Flores

Flores is a long, mountainous island in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, between Sumbawa and Timor. Its western port, Labuan Bajo, is the gateway to Komodo National Park, while the interior holds Kelimutu's coloured crater lakes, the cone-roofed village of Wae Rebo and the megalithic villages around Bajawa. Go between May and October, when the island is driest.

Most travellers only see the western tip, flying into Labuan Bajo and boarding a boat the same day. That is a perfectly good trip. But Flores itself rewards a few extra days on land, and the two halves fit together more easily than people expect. This guide covers the island as a whole: what is where, how to get around, when to go and how to combine time on land with a yacht charter in Komodo.

Quick facts

What is Flores?

Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a chain of volcanic islands running east from Bali. It is about 354 kilometres long and only 66 kilometres at its widest, with a mountainous spine that rises to 2,370 metres at Poco Mandasawu, according to Wikipedia's Flores entry. The name is Portuguese for "flowers": Portuguese sailors called the eastern cape Cabo de Flores, and the name spread to the whole island.

The island is divided into eight regencies, from West Manggarai (where Labuan Bajo sits) through Manggarai, East Manggarai, Ngada, Nagekeo, Ende and Sikka to East Flores. Each has its own language and customs. Ende and Maumere are the largest towns; Ruteng, Bajawa and Larantuka are the other main stops on the road across the island.

Flores also has deep history. In 2003 researchers working in Liang Bua cave, in the hills of Manggarai, found the remains of Homo floresiensis, a small archaic human about 106 centimetres tall, according to the Smithsonian's Human Origins Program.

Where is Flores, and how does it relate to Komodo?

Komodo National Park lies off the western tip of Flores, between Flores and Sumbawa. UNESCO inscribed the park as a World Heritage Site in 1991, and it covers 219,322 hectares including Komodo, Rinca, Padar and a section of mainland Flores, according to UNESCO. UNESCO also notes the park holds most of the remaining areas where wild Komodo dragons live.

In practice, this means Labuan Bajo is where almost every Komodo trip starts. The island of Flores and the park are part of the same trip, but they feel very different: the park is dry savanna hills and reefs reached by boat, while inland Flores is green highland, rice fields, volcanoes and villages reached by road.

The main places to visit on Flores

Labuan Bajo

Labuan Bajo is the harbour town on the western tip of Flores and the gateway to Komodo National Park. It has grown fast around the charter and dive trade, and the Indonesian government lists it among its five "super priority" tourism destinations, according to Bisnis.com. Our full Labuan Bajo guide covers the airport, hotels and the harbour in detail.

Kelimutu's coloured crater lakes

Kelimutu is a volcano in Ende regency with three crater lakes that sit side by side, each a different colour, and the colours shift unpredictably over the years. Indonesia Travel, the official tourism site, records them as blue, green and black at times, and white, red and blue at others. Local belief holds that the lakes are a resting place for the souls of the dead. The lakes are commonly named Tiwu Ata Polo, Tiwu Nuwa Muri Koo Fai and Tiwu Ata Mbupu.

The usual plan is to sleep in Moni, the village at the foot of the mountain, and drive up before dawn. From the parking area it is about a 30 minute walk to the viewpoint. Ende is roughly two hours away by road, according to Indonesia Travel's Kelimutu page. Mornings are clearest; cloud often rolls in by mid morning.

Wae Rebo village

Wae Rebo is a mountain village in Manggarai, about 1,100 metres above sea level, with seven mbaru niang: tall, conical houses thatched from roof to ground. Reaching it means a three to four hour walk from the village of Denge. In 2012 Wae Rebo received UNESCO's Top Award of Excellence in the Asia Pacific Heritage Awards for rebuilding its traditional houses, according to Indonesia Travel. There is no phone signal and electricity runs only in the evening, so most visitors stay one night in a guest house and walk out the next morning.

Bajawa, Bena and the Ngada villages

Bajawa is a cool highland town in Ngada regency and the base for visiting traditional villages on the slopes of Mount Inerie. The best known, Bena, is a megalithic village of about 45 houses arranged in tiers around a central yard, home to nine clans, according to Indonesia Travel. In the yard stand the ngadhu, a carved post with a thatched umbrella roof, and the bhaga, a miniature house, as the Jakarta Post describes.

Ruteng and the spider web rice fields

Ruteng, the main town of Manggarai, sits between Labuan Bajo and Bajawa on the road east. Nearby, at Cancar, the rice fields are laid out in a spider web pattern called lodok, a result of the Manggarai way of dividing communal land, according to Indonesia Travel. The best view is from the small hill above the fields.

