Trans-Flores Highway in Flores

Part of the Flores travel guide — see every topic in All Flores Guides.

The Trans-Flores Highway runs the length of the island from Labuan Bajo in the west to Larantuka in the east, roughly seven hundred kilometres of two-lane road that spends almost all of it climbing, descending and turning. There is essentially no straight section. It crosses volcanic ranges, drops to coastal plains, passes through Manggarai, Ngada, Ende, Lio and Sikka territory, and takes four to seven days at a sensible pace. It is the reason to come to Flores rather than only to Komodo.

The route

West to east: Labuan Bajo, then up to Ruteng at 1,200 metres with the spider-web rice fields at Cancar nearby; on to Bajawa, a cool highland town below the perfect cone of Mount Inerie, with the megalithic Ngada villages of Bena and Luba; down to Ende on the south coast, where Sukarno was exiled in the 1930s; up to Moni for Kelimutu; then Maumere on the north coast for diving, and finally Larantuka at the eastern tip. Detours run north to Riung's marine park and south to the Wae Rebo trailhead.

How to do it

Three options. A car with driver, at 700,000–1,200,000 rupiah a day plus fuel and the driver's accommodation, is the standard and the most flexible — it lets you stop at villages, markets and viewpoints, which is the entire point. Public buses and shared minivans (travel) connect the towns cheaply but slowly and on their own schedule. Motorbike is the adventurous option and is genuinely demanding: the road is narrow, the surface varies, and the days are long. Allow five days minimum; a week is better.

What the driving is like

Continuous curves. Motion sickness is close to universal on the first day and drivers carry plastic bags for a reason. Average speeds are thirty to forty kilometres an hour, so distances that look short take hours: Labuan Bajo to Ruteng is around 130 kilometres and four hours. The surface has improved substantially over the past decade but landslides close sections in the wet season. Fuel stations are spaced out, so fill up when you can, and drive in daylight — there is no lighting and livestock use the road.

Practicalities

Fly into Labuan Bajo and out of Maumere or Ende, or the reverse, so you do not repeat the road. Cash is essential: ATMs exist in the main towns and are unreliable, and almost nothing outside Labuan Bajo takes cards. Accommodation along the route is homestays and simple hotels at 150,000–600,000 rupiah, with a handful of better places in Bajawa and Moni. English is limited outside the tourism pockets, which is part of why a driver earns their fee. And take the motion sickness seriously.

Trans-Flores Highway at a glance

More in Flores

All 15 Flores guides·Indonesia tourist maps

Featured Videos