WELCOME TO FLORES! 
welcome to our paradise   

lontar palmtree - the source of moke - along the road Mbay to Riung

 SELAMAT DATANG DI FLORES!

selamat datang di surga kita

FLORES, an island in the tropics south of the equator belongs to the lesser Sunda Islands (Nusa Tenggara Timur) of Indonesia. The original name of Flores is Tandjoeng Bunga, Malay for flowercape. When the Portuguese came to the island they renamed it into Cabo de Flores and the Dutch shortened it into Flores which means flowers.

FLORES is mostly green, partly dry, mountainous and heavenly beautiful. Flores has everything for a wonderful holiday in the tropics.

FLORES has some gorgeous touristic attractions like the prehistorically komodo dragons, the “Spielberg like” Kelimutu lakes, majestic volcanos like Inerie, Ebulobo, Iya and Egon and even a twin volcano laki2 and perempuan (male and female) Lewotobi, traditions we have almost forgotten in this hasty world. And much more.

Come and see the empty beaches, enjoy wonderful diving, adventurous hikes, deserted islands, pristine forests, all colour lakes, hidden waterfalls, impressive ceremonies, traditional villages, awesome music, interesting ikat (woven cloth) and above all the welcoming people of Flores.
Superb is the only word which fits them all. You will be surprised by this warm and cool island. People of Flores are awaiting you and will be proud to show you their island. Well, actually me as well ;-)

A TRAGIC ACCIDENT AT CUNCA WULANG (waterfall)
Sunday, May 24th 2026

KOMODO NATIONAL PARK
Per April 1st 2026 max 1000 visitors day for Padar island?

It was only early March since I had a long chat with the Tourism Board in Labuan Bajo about all the issues (safety, transparancy, rules) around Komodo National Park, 

Things are going to change, that's for sure, in particular about safety, that's the good news.
At that time they also were talking about a certain amount of travelers for (a part of?) Komodo National Park which would be a max 1000 visitors per day. When I asked about this they assured me they were still in the "think over" modus what would be the best option.

In the meantime lat March I saw many posts about the quote of 1000 visitors per day that would take affect on April 1st. However they have "implemented" it just like that. There is apparently a schedule of 3 sessions for Padar island, from 5:00-8:00 am, 8:00-11:00 am and 15:00-18:00 am and each time a max of around 330-335 tourists in total a max of 1000 people per day. I also read conflicting "information" on the internet. Nobody in the tourism industry seems to know how it exactly works. 

This already had leaded to conflicts like on Saturday April 4th tourists were refused to enter Padar. Seriously. No communication, no coordination. Totally crazy and irresponsible.
Below an article of what happened. 

https://www.cnnindonesia.com/gaya-hidup/20260404132338-269-1344214/momen-wisatawan-ditolak-masuk-pulau-padar-tn-komodo-gegara-kuota-penuh

On Monday April 6th I received the official announcement of the Head office Komodo National Park in Labuan Bajo.
The official Siora website didn't publish any news on their homepage, also not a word of the KSOP (the harbour authorities) on their FB or Instagram accounts.
The agents I have checked none of them published information on their website. So many visitors didn't have a clue untill they or their agent registered on the Siora website. So I had a bad feeling about this.
As far as I understand Padar was the first one with this pilot and other parts of Komodo NP might follow.

However....
The famous however in Indonesia;  things are planned, implemented just like that and than change again. On Wednesday April 8th a demonstration was held to protest against the new "rules" (sorry about the "") and guess what? The new rules have being withdrawn and for the time time everything operates as before. Good news? Might be but we already know they will come with other "rules" might be next week, within months or not at all. Although I usually advise not to book that early and even outside the peakseason best on the spot like a day before for now a well meant advise: book early! The policy is totally unpredictable in the way of "maybe yes, maybe no".  So in short; for now it is safe, within the (near) future we don't know.
And the guests who were refused on Saturday April 1st are they compensated? Well I wouldn't bet on the government but a good chance their agent was forced to pay them back althouhg it wasn't their fault.

