Dear guests.
Thank you for trusting me and all the positive reviews.
Because of technical problems I lost the comment tab.
Luckily I had a back up so I could still fill with all comments since November 2016.
🙏🏼
Anne                                                                                                                                   June 25 2026

2026

• #159

Garry (Monday, 22 June 2026 05:00)

Had a very pleasant trip in Flores from Ende to Labuan bago.Our driver was Tontjhe was a very safe driver and had a very nice luxurious car with heaps of room.We felt safe with him driving and also the places he took us to.
Our highlights were,Kelimutu,heavens door,hobbit cave,cancas pileas ,hot springs etc so much to see and do, lots of good info on here and trip advisor.

• #158

Matthijs (Monday, 15 June 2026 15:56)

Terwijl ik op een liveaboard was bij Komodo national park heeft Anne Mieke mij enorm geholpen met het huwelijksaanzoek aan mijn vriendin. Ik had een chauffeur nodig die stiekem onze tassen op kon halen uit ons verblijf om ons vervolgens vanaf de plek van het aanzoek naar een restaurant en daarna naar een resort te brengen. Ik kon nergens zelf een chauffeur te pakken krijgen en vond via Google het telefoonnummer van Anne Mieke. Dit is een verzoek wat zij niet elke dag krijgt, maar ze reageerde direct enthousiast en is gaan puzzelen om het rond te krijgen. Ze had het dezelfde dag nog geregeld en de driver was erg aardig en servicegericht. Anne Mieke, we zijn je super dankbaar dat je hebt bijgedragen aan deze memorabele avond. Dank je wel!!!

• #157

Valerie (Monday, 15 June 2026 01:53)

2 weeks in Flores wirh much help and advice from Anne. She has a wealth of knowledge about the island, where to go, what to see, how to get around. I spent 9 days crossing the island with my driver, Mr. Peter, recommended by Anne. I had a magical time. Also, a day with Mylky visiting ancient tribal villages and hiking. A wealth of knowledge.

• #156

Marc and Marita (Sunday, 14 June 2026 01:49)

Wij hebben heel erg genoten van onze tiendaagse trip over land door Flores van Labuan Bao naar Larantuka. Anne Mieke verbeterde mijn tijdsplanning en programma op achteraf gezien voortreffelijke wijze. Onze chauffeurs Yonas en Hendra waren rustige en flexibele chauffeurs. We hadden een chauffeurswissel vanwege een communie van het zoontje van Yonas en dat betekent hier twee dagen feest, dag en nacht. Hoogtepunt was de zonsopkomst op de Inerie waar we het geluk hadden dat de zon aan de ene kant opkwam en de volle Maan aan de andere kant stond. Dit gaf een fantastisch schouwspel. Na de zonsopkomst kun je ook de schaduw van de piramide vormige top in de zee zien. We hadden een hele goede gids Sandra, één van de beste die we op al onze reizen hebben gehad. Voor de Inerie heb je echt een gids nodig want de afdaling gaat anders dan de beklimming. Het is niet de makkelijkste berg. Wij waren die ochtend ook de enigen van de vier toeristen die de smalle top op tijd bereikten. Sandra was ons aangeraden door onze chauffeur Yonas. De chauffeurs kunnen alle tripjes voor je regelen en daar hebben we ook dankbaar gebruik van gemaakt. Ze staan ook midden in de nacht voor je op om je naar het startpunt van een activiteit te brengen.

• #155

Jerusha Tan (Saturday, 13 June 2026 21:08)

Thank you Anna for recommending our driver Mr Ahmad. He was an excellent choice, professional, reliable, flexible and courteous and we had a very enjoyable day trip with him exploring the various sights in Labuan Bajo. I would not hesitate to recommend him to anyone needing a driver

• #154

Crystal (Saturday, 13 June 2026 07:41)

Thank you Anne for all of her help and particularly this remarkable website, without which my trip to Flores would not have been possible. Anne also recommended a boat tour operator and a driver to me. It makes my planning a lot easier.

Due to an unexpected funeral in the village and the cloudy weather, I did not visit Tololela village and see Kelimutu lakes as planned, which is very disappointing. But even worse, the boat in Labuan Bajo was not allowed to go to Padar Island and Pink beach due to the high waves under full moon. The boat agent did not inform me until the day before the tour, although I believe they could check the full moon time and remind me one month ago when i booked the tour. So my advice is to read very carefully each and every piece of information here on this webpage. If I had read about the full moon information here, I would have rescheduled the date of visit.

Last but not least, thank you my driver Orfin. He is a safe driver.

•  #153

Li Lin and family (Wednesday, 10 June 2026 15:50)

We just came back from a wonderful 11 days 10 nights trip to Flores and this is all thanks to Anne and her Website which is a gem. It's a wealth of information that helped us plan for our trip down to even where to eat!! Thank you Anne for vetting the itinerary, recommending the agent to help with boat trip in komodo and also recommending Pak Donatus as our driver, he is punctual, helpful and point out photo opportunities during long drives. We can't thank you enough.

• #152

Fiona &Andy Jan& Netty (Monday, 08 June 2026 00:18)

Ik kwam bij toeval aan Anne Mieke haar nummer. Ze heeft een geweldige reis van 21 dagen voor ons uitgestippeld. We hebben genoten. Alles was op ons afgestemd. Ook de chauffeur Donatus verdiend alle credits. Hij maakte het plaatje compleet.
Hij was stipt op tijd, liet ons de mooiste plekjes zien en niks was
hem teveel.

Wat een geweldig eiland is Flores. De bevolking is erg vriendelijk, behulpzaam. En alles is nog zo puur.
We hebben zoveel gezien. Mooie herinneringen gemaakt met mijn ouders. We hebben echt vanaf de eerste dag tot de laatste dag genoten. Echt alles op Flores is mooi. De natuur, zoveel groen, de eilanden, het water zo helder, de dorpjes. Vulkanen, grotten, het authentieke.
Ik zou het iedereen aanraden.
Anne Mieke ik heb je op Flores al bedankt maar doe het nogmaals. Je website is heel duidelijk. Je koppelt de juiste mensen aan iemand, je zorgt voor een ongelofelijke ervaring. Bedankt namens ons vieren.

• #151

Ally & Gary (Sunday, 07 June 2026 21:56)

We are very grateful to Anne for helping us plan a wonderful 8 days on Flores. She facilitated contact with Ahmad whom we highly recommend as a driver. Ahmad is a prudent driver, very polite, never late and always smiling. He has excellent knowledge of what to visit and where to eat.

Flores is a beautiful island with beautiful people and a laid back pace of life. For us, highlights were Kelimutu for the sunrise, the 17 Islands Marine Park, the traditional villages of Tololela and Bena (where my wife witnessed an amazing Passion of the Christ procession), and, of course, snorkelling off Labuan Bajo, including a visit to Komodo National Park.

Thank you Anne for sharing your love of Flores with us!

