Trip review of Labuan Bajo and Komodo

Flores and Komodo have both been on my to do list for sometime. My friend Max in high school would always talk about motor bike trips in Flores with his Dad. Seeing wild Komodo dragons also sounded pretty cool. I finally made it.

Labuan Bajo the main hub in western Flores with an airport, and the jumping off point to Komodo, is an interesting spot. It seems split between two worlds. Old rural Indonesia and new tourism. Built up and modern, and rustic.

The airport itself felt new and modern. In fact it has more jet bridges than my home airport of Sun Valley. Then we were swamped by 100 people offering rides to the 10 people that got off the plane.

The roads are nicely paved, then bumpy. It is built up, then jungly. There is a brand new Starbucks opposite home cooked street food. I did not see a single gas station.

Town is vibrant. People come out to watch the sunset. Tourists with all accents are searching for tours and food. Yet the whole place feels quiet and sleepy. More than once we found ourselves alone on the beach or the road only five minutes down the road.

It is the first time in probably 20 years that I have at times felt like a novelty. The “Hey mister!” as you drive a motor bike down the road reminds you that while tourism is booming in Labuan Bajo and the Komodo islands it doesn’t stray far from the comforts of town.

There was part of the trip where I thought “we’ve been to Komodo, now what?” Then we found things, and we explored. Flores is huge. There is still so much to see.

Things and stuff

Getting there

There were daily flights on multiple airlines from Denpasar airport. The flight time was just over an hour and prices averaged about USD$90 round trip.

Elang Hillside Villas

Elang Hillside Villas is a cute compound of private bamboo villas tucked into the hillside. It came recommended by a family friend so we decided to give it a try.

The staff picked us up at the airport and drove us the 5 minutes to the hotel. We were greeted by friendly staff offering welcome drinks and taking our bags up the hill to our room.

The room was adorable bamboo room with a perfect view of the bay and landscape below. Below the room is the walkway along with a seating area with a couch and beanbag chair.

The staff was super helpful. They directed us to a Komodo tour, helped us arrange a motor bike, and even made a to go breakfast at 5:30a for us before our Komodo trip! They were very attentive and helpful.

I liked the location. It was five minutes to the airport or town. It was on a quiet street with nice views. If you are looking for walkability or more excitement this might not be the spot. If you want views, quiet, and helpful staff, this is the one.

Staff 10/10

Location 8/10

Room 9/10

Overall 4/5

East tours

There is an endless supply of tours and boat trips to Komodo and the surrounding islands. They all mostly visit the same spots. We took the easy route and took the one that the hotel recommended.

The spots visited were:

Padar Island
Pink beach
Komodo island
Manta point
Take Makasar
Other island

The tour picked us up at our hotel at 5:45 and transferred us to the dock. We were on a speed boat with roughly 30 people. Not our normal approach but it proved to be just fine. With the exception of Komodo island we were largely free to do as we chose.

A deer local to Padar Island eating the insides of a coconut

On Padar island we got to do a hike with amazing views of the surrounding area. Pink beach was not as pink as we expected but had some nice snorkeling as well as a warung (small shop or cafe) where we were able to get more coffee.

Komodo island was a walk through the jungle that was very mild. We ended at the beach where some dragons were hanging to escape the heat. It was very cool to see in the wild. That said it was slightly more orchestrated than I would have liked, but they delivered so….

Before moving on they fed us a box lunch. Then we moved on to Manta point. This was my highlight. The boat circled for a minute before the guide jumped in and urged everyone to do the same. We swam with manta rays and it was unreal. They were so big and elegant. Other fish played with them. It was quite the sight.

After Manta we went to Taka Makasar which is an “island” that is just a strip of sand poking out of the middle of the ocean. It was a very cool photo op. The last spot was another island that was neither memorable or necessary. At that point we didn’t need another beach or snorkeling that was underwhelming after the other spots. Besides we were hot and tired.

Overall this trip was a great way to hit all of the must see spots in one day. Komodo island was probably the only one I wish I had more time.

We used East Tours and the staff was super friendly and attentive. If I were to do it again and had more time I would look into doing a multi day live aboard. They seemed to be a slower pace and more personalized. Plus the idea of waking up on a boat in some of these places seems pretty cool.

Staff 9/10

Amenities 7/10

Value 7/10

Overall 8/10

G’Spot

We found this spot while motor biking around on our first afternoon. We worked up a sweat and thirst after hiking up from a (possibly abandoned) beach side hotel G’Spot proved to be a perfect spot to refresh and catch the sunset.

Perched high on the cliff, G’Spot faces west towards Komodo and the other surrounding islands. The menu is very limited but the view for sunset is perfect.

Food N/A

Service - friendly

Ambiance 10/10

Overall 9/10

Waecicu Beach

This spot was recommended to us as a nice beach to visit. It was adequate.

For being in a harbor, the water felt swimmable. The beach itself was nothing to write home about. There is a little bar/restaurant for snacks and drinks which is nice. For us it didn’t warrant more than a coffee and a jump in the water.