Riung and the 17 Islands

Riung, on the north coast of Ngada, is the base for the 17 Islands marine nature park, a scatter of small islands, mangroves and reefs. Despite the name, the park has more than seventeen islands; the number was chosen to echo Indonesia's independence day, 17 August, as detikBali explains. Ontoloe, the largest island, has a colony of flying foxes and a small population of Komodo dragons recorded by camera traps, according to Mongabay.

Ende

Ende is a port town on the south coast and the nearest airport to Kelimutu. The Dutch colonial government exiled Sukarno, later Indonesia's first president, to Ende from 1934 to 1938. The house he rented is now a small museum, according to Indonesia Travel.

Maumere and Larantuka

Maumere, in Sikka regency, is the largest town in eastern Flores and has its own airport. A magnitude 7.8 earthquake and tsunami in 1992 killed around 2,500 people in and around the town, according to Wikipedia. Further east, Larantuka is known for Semana Santa, its Holy Week processions, which blend Portuguese Catholic devotion with local tradition dating to the 16th century, according to Indonesia Travel.

Culture and religion on Flores

Flores is one of the few predominantly Catholic islands in Indonesia, which is a Muslim majority country. Estimates of the Catholic share vary, with one 2023 report putting it at around 70 percent, according to Agenzia Fides. The same report notes that port towns such as Labuan Bajo have much larger Muslim communities, while the hinterland is almost entirely Catholic.

Catholicism sits alongside older customs. In Bena, villagers are officially Catholic but still keep ancestor shrines and ceremonies. Each region has its own language: Manggarai in the west, a chain of related languages such as Ngadha, Ende and Lio in the centre, and Sikka and Lamaholot in the east. Weaving is a living craft across the island, and hand woven ikat cloth from each region has its own patterns.

When visiting villages, a few simple courtesies help: dress modestly, ask before photographing people, and go with a local guide, who will often arrange a small welcome ceremony and explain the customs.

How to get to Flores

The easiest way to reach Flores is to fly into Labuan Bajo's Komodo Airport (LBJ), about an hour from Bali. Several airlines fly from Denpasar and Jakarta, and international flights have also started. AirAsia's flight from Kuala Lumpur became the first international service to land in Labuan Bajo in September 2024, according to detikBali, and Scoot announced twice weekly flights from Singapore from December 2025, according to Time Out Singapore. International routes have come and gone, so check current timetables.

For central and eastern Flores, Ende (ENE) and Maumere (MOF) have smaller airports with domestic flights, mostly via Kupang. Maumere's airport is served by regional carriers flying to Kupang, Labuan Bajo and Makassar, according to Wikipedia. A common pattern is to fly into Maumere or Ende, drive west across the island, and finish in Labuan Bajo for a boat trip.

Volcanic activity can disrupt flights. Eruptions of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki in East Flores closed Komodo Airport in November 2024, according to detikBali, which is another reason to build a spare day into any Flores itinerary.

Once on the island, travel is by road along the Trans-Flores Highway, a winding route through the mountains. Hiring a car with a local driver and guide is the usual choice. Our Bali to Komodo guide covers the flight options in more depth.

When is the best time to visit Flores?

The best time to visit Flores is May to October, the dry season, when rain is rare, roads are easier and the sea around Komodo is generally calmer. The wet season runs roughly December to March, with the heaviest rain in January and February. The table below uses climate averages for Labuan Bajo from Weather2Travel; the highlands around Ruteng, Bajawa and Kelimutu are cooler and wetter.

The dry season is not always calm at sea. Strong southeast winds in July and August can raise waves in the straits around Padar, and the harbour authority in Labuan Bajo temporarily closed routes to Padar and Komodo in early August 2026, leaving only Rinca open, according to detikBali. A good captain plans around this. Our Komodo weather by month guide has more detail on sea conditions.

Overland Flores or by sea: which suits you?

Overland travel shows you the interior: volcanoes, villages and rice fields. A boat shows you Komodo National Park, which you can only reach by sea. Most people who have the time do both.

Bottom line: if you have a week, spend it on a boat. If you have ten days or more, add three or four days overland before or after.

How to combine Flores with a Komodo yacht charter

The simplest way to combine the two is to travel overland from east to west and finish in Labuan Bajo, then board your yacht. Flying into Maumere or Ende and driving west via Kelimutu, Bajawa and Ruteng means you never retrace your steps. You can also do it the other way round, sailing first and heading inland afterwards.

A sample plan for around ten days:

1. Day 1: fly to Ende or Maumere, drive to Moni.
2. Day 2: sunrise at Kelimutu, drive west towards Bajawa.
3. Day 3: Bena and the Ngada villages, overnight in Bajawa.
4. Day 4: drive to Ruteng via the Cancar rice fields, or detour to Riung.
5. Day 5: drive to Labuan Bajo, sunset over the harbour, overnight in town.
6. Days 6 to 9: board your yacht for four nights in Komodo National Park.
7. Day 10: disembark in Labuan Bajo and fly out.