Ally & Gary from Canada

• #150

Armin Landert (Saturday, 30 May 2026 08:29)

I just finished a 10 day tour from Ende to Labuan Bajo, (via Moni - Riung - Bajawa - Ruteng) with Ahmad as my driver. Ahmad is a very careful and safe driver, I would recommend to anyone at any time. He is an extremely friendly person and great to travel with. We had many laughs together on the way. He has good knowledge of English and is easy to communicate. Also I would like to give a compliment to Melki, the guide I had for staying in the traditional village of Belaraghi. He has great knowledge of the culture and traditions here and is explaining all in great details. He also is a very enjoyable travel company.
My best thanks also to Anne for getting me in contact with Ahmad. It was a wonderful time and experience in beautiful Flores. Thank you all.

• #149

Wolfgang and Helga (Thursday, 28 May 2026 19:26)

I found this website and asked Anne several questions about Flores and I got very helpful answers. And Anne arranged a very good driver named Hendra. We spent an unforgetable week in Flores driving from Maumere (great snorkeling at Babi island) to Moni (with sensational Kelimutu) to Bajawa (with Santos we had a fantastic guide to climb Mt. Inerie) to Labuan Bajo via Ruteng. The trip to Komdodo and the sunset trip are really epic. Thank you very much Anne, we will never forgt Flores and maybe come back

•  #148

Mark (Thursday, 28 May 2026 15:59)

Thanks Anne Mieke for providing me with the driver recommendation. I used the services for Pak Sipri for 5 days and he provided us with safe driving and a great flexible plan of seeing Ruteng and Bajawa.
Anne Mieke - your website is a trove of treasure and I can see how much effort went to it. thanks for being such a blessing!

•  #147

Thomas Seyffer (Thursday, 28 May 2026 12:28)

The trip with Mr. Tonce was amazing. He drove very safety. Even though his English was basic, he was able to show us some hidden places. Mr. Tonce was reliable and punctial. It was nice to meet him. Thank you Anne for the contact to Mr. Tonce.

•  #146

Ad en Yolanda (Tuesday, 26 May 2026 05:00)

Op onze zoektocht naar een leuke reis over Flores, kwamen we al snel bij Anne Mieke uit. Ze heeft supergoed geadviseerd over aantal dagen, ons eigen gemaakte programma aangepast met wat we zeker moesten zien met onze wensen. Ze heeft het contact gelegd met onze chauffeur, Ahmed, waar we 6 dagen mee rondgereisd hebben, en voor wie niets te veel was. Ook het contact met een gids voor een wandeltocht en bezoek aan een dorp is door haar geregeld, super ook! De accomodaties hebben we zelf geregeld, ook na contact met Anne Mieke. Kortom, veel gezien, geleerd van het leven op Flores, met heel veel dank!

Ad en Yolanda, zeilend vanaf Nederland over de wereld

• #145

Pia (Tuesday, 19 May 2026 14:27)

Orfin was a very dependable and nice driver

•  #144

Karen & Geoff (Tuesday, 19 May 2026 11:48)

I came across Anne’s comprehensive website while trying to find information on Flores. From this I planned our overland trip. I contacted her for a driver and she organised Orfin. He was great - punctual, drove very safely, stopped along the way at some amazing places, and knew all the best places to eat. Didn’t have one bad meal. We enjoyed his company and had a great time. His car was spacious and comfortable. We absolutely love Flores and had the most memorable trip.

And a big thank you to Anne for enabling all this ☺️

• #143

Els en Marc (Tuesday, 19 May 2026 11:27)

Beste Anne Mieke,

Allereerst dank voor je tips en hulp mbt onze reis naar Flores. Het waren een intense en inspirerende twee weken. Dank ook voor de koppeling met Donatus. Een betrouwbare, fijne en deskundige man en chauffeur.

De tien dagen van Maumere naar Labuan Bajo hebben we grotendeels volgens het pad dat jij uitstippelde gevolgd. Hier en daar hebben we eigen dingen toegevoegd.

Wat is het meeste bijblijft van Flores is de adembenemende natuur en de prachtige mensen van het eiland. Dit heeft ons zeer geïnspireerd. Flores is nog niet platgetrapt door/voor toeristen. Dus het vraagt wel voorbereiding vooraf en flexibiliteit onderweg. Westerse luxe moet je op Flores ook niet willen nastreven. Flores is echt een reis.

In google maps hebben we een overzicht van onze trip met highlights en verblijven. Niet overal zijn we ook zelf geweest. Iedereen kan daaruit naar eigen inzicht en behoefte plukken. Hopelijk kunnen we er iemand mee helpen. Zelf gaf het ons de houvast die we zochten.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/KWeuTX1reMkrRisH9

Hoogtepunten waren er dagelijks. Onze top drie: het verblijf bij Loca Lobo Lodge van Agostinus. Een ronduit bijzondere man die eigenhandig deze lodge met de principes van de natuur heeft opgebouwd en onderhoudt. Het bezoek aan de 17 Islands bij Riung en de vulkanen Kelimutu (gekleurde kratermeren) en Inierie met prachtige traditionele dorpjes op de helling.

We hebben Flores in ons hart gesloten. We hopen van harte dat het toerisme het eiland niet zal ruïneren. De voortekenen (Komodo) zijn wat ons betreft zorgelijk. Flores blijft hopelijk voor iedereen die respect voor mens en natuur op één zet een unieke reiservaring.

Els en Marc, mei 2026

• #142

Shu & Ran from Thailand :) (Monday, 11 May 2026 09:23)

I found Anne's website on a FB group and reached out to her. She gave us very good advice for our trip itinerary and also linked us up with our driver Mr Tonce. He is very reliable, down-to-earth and safe driver, with many good recommendations. Thanks to both of them, we had an amazing trip and are now in love with Flores. Thank you!

•  #141

Jeyho and Munkyung (Friday, 08 May 2026 07:26)

I found this website while reading a Q&A on Tripadvisor. At first, I thought Anne was operating a travel agency, so I contacted her for a quote. Later, We realized that she loves Flores and helps both travelers and local people without any commission or personal interest.

Thanks to her kind support and thoughtful suggestions, we had an amazing and unforgettable trip to Flores with our best driver, Mr. Donatus.

• #140

Bart and Eline (Tuesday, 14 April 2026 13:34)

We contacted Anne Mieke a few days prior to our visit on Flores for advise about transportation. We changed our initial plans with her help to prevent the impact of flight delays. It was the week of Easter which means a lot of people are not available for work. She still found a driver that took us everywhere in Flores. His name was Hendra and he was very calm and polite. Hendra was an excellent skilled driver and he took us anywhere we wanted. He even stopped sometimes down the road to buy some local fruits or coffee for us or to explain about certain plants/buildings. Although English was sometimes an obstacle, Translate and verbal signs took our communication far.

•  #139

Kate and Vincent (Monday, 06 April 2026 10:52)

We spent five unforgettable days exploring the beautiful island of Flores with Tonce, and we couldn’t have asked for a better driver and guide. From the very beginning, the experience felt smooth and comfortable thanks to his clean, spacious, and very comfortable car, which made even the longer drives easy and relaxing. Every stop he chose along the way came with incredible views, and it was clear that he knows the island inside and out.
What we appreciated most was how flexible, professional, and genuinely kind he was throughout the entire trip. He always paid attention to the little details, made sure we had everything we needed, and adjusted plans without any hesitation whenever we wanted to stop, explore, or take photos. His many years of experience really showed in the way he navigated the roads, shared interesting insights, and guided us to the best spots-both popular and hidden gems.
Overall, traveling with Tonce was a wonderful experience. He made our time in Flores not only enjoyable, but truly memorable. We felt safe, well taken care of, and very welcome. We highly recommend him to anyone visiting the island!

