Komodo National Park rules for 2027: fees, quota, permits and rangers

Three layers of rules touch a Komodo trip, and each has a different owner. The park office, known as BTNK, sets who can enter and when. The harbour authority in Labuan Bajo decides whether a boat can sail. Rangers decide how a walk on land is run.

I read the reports below between 28 October and 2 November 2026. Nothing here is legal advice. Every figure comes from a dated press report that quotes the authorities, and the source list at the end gives each one.

The headline is simple. A visitor cap and a ticket app have replaced the old habit of turning up and paying. Fees changed in October 2024, and no later change had been announced by 2 November 2026. And for 2027, the numbers are not yet public. The rest of this piece sorts out what is fixed, what is under review and what nobody knows.

I give dates beside every claim, because rules in this park move, and a reader in March 2027 needs to know how old each line is.

ANTARA reported on 26 October 2024 that Government Regulation 36 of 2024 replaced the earlier tariff regulation, and that the new rates applied from 30 October 2024. A foreign visitor pays IDR 250,000 per person, on weekdays and holidays alike. The ticket covers trekking, wildlife viewing and snorkelling. An Indonesian citizen pays IDR 50,000 on a weekday and IDR 75,000 on a holiday.

Diving is sold as a separate ticket, at 25 thousand rupiah per person per activity, and boat tariffs did not change. Park fees are charged for each day spent inside the park, so a multi-day voyage buys more than one day of tickets.

Do these rates change in 2027? In April 2026 the press reported that a higher foreign fee was under study. I found no amount, no date and no regulation to go with it. NU Online's report of the Forestry Minister's meeting with parliament on 14 April 2026 does not mention a fee rise at all.

The ticket is a cost apart from the boat fare on every booking we handle. The pier and harbour levies travel with the ranger inside the same park package, so neither shows up as a separate bill.

Metro TV reported on 30 March 2026 that the Ministry of Forestry would cap visits at 1000 a day from 1 April, after a trial from January to March. NU Online added on 14 April that the cap covers Padar, Rinca, Komodo and 23 nearby dive sites, and that the yearly ceiling is about 365 thousand visitors.

Reservations run through the park's SiOra app. Metro TV said all visits must go through the system, and that Padar is split into three sessions of about 300 people each. Detik reported on 7 October 2025 that tickets could be bought only through that app.

The yearly figure is the problem. CNN Indonesia reported on 29 September 2026 that the 2026 annual quota had been used up, and that the park now limits visitors day by day. Tickets carry a date, so plan to arrive on the day printed on yours.

That report, dated 29 September 2026, is the latest on record. Confirm the daily limit for your own sailing date before you plan around it, because the park office sets these limits one period at a time.

On land, every walk on Komodo and Rinca is led by a ranger. Two operator guides, updated in May and June 2026, say the same, and one describes armed rangers on Komodo. The park's ranger tariff does not appear in these reports. Operators quote about 150 thousand to 200 thousand rupiah per group, and one says a group above five needs a second ranger. Treat those as unconfirmed.

At sea, the harbour authority issues the sailing approval, called SPB. Detik reported on 6 August 2026 that it would give tourist boats an approval for Rinca only, because the forecast showed winds to 24 knots and waves to 2.4 metres. Komodo and Padar were closed for 6 to 8 August. The same report says routes had opened and closed repeatedly through July, most recently reopening on 31 July.

Closures are decided by the authority from the weather forecast, one notice at a time. A boat owner cannot override one, and neither can a guest. The article gives no fixed reopening date beyond the notice.

That is why a route written on paper is a plan. The captain and the authority settle the real route on the morning.

Here is what I would do with each rule if I were booking a sailing in 2027.

• Fees: budget IDR 250,000 per foreign guest for each day inside the park, and ask for the current figure in writing before you pay. We send the rate for your sailing date.
• Quota: treat any date as short of tickets until the park shows it is not. The 2026 quota was reported used up in September, and no 2027 figure exists yet. The ministry has said the limit is reviewed periodically and could rise after the Padar works, which it planned for 2026 without giving dates.
• Passports: SiOra needs passport details, so we ask for them 7 days before sailing, and each name must match its passport.
• Walks: expect a ranger on Komodo and Rinca, and allow for the ranger's own fee.
• Weather: leave a buffer day on each side of the sailing. A closed route changes the order of stops, not your hotel.

One point on fairness. Parts of the trade argue the cap is unnecessary, as TTG Asia reported on 20 February 2026. Parts of government argue it protects the park. Both positions are on the record, and neither is a forecast.