Location 6/10

Ambiance 6/10

Visit 3/5

Overall 6/10

Taman Laut Seafood Restaurant

This restaurant was recommended to us by our hotel. It is a classic nice indoneisan seafood restaurant, but with a view. Situated on the hill overlooking the port of Labuan Bajo there is a view of all the action. If you time it right it would be a perfect spot to see sunset while enjoying dinner.

The food was the usual mix of indonesian grilled or fried seafood. The food was all tasty but not mind blowing. The prices were a bit more than if you went to the fish restaurants down the street, but with significantly less flies.

Food 7/10

Service 8/10

Ambiance 10/10

Overall 7.5/10

Carpenter Cafe and Roastery

Yes, I am a coffee snob. I am not too good for instant coffee, but I do crave a nice cappuccino from time to time. Labuan Bajo didn’t jump out as the coffee destination.

Apparently there is a growing demand for coffee from Flores. One afternoon while walking through downtown we stumbled across Carpenter Cafe and roastery. What a pleasant surprise. Wonderful space to hang with tasty coffee!

Food (unknown)

Service 9/10

Coffee 9/10

Ambiance 8/10

Overall 9/10

Go here!

Copper Bonnet Bistro & Bar

We really couldn’t figure out what we wanted for lunch one day and wandered until we came across this. The front was more of a dive shop, but the back was a very hip little restaurant.

It had a modern vibe with a slightly upscale menu. The food was a mix of Indonesian and western foods with nice looking cocktails.

We shared the pickled veggies and the grilled corn salad appetizers, both really tasty. For mains we had the gado-gado and Ayam waku. Everything was delicious with nice presentation.

The prices were more on the western side of things. They did have a lunch special that made it very reasonable.

Food 8/10

Service 9/10

Ambiance 8/10

Overall 8/10

Rangko Cave

I’m not entirely sure how we came across this one, but it turned out to be a highlight. Rangko cave is only accessible by boat and is situated north east of Labuan Bajo.

We had rented a scooter in town, and although our hotel was unsure if we could get there we set out on an adventure. After we got out of town, it took us probably forty five minutes of beautiful winding coastal hill roads with barely a vehicle on the road to get to the little village to look for a boat. For me just the drive alone was worth it.

There is no real harbor or tourist center, or restaurants for that matter. There are a handful of signs talking about it, so we pulled off the road to search. Before we got to far another motorbike stopped to talk to us. It turned out (surprise) that the guy had a boat. I went against my normal reaction and said yes. He gave off a great energy.

We followed him down some narrow paths and parked at his house before walking down to the beach. Five minutes later we were in his boat pushing out to see through the low tide.

It was a beautiful roughly thirty minute ride through turquoise waters to the pier at Rangko Cave. It is a short hike to the cave entrance (past a ticket taker of course). We got to the cave at roughly 11am and had the place entirely to ourselves. It was quite dark but once our eyes adjusted it was magical. A snorkel and or waterproof light might be nice. Also our guy said that around three pm the light shifts and comes through the entrance filling the cave.

We swam in the salt water cave for maybe thirty minutes before heading back. As we left there were two groups showing up. In all it was probably a three hour excursion and worth every minute. I highly recommend it if you have a morning or afternoon to kill in Labuan Bajo.

Time 3 hours

Worth it 4.5/5

Fancy hotel restaurant

On our last night we opted to have our fancy night. As we’ve done in Hawaii we’ve visited fancy hotels at sunset for a cocktail or meal. It is fun to live it up without the price tag of the room.

We went to Ayana resort and hotel and got there right at sunset. We headed down to Kisik their seafood restaurant on the beach. It was stunning. We were right on the beach watching the sunset behind the islands.

My cocktail was delicious. What a way to spend sunset. We went all in and decided to have dinner. Like a fish market you pick what you want to cook, it is priced by the gram, and all grilled. The seafood seemed very fresh and clean. Everything was super tasty. Included with the meal was a salad and soup starter, as well as rice.

The meal was wonderful, the location amazing, and the staff great. It was not an everyday meal, but fun to splurge. There was also a rooftop bar that could be a nice alternative for sunset.

Food 9/10

Staff 9/10

Ambiance 10/10

Price $$$$

Beaches

The one thing I will say about Labuan Bajo was the beaches were overwhelmingly underwhelming.

We found one hidden spot that we liked. However just about every other beach accessible by vehicle was either covered in trash, filed with boats, or not very deep or swimable. It seems most beaches worth visiting are a boat ride away. They are either on neighboring islands or along rugged parts of the Flores coastline not accessible by motor vehicle.

If you have been and found beaches you liked, please let me know. I am hoping I will visit again.

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I am so happy that I finally got a chance to finally visit East Nusa Tengara. It was such a nice blend of modern amenities and old world Indonesia. The pace of life felt slow, and the roads beautiful and empty.

Hopefully I can come back again soon and explore some of the small neighboring islands as well as travel further east into the heart of Flores.

If you’ve been and have suggestions please leave a comment. I am always looking for more suggestions.

Happy travels