• #138

Kasia and Georgia (Saturday, 28 March 2026 06:34)

We recently spent 2 weeks travelling around Flores with Mr Donatus and we had such a fantastic trip thanks to him. He is always on time, always thoughtful, kind, flexible, easy going and considerate. His knowledge of his island and thoughtfulness to introduce us to local guides with specific knowledge in places like Gabriel in Bajawa meant we learnt so much and met lots of interesting people. It is honestly the best, stress-free trip I’ve ever been on. We can’t recommend Mr Donatus enough. He’s an exceptional host, driver, guide, friend. Thank you so much!!! 

•  #137

Betty (Sunday, 08 March 2026 13:03)

Anne Mieke heeft ons geadviseerd onze 10 daagse tour op Flores van oost naar west te rijden. Via Labuan Bajo zijn we naar Ende gevlogen. Zij heeft ons in contact gebracht met een privé chauffeur en een prijs afgesproken. We werden door mr. Ivan opgehaald van het vliegveld. Hij spreekt goed Engels en liet ons heel veel van het eiland zien. Hij rijdt uitstekend en staat altijd voor je klaar. Het was een fantastische ervaring en vanwege de one-way heel relaxed. We zijn gaan houden van Flores en de mensen.

• #136

Anne Mieke owner website/mod (Friday, 27 February 2026 15:38)

Beste Jolien (als je dit leest)

Deze pagina is een gastenboek bedoeld voor commentaar of opmerkingen voor reizigers die al eens van mijn diensten gebruik gemaakt hebben of gewoon iets te melden hebben.
Het is geen discussiepagina waar je vragen kan stellen; die heb ik ook niet.
Aan de rechterkant van de website staat het mailadres vermeld dat wordt dooe gasten het meest gebruikt.
Via het contactformulier kan ook en daarbij moet je nl. mailadres invullen, anders kan ik je niet antwoorden.

Groet
Anne Mieke

• #135

Jolien Poels (Friday, 27 February 2026 15:00)

Goeimiddag Anne Mieke,

Wij (mijn vriend en ik) zouden een reis willen maken in mei 2026 (van 14 mei -...) van een 20-tal dagen (we kunnen hier nog wel flexibel in zijn). Mijn idee is om Sumatra (Kleine route noord: Bukit Lawang, Vulkaanwandeling, Lake toba) en Flores (van oost naar west + komodo) te combineren binnen deze tijdspanne. Ik wou vragen of je nog specifieke tips hebt, naast jouw website.

Ik zag dat je al onder heel wat posts op facebook groepen en dergelijke had gereageerd. :)

Ik ben vooral op zoek hoe we het best van de ene naar de andere plaats reizen (vliegtuig, wagen, boot,...). Daarnaast ook of we best eerst starten met Flores en daarna Sumatra of omgekeerd.

Dankjewel om dit te bekijken.

Vriendelijke groeten & een zeer fijn weekend!

• #134

Rebecca (Sunday, 15 February 2026 06:26)

Working with Anne was absolutely wonderful! She has a fantastic understanding of Flores, a big network of drivers and other contacts to help ensure your trip meets your goals, and a patience and communication style that puts her in a top tier of those who can help you plan a trip. I first reached out to her a year ago, after a friend highly recommended her. Unfortunately my first trip fell through, after Anne had helped map out many details. Still, when I reached out again this year, she was so kind and ready to help again to plan a slightly different trip - which turned out wonderful! My family and I went on a 4 day road trip from Ende to Labuan Bajo. Our driver was super nice, safe, and flexible. Together we all had a great time exploring the towns, the nature, the food, and more. I highly recommend working with Anne to plan your next trip to Flores. Her passion to help people explore the amazing island, by ensuring you connect with locals and fill your trip with activities that suit your interests, stands above. I wish the you all safe and adventurous trips on Flores. Thank you, Anne!!

• #133

Tijmen (Monday, 26 January 2026 08:54)

Anne Mieke connected us to Abdul, who took us on a 9-day trip around the island. It was lots of fun and Abdul was very flexible. He always helped with suggesting activities, places to eat or stay the night, and always respected our choices. In addition, Abdul is a super fun guy to be around! We really enjoyed the music in the car on the road in between activities. We are also very thankful to Anne Mieke for helping us on our journey, she is always more than happy to answer any questions. If you're still on the fence about visiting Flores, I would suggest to just go!

•  #132

Smile Saw (Sunday, 18 January 2026 08:25)

A huge thank you to Anne for her valuable advise for our unforgettable 7-day inland journey through Flores! At Anne’s recommendation, we were paired with our driver, Pak Ahmad. With over 10 years of experience, he is incredibly down-to-earth and reliable made us feel safe and relaxed every mile of the way. From the sunrise at Kelimutu to the "hidden gem" Mausui Savanna and the stunning Riung, every stop was amazing. A standout moment was the spontaneous local festival in Were—sipping Arak and Moke with the locals was an experience we’ll never forget!

We truly hit the jackpot finding Anne’s website, Flores Surga Kita. She shared deep knowledge of Flores POI, homestays and local culture, but most importantly, she provided professional advice and support when Komodo National Park unexpectedly closed and her guidance being helpful dealing with our liveaboard last min cancellation was invaluable.

Our salute to Anne on her passionate towards Flores tourism - and if you are visiting Flores, look no further Anne is the most trustworthy person to help plan your trip!

“Flores Surga Kita, Anne Ibu Flores”

• #131

Annet Derks (Tuesday, 06 January 2026 03:57)

Via Anne Mieke we get in touch with Mr. Donatus our driver and guide. He has a comfortable car and is a good and safe driver. He is always on time and makes a good planning.
Beside that, he is also a very lovely person and looked after us.
We really recommend mr. Donatus as your driver. We had a wonderful time in Flores!

• #130

Sabine Lambergar (Saturday, 03 January 2026 17:39)

Thanks to Anne we found Peter, our driver, who took us safely from Bajawa to Maumere. Thanks to him we also had a very smart guide through Bena and Tololela, thus making the visit to these traditional villages a truly unique experience. The guide's English was very good, which made it easier to communicate spontaneously. Peter was a friendly and very reliable person, the car was safe and very clean. I would recommend for future guests though to make more agreements in advance on working times and also places you want to see. E.g. it was a bit complicated that we stayed in a place a bit outside Bajawa(30 min by car), where Peter lived. Sometimes he seemed reluctant to come back and forth and as we could only talk ( apart from basic things) with the help of translators conversation got quickly stuck.
But these were minor problems - I would highly recommend Peter as a reliable and safe driver.Thanks again, Anne, for your help!

2025

• #129

Michella Bruins (Tuesday, 23 December 2025 10:02)

Anne Mieke helped us plan our trip and put us in contact with our driver, Wempy. Wempy is a kind and calm man who drives very carefully and keeps the car extremely clean. He speaks basic English, which was sufficient, but it did not really allow for having longer conversations.

The back seat was a bit small for the three of us, mainly because our sons are quite tall (1.85 m and 1.95 m).