Wednesday April 10th 2026 10:00 WITA (Central Indonesian Time = Flores, Bali etc) 4:10 CET 

Lewotobi Laki2 volcano on alert level 3
eruptions still occur
Latest eruption on Sunday April 26th 2026

After 3 months of silence between October and March the Lewotobi Laki2 volcano is back on track again... Many eruptions in March and April and the last one on April 26th, 22:21 WITA, local Flores time. The alert level is going up and down between level 2 and 3, currently at level 3 since May 12th 2026. Since then the authorities didn't scale up the level so let's hope the situation will be stable.
Regarding flights, on Flightradar24 I sometimes see a small area north east of the volcano which might disturb flights but as far as I know there were no flights canceled to/from Maumere or Larantuka.

The Lewotobi Laki2 volcano is active since 23 December 2023. Since then there have been hundreds of eruptions including a few serious ones. Many local people living near the volcano have been injured, lost their homes and some of them even lost their lives. Apart from the eruptions they also had to deal with lavafloods mixed with mud due to heavy rains. Late 2024 after almost a year of eruptions all citizens within a 7-kilometer zone were forced to leave their homes since it had become to dangerous with not any sign of the end of the activity.

On November 18th 2025 I visited one of the temporary tent camps in Konga were citizens of Nobo live since a year. The situation is very sad and worrying. Yes they have food and water arranged by the government. However in the tents it is very hot - I checked the temperature in one of the tents which was almost 37C°...The rainy season had already started and it is not difficult to imagine what will happen after a heavy tropical shower with the chance of the outbreak of diseases like malaria and dengue.

It also disturbed flights in the last 2 years. The most vunerable and affected airport was Maumere (no flights at all during 6 months in a row in 2024) but in case of a heavy eruption (like on June 17th 2025) also flights to/from other airports (Ende, Bajawa, Larantuka and Labuan Bajo) were canceled. And even flights to/from Denpasar, Bali.

So hopefully this has come to and, well at least for now. 

For information about volcano's, but also earthquakes, landslides and floods, please check the Indonesian website of the government. Indonesia has four alarmlevels for volcano-activity indicated in both numbers and colours.
Level 1, green, level 2, yellow, level 3, orange and level 4, red
Indonesia has a website which provides information about volcano eruptions, earthquakes and landslides MAGMA Indonesia
Another reliable website about volcano's is Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Programs
Also check www.flightradar24.com to check if ashclouds possibly can disrupt air traffic. Be aware that this in an indication, the decision will be made by the airport or the airlines.

Updated:
Tuesday May 12th 2026
23:30 WITA (Central Indonesian Time = Flores, Bali etc), 17:30 (Central European Time)

FLIGHTS TO & FROM FLORES: NEW ROUTES 

Maumere-Makassar vv Wings Air
After an absence of a couple of years Wings Air has reopened the route Makassar-Maumere. Flights will operate three times a week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and; see the section Transport & Guiding on this website. With this renewed route Maumere is more easy to connect with other parts of Indonesia, including Jawa, Maluku and Papua. However prices are still steep but anything better than a backtrack flight via Kupang.

Jakarta-Labuan Bajo vv Super Air Jet
On March 29th Super Air Jet (a Lion Group member) operates a new route between Jakarta and Labuan Bajo. Flights are available everday departure 13:00 from Jakarta and 17:05 from Labuan Bajo.

Flights can be booked through the Lion Air Group or via ticketproviders like Tiket.com, Traveloka.com or Nusatrip.com

REGULAR CLOSURE KOMODO NATIONAL PARK

For already months Indonesia suffers from extreme weather including Komodo National Park. As you might have read in the specific topic for Komodo NP there are strong currents and whirlpools in particular near the islands Komodo and Rinca which can become even stronger because of bad weather like heavy rains and strong winds.

I can´t prove this is a coincidence or not but since the accident of last December 26th when 4 tourists lost their lives the authorities seem to be more careful and strict with regulations. To be honest I am happy with that since there have many too many accidents in the last 3 years, although not all accidents were because of bad weather. In the last few months Komodo NP has been closed often and no touristboats were allowed.

Then last closure was February 22nd-26, the national park has fully reopened again.
Please often check the current situation since this can happen any time.

I understand that this is disappointing for tourists who come to Flores in particular to see the komodo dragons or for diving but the closure of the park is for your own safety.

Not all areas are dangerous but I have the feeling they need to find a way to figure that out and handle that (for example the closure of a part of the national park only) not in the last place there are still illegal boat trips departing from other harbours.

