Komodo National Park rules in 2026: what changes for families with children and older guests

The entrance tariff comes from Government Regulation 36 of 2024 on non-tax state revenue. It has applied in Komodo since 30 October 2024, when the park office briefed tour businesses on it (Antara Kupang, 30 October 2024). A foreign visitor pays IDR 250,000 per person per day, the same every day of the week. Indonesians pay IDR 50,000 on a weekday, and the ticket costs IDR 75,000 on a weekend or public holiday. A multi-day trip pays for every day the boat spends inside the park.

The ticket covers trekking, wildlife viewing and snorkelling. Snorkelling stopped carrying a separate levy on the same date (CNN Indonesia, 30 October 2024). Any website still showing a weekday and weekend split for foreigners is out of date.

The reports give no child rate and set no age threshold for entry. Until a figure is published, the honest answer is that park fees for children are confirmed on your written quote.

On 14 April 2026 the Forestry Minister said the foreign fee might rise (Floresa, 15 April 2026). In the files we hold, dated to 11 October 2026, no new amount and no start date had been announced. We re-read the rule before each departure.

Since 1 April 2026 the park has capped visitors at 1,000 a day, the Komodo park office told Antara on 14 April 2026. The cap covers Padar, Rinca and Komodo islands and 23 nearby dive sites, after a trial that began in March (TTG Asia, 20 February 2026). The stated reason is crowding. Antara English reported on 15 April 2026 that the park received 429,509 visitors in 2025 against a carrying capacity of 366,108 a year.

Liveaboard and day-trip guests count, as do snorkelers and divers who stop inside the boundaries, according to one Labuan Bajo agency (1 March 2026). Press reports describe three daily sessions, a morning one from 05:00, a mid-morning one from 08:00 and an afternoon one from 15:00 to 18:00, but we have not confirmed those windows with the park office.

How the quota is shared out is still unclear. Operators told TTG Asia in February 2026 that they worried about turning up to find the day already full. Once a date reaches the cap, bookings for it close, and July to September fills first.

For a family, the upshot is simple: the scarce thing is the date, not the boat, and a 3D2N charter needs a place under the cap on each of its park days.

Park tickets are sold online through the park's SiORA system. Booking through it has been mandatory since 1 February 2025, and the mobile app was released on 7 July 2025 (Antara, 31 October 2025). Payment is cashless and each visitor is registered by name and passport or ID number.

For a three-generation party, that turns into paperwork with a deadline. The names on the tickets must match the passports exactly, which is why we ask for passport details at least seven days before sailing. Fixing a misspelt name after the ticket is issued takes far longer than checking it beforehand.

Antara's 31 October 2025 report also describes intermediaries who took money for tickets without passing it on. Operators usually buy on your behalf against a passport copy. Ask to see the e-ticket or QR code in your own name, whoever buys it.

The booking rule, the app date and the passport requirement are reported by Antara. How a late name change is handled is not published, so we ask the park office case by case.

Treks on Komodo and Rinca are led by armed park rangers, and walking alone is not allowed. Fees are charged per group, not per person. Operators commonly quote one ranger for up to five guests, and a group over five needs another. We found no official ranger tariff, so those are indicative. A party of 16 should plan for at least four groups, and the cost appears in your written quote.

For grandparents, the length of a route matters more than the rules. Rinca has three trails from Loh Buaya, about 30 minutes, 1 hour and 2 hours. Komodo's medium route from Loh Liang is about 3 km and 2 hours. The Padar viewpoint is about 700 m one way and roughly 816 steps, 30 to 45 minutes up. A Labuan Bajo dive centre's guide says children from 6 usually manage it and ages 3 to 5 may need carrying. Treat that as a rough guide, not a rule.

No minimum age for the treks is published. The park office said on 6 April 2025 that north Padar lies outside the tourism zone and needs a permit. The usual stop is the ridge on the south side. Keep the distance your ranger sets. Never feed animals, and keep drones on the boat without a permit.

The harbour authority, KSOP Class III Labuan Bajo, issues sailing approval after checking the BMKG forecast and the boat's condition. It can close routes, and it has done so: in stages from 29 December 2025 to 4 February 2026, and stopped all tourist vessels from 14 to 20 January 2026 (CNN Indonesia, 3 February 2026). It closed Komodo and Padar again on 6 to 8 August 2026, a dry-season month, for waves of up to 2.4 m (detikBali, 6 August 2026).

Safety rules have tightened at the same time. Park-bound boats have used e-boarding barcodes at the main piers since 23 July 2024, which blocks over-capacity bookings. The guideline of 14 October 2024 calls for enough life jackets for every passenger and a safety briefing before departure (detikBali).

If a route closes, KEXI's wording is a substitute boat of the same or higher class on the same date at no extra cost, or a full refund within 2 days. Nobody can guarantee away the weather or a closure, and we say so before you pay.

Put the rules side by side and they all point a family the same way.

• Book the date early. The cap, not the boat, is the limit. July to September goes first.
• Fix the names. Send passport details a week before sailing so the tickets match.
• Budget the park separately. The ticket is IDR 250,000 per foreign visitor per day; ranger and local fees come on top, and our quote bundles them per trip type. The Park fees page shows the package.
• Plan for one closed day. A 4D3N charter leaves room to move a stop.
• Choose short walks. A short route and a skipped Padar climb cost a grandparent nothing on the boat.

Soe Besar Vanrei is in dock through November 2026, and its open trips resume on Friday 4 December. Rules in this report were last read on 8 November 2026. Ask us for the live position before you pay.