Fuel prices in Indonesia in 2026 and why a Thalassa charter quote is now all-in

Two public announcements matter here. On 4 May 2026 Pertamina raised the price of its non-subsidized diesel: Dexlite went from 23,600 to 26,000 rupiah a liter, Pertamina Dex from 23,900 to 27,900. The Star (Malaysia) ran the figures that day, and PWYP Indonesia, a transparency group, repeated them on 5 May.

By July a tracking site had Dexlite at 19,700 rupiah and Pertamina Dex at 21,150, so somewhere between May and July the price came back down. I couldn't find a single public Pertamina notice for that drop, and I'm not going to put a date on it.

On 1 September 2026 both grades climbed again. Dexlite went from 19,700 to 23,700 rupiah a liter, and Pertamina Dex from 21,150 to 25,200; ANTARA reported it the same day. Pertamina says it follows the government's pricing formula, which weighs world crude prices, the rupiah rate and taxes.

After that, the price sat still. On 1 October ANTARA reported non-subsidized prices unchanged from September.

Subsidized fuel tells a different story. The same 1 October ANTARA report puts Pertalite at 10,000 rupiah a liter and Biosolar at 6,800, both held by government policy through the end of 2026. Pertamax, the mid-grade gasoline, was 15,950.

Here I want to go carefully. Those are Jakarta pump prices, published for people who drive. A phinisi doesn't line up at a Pertamina station, and I don't know what any operator in Labuan Bajo pays per liter, which grade it buys or who sells it to them. No public source I found says. So I read the national figures for direction and nothing more: diesel has been restless this year, and it moved twice in four months.

One more caution. The PWYP report quotes fishermen in Central Java who put diesel above 30,000 rupiah a liter in the spring, a number that doesn't match the Dexlite price list. That's a local claim, not a price announcement, and I've left it out of the picture.

The Thalassa price list is dated 1 January 2026. Fuel is the cost that swings most inside a single season, and a whole-boat rate that has to cope with it is easier to follow when it is one figure rather than a figure with something added on afterward.

So the Thalassa charter rates, on the site and in a quote, are now all-in: fuel is included, and each guest band is rounded to one figure. For Thalassa 1 and Thalassa 2 alike, I don't add a fuel line, and you won't see a surcharge appear between the rate and the total.

If national diesel moves again, the dated written quote you received is what you pay against. That's my reading of why the change makes sense, and only that; I'm not claiming a link between a national pump price and any particular quote. What I can say is that one figure, confirmed in writing before you pay, is easier to compare than a rate with a moving extra.

Take a private charter on Thalassa 1 for 3 days and 2 nights. Your quote should carry four lines, in this order.

First, the all-in rate band, fuel included. For 1 to 5 guests the whole-boat rate is IDR 50,500,000 (≈ USD 3,098); for 6 to 11 it's IDR 65,500,000 (≈ USD 4,018). One boat, one price, however many cabins you fill. Thalassa 2 is priced in bands starting at 12 guests, so a group of 10 pays the 12 to 16 band. There is no separate fuel line to look for.

Second, what sits outside the fare. KEXI's park package bundles the government entrance ticket, the ranger and the local levies, and it is paid on top of the boat price unless your quote says it is included. An international visitor pays a park fee of IDR 250,000 per person each day. On a private charter the guide and photo or video documentation aren't included either; if you want them, they're quoted separately.

Third, high season. A 10 percent addition applies to the private-charter rate on 23 to 27 December 2026 and on 30 December 2026 to 2 January 2027. Nothing else has been printed for 2027 yet.

Fourth, payment: a deposit of 50 percent, with the balance due 30 days before departure.

If you sail outside the two December windows, your total is the all-in rate band plus the park fees. Inside them, the 10 percent goes on the rate band, and the park fees still sit on top.

Ask for the full quote, with the rate and the park fees together, before you commit, rather than afterward.

There's one thing I can't tell you: where diesel will be on the day you sail. What I can tell you is what you pay. Once a quote has been confirmed to you in writing, that's the number you pay against, fuel included. If national diesel moves again, you're comparing a dated quote with a news story, and the quote is what counts. Pertamina has been announcing its prices at the start of each month, so I'll update this page if the November announcement changes the picture.