It was very helpful that Anne Mieke gave us tips on accommodations. If you are looking for advice when planning your trip, we can highly recommend Anne Mieke. 

• #128

Anne Mieke - owner website-mod (Tuesday, 09 December 2025 10:54)

Dear guests,
Thank you for all the comments during more than 9 years, very much appreciated.
My activities for tourism on Flores aren't always easy partly due to different cultures and the interpretation of professionality in tourism which also can be seen as the charm of Flores.
Good to read that between the struggles are also many positive sounds. Flores is still an unexpected gem and deserves some extra time - which is also needed because of the winding roads.
Anne

•  #127

Lori (Tuesday, 25 November 2025 12:47)

I had an amazing time. Annemiek paired me up with a nice driver. As a solo traveller I felt very save. Also the flexibility of changing plans is something I really appreciated. Thank you for helping me planning this trip and getting in touch with the right people.

• #126

Mick & Dianne (Monday, 24 November 2025 05:03)

We spent six days doing the overland route from Labuan Bajo to Ende via Riung and the North Coast road with Wempy. His car was in very good condition and he kept it clean at all times, it was very comfortable and air conditioned. We felt very safe with Wempy’s driving over the windy, narrow and steep roads, he always showed care and comfort for his guests during his driving. Wempy was always on time for pickups and drop offs and always well presented. For the majority of the time Wempy communicated well with us, we would have liked to be better informed of the travel times throughout the day as this would assist is in better planning of meal breaks and rest stops eg “in another hour there is a good place to stop and eat and use the toilet”. Overall we thoroughly enjoyed our overland trip with Wempy and would be happy to recommend Wempy to other travellers.
We would also like to thank Anne for her invaluable assistance with our travels on Flores, her help saved us from making some overpriced bookings, her website has a wealth of knowledge about Flores, thanks so much Anne for making our holiday relaxing and enjoyable and for introducing us to Wempy.

• #125

Sophie Benabbes (Sunday, 23 November 2025 07:28)

I can tell you that Din is a wonderfull driver and such a Nice person . Thanks to him we had an amazing trip on Flores, hé made us discovering so many places! It was very interresting to discuss with him hé Shared a lot of informations and hé is also a generos and authentic man. We would advice him at 300 % ! I Hope we Will get in touch with him. And we would like to thank you Anne as well as you made us meet him! We were lucky to read your Precious blog.

• #124

L&T (Sunday, 16 November 2025 13:15)

We had the best time with Herry Wangge our driver. We are a Belgian couple on a 8d/7n trip from Ende to Labuan Bajo. Herry is flexible, relaxed, safe driver and cares about people. Even other tourists can count on his expertise or help along the way. He gave us great recommendations for homestays. We have the feeling that Herry tries to get to know you and optimizes the itinerary / accommodation to what he thinks you will enjoy most. Trust me.. he knows better than you :) We were lucky to meet Anna Mieke by chance along the way. She is very inspiring, putting her full energy into this work voluntary. Amazing woman! Saved us from a tourist trap price and connected us to Herry. We wished we planned for +10 days from Laurantuka and include Maumere.

• #123

Davide (Wednesday, 12 November 2025 17:37)

At the end of our trip in Indonesia, I want to thank Anne for your help to find the driver in Flores.
Our 7 days with Orfin have been so joyful and relax because we had a fantastic esperience with him.
First of all he Is a very good driver: no risks, even the road are not so good, very professional (he was on time every appointment we had) and every time available to satisfy our requests.
He took care of us: when we had some (minor) issues with the accomodation, he helped us to find the right alternative, bring sure that everything was ok.
He Is a funny guy and, at the end of our trip, we were sad to leave him: he became part of our holiday �
Really satisfied, Orfin was part of our happiness in Indonesia

• #122

John en Sandra Dekker. (Monday, 10 November 2025 06:35)

Allerbeste Anne Mieke wat een geweldig iemand ben je door ons zulke geweldige adviezen te geven! Met ons mee te denken hoe we het beste onze reis door Flores konden gaan doen.Daarbij heb je ons aan een geweldige chauffeur Ivan onze Hakuna Matata geholpen. Met hem hebben we een prachtige tocht van Ende naar Labuan Bajo gemaakt. Hij rijdt geweldig is goed in Engels en heeft ons voorzien van vele goede adviezen en wees ons op de prachtige natuur kruiden/apartebomen/vruchten (hij is bioloog) en zit vol met humor.
Ik wens iedereen zo'n mooie trip door Flores toe! Super veel dank voor alles! Warme groet John en Sandra.

• #121

Mischa Broeders en Dorinda Wolff (Sunday, 02 November 2025 08:25)

Mijn vriendin en ik hebben een 7 daagse overland tour van Ende naar Labuan Bajo gemaakt met Vincent. Wat een topper was dit! Vincent spreekt goed Engels, is enorm stipt en gedisciplineerd. En daarnaast is het een erg leuke vent om mee te babbelen. De reis is dan ook voorbijgevlogen. Aan iedereen aan te raden!

• #120

Anne & Christophe GAUVRIT (Tuesday, 21 October 2025 05:25)

We warmly thank Anne Mieke for all her valuable advices in preparing our trip to Flores : his recommendations and contacts were very useful to us in the construction of our travel! Thank you very much, Anne!

• #119

Christophe & Anne GAUVRIT (Tuesday, 21 October 2025 05:17)

We spend a wonderfull week with our driver Herry WANAGGE from Ende to Labuan Bajo! He considered our wish and proposed us many options : he introduced us to a wonderful captain in 17 Islands and to a marvellous local Guide in Ngada country. We had exciting encounters and even met his wife Ella who regaled us with her local cuisine. We warmly recommand Herry for your next trip to Flores!!!

• #118

Kate Dwyer (Saturday, 18 October 2025 22:33)

We have just spent 9 days road tripping around Flores with Donatus. He was amazing with us and our children - 7 and 9 years. He helped us so much, always offering great planning suggestions and being so flexible and helpful with the kids. In addition to being a great driver he also helped us connect with great guides and tours along the way! He always drove safely and was just so kind, considerate, helpful and funny! His English was great and he spent hours in the car teaching my son Bahasa and telling us all about Flores. I do not hesitate to recommend him to any other families. Kate, Australia

• #117

Petya (Wednesday, 15 October 2025 02:32)

I wanted to express ws my deep gratitude to Anne, who helped us organize our last minute trip to Flores and I could not be more grateful! Despite the very last minute message, she put us in touch with the loveliest driver - his name is Elcis and because of him we had the most wonderful time. His kindness, knowledge and just friendliness and wit are amazing all around! We had a much more meaningful travel because of Elcis's advice, the conversations we had and all we learnt about the local culture. We couldn't have wished for a better introduction to Indonesia and Flores than what Elcis and Anne helped organize.
Having had this be our first experience of the island and the country was invaluable. Thank you for the wonderful work you do and for all the help! I hope we return soon and tima tii woso, Elcis!

• #116

Rayann (Monday, 06 October 2025 09:11)

Hello �
We are interested in a 5D/4N. FLORES TOUR (START ENDE/ TO LABUAN BAJO) on the 24th. We are 2 people. Our flight back home is on the 28th at 14:55 from Labuan Bajo. Would that be possible please ?
Thank you in advance!

