10 Days in Komodo & Flores: Dragons to Coloured Lakes

East Nusa Tenggara (Nusa Tenggara Timur, NTT) is one of Indonesia’s least-visited and most rewarding regions. This route covers 10 days from the gateway of Labuan Bajo through Komodo National Park, then east through Flores’ volcanic interior to the extraordinary three-coloured crater lakes of Kelimutu. Dragons, diving, traditional villages, mountain roads and volcanic geology — often in the same day.

Flores road conditions have improved significantly in recent years but the interior routes remain rough and slow. Build buffer time into each segment.

Days 1–2: Labuan Bajo — Settle In & Prepare

Fly into Labuan Bajo (LBJ) from Bali — approximately 1.5 hours with Lion Air, Garuda or TransNusa; fares from approximately IDR 500,000–1,200,000 one-way (as of 2026). The airport is 10 minutes from the town centre by taxi (approximately IDR 50,000).

Labuan Bajo is a small fishing town that has grown rapidly into a tourism hub for Komodo. The harbour is lined with dive operators, tour agencies, restaurants and guesthouses. The town itself warrants only a day or two — it is a base, not a destination.

Day 1: Arrive and check in. Walk the harbour strip and book your Komodo boat tour (2 days / 1 night, departing Day 3 — see below). Browse dive operators for the diving days later in the trip. Sunset from the hill above town at Bintang Hill Bar — panoramic views over the harbour and the islands.

Day 2: Rest or take a half-day boat trip to nearby Kalong Island for the evening — the island hosts an enormous flying fox (fruit bat) colony that departs at dusk in a stream lasting 30+ minutes. Most guesthouses can arrange an evening trip for approximately IDR 150,000–200,000 per person.

Accommodation: Budget — Gardena Hotel or similar harbour-front from approximately USD 25/night. Mid-range — Bayview Gardens Hotel or Golo Hilltop from approximately USD 60–100/night.

Days 3–4: Komodo National Park — Boat Trip (2D1N)

The standard Komodo boat tour departs Labuan Bajo harbour and spends two days and one night on a wooden traditional boat (kapal kayu) visiting the main park sites. Budget operators run these trips from approximately USD 80–120 per person per day all-inclusive (as of 2026); premium options with better boats, food and smaller groups run USD 150–250 per person per day.

Day 3 stops (typical itinerary — varies by operator):

Komodo Island (Loh Liang ranger station): Komodo dragon viewing with a mandatory licensed ranger. The dragons are large (up to 3m, 70kg), unhurried and genuinely prehistoric-looking. Stay on the path and follow ranger instructions. National park entry: approximately IDR 250,000 per foreign visitor (as of 2026, verify when booking).
Pink Beach: one of the few genuinely pink-sand beaches in the world, caused by red coral fragments mixing with white sand. Good snorkelling from the beach; turtles frequently sighted.
Kanawa Island or Sebayur Island: late afternoon snorkel; overnight mooring.

Day 4 stops:

Rinca Island (Loh Buaya ranger station): second Komodo dragon encounter on a different island; more reliable for sighting dragons at the kitchen area near the ranger station.
Manta Point (Batu Bolong area): snorkelling with reef mantas — the mantas here are large and regularly encountered close to the surface.
Return to Labuan Bajo by late afternoon.

Days 5–6: Diving Days — Labuan Bajo

These days are dedicated to scuba diving from Labuan Bajo — the park sites require more time underwater than a snorkelling boat trip allows. Day trips run from approximately IDR 800,000–1,500,000 per person including 2–3 dives, equipment and boat (as of 2026).

Day 5: Book through Komodo Dive Centre, Wicked Diving or Blue Marlin Dive for guided dives to the best sites: Manta Alley (year-round mantas), Castle Rock (schooling fish, reef sharks) and Tatawa Besar (beginner-friendly coral garden, turtles).

Day 6: Second dive day or rest day — consider an early morning dive at Batu Bolong (a pinnacle covered in sea fans with strong current and excellent visibility), then afternoon free for Labuan Bajo food market and packing for the overland journey east.

