Hi! great entry. I've been to Flores and love it so much I've been thinking about coming back here almost everyday. but i was wondering why did you not visit Waerebo. Its a village few hours from Ruteng. You should go there next time cause that place is so magical !
Hi! great entry. I've been to Flores and love it so much I've been thinking about coming back here almost everyday. but i was wondering why did you not visit Waerebo. Its a village few hours from Ruteng. You should go there next time cause that place is so magical !
Thank you for the comments Farah. As for Waerebo, I simply didn't have enough time. :) Also, it was starting to rain a lot and I heard the trail gets really muddy when that happens so I decided to pass. Maybe next time. :)
Morgan Kravarik
Hey!! Awesome content. Awesome description. Thanks for being so thorough! Would you mind telling me which company you remember using? Cheers! xoxo
Hey!! Awesome content. Awesome description. Thanks for being so thorough! Would you mind telling me which company you remember using? Cheers! xoxo
Hey Morgan, of course! I just went to Labuan Bajo and found an agency on the tourist street (Jl. Soekarno Hatta). There are hundreds of them there. If I remember correctly, I think it was with Christopher Adventure travel agency which is at the opposite side of Mutiara Restaurant in Labuan Bajo.
There's more info on my "The Backpacking Guide To Komodo Islands" article so feel free to check that out.
I hope this helps!
Marwito
Thanks for this article
I would like to know how much did this itinerary cost you without the Komodo national park tour ? or in general how much would it cost for a backpacker?
I would like to visit Flores in addition to other destinations in Indonesia but i worry that might cost more than i can support
Thanks for this article
I would like to know how much did this itinerary cost you without the Komodo national park tour ? or in general how much would it cost for a backpacker?
I would like to visit Flores in addition to other destinations in Indonesia but i worry that might cost more than i can support
It's quite cheap in Flores especially without visiting Komodo Island as that is the priciest things you can do around there.
For a rough estimate, as it often depends on which towns you are in, the price can vary, I'd expect to pay around 30~ USD per day minimum, give or take, given you rent a motorbike/traveling by bus every day. Accommodation is 10~ USD, bus 5~ USD, motorbike 5~ USD and 3 meals 10 - 15~ USD.
Again this is a very rough estimate and it's always ideal to carry more than you need just in case things don't go as planned.
I hope this helps and good luck with your trip!
Alviss
Hello, great article and photos! Do you mind sharing what lens did you to capture such wide angle shots (of the lakes). Thank you!
Hello, great article and photos! Do you mind sharing what lens did you to capture such wide angle shots (of the lakes). Thank you!
Thank you for the comments! I used the 12mm f2.8 Meika-equivalent lens on my Sony a6500 (APS-C Cropped sensor). Depending on if you are using cropped or full-frame, the focal length at 12mm (Cropped) or 15 - 30mm for full frame should be good to capture Kelimutu. :)
Thank you for the comments! I used the 12mm f2.8 Meika-equivalent lens on my Sony a6500 (APS-C Cropped sensor). Depending on if you are using cropped or full-frame, the focal length at 12mm (Cropped) or 15 - 30mm for full frame should be good to capture Kelimutu. :)
I hope this helps!
Super helpful! was wondering how many mm is wide enough, so your answer is great!
Hoa
Hi Pete,
Thank you for sharing those super informative things. I have some questions about the transportation from Ende to Moni and from Moni to Maumere? What kinds? how much? and how to book in advance? You mentioned "Shared cars" from Ende to Moni on your Kelimutu's guide post, what kinds of this cars? Thank you so much!
World Traveler
"Labuan Bajo is a city located in the eastern part of Flores" - i think it is western part.
Thank you for the comments! To answer your questions:
- From Ende to Moni, you will see people trying to find others to share a taxi to Moni right at the airport so you can share among them or if there is no one, you will have to go to the bus station the next day and take the bus to Moni. It leaves when it's full, starting as early as 9 AM. I've added more information about the transportation to the post under Ende so feel free to check that out.
- From Moni to Maumere, you will have to ask your guesthouse in Moni to tell you when the bus will arrive and they will flag it down for you. There's one main road through Moni, so you won't miss it. The bus usually goes through in the late morning.