• #115

Nic (Thursday, 02 October 2025 06:49)

Thanks Anne for the informative website and recommending us to Ahmad. He was an excellent, safe driver that knows all the places! Had an enjoyable time with him! Definitely recommended!

• #114

Alessandra (Tuesday, 23 September 2025 22:12)

Thanks Anne for recommending Ahmad as our driver to explore the Kelimutu area. Your website is full of useful information! Ahmad was an excellent driver – always on time, reliable, and really pleasant to be with. The rides were smooth and safe, thanks to his great knowledge of the area

• #113

Edwin Middelkoop (Monday, 22 September 2025 03:49)

We spent 1 1/2 travelling through Flores and would like to say "Big thanks to Anne Mieke", all your tips and trics helps us at lot.
Special thanks to our driver Bram ! Bram you did a great job. It was a pleasure to meet you, you drive safely, always on time and always a smile. Thanks and dont forget "Goedemorgen ".
Our guide Melki in Bajawa was also born with a big smile and a lot of knowledge. Thanks Melki !

• #112

MALENA (Tuesday, 16 September 2025 19:18)

Good evening Anne,

I have just arrived home from Indonesia.

Sipri was a great driver , very professional and really nice. We enjoyed a lot our days in Flores and we had a wonderful experience. Hopefully we'll come back.

Thanks a lot for your recommendations.

We´re really grateful.

• #111

Dmitri (Monday, 15 September 2025)

hi, all

Anne arranged a short trip for me. Driver picked me up from LBJ port right after my scuba diving safari.
Trip was nice, very flexible. Feel free to discuss with the driver your preferences.

Highly recommended!

Thank you, Anne! :-)
Dmitri

• #110

John McBride, Melbourne, Australia (Sunday, 07 September 2025 02:07)

IF YOU TRAVEL IN FLORES,I RECOMMEND YOU USE THIS WEBSITE:
In August-September 2025 we, a group of 2, undertook a 6-day road trip from Labuan Bajo. I contacted Anne on this website via whatsapp only 2 days prior to arrival in Labuan Bajo.
I said we would like to travel with car and driver for about 6 days, and that I wished to restrict the car/travel time to 4 hours each day.
Anne responded within the following 2 hours, asking our interests (traditional villages? trecking? nature? Local culture? Etc.
An hour or so later, she sent to us an itinerary of Labuan Bajo-Ruteng-Bajawa-Moni/Kelimutu-Bajawa-Ruteng, with a rough list of attractions, and a list of 4 suggested drivers, their levels of English, the quality of the car and their quote for price. We chose one option, a driver named Oris who is a native of Bajawa; and once again withing a few hours, Anne provided us with a detailed program for the six days.

The following day, actually in the airport on the way to Labuan Bajo, I was on the booking dot com website searching for accommodation at each stop. I told Anne on whatsapp, and she spent the next hour or more advising me on the hotels while I brought up each town on the booking website.

All this, and her program was wonderful. The driver Oris was wonderful. He was relaxed, knowledgeable, talked with us like a brother or friend. He is a native of Bajawa, speaks the language, has friends everywhere along our six day route and generally made the whole trip relaxed and enjoyable. He was flexible, gave information based on his knowledge of the area, always willing to stop or make diversions for photos, short walks etc. Nothing was too much trouble for Oris, including driving us to the restaurants each night for meals, and of course meeting us each morning. This included the 4.30 am start for the sunrise over Kelimutu.

I highly recommend this website, and of course, depending on Anne for advice on the daily program as well as selection of driver.
Nothing was too much trouble for Anne on the website. Nothing was too much trouble for Oris the driver. Both are excellent.

•   #109

Anne (Saturday, 06 September 2025 15:59)

We did an 8-day round trip through Flores from Maumere to Labuan Bajo with our driver Bram, and it was a fantastic experience. He was always punctual (usually at least 10 minutes early), very kind, and extremely attentive. Although his English is very little, he made every effort to explain things and communicate with us – and with a little help from Google Translate, it worked out really well.

Bram drives very carefully and safely. We always felt secure, even on challenging roads and in heavy traffic. He also gave us great suggestions for restaurants and helpful insights for our route. On top of that, Bram has local contacts, including some guides who joined us for a day and explained things in more detail, which made the trip even more enriching.

He is simply a super friendly and trustworthy person. We would definitely recommend him to anyone traveling in Flores – it was a real pleasure to be on the road with him!

And thanks Anne for your helpful website and your WhatsApp help! Overall it was a great trip.

• #108

Alessandro Bonfanti (Saturday, 06 September 2025 10:06)

Donatus accompanied us with kindness and respect. He listened to all our requests and took care of every need with great attention. He even helped us organize a birthday party for our friend and gave us excellent suggestions on what to visit and how to plan our trip.

He is one of those people who truly enters your heart — after just five days together, we already felt sad to say goodbye.

Throughout the journey, Donatus shared so much about the island of Flores, from its breathtaking nature to its rich traditions, and took us to the most meaningful places full of life.

We are especially grateful for his wisdom, humor, and sensitivity, which made our discovery of Flores even more special.

Finally, a heartfelt thank you for taking the birthday to heart and carefully planning a wonderful surprise. It turned into an unforgettable night with local people, live music, and so much joy — we were all truly moved!

•  #107

Kathy (Friday, 05 September 2025 12:31)

We completed our 11 night stay in Flores Island a week ago. Thanks Anne for your helpful website, helpful advice via email and for organising a driver for our drive across Flores.

We had Mr Donatus who was a gentle, kind person. He took us to some great eateries as well as recommending the best time of day to visit certain places such as our hike to see Mt Inerie at the Avatar Hills. He recommended visiting a local coffee plantation near Moni which turned out to be a great place to visit.

If you are thinking of going to Flores Island then don’t put it off. It is an adventure and you will not be disappointed. There is amazing scenery, stunning islands and beaches, towns to explore and lots of lovely locals.

•   #106

Greg Lyons (Friday, 29 August 2025 10:12)

Thanks Anne for putting us in contact with Mr. Din. He was happy to go along with our ideas, too, he offered plenty of information regarding Flores life, his friends, family, extended relatives and of course areas we hadn't thought of exploring. My wife was quite ill prior to our arrival in Flores. Din immediately took this on board, took us to an apotek for supplies and tried to source the medicines to make her travels more comfortable.

We would happily recommend Mr Din to anyone wishing to travel around Flores.
Thanks again for putting us in touch with him!

We enjoyed a few meals at Happy Banana and Alma. Probably our favourites.

We booked a few days diving with your recommendation "Dive Komodo" I dive, my wife snorkels. We found the whole setup very well run and safety paramount.

Will dive with them on our next visit.

