Budget roughly $825–$886 per paying guest per night on a Raja Ampat expedition aboard LASHA in 2027, before fees. The vessel charters whole-boat from $11,600 per night (leisure) or $12,400 (diving) with a five-night minimum, so 14 guests pay about $829 each per night and 22 paying guests about $827 — or roughly $700 a head once the four free-of-charge places are counted. Park and entry fees are billed separately.
“What does a Raja Ampat liveaboard cost per person?” is the question the charter desk answers most often, and the honest answer is that it depends on a number most operators do not publish: the whole-boat rate. LASHA is chartered as a vessel, not sold by the bed, on eastern expedition routes. That makes the per-person figure a division problem rather than a price list — so this post does the division, band by band, and then adds the fees that sit outside the charter so you can compare like with like.
What Is the Published 2027 Raja Ampat Rate?
The eastern expedition band covers Raja Ampat, the Banda Sea, Wakatobi and Maratua, carries a five-night minimum, and is quoted for the whole boat per night. The free-of-charge column is the number of extra guests who sail without adding to the charter figure once the paying count reaches each step.
| Paying guests | Leisure | Diving | Free of charge |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–14 pax | $11,600 | $12,400 | +0 |
| 15 pax | $12,400 | $13,200 | +1 |
| 16 pax | $13,200 | $14,100 | +1 |
| 17 pax | $14,100 | $15,000 | +2 |
| 18 pax | $14,900 | $15,900 | +2 |
| 19 pax | $15,700 | $16,800 | +3 |
| 20 pax | $16,500 | $17,600 | +3 |
| 21 pax | $17,350 | $18,500 | +4 |
| 22 pax | $18,200 | $19,400 | +4 |
Minimum five nights. The Komodo, Alor, Sumbawa, Lombok and Bali band is separate and starts lower, from $9,800 per night with a two-night minimum.
What Does That Work Out to Per Person Per Night?
Two divisions matter and they give different answers. The first divides by paying guests — the number your group will actually split the invoice between. The second divides by everyone aboard, including free-of-charge places, which is the figure that matters if your group is large enough to trigger them.
| Paying guests | Total aboard | Leisure, per paying guest | Diving, per paying guest | Leisure, per person aboard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 14 | $829 | $886 | $829 |
| 15 | 16 | $827 | $880 | $775 |
| 16 | 17 | $825 | $881 | $776 |
| 18 | 20 | $828 | $883 | $745 |
| 20 | 23 | $825 | $880 | $717 |
| 22 | 26 | $827 | $882 | $700 |
Arithmetic on the published band, rounded to the nearest dollar. Nothing here is a separate offer — it is the same rate file divided different ways.
Notice how flat the paying-guest column is: every step lands between $825 and $829 for leisure sailings. That is not an accident. The ladder is built so that adding guests buys places rather than a lower headline price, and the actual saving arrives through the free-of-charge column. A group of 22 that brings four more people pays $700 per head — the only point on the whole curve that breaks below $800.
What Does a Whole Trip Cost, Not Just a Night?
Nightly figures flatter long trips. Raja Ampat is a five-night minimum and realistically a ten-night proposition if you want the northern islands and the reefs south of Misool in one sailing, so here is the arithmetic at both lengths with fees included.
| Trip length | Group | Charter per guest | Park fee at $25 / guest / night | Raja Ampat entry (foreign) | Charter + park fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 nights | 14 paying | $4,143 | $125 | IDR 1,700,000 | $4,268 |
| 5 nights | 22 paying | $4,136 | $125 | IDR 1,700,000 | $4,261 |
| 10 nights | 14 paying | $8,286 | $250 | IDR 1,700,000 | $8,536 |
| 10 nights | 22 paying | $8,273 | $250 | IDR 1,700,000 | $8,523 |
| 12 nights | 22 paying | $9,927 | $300 | IDR 1,700,000 | $10,227 |
Entry fees are government charges shown in rupiah because that is how they are set; they are not converted here because the rate on your travel date is the rate that applies. Flights, visas and travel insurance are yours to arrange.
Why Is the Diving Band Higher, and by How Much?
