Group Size Math: What a 4-Cabin Charter Costs at 2, 6, 8 and 10 Guests

Private charter pricing has one variable the guest controls entirely: headcount. The nightly rate for the vessel does not move when you add a friend, a sibling or a fourth couple. Only the divisor changes. That single arithmetic fact is why the same boat can read as an extravagance for two people and as sensible value for ten.

Riley Phinisi is a 29-metre traditional Buginese phinisi schooner built in 2020 in Bulukumba, South Sulawesi, with an ulin ironwood and teak hull, four ensuite air-conditioned cabins, a deck jacuzzi and a maximum of ten guests. It is operated by Komodo Luxury from its home port in Labuan Bajo, Flores. The full vessel specifications for Riley are the reference point for everything below.

One nightly rate, five different per-person answers

The published private charter rate is USD 3,350 per night for 2026 and USD 3,800 per night for 2027. The table divides those figures across realistic party sizes, and also shows the per-person total for a three-night charter, the length that covers Padar Island, Pink Beach, Komodo and Rinca for dragons, Manta Point, Taka Makassar and the Kalong flying-fox anchorage without compressing the route.

Read the first and last rows together. Ten guests pay one fifth of what two guests pay for exactly the same vessel, crew, route and jacuzzi. Nothing about the boat improves or degrades between those two rows. Only the split changes.

What each party size actually feels like on four cabins

Two guests: the whole boat for a couple

At USD 1,675 per person per night in 2026, two guests are buying exclusivity rather than efficiency. Three cabins sit empty, the saloon and deck are permanently yours, and meal timing bends entirely around one couple. This is the honeymoon and anniversary configuration, and it is the least efficient per-person price on the boat by a wide margin. If the number is the deciding factor, adding even one more couple cuts each person’s cost roughly in half.

Six guests: the comfortable middle

Six guests across four cabins is arguably the best structural fit. Three cabins hold three pairs and the fourth stays free as a changing room, a camera and dive-gear store, or a quiet retreat when someone wants an hour alone. At USD 558.33 per person per night in 2026, the per-person figure drops into a range most travellers compare directly against a good Bali resort room, except the room moves between anchorages overnight.

Eight guests: four neat pairs

Eight is the cleanest allocation on paper. Four couples, four ensuite cabins, no negotiation about who shares with whom, no spare berths to assign. USD 418.75 per person per night in 2026 is the point where a private phinisi stops reading as a luxury outlier for many groups. It is also the configuration where the deck jacuzzi and the shared saloon get used most, because the group is large enough to keep social space busy without crowding it.

Ten guests: the maximum

Ten is the licensed ceiling and the lowest per-person figure available: USD 335 per night in 2026, USD 1,005 per person for a three-night charter. The saving is real, but ten guests over four cabins means at least one cabin carries more than two people, so the allocation conversation matters more than the arithmetic. Groups that hit ten usually do so with a family that includes children, or with two friends willing to share.

Cabin allocation when the group is not four neat pairs

Four ensuite cabins pair off perfectly at eight guests. At nine or ten, the maths stops being tidy. The published specifications confirm four cabins and a ten-guest maximum, but the arrangement of the ninth and tenth berths is a question for the operator rather than something to assume from a brochure. Confirm the exact bedding configuration with Komodo Luxury before you promise anyone a specific sleeping setup.

Three practical patterns cover most groups. Odd-numbered parties (five, seven, nine) should decide early who takes a cabin alone, because that decision is easier over a group chat than at the pier in Labuan Bajo. Families travelling with children often keep one cabin as a parent-and-child room, which frees a cabin for grandparents. Mixed friend groups tend to allocate by sleep habits rather than by couple, putting the early risers together. The cabin-by-cabin guide to Riley is the right place to compare before you assign anyone.

What the per-person figure does not settle

Dividing a nightly rate is only the first calculation. Komodo National Park entrance fees and permits are charged separately from the charter rate and vary by nationality, day type and activity, so ask Komodo Luxury for the current schedule rather than budgeting from an old blog figure. Flights into Labuan Bajo, pre- and post-charter hotel nights, and crew gratuity all sit outside the nightly rate as well.

Charter length also changes the shape of the trip more than the shape of the budget. A two-night charter compresses the same anchorages; three nights lets the route breathe. The standard Komodo itinerary for Riley shows how the days sequence, and the published charter rates page carries the current figures if the year has turned since this article was written. For the older question of whether to charter privately at all, the private liveaboard comparison covers it.

Locking in your headcount

Headcount affects availability, not just price. Peak-season dates go to whoever confirms first, and a group of ten assembled slowly over six weeks often loses the date it wanted. Fix the party size, then hold the date. Full details sit on the Riley Phinisi booking page, and general queries are answered on the charter FAQ. For the wider picture of the vessel and what a charter includes, start at the Riley Phinisi charter overview.

Official availability and confirmed pricing come from Komodo Luxury, the operator of Riley Phinisi. Reach the charter desk on WhatsApp at +62 811-3823-875 or by email at [email protected].

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest per-person cost on Riley Phinisi?

USD 335 per person per night in 2026, which is the USD 3,350 nightly charter rate divided by the ten-guest maximum. For 2027, the equivalent figure is USD 380 per person per night from a USD 3,800 rate. These are charter-rate divisions only and exclude Komodo National Park fees, flights and gratuity.

Does the nightly rate change if we bring fewer guests?

No. Private charter buys the whole vessel, so two guests and ten guests pay the same USD 3,350 per night in 2026. Only the per-person share changes. That is why adding a second couple to a two-person charter cuts each person’s nightly cost from USD 1,675 to USD 837.50 without changing the total.

How do ten guests fit into four cabins?

Four ensuite cabins pair off cleanly at eight guests, so a party of nine or ten needs at least one cabin carrying an extra berth. The specifications confirm four cabins and a ten-guest maximum but do not fix which cabins take the additional guests, so confirm the exact bedding arrangement with Komodo Luxury before allocating rooms.

Is six guests better value than ten?

Ten is cheaper per person, at USD 335 versus USD 558.33 per night in 2026. Six is more comfortable structurally, because three pairs occupy three cabins and the fourth stays free for gear, changing or quiet time. Choose ten if the per-person figure decides the trip, six if cabin breathing room matters more.

What is the per-person cost for a three-night charter?

A three-night 2026 charter totals USD 10,050. That works out at USD 5,025 per person for two guests, USD 1,675 for six, USD 1,256.25 for eight and USD 1,005 for ten. The equivalent 2027 total is USD 11,400, giving USD 1,140 per person at the ten-guest maximum.