Skip to content
A phinisi under way on flat water at dusk, with small boats around it

Boats & charter

Every boat is a private charter until someone else joins.

That one fact explains the whole pricing structure in Riung. Here is what each kind of boat costs, and what it actually buys.

In short

Boats are arranged at the waterfront, usually the evening before — a standard wooden boat is chartered for the whole day and split between however many of you there are.

  • A seat on a shared boat is sold per person — ask for the price.
  • Three to five stops, out at 08.00, back by 16.00.
  • Snorkelling destination, not a diving one. No dive centre here.

The fleet

Five ways onto the water

Published ranges only. Nothing below is a quotation — treat it as the range to negotiate inside.

Wooden boats drawn up on the shore at Riung under an orange dusk sky

Shared wooden boat

A seat on someone else's charter, sold per person. Six to ten aboard. Ask for price.

Riung waterfront. Photo: MANSURKOI / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Wooden jetty reaching over clear turquoise water toward a low green island

Private wooden boat

The whole boat for the day, carrying six to ten. Ask for price.

Pulau Kanawa, Flores — representative. Photo: Stepgun / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Green island rising above turquoise shallows seen from a boat

Small speedboat

Faster, smaller, and worth it only when the day is short. Ask for price.

Komodo National Park — representative. Photo: Hotel Kaesong / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Snorkeller floating above a shallow reef in clear water off Flores

Snorkelling trip

A premium boat with roof, deck and guide, gear and lunch in. Ask for price.

Manjarite, west Flores — representative. Photo: Jakub Hałun / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.

Bay full of moored boats below dry savannah hills

Liveaboard & phinisi

Overnight vessels, for combining Riung with the Komodo leg. Quoted per boat.

Komodo National Park. Photo: Jakub Hałun / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.

Flying foxes lifting off a mangrove island at dusk
Kalong Island, Labuan Bajo — the same species and the same dusk flight as Ontoloe. Photo: Khoirul Amri / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Before you pay

Check the life jackets yourself

Most boats carry jackets, but stock and condition vary and nobody will offer them unprompted. Count them, look at the straps, and agree the route before you leave the pier.

Small wooden boats have no enclosed toilet. Larger ones sometimes do. Ask, rather than find out at the second island.

Frequently Asked Questions

Want the Komodo leg too?

Riung boats are arranged at the pier. For a liveaboard, a phinisi or the Komodo leg, the reservations desk answers on WhatsApp.