I agree the official letters are not very clear and in Indonesian language only.

For readers who come to Flores to visit Komodo National Park only, I only can say please also visit the rest of this beautiful island. For those who come for the underwater world visit Marine Park 17 Islands near Riung or the islands north east of Maumere, the area where Flores was famous for diving long before Komodo NP became popular.

Updated:
Thursday February 26th 2026  16:00 CET - 23:00 WITA (Central Indonesian Time = Flores, Bali etc)

Happy New Year and safe and enjoyable travels to Flores. 
                                          Selamat Tahun Baru untuk semuanya di Flores! 

Accidents Komodo NP at the end of 2025

Dear travelers,
On Friday night December 26th a boat sank in Komodo NP and four Spanish people lost their lives in a tragic accident near Padar island, the iconic island in Komodo National Park. They were on a holiday as a family of 6. Their mother and one child managed to escape but for her husband and 3 other children it was too late.
At the time of writing one body has been found, three are still in the ocean. The rescue team is doing everything they can to get all bodies ashore.
Only a few days later in the morning of December 29th after this tragedy another boat sank near Labuan Bajo, luckily no victims.
This was - as far as I know - boat accident number 25 (!) within exactly three years, since January 2023.

I have never seen so many posts on social media before after a boat accident in Komodo NP. Reactions are various, sad, angry, helpless and options how to manage this.
Already for a long time I try to talk with anyone who wants to hear me since list of (unnessesary) accidents has become too long.
A Belgian who was involved himself in a boat accident wrote a 6-page letter of recommendation with well thought out and formulated issues regarding rules, procedures for agents, boats, boatowners, harbourmaster etc including a lot of input from me and sent this to the government of tourism. I can be short about this: nothing happened. Yes, there are rules but it seems boats still can manage to sail out without permission, there is apparently not such a thing like quality mark (maintenance) and administration is not always correct, jus to mention a few issues.
In the meantime prices have gone skyhigh and money and business wins from safety...apparently. I don't have figures but I am 100% sure that Labuan Bajo/Komodo has the highest accident rate in the whole country.
For me Komodo NP-Labuan Bajo has become a source of headache and frustration.
This has to stop as soon as possible!
The situation as it is now is threatening for both travelers but also for fair business and the economy of Flores since the people of Flores need you and maybe you might be able to help me.

If you are a traveler with both good and inferior experiences please write  me. 

For travelers who still have Komodo NP on their bucketlist, please go. This message is not meant to frighten travelers but to make you alert and to be critical when you want to a boattrip. To my opnion Komodo NP is one of the most beautiful places in Indonesia, despite the hordes of tourists in particular during the period April-October.
In the Komodo NP section you find tips to make the right choice but you always can contact me personally. I will help you with pleasure.
Thank you - Terima kasih
Anne

Updated:
Tuesday December 30st 2025 16:00 CET - 23:00 WITA (Central Indonesian Time = Flores, Bali etc

"You look like an angel...." Elvis Presley sang in 1963.
The Inerie, the almost perfectly shaped volcano attracts many people allover the world. However this angel is probably more agile in descending.... ;-)
And, a lot of similar angels in Flores Surga Kita. Just come and see for yourself.

Merry Christmas from Flores!

New route starting 21 December 2025
Scoot Airlines Singapore - Labuan Bajo vv 

Starting on Sunday December 21st Scoot Airlines starts a new route Singapore to Labuan Bajo vv and flies twice a week on Thursday and Sunday.
Scoot Airlines is under the same management as Singapore Airlines. This means you also can book to/from the next/previous destination served by Singapore Airlines.

Thursday

TR292 Singapore - Labuan Bajo 14:20 - 17:40      

TR293 Labuan Bajo - Singapore 18:15 - 21:45       

Sunday

TR290 Singapore - Labuan Bajo 5:30 - 8:50        

TR291  Labuan Bajo - Singapore 9:25 - 12:55       

Tickets can be booked directly via Scoot Airlines or via local providers like Tiket.com, Traveloka.com etc.

No flights Labuan Bajo-Maumere up and untill November 30

All flights Labuan Bajo-Maumere vv with Wings Air (on Monday, Wednesday and Friday) are canceled up and until November 30st.

