Perfect 7 Day Itinerary in Flores
Part of the Flores travel guide — see every topic in All Flores Guides.
A week is the minimum for a proper Flores overland trip and it works cleanly west to east: fly into Labuan Bajo, drive the Trans-Flores Highway with a night in each of the main towns, and fly out of Ende or Maumere. The rhythm is one substantial drive and one or two stops each day, because that is what the road allows. This assumes a car with driver, which at 700,000–1,200,000 rupiah a day is the only practical way to do it.
Days 1–2: the west
Arrive Labuan Bajo. If you want Komodo, take a day or two on the water first — Padar, Rinca and the mantas — before starting east; it is a separate trip and deserves its own days. Otherwise drive east to Ruteng, four hours through the hills, stopping at the Cancar spider-web rice fields on the way. Ruteng is cool at 1,200 metres. Liang Bua cave, where Homo floresiensis was found, is nearby if the timing works.
Days 3–4: Bajawa and the megaliths
Ruteng to Bajawa, four to five hours through some of the best scenery on the road. Bajawa sits at 1,100 metres under the cone of Mount Inerie. Spend the next morning in the Ngada villages — Bena for the megaliths and the ridge setting, Luba for the quieter version, and Tololela if you have the legs — then the Malanage hot springs in the afternoon, where a hot volcanic stream meets a cold river. Coffee from a local farm on the way back.
Days 5–6: Ende and Kelimutu
Bajawa to Ende, four to five hours, dropping to the south coast with the blue-stone beaches and Mount Ebulobo behind. Ende is where Sukarno was exiled in the 1930s and his house is a small museum. Continue to Moni, ninety minutes on. Up at four for Kelimutu's three crater lakes at dawn — and stay past sunrise, because the cloud often clears at eight or nine. Afternoon at the waterfalls and rice terraces around Moni.
Day 7 and variations
Moni to Maumere, around three hours, for the flight out — or stop at the Lio weaving villages of Nggela and Jopu on the way. With ten days, add the Wae Rebo trek in the west, which needs two days of its own and is the most memorable thing on Flores. With two weeks, continue to Larantuka and take a ferry east to Lembata or Alor. And if you only have four days, do Labuan Bajo, Bajawa and Kelimutu and fly out of Ende.
Perfect 7 Day Itinerary at a glance
| Direction | West to east; fly out of Ende or Maumere |
|---|---|
| Days 1–2 | Labuan Bajo, drive to Ruteng, Cancar rice fields |
| Days 3–4 | Bajawa, Bena and the Ngada villages, hot springs |
| Days 5–6 | Ende, Moni, Kelimutu at dawn |
| Add 2 days | Wae Rebo — the most memorable thing on the island |
| Transport | Car with driver, IDR 700,000–1.2m a day |