• #105

Barbara, Susanne, Marlene (Thursday, 28 August 2025 04:26)

We have been planning our holiday to Flores for a few months and found Anne‘s website and replies very very helpful. She was quick in responding to our questions and was honest and lovely. She got us in contact with Ivan from Ende who became our driver and travel companion for the 5 days that we traveled from Labuan Bajo to Maumere. We contacted him on whatsapp before we arrived and he helped us promptly with accommodation and itinerary queries, as well as wifi questions and this helped us to start our trip to Flores relaxed and ready for our adventure.
Ivan loves his island and has awesome knowledge about the history, plants and people there. His English is very good which made the communication very easy. He has a great sense of humor and with his fun approach we were able to have many laughs on the longer days in the car. He is a careful and very good driver and knows the roads really well and we felt safe at all
times. He showed us the tourist places but also places which were visited by mainly locals. He was relaxed, flexible and happy to adjust to our wishes. We stayed one night in Tololelo village and he organized it all for us. He showed us the lifestyle, beauty and people‘s kindness in Flores. Our journey through Flores will always be in our memories thanks to Ivan‘s thoughtful guideance. We would not have been able to leave with the knowledge we gained and which we want to extend on another trip in the future. We can highly recommend Ivan for your trip and a big ‚thanks‘ to him and Anne for helping us discover beautiful Flores Island.

• #104

Nele (Monday, 18 August 2025 13:02)

Anne-Mieke bracht ons in contact met Donatus voor onze tiendaagse overlandroute van Labuan Bajo naar Ende. En we hadden ons geen betere chauffeur kunnen wensen. Hartelijk dank aan Anne-Mieke en vooral aan Donatus voor de tips, de begeleiding en het goede gezelschap!

•   #103

Heinrich (Thursday, 14 August 2025 16:16)

 
We were late with our planning and had left only four days for a tour from Labuan Bajo to Kelimutu Montain and Ende. Six and more would have been better. But then we were lucky enough to find travel2flores and Anne reacted immediately to our message, gave us very good advice for accommodation (Sunrice near Ruteng and Rago's near Moni are good places with a wonderful vibe) and set us up with Herry Wengge.

We (family with two children) are extremely lucky and happy to have met him. Herry is a very nice person and a calm and professional driver. He gave us good advice on what we could realistically do and see along the way, and also for restaurants, some more for tourists and others more local, but always very good. He discussed his and our ideas and we agreed easily on a programme for the day, very much inspired by the itinerary on Anne's website (a particular mention for the Wolopaku coffee farm near Moni, if you are into coffee but have not seen yet how it's made). Herry clearly knows Flores very well and can explain quite a lot about the local culture.
We are very grateful to Anne and especially to Herry. Keep it going!

• #102

Maaike Derksen (Monday, 04 August 2025 12:50)

We spent 12 days traveling through Flores with Hery as our driver, and we couldn’t have asked for a better travel companion. Calm, careful, and always kind, Hery made the entire tour feel relaxed and smooth. He paid close attention to the kids (which we really appreciated), drove safely, and stopped whenever we asked.
We had created our own itinerary and booked all our accommodations ourselves, but we couldn’t have done that without the inspiration and knowledge we found on the Travel 2 Flores website by Anne-Mieke.

Accommodation wise, Rago’s in Moni, Nuna Bungalows in Riung, Mama’s Homestay in Ruteng, and the Eco Lodge were all outstanding.
For the tour and sights, Hery checked in with us every day, thinking along with us about what was feasible, and what to see. He also prepared us what to expect (entree fees and local guides) regarding the tourist attractions. That kind of flexibility, combined with his local knowledge, made the trip feel smooth and never rushed.
Hery took us to stunning natural places. Coca Beach became the kids favourite, and the waterfalls (to swim) were beautiful. What stood out for me were the Catholic heritage sites. The diocese recently began promoting Catholic tourism across Flores, and beautifully designed PDFs now map out the key sites. We mainly visited the historical catholic highlights: the Sika Church ( the first Jesuit church, founded by Le Cocq d’Armandville, who later mysteriously died in West-Papua) was architecturally impressive. People in Sikka were very welcoming, and in hindsight I wished I’d brought a piece of Sikka ikat as an souvenir as they have the most beautiful design)
We also visited the retreat house near Bajawa, its serenity took my breath. We also visited Hery’s own parish church (the cathedral in ede
0which added a personal dimension. In Bena, we were surprised to find a new beautiful church with carved elements that matched the motifs we later saw in traditional village houses of Bena. A special highlight was also the SVD museum near Maumere. While modest in layout, it held truly fascinating artifacts, including the excavated remains of missionary-paleontologists (like Verhoeven), and an Indo-Chinese kris that caught my eye. These objects reflect deep historical ties between Flores, Melanesia and wider Asia, dating back long before Christianity arrived. Browsing the guestbooks of the museum going back to the 1970s was fun too, I even spotted the name of a colleague.
Hery also knew exactly where to find great food. He took us to small warungs and new local restaurants ( like Kartini in Bajawa en Cucina in Ruteng) where we ate really well. The kids enjoyed every meal. At Ella Nella’s Corner (hery's wife's restaurant), they even tried the octopus caught by Herry’s father-in-law (delicious, though a bit too chewy for them), and the chicken which was enak sekali.

For those with a historical interest: I found it enriching to look up some of the places we visited on delpher.nl, the Dutch newspaper archive. Typing in locations like Sikka or ende or kelimoetoe (old spelling) brings up fascinating Catholic mission reports, articles about the opening of the Trans-Flores road, or local adat stories. It’s a great way to add context. And for botany lovers, I recommend the iSeek app: helpful when you want to identify trees or plants Hery or the locals haven't yet named for you. Another practical tip for future travelers: most places accept QRIS (Indonesia’s QR-based payment system), which meant we didn’t need to carry much cash.

None of this trip would have been possible for us ( doing it our own way and organising it independently ) without Anne-Mieke and her Travel 2 Flores website. Anne-Mieke seems to carry the same spirit we experienced in the people here: generosity, kindness, helpfulness, and a sincere wish to share something meaningful. Whether that’s just who she is, or something Flores gave her (wink wink), we can’t say, but it shows.
Her site became a constant reference point from: full of insight, suggestions, and honest, practical advice that helped us shape our route, pick our stays, and understand what was possible. She also connects travelers to local drivers. Not randomly, but by truly considering which driver fits which kind of traveller. We feel incredibly lucky she matched us with Hery. She even checked in with us during the trip, especially when the volcano erupted and our travel plans became uncertain. While we’re still waiting to see if we can fly home tomorrow, we’re very aware that the real impact of the eruption is felt by the local communities. It disrupts daily life, livelihoods, and how Flores is perceived from the outside.

•   #101

Francesco (Wednesday, 30 July 2025 14:08)

I just finished a 5-day tour of Flores, and it was a wonderful experience. The island is truly beautiful, I loved everything about it. The nature, the people, and the food were all amazing. If I have the chance to come back, I would love to spend more time exploring even more of Flores.

I want to thank Anne Mieke, who helped me organize the trip. Everything went very well, and I really appreciated her support. She introduced me to Orfin, my driver during the tour, and I couldn’t have asked for a better person to travel with.

From the beginning, Orfin and I got along very well. It felt like travelling with an old friend. He was always kind, helpful, and shared a lot of interesting information about Flores. One special moment was when he invited me to a wedding in Moni, which was a truly unforgettable experience! In Moni, we also met another girl who joined our group until Labuan Bajo, which was also very nice.

I only have good things to say about both Anne Mieke and Orfin. If you are planning to visit Flores, I really recommend contacting her. She made my trip something very special.