- Local buses can't be booked in advanced unfortunately, and for the shared taxi, you will have to be there and organize it yourself or through your accommodation or local travel agencies.
- The shared cars are usually a jeep but there might be a regular sedan car in the mixed too, depending on the driver.
I hope these help!
Carmen
Love the entry Pete! Thank you for sharing such detailed piece. But I wont have so much time to do the rest of Flores! Just going to keep it to Labuan Bajo and Komodo Island! such a shame!
Love the entry Pete! Thank you for sharing such detailed piece. But I wont have so much time to do the rest of Flores! Just going to keep it to Labuan Bajo and Komodo Island! such a shame!
Hey Carmen, thank you for the comments! Komodo island is pretty awesome in itself, so don't worry. You will have a great time for sure. I wasn't expecting the liveaboard experience to by that great. I was with great people, beautiful sceneries and manta rays! Nothing I could asked more from the Komodo Island experience! :)
Good luck with your trip and enjoy the islands! :)
Ole Wahls
Hey Pete,
Thank you so much for this Post! It inspired me and my girlfriend to go to flores after exploring a bit of Bali and lombok, so thanks to you we got some of the most valuable moments of our entire trip: hiking up inerie, joining a traditional festival and a marriage, getting invited to a local for some lunch and so much more not to speak of the breath taking landscapes. So I just wanted to thank you for your inspiration to travel to that Island and for the inspiration to build up a travel blog on my own.
Hey Pete,
Thank you so much for this Post! It inspired me and my girlfriend to go to flores after exploring a bit of Bali and lombok, so thanks to you we got some of the most valuable moments of our entire trip: hiking up inerie, joining a traditional festival and a marriage, getting invited to a local for some lunch and so much more not to speak of the breath taking landscapes. So I just wanted to thank you for your inspiration to travel to that Island and for the inspiration to build up a travel blog on my own.
Hey Ole,
Thank you for the kind words! I'm glad you found it useful and glad the trip went well! Flores is so underrated yet it has so much to offer! Glad you really enjoyed it! :)
Celeste
Hi! Thank you for the detailed post, very helpful. Weβre planning to go to the various islands and looked at the overnight cruises, which were all atrociously pricey π΅βπ« would you recommend picking one off the streets like you did, or do you have other recommendations?
Also, if not the overnight cruise, would it be viable to just do day trips ? What are your thoughts? Thank you so much!
Hi! Thank you for the detailed post, very helpful. Weβre planning to go to the various islands and looked at the overnight cruises, which were all atrociously pricey π΅βπ« would you recommend picking one off the streets like you did, or do you have other recommendations?
Also, if not the overnight cruise, would it be viable to just do day trips ? What are your thoughts? Thank you so much!
Thank you! I think the price has either gone up from the last time I went pre covid or the smaller businesses already went out of businesses due to 2 years of no tourism which is a little more troubling.
I think, if you have a few days to spare in Labuan Bajo, you can do as I did and scour around for tours in town. There will be more affordable options that way as they do not have to pay platforms to advertise online.
But if you are tight on schedule, it might be best to book one online via platforms like Get Your Guide to Viator.
I would highly recommend you do overnight. Some of the places like Padar Island is best seen at sunrise. The whole experience was so memorable just because of the night I spent on the boat and seeing these places in the early mornings. There are speed boat trips that you can do in a day but I feel it's too rush and you won't get to enjoy each place as much.
I hope this helps!
Niklas
Awesome Travel Guide. I did a almost similar tour just now and it was just beautiful and worked out great. Thanks for the inspiration.
Awesome Travel Guide. I did a almost similar tour just now and it was just beautiful and worked out great. Thanks for the inspiration.
can you please tell me which tour company you used, how many nights, approx cost, and any other info, i have looked on web-sites and they are charging $1K+ for 2 nights!!!!!
can you please tell me which tour company you used, how many nights, approx cost, and any other info, i have looked on web-sites and they are charging $1K+ for 2 nights!!!!!
Hey Michelle, looks like things have change quite a bit post-covid in Flores. The price may have increased due to lower demands and fewer competitions since COVID probably wiped out a ton of small businesses running these tours. Plus, the ongoing price hike the government has been discussing create some really uncertainties in the region so things seem to be rather shaky at the moment.