This has probably to do with the many cancellations and reschedules in the last 3, 4 weeks because of the activity of the Lewotobi Laki2 volcano in the east of Flores.
See below situation Lewotobi Laki2 volcano.

-Passengers who fly from Denpasar might be able to fly via Kupang to Maumere (however long flight)

-Passengers who fly from Denpasar and want to dive near Waigete (1 hour east of Maumere) might be able to reschedule their flight to Larantuka (closer than Ende).

-Plus the alternative to fly to Ende airport with 11 flights/week.

Lewotobi Laki2 volcano on Wednesday November 19th 2025

The screenshot below is an EXAMPLE!
Situation on Flightradar24 on September 23rd 20:30 WITA = Indonesian Central time (=Flores, Bali etc) - 14:30 CET
Please check realtime situation on www.flightradar24.com

Flightradar24 to check volcanic ashes

www.flightradar24.com
Black line current situation (date/time of screenshot)
Forecast:
Green line + 6 hours
Yellow line + 12 hours
Red line + 18 hours

Happy Birthday "Floresweg", 100 years
31 August 1925 - 31 August 2025

On August 31st 2025 it is exactly 100 years ago that the Jalan Trans Flores, the "Flores Highway" has been build by the Dutch during the colonial time.
Watu Gamba memorial is on the right side of the road at km 17, north east of Ende town and is considered the middle of the Jalan Trans Flores.

The road starts just at Danau Asmara (lake) in Tanjung Bunga, the tail of Flores. A couple of years ago the memorial "Tugu kilometer 0" has been built.
From there to Larantuka is 1,5 hours according to Google Maps but that's the theory, in fact it is around 2 hours.
From Larantuka the road crawls and bends for 660 kilometers to Labuan Bajo and passes Maumere, Ende and Ruteng. Somebody once told me that there must be 15.000 bends between Maumere and Labuan Bajo. Could be, there are hardly any straight stretches of more than 500 meters.
The Jalan Trans Flores is the most important road on the island but often prone to landslides and floods. Since a couple of years there are roadworks around Ende and in Manggarai to widen the road which comes with a schedule to close and open the road and often there is no alternative road. So this requires some time management.

Selamat Hari Raya Merdeka for all Indonesians.
A happy August 17th 2025, 80 years of independence. 
Ende town in central Flores is where Soekarno, later the first president of Indonesia founded the 5 principles of Indonesia "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika" which means Unity in Diversity.

Take care Flores.
Cheers!

New routes to/from Labuan Bajo with Wings Air

Update August 4th 2025:
Starting August 3rd 2025 the flight Labuan Baj-Praya, Lombok is daily

Wings Air has introduced new routes to/from Labuan Bajo which includes direct connections with Lombok, Bima and Kupang.

• Labuan Bajo-Kupang will start on July 20th.
  Flights are daily.
• Labuan-Bima (Sumbawa) will start on July 20th.
  Flights are 4 times/week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
• Labuan-Praya (Lombok) will start on July 22th.
  Flights are 3 times/week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. 

Jetstar ends route Singapore-Labuan Bajo

Sad news for travelers who come from Singapore.
Jetstar has announced to stop routes to Indonesia after Juli 31st. So after 3 months only there are no flights available anymore for the route Singapore-Labuan Bajo vv.
Jetstar Asia Information

The researchteam is back in Liang Bua again

Good news for history and archeology lovers; the international researchteam is back at work in Liang Bua again and will be active there for 2 months (so more or less untill the end of July 2025).
Liang Bua is the cave of the homo floresienses with a small museum at the opposite of the cave. The presence of the researchteam will make a visit more worthwhile.
From Ruteng it is about 45 minutes (sometimes up to 1 hour) to get there, from Labuan Bajo you will need 4,5 hours. 
See also 
www.livescience.com/29100-homo-floresiensis-hobbit-facts.html
and more info and websites in the Manggarai part.

New route Jetstar: Singapore-Labuan Bajo vv

Starting 20 March 2025, Jetstar will fly twice a week on Thursdays and Sundays the route Singapore-Labuan Bajo

Jetstar announcement Sin-Lbj

Komodo National Park: Close to closure? 🤷🏼‍♀️

There are a lot of articles, postings, rumours about the closure of (a part of) Komodo National Park in both media and social media.