•   #100

Charlotte (Wednesday, 30 July 2025 01:42)

Thank you Anne Mieke for bringing us in contact with Mr. Ahmad! We planned a 7-day journey in East Flores and got a lot of information from Anne Mieke. She also connected us with Mr. Ahmad, our driver for that journey. From the very beginning, Mr. Ahmad made sure we reached every destination safely and comfortably.
Our journey through this beautiful part of Indonesia was unforgettable, and much of that is thanks to Mr. Ahmad’s thoughtful guidance. He arranged for us to meet with local guides at various points during the trip, which added a rich, authentic layer to our experience.
Mr. Ahmad is a calm, respectful, and incredibly reliable person. He is not only an excellent driver, but also someone who takes great care of both his vehicle and his passengers. You always feel safe with him at the wheel.
He knows the best places to stop for lunch or to take a break—clean, scenic, and often away from the usual tourist trails. His local knowledge, professionalism, and kind nature ensured that our road trip through Flores was smooth, enjoyable, and deeply memorable.
With Mr. Ahmad as your driver, you can be 100% certain that your journey across Flores will be a succes. Details of Mr. Ahmad +62 821-4689-4584
Many thanks! Charlotte, Gorik en Egon

•   #99

Elias and Carla (Sunday, 27 July 2025 10:44)

We decided last minute to get a Driver from Maumere to Labuan Bajo (5 Days). Anne organized Driver Bram for us. We were extremely happy with the service! Bram is a really nice guy and drives safely. We can only recommend this service. Thank you!

• #98

Marcel (Saturday, 26 July 2025 14:59)

I had been hesitating for a while about where exactly I wanted to go in Indonesia, until I came across Anne Mieke’s brilliant website, which led me to Flores. But it wasn’t just the website, it was especially Anne Mieke’s quick responses and her incredibly helpful and thoughtful advice via email that made me decide to visit Flores. Her site is packed with useful information about the island and the many travel options.

Even though I made the decision to visit Flores at the very last minute, Anne Mieke still managed to help me with organizing my trip. She suggested a great five-day route and arranged a guide for the Mount Inerie hike (the absolute highlight of my trip! Definitely go for it if you're into mountain trekking and challenging hikes!). She truly thinks along with you to help plan your trip on Flores. She was also able to arrange a driver for me on very short notice.

My driver was Bram, a very friendly, patient and respectful man. He knows his way around the island and always seems to know someone, whether it’s a local contact or a good place to eat. He drives carefully and professionally, and I felt completely safe in his car. Every day, he arrived well before the agreed time at my homestay to pick me up. His English could use some improvement, it made communication sometimes a bit difficult, but we managed just fine with Google Translate. He told me he's planning to study English a bit more, which is great to hear :-) As mentioned before in other comments: a driver is not a guide. His job is to get you safely from A to B, and that’s exactly what he does. Although Bram also helps you when you arrive at a sight or activity. If you’re lucky enough to be paired with Bram as your driver, consider yourself blessed. I can highly recommend him.

What stood out to me is how genuinely Anne Mieke cares about the island and its people. And also about us as travelers. She has a true passion for what she does, and the fact that she offers all this help without asking anything in return is rare these days. I feel like I’ve discovered a truly special corner of Indonesia, far from the typical crowded tourist spots. So please go beyond just Komodo; explore more of Flores! It’s a stunning island where the people always greet you with a warm smile.

A huge thank you to Anne Mieke for all your help!

• #97

Harold (Friday, 25 July 2025 21:53)

Flores is a wonderful island and Anne Mieke is for sure the expert. Thanks Anne Mieke!! For your great help and advice!! All the best!

• #96

Suzanne Cave (Saturday, 19 July 2025 18:31)

Anne has been a lifeline in my planning of a Flores trip with my family (myself, husband and two mid teenage children). As a result of her generosity, patience and time, I have ended up using one of her suggested routes for our trip. She also suggested Hery Wangge to be our driver for five days. For any person reading this, if you are lucky enough to book him then you are in very safe hands. He speaks English fluently although it's advisable to slow down a little if it's your first language. He knows the Island like the back of his hand, with a wide network of contacts across the island. His knowledge of the landscape and various places of interest is considerable. Hery adapted our schedule to visit places as we went along to give us the best experience. As the weather can be changeable and time is often short for those visiting this makes him a huge asset. We wanted to stay with the people of the Tolelela Village and Hery was able to arrange a specific guide who knew the village and could take us through the jungle. This was a beautiful experience which I'd highly recommend. Finally, and definitely worth a mention is his safe driving. Some of the roads are really tricky and the Indonesian people drive wild. Hery never faulted. A massive thanks to Anne and to Hery for making our trip so memorable.

• #95

Jonas (Thursday, 03 July 2025 13:06)

Thank you so much, Anne, for sharing such helpful and detailed information on your website!
While traveling through Indonesia by motorbike, your tips and insights made a real difference – especially when it's hard to find up-to-date info locally.

We truly appreciate the time and care you put into helping fellow travelers. Keep up the great work!

Warm greetings from the road,
Jonas & Viki

•  #94

Janice (Friday, 27 June 2025 10:25)

Thanks so much to Anne Meike that we had such a wonderful time in Flores. It was a very last minute trip and Anne was able to put us in touch with a reco.mended driver Yonas. Yonas is simply wonderful, so kind and thoughtful and his 4wd car was most comfortable for the bumpy roads. He drove with care and showed us the most amazing sites given our limited time. We will definitely come back again for another visit. Most grateful to Anne and the wealth of information provided on her website.

•   #93

Sandra K (Sunday, 15 June 2025 09:12)

We spend 15 days on Flores and it was great. Thanks Anne for all the information and bringing us in contact with Mr. Donatus! He is a very friendly, helpfull, carefull (drove véry safe) English speaking driver.
We also learnt a lot about the culture of Flores from him. Ánd we had fun together.
Great trip

• #92

Leny de R. (Friday, 13 June 2025 15:24)

I can only agree with all the positive comments that people have put in their reviews here. Anne has been absolutely fantastic in helping us putting our plans together for this trip. She has given us great advice re the itinerary, amount of time to spend in each place, type of accommodation etc. Her website is also very informative. We started our trip in Moni/Kelimutu and took 14 days to travel to Labuan Bajo.

Anne also put us in contact with our driver Mr Hery Wangge. We highly recommend Hery as your driver. He is kind, a very safe driver, knowledgeable and willing to adapt. His English is of a decent level. He managed well to deal with our different interests. My husband spent most of the time birdwatching whilst Hery and I went to see the sites.

Although I visited many interesting places, one of the highlights for me was the visit to the cave near Ruteng where the Flores Man (Homo Floresiensis) was found. There is a small museum on site, but I was lucky enough to meet the lead archaeologist who was happy to spent some time with me explaining their finds and the significance thereof.

All in all we had a fabulous trip. Flores is simply beautiful and the people are super friendly.

A big thank you to Anne and Hery.
Brian and Leny

• #91

Hannah M (Wednesday, 11 June 2025 11:18)

Anne is a treasure trove of information about Flores, more than anywhere else we could find. She helped us locate a driver and answered many questions and tried to help me on WhatsApp when our flight was changed and we had to make last minute schedule adjustments. We are SO appreciative of her.