Do the subtraction and the answer is consistent: the diving band sits between about $53 and $58 per paying guest per night above the leisure band at every step of the ladder. That is the published diving supplement of $55 per guest per night, expressed as a whole-boat number. It covers the dive operation — tanks, weights, guiding ratios, compressor time and the tender work that a dive schedule demands — and it is charged for the boat’s programme, not per dive. You book one band or the other. A mixed group of divers and snorkellers is normal; the charter desk prices the sailing on the programme the boat will run.
How Does Raja Ampat Compare With the Komodo Band?
| Komodo / Alor / Sumbawa / Lombok / Bali | Raja Ampat / Banda / Wakatobi / Maratua | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry rate, 1–14 pax | $9,800 leisure · $10,500 diving | $11,600 leisure · $12,400 diving |
| Top of ladder, 22 pax | $15,400 · $16,500 | $18,200 · $19,400 |
| Minimum nights | 2 | 5 |
| Park fee | $25 per guest per night | $25 per guest per night |
| Cheapest realistic trip | 2 nights × $9,800 = $19,600 for the vessel | 5 nights × $11,600 = $58,000 for the vessel |
The premium is roughly 18 per cent on the nightly figure, but the minimum-night rule is what really separates the two: an eastern sailing starts at three times the Komodo commitment because the ship has to be repositioned to get there.
If the arithmetic of the eastern band is the deciding factor, read the full published rate bands including the Komodo tables before you shortlist dates, and the vessel specification behind those numbers to see what the money is buying: 52.5 metres, 466 GT, ten ensuite cabins and 26 berths. Groups still weighing whether the crossing is worth the extra nights will find the case laid out in what the price does and does not include.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Raja Ampat rate quoted per person or for the whole boat?
For the whole boat. LASHA publishes a single nightly figure for the vessel — from $11,600 leisure and $12,400 diving in the eastern expedition band — and the group divides it. There is no per-person cabin rate for expedition sailings, which is why the per-guest cost falls as the group fills.
What is the cheapest realistic per-person night on LASHA in Raja Ampat?
About $700 per person per night, and only at the top of the ladder: 22 paying guests bring four free-of-charge places, so $18,200 is shared by 26 people aboard. Park fees of $25 per guest per night and Raja Ampat entry fees are additional.
Why does the per-person price barely change between 14 and 22 guests?
Because the ladder is built to hold it steady. Divide each band by its paying guests and every step lands between roughly $825 and $829 per night for leisure sailings. Filling the boat buys places, not a discount — the discount arrives through the free-of-charge ladder.
How many nights minimum, and how does that set the floor price?
Five nights is the minimum for Raja Ampat, the Banda Sea, Wakatobi and Maratua. Five nights at the entry band is $58,000 for the vessel, which is $4,143 per person with 14 aboard and $4,136 with 22 paying guests.
Are park and entry fees inside the nightly rate?
No, and that is deliberate. Park fees run at $25 per guest per night on expedition sailings and Raja Ampat’s government entry fees total IDR 1,700,000 per foreign visitor. Both are itemised separately on the quotation so you can see exactly what is charter and what is government.
Does the diving column replace the leisure column or add to it?
It replaces it. The diving band is the leisure band plus roughly $53–58 per paying guest per night, which is the published $55 per-guest diving supplement expressed as a whole-boat figure. You book one band or the other, not both.
Where These Numbers Come From
Vessel dimensions, tank capacities, cabin counts and safety inventory come from LASHA’s own published specification sheet on the yacht page. Charter figures are the published 2026–2027 rate file on the rates page — the same document the Komodo Luxury charter desk quotes from, reproduced in full rather than hidden behind an enquiry form. Government fees are cited to their regulation or issuing body in the text. Anything that is an operational estimate rather than a published figure is labelled as an estimate where it appears. LASHA begins her maiden public season on 17 August 2026, so there are no guest reviews to quote yet and none are invented here. Figures checked 1 August 2026.
Plan This With the Charter Desk
Send your dates and group size and the desk returns the exact band, the free-of-charge count and the fee schedule in writing. Every LASHA Phinisi Cruise booking is handled by Komodo Luxury, the vessel’s official marketing and booking partner — an operator working Indonesian waters since 2015 and part of Juara Holding Group. Send your month, guest count and how many of the party dive, and you get a written quotation drawn from the same rate bands published on this site, with every separately billed item listed before anything is paid.