There are a lot of proposals including one day a week, closure in the months of January and February and many many more.

Please be aware that nothing has been decided yet!
There is no need to postpone your visit to Komodo NP until further notice.

Updated: March 25th 2025

DRONES

Drones in Komodo National Park and Kelimutu National Park are only allowed with a special permit.

https://drone-laws.com/drone-laws-in-indonesia/

Happy dronetravels on Flores.
To use a drone in Komodo NP you need to register first via https://siora.id then choose for "ijin khusus videografi/drone"

Requirements are:

-application letter for Komodo NP

-copy of passport

-copy of drone license from your country

-statement letter which can be downloaded from the previous website

In case you need help you can contact them via tel. +62 81138290000 (WhatsApp) but probably best to call them since they are very slow with responding.
For parkrules you can check this website however in Bahasa Indonesia only

ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORT in case of cancellation of flights

Updated:
Saturday April 5th 6:00 CET-12:00 WITA (Central Indonesian Time = Flores, Bali etc)

The Lewotobi Laki2 volcano in East Flores is active since December 2023. There have been many eruptions with one of the biggests ones in November 2024 when 10 people lost their lives, villages are burnt down and people are homeless. There has been a lot of help from all parts of Flores, also from neighbouring islands and the government.

FLIGHTS
Due to the eruptions and volcanic ashes there were a lot of troubles with flights in particular in the second half of 2024. There were no flights between July and December to/from Maumere, but also other airports like Larantuka, Ende, Bajawa and even Labuan Bajo and Denpasar had to deal with canceled flights now and then.

On Flightradar24 you can check the impact of volcanic ashes however this doesn't automatically mean flights operate or not.

I advise to be careful with bookings ahead. Please be alert, check the news, with your airline and on sosmed.

Furthermore the Iya volcano, just south of Ende and the Ranaka have become status level II. Also the Kelimutu is active now and then.

I hope the volcano situation doesn't mean travelers stay away from Flores and they still will come.
We hope for the best but in case of another eruption eg cancellation of flights below a few tips and alternative possibilities.

Download the Flightradar24 app and set volcano activity (tab “weather”). See example below. www.flightradar24.com

Blackline = current ash area, coloured lines are the predictions (green +6 hrs, yellow +12 hrs, red +18 hrs).
If you are interested in volcano activity, please check this very informative website https://magma.esdm.go.id/ (also for earthquakes, floods and landslides).

BOATS

There is a ferry from Labuan Bajo to Sape on Sumbawa which will take 6 to 8 hours and usually leaves between 9 and 10 am (timetables often change). From there you can take a bus to Bima or Sumbawa Besar and take a flight to Denpasar. In case there are also no flights from there you can continue to Pototano port in west Sumbawa and on by ferry to Lombok, overland to Lembar and by ferry to Padangbai on Bali or flights from Praya (Lombok) to Denpasar, Surabaya or Jakarta.

There are also Pelni boats from Labuan Bajo to Bima and the Dharma Rucitra VIII which sails Surabaya-Labuan Bajo-Ende-Kupang and back again.
However they are not sailing every day. Also bear in mind that you will need a couple of days to get to Bali or Jawa.
For ASDP check here
For Pelni boats check this website

For Dharma Rutrica veryyyyyyyyyyy slow website though :-)

FROM EAST FLORES (BAJAWA AND BEYOND)

If you are on the eastern half of the island there are a few possibilities. Below the most useful ones.

From Ende Pelni boats sail to Kupang (Timor) and the Dharma Rucitra to Kupang and via Labuan Bajo to Surabaya. From Maumere there are Pelni boats to Makassar.

From Aimere (1 hour south fo Bajawa) there is a ferry twice a week on Tuesday and Friday to Waingapu on Sumba.

Finally: don’t shoot the messenger, and ….I don’t have a crystal ball 😉

A new and heavy eruption of the Lewotobi volcano
PRAY FOR LEWOTOBI!
Updated: November 5th 2024

A new and heavy eruption of the Lewotobi volcano on November 3rd/4th has caused a lot of panic, at the time of writing 10 people lost their lives and destroyed a part of the environment including people's homes.
The Lewotobi volcano is active since December last year but this eruption seemed rather unexpected and caused a lot of damage.
Eruption Lewotobi CNN
See also the message below about Maumere airport.

