Flores Surga Kita - Flores Our Paradise, a superb destination in Indonesia

Lewotobi volcano level 4: please be aware!
Latest eruption on July 14th 2025

On Monday morning July 14th there were again many eruptions of the Lewotobi Laki2 volcano. Only a week after the heavy eruptions of July 7th sending an ash cloud of 18 kilometers in the air.
For the time being there are no disruptions of air traffic.
The activity of the Lewotobi volcano often leads to discussions with travelers. The fact is that the level is the highest on 4 already for a long time and although everything seems to be ok from the outside we just don't know if and when.
Please stay alert!

The Lewotobi volcano is active again since December 2023. Since then there have been a lot 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.

It also disturbed flights in the last 18 months. The most vunerable and affected airport is Maumere (no flights during 6 months in 2024) but in case of a heavy eruption (like on June 17th) also flights to/from other airports (Ende, Bajawa, Larantuka and Labuan Bajo) can be canceled. And even flights to/from Denpasar, Bali.

Please note that this can happen at any time and we just don't know when it ends.

Advise:
Before your trip please check the news frequently (I try to update as quick as possible).
To minimize problems:
If you do an overlandtrip and you are not traveling further east in Indonesia (Kupang, Makassar etc) best is to fly first first then overland by car or public transport to Labuan Bajo and from there back to Denpasar, Jakarta or Kuala Lumpur.
If you are on a tight schedule it is better ro choose for Ende than for Maumere.
If you intend to dive east of Maumere you can use Larantuka (closer than Ende)

In case of an eruption close to your date of flight contact the airline.

For information about volcano's, but also earthquakes, landslides and floods, please check the Indonesian website of the government.

https://magma.vsi.esdm.go.id/

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:
Monday July 14th 13:20 CET - 19:20 WITA (Central Indonesian Time = Flores, Bali etc)

Flightradar July 7th 11:20 CET - 17:20 WITA (Central Indonesian Time = Flores, Bali etc) EXAMPLE!

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

New routes to/from Labuan Bajo with Wings Air

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.

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 ;-)

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).
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 floressurgakita@gmail.com (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