That said, I've looked through some of the listings and there are a few travel agencies available you can check out in Labuan Bajo while you are there. If you book it last-minute while there, it will definitely be cheaper but if you want to book online, you can contact these websites I found:
NOTE: I do not have firsthand experience with them so can't vouch for them but you can ask them for the price to gauge how much you will be spending by emailing them.
Hey Michelle, looks like things have change quite a bit post-covid in Flores. The price may have increased due to lower demands and fewer competitions since COVID probably wiped out a ton of small businesses running these tours. Plus, the ongoing price hike the government has been discussing create some really uncertainties in the region so things seem to be rather shaky at the moment.
That said, I've looked through some of the listings and there are a few travel agencies available you can check out in Labuan Bajo while you are there. If you book it last-minute while there, it will definitely be cheaper but if you want to book online, you can contact these websites I found:
NOTE: I do not have firsthand experience with them so can't vouch for them but you can ask them for the price to gauge how much you will be spending by emailing them.
I hope these help!
Hi Pete, thank you so much for coming back to me, I really appreciate your time and effort in answering my query, all the best π
Hi! great entry. I've been to Flores and love it so much I've been thinking about coming back here almost everyday. but i was wondering why did you not visit Waerebo. Its a village few hours from Ruteng. You should go there next time cause that place is so magical !
Thank you for the comments Farah. As for Waerebo, I simply didn't have enough time. :) Also, it was starting to rain a lot and I heard the trail gets really muddy when that happens so I decided to pass. Maybe next time. :)
Hey!! Awesome content. Awesome description. Thanks for being so thorough! Would you mind telling me which company you remember using? Cheers! xoxo
I meant for the trip to Komodo island haha sorry!
Hey Morgan, of course! I just went to Labuan Bajo and found an agency on the tourist street (Jl. Soekarno Hatta). There are hundreds of them there. If I remember correctly, I think it was with Christopher Adventure travel agency which is at the opposite side of Mutiara Restaurant in Labuan Bajo.
There's more info on my "The Backpacking Guide To Komodo Islands" article so feel free to check that out.
I hope this helps!
Thanks for this article
I would like to know how much did this itinerary cost you without the Komodo national park tour ? or in general how much would it cost for a backpacker?
I would like to visit Flores in addition to other destinations in Indonesia but i worry that might cost more than i can support
It's quite cheap in Flores especially without visiting Komodo Island as that is the priciest things you can do around there.
For a rough estimate, as it often depends on which towns you are in, the price can vary, I'd expect to pay around 30~ USD per day minimum, give or take, given you rent a motorbike/traveling by bus every day. Accommodation is 10~ USD, bus 5~ USD, motorbike 5~ USD and 3 meals 10 - 15~ USD.
Again this is a very rough estimate and it's always ideal to carry more than you need just in case things don't go as planned.
I hope this helps and good luck with your trip!
Hello, great article and photos! Do you mind sharing what lens did you to capture such wide angle shots (of the lakes). Thank you!
Thank you for the comments! I used the 12mm f2.8 Meika-equivalent lens on my Sony a6500 (APS-C Cropped sensor). Depending on if you are using cropped or full-frame, the focal length at 12mm (Cropped) or 15 - 30mm for full frame should be good to capture Kelimutu. :)
I hope this helps!
Super helpful! was wondering how many mm is wide enough, so your answer is great!
Hi Pete,
Thank you for sharing those super informative things. I have some questions about the transportation from Ende to Moni and from Moni to Maumere? What kinds? how much? and how to book in advance? You mentioned "Shared cars" from Ende to Moni on your Kelimutu's guide post, what kinds of this cars? Thank you so much!
"Labuan Bajo is a city located in the eastern part of Flores" - i think it is western part.
Whoops, sorry about the typo. That should be fixed now.
It looks like you confused west and east everywhere in this article. A few mistakes:
"how you can travel from east to west"
"Labuan Bajo, the most eastern city of Flores"
"Labuan Bajo is a city located in the eastern part of Flores"
Haha that should all be fixed now. Thanks again. It can get quite confusing at times for me π π
Hey Hoa,
Thank you for the comments! To answer your questions:
- From Ende to Moni, you will see people trying to find others to share a taxi to Moni right at the airport so you can share among them or if there is no one, you will have to go to the bus station the next day and take the bus to Moni. It leaves when it's full, starting as early as 9 AM. I've added more information about the transportation to the post under Ende so feel free to check that out.