Mr. Mesakh is a very careful driver and kind man. He was very willing to follow our itinerary and was always on time and helpful. He knows many good lunch spots ! The roads on Flores are hard, and he patiently drives through all weather and challenge. We worked with him for 7 days, going from Maumere to Bajawa. He speaks enough English to help with most things, but not enough to answer detailed questions about Flores. We struggled a bit with communication. I had asked him for suggestions about our itinerary and he had none and he was reticent to help us communicate when we took us to Nggela and Watublapi which was challenging. Anne was very clear that this is a driver, not guide, so we understand.

Some things I would note for others: if you really want to learn about a village or area, you need to hire a local guide. The driver is not a guide. Not all guides are the same. We had a pretty bad guide in Bajawa (Edwin), third choice because the first two were away and sick. Make sure the guide actually can communicate with you before agreeing otherwise your money is not well spent.

Flores is a very special place, and we really enjoyed our time there. Happy Divers snorkeling is great!

We would also recommend Good Moni restaurant, get a drink only at Mopi’s (skip the food), skip Maibeth in Bajawa (Milonari is better). Lekosoro Coffee also great.

Thank you again, Anne for such a thoughtful website.

• #90

Chris from Canada (Sunday, 25 May 2025 00:37)

Hi Anne,

Just wanted to follow up with your recommendation of Yonas, he really worked out for us.

He had a family event for the first few days that we arranged, so he set us up with his friend Peter. Day one Peter picked us up at 5 AM from the ferry from Sumba, after we rested, he took us to some Hot Springs. Day two Peter drove us to Inerie where we used Yonas’s Inerie Guide Ignacio, it was fantastic, my son and I made it to the peak for the sunrise. Day three they recommended another guide, Aavin, to tour the local villages, went to Manlanu viewpoint restaurant, and the Hot Springs. Day four we finally met with Yonas and he took us to Ruteng and we went to a village near Aimere plus the Arak distillery, a beach and some other sites along the way. On the last day, we continued en route to Labuan Bajo and he showed us some Rice fields and a few other sites along the way plus Todo village.

In conclusion, we were very happy with Yonas and his network of alternate driver and guides, we absolutely loved Bajawa and the Bajawa Roo hotel, I could stay there for a month easily.

Also, not sure if you get people asking about Sumba Island but our guide Daniel Bonat was absolutely fantastic, and I would recommend him in the future to other people, he picked us up at the airport in Tambolaka, toured us around for the next six days, and ensured that we took the ADSP ferry from Waingapu to Aimere, as that was essential to my itinerary.

Thanks again for your help, my children and I had a fantastic time on Flores, we will return again I’m sure.

Best wishes, Chris

• #89

Ben Coles (Monday, 12 May 2025 06:31)

Anne Mieke’s website is an invaluable resource for discovering the magnificent and magical island of Flores.

Not only that, but Anne hooked us up with an excellent driver who was not only very safe but spoke reasonable English and gave us excellent advice about what to visit and where to stay. With the help of Mr Donatus and Anne, our 9-day trip around Flores was an unforgettable experience and we hope to come back.

A big thanks to both of them.

Ben

• #88

Andy & Angela (Friday, 25 April 2025 04:42)

A big thank you to Anne who was extremely helpful organising our trip and providing tips and information that helped us so much.

Our driver was Sipri Muda and he was fantastic. Safe, caring, respectful and quiet but friendly.
He spoke great English and over 8 days got to know the things we liked doing and how long we needed, so he catered for us perfectly. We were sad to part at the end of the trip because we enjoyed it so much.
Cheers from Ange & Andy

• #87

Ron Staines (Monday, 21 April 2025 10:44)

Ann helped us out with a referral when no accommodation was available in Larantuka.
Only someone with extensive local contacts and knowledge could have done that.
Thanks Ann

• #86

Anke and Paul (Thursday, 20 March 2025 10:41)

We just travelled the mainland of Flores with Mance, a guide and driver who we got in touch with via Anne Mieke. Mance is a really nice, friendly, helpful and safe driver. He always felt when we wanted to stop for a picture. He explained and showed us everything. We had a really nice time traveling with him. We also loved Flores very much and wanted to spend more time here. Thank you Mance for showing us Flores. Thanks Anne Mieke for the assistance and information!

• #85

Cyndi (Monday, 24 February 2025 00:50)

Anne Marie was super helpful in planning my overland trip to Flores! She assisted with a friendly reliable careful driver and gave me advice on the route! I am so appreciative of her!

• #84

Chris (Wednesday, 19 February 2025 13:01)

Just got back from Flores. Incredibly wonderful trip, and all of Anne's advice and recommendations were spot on. Pak Donatus as driver was wonderful. knowledgeable, friendly, helpful, and utterly trustworthy, and the car was great quality. We stayed at Hobbit Hill (Ruteng), Sabrina Rest & Living(Bajawa - only spoke bahasa so careful if you dont), Kelimutu Paradiso Resort and Pondok Kul Kul (Labuan Bajo). I would recommend all of them, and happily stay at them again.

We organised a Komodo Island Day trip with florescharmtours. The boat was comfortable and seemed safe, and the crew and snacks were great. The dragons are unique to see, and the national park itself is incredibly beautiful, and snorkeling with manta rays is something to behold (maybe the highlight). This was the only place where tourist numbers bothered me, and it is hard to imagine it during peak. treking through komodo island looking for dragons loses a bit of the wilderness feel when your are one of 6 large groups of noisy tourists parading one after the other making noise. All trips seem to get to komodo island at luchtime in peak heat when the dragons are doing what lizards do and lazing in the sun, removing any chance of seeing them be active. it would have been nice to be able to customise trip a bit better, snorkel with mantas longer, and maybe have shorter stops at other places (pink beach and Taka Makasar are incredibly pretty but only really worth a 10 minute stop with nothing to see snorkel wise, and we didnt get to Siaba/Bidadari islands). Apart from the Mantas, I have seen much better snorkeling in Riung (17 islands national park and Bali sites (Menjangan, Gilis, Penida). Im sure this is all that can fit into the one day packed trip, and it is definitely a must do when in flores, but i would say the rest of flores is the highlight and komodo national park is a nice bonus for the region (labuan bajo and its tourism is a bit of a shock to the system after a week in the rest of Flores)

Kelimutu is a highlight and a must see, and the traditional villages were all incredibly interesting and friendly. they are all different, so see as many as you can. the landscape is just incredible too, so even just sitting in a car driving through you always have something amazing to see. every day it seemed we were going from mountains to beach and to mountains again along the most beautiful windy green roads you can imagine.

We were there in February, wet season. It was all incredibly green and lush, and tourist numbers were almost zero giving us incredible solo experiences and cheap hotels everywhere. some sites we couldnt get the views of the dry season, and the humidity makes walking harder (and if we were a week earlier would have missed komodo national park because of rain), but I would highly recommend giving Flores a go at this time of year. the risk was definitely worth it for us.

Thanks again Anne. your advice made the trip so easy, and knowing people and things were recommended by you gave me a nice sense of safety and comfort.

• #83

António Robalo (Monday, 06 January 2025 13:51)

Family trip in Flores last June. Thank you Anne for your precious advice and help with our trip. Also, Donatus proved to be a very reliable and friendly driver. I wish we had stayed longer than the 10 days we spent in Flores - maybe next time!
Antonio Robalo, Portugal

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