Komodo National Park 2026: Visitor Cap, SiORA Booking & Real Ticket Prices Explained

If you’re planning a trip to Komodo National Park this year, two questions matter more than any packing list: how much does it actually cost, and do you need to book ahead?

Short answer: yes, you need to book ahead. The park now runs on a strict daily quota and a mandatory online permit system called SiORA, and walk-in tickets are gone for good. The “true” cost depends on which fees your operator bundles in — and there’s one number still floating around that isn’t officially confirmed. Here’s everything that is confirmed, plus how to avoid getting caught out by the one that isn’t.

What actually changed in 2026

For years, visiting Komodo National Park meant showing up at the harbour, buying a paper ticket, and going. That’s over.

After visitor numbers surged past 429,000 in 2025 — straining ranger capacity, the dragons’ habitat, and popular sites like Manta Point and Pink Beach — Balai Taman Nasional Komodo (BTNK), the government body that manages the park, introduced two changes that took effect April 1, 2026:

1. A hard cap of 1,000 visitors per day, across every zone of the park combined. Trekkers, snorkellers, and divers all count against the same number.
2. Mandatory pre-booking through SiORA (Sistem Informasi Online Reservasi Wisata Alam), the park’s official reservation platform. Paper tickets at the harbour are no longer sold.

Both changes are well confirmed and consistent across BTNK’s own site and every operator we checked. What isn’t fully settled yet is the exact price — more on that below.

How much does Komodo National Park actually cost in 2026?

Here’s the confirmed baseline, based on Government Regulation No. 36/2024 (the rule governing national park fees) and BTNK’s own published rates:

The number to treat carefully: since around March 2026, many Labuan Bajo operators have been quoting a “single bundled ticket” of Rp 650,000 per person for the Komodo Island route (Rp 250.000 for domestic), or Rp 900,000 for the Rinca Island route, said to replace all the itemised fees above. It’s repeated widely enough that it may well be standard by the time you read this — but as of this writing, we could not find it officially confirmed on BTNK’s own channels. Treat it as likely, not yet nailed down, and always ask your operator for a full breakdown before you pay.

Either way, the entrance fee itself is a small slice of your budget — your boat and guide will cost more than the park permit. The number worth remembering isn’t the rupiah figure. It’s this: you can no longer show up and pay at the gate.

The 1,000-visitor cap, zone by zone

The daily quota isn’t one queue — BTNK manages it per entry point, and each one runs its own visiting hours. This is taken directly from BTNK’s own visitor-capacity page, and it’s genuinely useful for planning your itinerary:

• Loh Liang (Komodo Island) — 07:00–12:00 and 13:00–16:00 WITA
• Loh Buaya (Rinca Island) — 07:00–11:00 and 13:00–16:30 WITA
• Padar Selatan (Padar Island) — 05:00–08:00, 08:00–11:00, and 15:00–18:00 WITA
• Gililawa Darat — 07:00–12:00 and 15:00–17:00 WITA
• Komodo Visitor Center (Labuan Bajo) — 07:00–12:00 and 13:00–16:00 WITA

Notice Padar has a 5 a.m. slot. That’s the exact window behind every sunrise photo you’ve seen from there, and it’s why boats leave the harbour while it’s still dark.

During peak season (July–October), slots at the popular sites fill months ahead. If your travel dates are fixed, that’s the real planning risk in 2026 — not the price, the availability.

How SiORA booking actually works

1. Choose your date and route. Most day trips pick either Komodo Island or Rinca Island, not both, because of the visitor cap.
2. Submit ID details for every traveller. SiORA registers each visitor individually against their passport or KTP.
3. Book at least 2–3 days ahead — that’s the bare minimum. During July–October, 2–3 months ahead is the safer bet.
4. Pay online. Cash at the gate is no longer accepted for the base entry ticket.
5. Carry your confirmation. Rangers check it against your ID at the entry point.

If you’re booking through a licensed operator, they handle this whole process for you. It’s worth understanding anyway — it explains why “we’ll just decide when we get there” no longer works for a Komodo trip.

Practical tips before you book

• Book your boat before your flight, not after. Flights into Labuan Bajo run daily from Bali and Jakarta, but permits — not seats — are the real bottleneck in 2026.
• Arrive in Labuan Bajo the night before your boat departs. Day trips leave the harbour by 6 a.m., and domestic flights typically land too late in the morning to make it.
• Ask exactly what’s included in any quoted price. Park entry, ranger fee, conservation fee, and harbour fee are sometimes bundled, sometimes billed separately.
• Carry rupiah cash regardless. Smaller add-on fees — camera permits, extra snorkel gear — still get settled on the spot at some posts.