidays, and IDR 250,000 per international guest.
• A private charter excludes the guide and the photo and video documentation, which are quoted separately on request. A seat on any of the three boats includes both.
• A seat is sold with 2 guests to a double cabin, on a Monday or Friday departure only. A private charter can start when the boat is free and your group is.

Segara Liveaboard cannot join this sum. Its whole-boat price is on request, and its sharing seat is IDR 2,750,000 (≈ USD 169). Ask for the whole-boat quote, and we work the break-even out with you.

One concession in favor of seats. A group of 6 on Arham Jaya 2 would pay IDR 6,420,000 (≈ USD 394) each for the whole boat, against IDR 3,350,000 (≈ USD 206) for a Share Cabin seat. For small groups, the seat is the honest budget answer.

Do the sum in five moves. Keep the group chat open, because the answer is a number your friends can check line by line, and that is what keeps the split friendly.

• Count only people who have said yes with a date. A maybe is not a head.
• Pick the cabin class the group would accept as a seat. That is your comparison fare.
• Divide the whole-boat total by the confirmed head count and compare the two numbers.
• Add the park ticket to both sides, and the guide or documentation if you want them.
• Message us the head count and two possible dates. We reply with whether a boat is free.

One way to move the number

If your count lands one person below a break-even, the cheapest improvement is a friend, not a negotiation. On Nusantara Karya, nine guests pay IDR 4,890,000 (≈ USD 300) per head and ten pay IDR 4,400,000 (≈ USD 270). These figures come from the 2026 price list, which runs through 31 December 2026.