- From Moni to Maumere, you will have to ask your guesthouse in Moni to tell you when the bus will arrive and they will flag it down for you. There's one main road through Moni, so you won't miss it. The bus usually goes through in the late morning.
- Local buses can't be booked in advanced unfortunately, and for the shared taxi, you will have to be there and organize it yourself or through your accommodation or local travel agencies.
- The shared cars are usually a jeep but there might be a regular sedan car in the mixed too, depending on the driver.
I hope these help!
Love the entry Pete! Thank you for sharing such detailed piece. But I wont have so much time to do the rest of Flores! Just going to keep it to Labuan Bajo and Komodo Island! such a shame!
Hey Carmen, thank you for the comments! Komodo island is pretty awesome in itself, so don't worry. You will have a great time for sure. I wasn't expecting the liveaboard experience to by that great. I was with great people, beautiful sceneries and manta rays! Nothing I could asked more from the Komodo Island experience! :)
Good luck with your trip and enjoy the islands! :)
Hey Pete,
Thank you so much for this Post! It inspired me and my girlfriend to go to flores after exploring a bit of Bali and lombok, so thanks to you we got some of the most valuable moments of our entire trip: hiking up inerie, joining a traditional festival and a marriage, getting invited to a local for some lunch and so much more not to speak of the breath taking landscapes. So I just wanted to thank you for your inspiration to travel to that Island and for the inspiration to build up a travel blog on my own.
Hey Ole,
Thank you for the kind words! I'm glad you found it useful and glad the trip went well! Flores is so underrated yet it has so much to offer! Glad you really enjoyed it! :)
Hi! Thank you for the detailed post, very helpful. Weβre planning to go to the various islands and looked at the overnight cruises, which were all atrociously pricey π΅βπ« would you recommend picking one off the streets like you did, or do you have other recommendations?
Also, if not the overnight cruise, would it be viable to just do day trips ? What are your thoughts? Thank you so much!
Thank you! I think the price has either gone up from the last time I went pre covid or the smaller businesses already went out of businesses due to 2 years of no tourism which is a little more troubling.
I think, if you have a few days to spare in Labuan Bajo, you can do as I did and scour around for tours in town. There will be more affordable options that way as they do not have to pay platforms to advertise online.
But if you are tight on schedule, it might be best to book one online via platforms like Get Your Guide to Viator.
I would highly recommend you do overnight. Some of the places like Padar Island is best seen at sunrise. The whole experience was so memorable just because of the night I spent on the boat and seeing these places in the early mornings. There are speed boat trips that you can do in a day but I feel it's too rush and you won't get to enjoy each place as much.
I hope this helps!
Awesome Travel Guide. I did a almost similar tour just now and it was just beautiful and worked out great. Thanks for the inspiration.
Thank you for the report back! I'm glad you found the guide useful! :)
can you please tell me which tour company you used, how many nights, approx cost, and any other info, i have looked on web-sites and they are charging $1K+ for 2 nights!!!!!
Hey Michelle, looks like things have change quite a bit post-covid in Flores. The price may have increased due to lower demands and fewer competitions since COVID probably wiped out a ton of small businesses running these tours. Plus, the ongoing price hike the government has been discussing create some really uncertainties in the region so things seem to be rather shaky at the moment.
That said, I've looked through some of the listings and there are a few travel agencies available you can check out in Labuan Bajo while you are there. If you book it last-minute while there, it will definitely be cheaper but if you want to book online, you can contact these websites I found:
https://komodoopentripmurah.com/
https://dtourkomodo.com/
https://www.peramatour.com/en/
https://alexandrakomodotour.com/
NOTE: I do not have firsthand experience with them so can't vouch for them but you can ask them for the price to gauge how much you will be spending by emailing them.
I hope these help!
Hi Pete, thank you so much for coming back to me, I really appreciate your time and effort in answering my query, all the best π