General info
We went to Flores in May 1998 for only 1 week. We liked it very much, although facilities and transport can be very rough. Distances are not so big, but the roads are very mountainous, so it takes 22 hours from Maumere to Labuan Bajo by road. I'd love to go back once to visit inner parts of the island, and not just rushing it as we did now.
How to get there - The most popular way is taking a chartered boat from East-Lombok to Labuan Bajo stopping in several places on the way, like Komodo and Rinca and for snorkeling. The trip takes about 6 days and costs 300.000 Rp p.p. These boats can be crowded with 15 guests + the crew. Food consists mainly of rice and noodles.
- Coming from Sulawesi there is a daily Merpati flight from UP leaving around 12 am. It costed 390.000 Rp (5/98).
- From Timor there is a ferry and a plane from Kupang to Labuan Bajo.
- From Bali, there are frequently cancelled flights to Labuan Bajo, often implying a stopover (even a night) in Bima. Price is 640.500 Rp one way (2/2000).
Getting around Bus
Buses are very uncomfortable, there are no AC buses like in Sulawesi or Java.
Car
There are several people offering a car for hire. Count on 500.000 Rp for the Maumere-Labuan Bajo trip. You can arrange to make stops in Moni, Bajawa etc...
Someone reported they paid 200.000 Rp per day. It also depends a bit from where the car comes: if you are in Maumere, and the driver is from Labuan Bajo, he'll give you a good price, since he has to drive back anyway.
Airplane
Try to take a plane if you can, however this will not be easy.
There are only flights in the westward direction. There are no planes from Maumere westwards, only 2 flights a week (Tuesday and Saturday) from Ende over Bajawa to Labuan Bajo.
I did get a report from someone having booked a flight from Ende to Labuan Bajo. Since he and his wife were the only ones on the plane wanting to get off in Labuan Bajo, Merpati decided not to allow them on the plane and simply gave them a cash refund.
Cruise
ACE-travel sometimes organises cruises around the island. I don't know them myself, so I can't comment. They usually organise it in high season, and the cruises are not cheap. This is an overview of what they offer:
- Price for cruise Bima-Maumere, dec. 23 – Jan. 4: $ 2.145 (cruise A)
- Price for cruise Bima-Waingapu dec, 23 – Dec. 26: $ 660 (cruise A1)
- Price for cruise Waingapu-Maumere Dec. 26 – Jan. 4: $ 1.485 (cruise A2)
- Price for cruise Waingapu-Ende Dec. 26- Dec. 29 : $ 660 (cruise A3)
- Price for cruise Ende-Maumere Dec. 29 – Jan. 4: $ 1.155 (cruise A4)
You can contact them at Ace-Travel, PT. Abdi Ceria Emas WisataJalan Pariwisata 41, Mataram 83121, Lombok NTB - IndonesiaTelp. +62 (0)370-621780 Fax +62 (0)370-628251
Accommodation
This is very basic. Don't expect any big hotels.
Money matters It's very important to have enough cash Roupiahs with you in Flores. You can change money, but rates are very poor ( 7500 Rp/1US$ was the best you could get, at a time the Rp was about 11.000 to the dollar). Also, you cannot pay airplane tickets with credit cards. In Maumere we could get a cash advance with VISA at the Danamon bank. |
