Komodo Signature
USD 30,000
/ night
78.2 m. 10 cabins, all with balcony. Up to 20 guests.
Traditional hulls · Modern refit
Ships Indonesia has built for generations
Two-masted wooden sailing ships, refitted to boutique-hotel standard without losing the timber soul — chartered whole, crew and chef aboard.
Charter a phinisiIn short
A phinisi is a traditional Indonesian two-masted sailing ship, hand-built in Bulukumba from ironwood and teak and refitted as a private charter yacht.
- From USD 1,800 per boat, per night
- 5 to 26 guests, 25 to 78 metres
- Every cabin ensuite and air-conditioned
- Crew of 8–15 including a dedicated chef
What a phinisi actually is
The phinisi is a Bugis and Makassarese design still built by hand on the beaches of Bulukumba in South Sulawesi, without formal plans — the shipwright works from proportion and memory passed down through families.
Hulls are ironwood and teak. The modern charter version keeps the two-masted rig and the open teak decks, and adds ensuite cabins, air conditioning, navigation electronics and a proper galley.
What you are chartering is a working sailing ship with a hotel inside it, not a motor yacht dressed in sails. On a good afternoon in the Flores Sea the engines go off.
The fleet
Eight hulls, 25 to 78 metres
Published whole-boat rates. Cabin counts are real cabins.
Komodo Prestige
USD 25,000
/ night
66 m. 8 balcony cabins, up to 16 guests.
Neptune
USD 8,900
/ night
40 m. 7 cabins, up to 20 guests.
Naturalia
USD 7,400
/ night
33.45 m. 8 cabins, up to 24 guests.
Catnazse
USD 5,900
/ night
34.4 m. 8 cabins, up to 18 guests.
Ayvara
USD 5,500
/ night
25 m. 7 cabins, up to 1-8 guests.
Malca
USD 5,300
/ night
30 m. 7 cabins, up to 21 guests.
Pinta
USD 4.750
/ night
30 m. 5 cabins, up to 13 guests.
Charter classes run from a boutique hull at USD 1,800 per night for up to five guests, through premium at USD 5,700–8,900, to the heritage flagships at USD 17,000–18,700 plus 12% VAT.
Luxury phinisi or standard phinisi
Guests per metre
- Standard
- 25+ berths on a 30–40 m hull
- Luxury
- 8–20 guests on the same hull
Cabins
- Standard
- Fan-cooled bunks, shared heads
- Luxury
- Ensuite, air-conditioned, linens and towels
Galley
- Standard
- A deckhand cooks
- Luxury
- A trained chef, menus built around your table
Crew
- Standard
- 4–5 hands
- Luxury
- 8–15: captain, chef, engineer, guide, deck crew
Itinerary
- Standard
- Fixed loop, fixed date
- Luxury
- Your route, your pace, your dates
Safety
- Standard
- Assumed
- Luxury
- Modern electronics, serviced life rafts, proper tenders
When a similar hull advertises 25+ berths, cabins have been subdivided. Guests per metre of boat is the fastest honest test there is.
Included
What the nightly rate carries
Chef and full board
A private chef and full professional crew, provisioned in Labuan Bajo the morning you sail.
Ensuite cabins
Every cabin with its own bathroom, air conditioning, linens and towels.
Water equipment
Snorkelling gear, kayaks or paddleboards where fitted, and tender transfers for every landing.
Fuel and fees
Fuel, harbour fees, drinking water, coffee and tea for the published itinerary.
Built by hand, still
Bulukumba has been launching these ships for centuries. The keel is laid on the sand, the planking steamed and pegged, and the hull finished before it ever meets a drawing.
A refit does not erase that. The frames, the deck camber and the rig are the boat; the air conditioning and the ensuite bathrooms are fitted around them.
It is also why no two phinisi in the fleet feel the same, and why we would rather show you three than sell you one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Charter a phinisi
Tell us your dates and party size. We will put three hulls in front of you with rates, a route sketch and an itemised quote within 24 hours.