If Wae Rebo is a priority, budget an extra day and night for the walk in and out. Our Flores itinerary sets out another version of this route.

Seeing Flores and Komodo by private yacht

A private yacht is the most comfortable way to see the Komodo side of Flores. You take the whole boat for your group, with its own crew, chef and route, and the captain can time stops around tides, currents and other boats. All 63 boats on our board sail in Komodo, from small phinisis for a couple or a family to larger expedition vessels with dive centres. Whole boat rates on our board run from about US$1,750 to about US$55,000 a night, with a median close to US$9,000.

Under the visitor quota that took effect on 1 April 2026, Komodo, Rinca, Padar and 23 dive sites are limited to 1,000 visitors a day, split into three time slots, according to Okezone. That makes booking entry slots ahead part of the planning, and your boat's operator handles it. Some yachts also sail beyond the park, west to Sumbawa or east towards Alor; see Alor and Sumbawa.

Browse the fleet to compare boats, or send your dates and tell us how many days you have in total. We can suggest how to split them between land and sea.

Frequently asked questions

Is Flores worth visiting?

Yes, if you have more than a few days. Most visitors see only Labuan Bajo and Komodo National Park, which are reason enough to come. The interior adds a different trip: Kelimutu's crater lakes, the cone-roofed houses of Wae Rebo, the megalithic village of Bena and highland towns that see few foreign visitors. Three or four days overland plus a few nights on a boat covers both.

How do I get to Flores from Bali?

Fly. Direct flights from Denpasar to Labuan Bajo take about an hour and run several times a day, and there are also direct flights from Jakarta. For central Flores, you can fly to Ende or Maumere, usually connecting through Kupang. Ferries and overland routes via Lombok and Sumbawa exist but take much longer.

Where is Flores in Indonesia?

Flores is in East Nusa Tenggara province, in the Lesser Sunda Islands east of Bali, Lombok and Sumbawa. Komodo National Park lies off its western tip, and the island of Timor is to the southeast. Labuan Bajo, at the western end, is the main gateway for most visitors.

What is the best month to visit Flores?

May to October is the dry season and the best time overall, with July to September the busiest. May, June and October are good months to avoid the biggest crowds. Expect rain most days from December to March, when mountain roads are slower and many charter yachts have moved to Raja Ampat.

How many days do you need in Flores?

For Komodo National Park alone, three to seven nights on a boat is typical. To add the interior, allow three to five days to drive between Kelimutu, Bajawa, Ruteng and Labuan Bajo, plus an extra day and night if you want to walk up to Wae Rebo. Ten days to two weeks covers the island comfortably.

Can you see Komodo dragons on Flores itself?

The reliable places to see Komodo dragons are Komodo and Rinca islands inside the national park, on ranger guided walks. Small populations also live on parts of Flores, including Ontoloe island in the Riung marine park, where camera traps have recorded them, but sightings there are not dependable.

Is Flores safe for travellers?

Flores is generally a welcoming place to travel, and the main risks are practical: winding mountain roads, sea conditions and volcanic activity that can disrupt flights. Travel with a licensed driver and guide inland, choose a boat operator that follows harbour authority sailing restrictions, and keep a spare day in your plans for weather.

Sources

• Komodo National Park, UNESCO World Heritage Centre
• Flores, Wikipedia
• Homo floresiensis, Smithsonian Human Origins Program
• Lake Kelimutu, Indonesia Travel
• Lake Kelimutu access, Indonesia Travel
• Kelimutu, Wikipedia
• Wae Rebo, Indonesia Travel
• Five villages around Labuan Bajo, Indonesia Travel
• Strolling through the megalithic village of Bena, The Jakarta Post
• 7 facts about the 17 Islands marine park in Riung, detikBali
• Camera traps record Komodo dragons on Ontoloe, Mongabay Indonesia
• Ende, Indonesia Travel
• Semana Santa in Larantuka, Indonesia Travel
• Around 70% of Flores inhabitants are Catholic, Agenzia Fides
• Five super priority destinations, Bisnis.com
• First international flight lands in Labuan Bajo, detikBali
• Scoot launches Singapore to Labuan Bajo, Time Out Singapore
• International flights to Labuan Bajo cancelled after eruption, detikBali
• Frans Xavier Seda Airport, Wikipedia
• Labuan Bajo climate, Weather2Travel
• Padar and Komodo sailing closed until 8 August, detikBali
• Komodo visitors limited to 1,000 a day, Okezone