KOMODO NATIONAL PARK- NEW ENTRANCE FEES?

On October 25th 2024 the entrancefees for Komodo National Park seem to be raised however still not clear since only the basic fee is mentioned.

One of the online newspapers

Antara News already wrote an article, no international of articles in English available yet.

New Route: Air Asia Kuala Lumpur-Labuan Bajo
 

Starting September 3rd 2024 Air Asia opens a new route from Kuala Lumpur to Labuan Bajo.

They will fly 3 times a week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday

KUL-LBJ 11:10-14:25

LBJ-KUL 14:55-18:35

This means Labuan Bajo will become the status of an international airport.

Kuala Lumpur and Labuan Bajo share the same timezone
Source: Air Asia

Komodo National Park

Please be careful when you book a boattrip!

Most questions and comments on social media are about prices, and yes they have have raised since covid. However since Labuan Bajo has a safety issue every now and then, I strongly advise to pay attention to safety in the first place. See tips in the relevant section for Komodo NP and in the Q&A section

GOOD TO KNOW

This website is filled with information and everything you need to know for your holiday on Flores. Be aware that I am not an agent! My goal is to promote Flores and to generate an income for local people without any profit.

I try to update as much as possible. Prices and schedules mentioned on this website are an indication and sometimes not clear as they are prone to change. So always check and double check.

Contact

I think my website is pretty complete and fairly updated including places of interest and practical information. Have you already seen the Q&A pages?
If you still have questions or you need a car with driver (halfway down the page) please contact me via email [email protected] (your mail will be answered within 48 hours). 

Tel +62 81284773377 (Indonesian telephone number) is for short WhatsApp messages which cannot wait, eg for departure within one week. Please take notion of the possible difference in time with the place you are as I am most of the time in the Netherlands.

If you are satisfied with the information and/or the result please tell me, preferably via the comment page. If you are not, please let me know as well.

 A WELL MEANT ADVISE

Please pay attention to the sections about boat trips to Komodo NP and hiring a car with driver. Or check the relevant information in the Q&A section

Flowers of Flores... 

 ласкаво просимо до Флореса                                                                                                        bienvenue à Flores

     bem vindo a Flores

               Wilkommen auf Flores

   Sveiki atvykę į Floresą
                                           Sugeng rawuh ing Flores
     ยินดีต้อนรับสู่ฟลอเรส                        bun venit la Flores

                               dobrodošli u Flores                                                                                             добро пожаловать в Флорес

Vítejte na Floresu

                                                플로레스에 오신 것을 환영합니다

  välkommen till Flores                wilujeng sumping di Flores

                                                                   benvenuto a Flores

                      フローレスへようこそ

wëllkomm zu Flores

                              welkom op Flores

                                                                                     chào mừng đến với Flores
Flores'e hoş geldiniz

            vitajte na Flores              Tere tulemast Floresesse

                           ברוכים הבאים לפלורס              

     Velkommen til Flores

                                                     добродошли у Флорес

  tervetuloa Floresiin

                                          bun venit la Flores

           به فلورس خوش آمدید

                             merħba lil Flores       
maligayang pagdating sa Flores                          welkom by Flores                                                              fàilte gu Flores

         欢迎来到弗洛雷斯

                                                       Flores मा स्वागत छ
bienvenido a Flores

                                                                                            witamy w Flores

                                     üdvözöljük Floresben

مرحبا بك في فلوريس       

                                    laipni lūdzam Floresā

ласкаво просимо в Флорес
                                            benvinguts a Flores
फ्लोर्स में आपका स्वागत है
                                                                 fáilte go Flores

witaj w mieście Flores                                           vítejte na Flores

Thank you for your visit. Terima kasih banyak.
This website is made with love and passion.

Colours are well chosen: green (forest & ricefields), blue (sea and rivers) and brown (mountains & traditional villages), the colours of Flores.

You will find here travel information about the island of Flores, which will be updated frequently.

Questions? Please check the Q&A's

Comments are welcome.

Photo's

Anne Mieke  - AM PHOTONESIA©