Day 7: Drive East to Ruteng — Spider Web Rice Fields

Depart Labuan Bajo early by private car or shared shuttle east toward Ruteng (approximately 3 hours; private car approximately IDR 400,000–600,000; shared shuttle approximately IDR 100,000–150,000 per seat — book through your guesthouse).

Ruteng is a cool mountain town at 1,200m in the volcanic highlands of central Flores. The main attraction nearby: Cancar Village’s spider web rice fields — subak rice terraces divided into circular plots by traditional land-use systems, looking from above like a spider’s web. Free to visit; take a motorbike taxi from Ruteng for approximately IDR 50,000 return.

Afternoon: the Ruteng Pu’u traditional village near town preserves Manggarai megalithic culture. The local market (Pasar Inpres Ruteng) is active in the morning.

Accommodation Ruteng: Budget — Rima Hotel or Sindha Hotel from approximately IDR 200,000–350,000/night. Mid-range — Hotel Dahlia from approximately IDR 400,000–600,000/night.

Day 8: Bajawa — Ngada Villages & Hot Springs

Drive from Ruteng to Bajawa — approximately 3 hours on mountain roads. Bajawa is the centre of the Ngada people, one of Flores’ most culturally distinctive groups, known for megalithic standing stones (ngadhu and bhaga) still maintained in traditional village compounds.

Bena Village (12km from Bajawa): the best-preserved traditional Ngada village, with nine stone-and-thatch clan houses surrounding a central ceremonial space with ancestral shrines and stone tombs. Local guides available from approximately IDR 50,000–100,000. Entry donation approximately IDR 20,000.

Wogo Village (closer to Bajawa): smaller, less visited, equally atmospheric.

Soa hot springs (15km north of Bajawa): natural thermal pools fed by volcanic springs in the Soa basin; local families use them daily; a small entrance fee (approximately IDR 10,000–20,000). Good for road-weary legs.

Accommodation Bajawa: Budget — Hotel Edelweis or Happy Happy Hotel from approximately IDR 150,000–300,000/night.

Day 9: Kelimutu — The Three-Coloured Crater Lakes

Drive from Bajawa to the Kelimutu area (approximately 4–5 hours via Ende; consider an overnight in Ende to break the journey). The route passes through the town of Ende and into the increasingly volcanic landscape of central Flores.

Kelimutu National Park holds three volcanic crater lakes on the summit of a single mountain at 1,690m. The extraordinary feature: each lake is a different colour — typically one green, one red-brown, and one near-black — caused by different mineral compositions and oxidation states. The colours also change over time; a lake that was turquoise 10 years ago may now be dark brown.

The summit trail from the Kelimutu car park takes approximately 20 minutes on foot. Sunrise is the definitive experience — depart the Moni village guesthouse area at 4:30am to reach the summit before 6am.

Entry fee: approximately IDR 150,000 per foreign visitor (as of 2026).

Moni village is the overnight base for Kelimutu — a small mountain village 15km below the park entrance with several basic guesthouses. A Tuesday traditional market in the village centre is worth timing a visit around.

Accommodation Moni: Budget — Bintang Wisata or similar guesthouse from approximately IDR 100,000–200,000/night. Simple rooms, cold water showers — entirely sufficient for one night.

Day 10: Return to Bali

Drive from Moni/Ende to Maumere (MOF) airport (approximately 2 hours from Moni), and fly back to Bali or onward. Maumere has connections to Kupang and Denpasar; check current schedules with Wings Air.

Alternatively, fly from Ende (ENE) airport to Denpasar — shorter drive from Moni (45 minutes) but fewer flight options.

Budget Summary

Category	Budget estimate	Mid-range estimate
Accommodation (10 nights)	USD 150–250 total	USD 500–900 total
Food (10 days)	USD 80–130 total	USD 200–350 total
Flights Bali → Labuan Bajo & return	IDR 1,000,000–2,400,000 per person	IDR 1,500,000–3,000,000
Komodo boat tour (2D1N)	USD 160–240 per person	USD 300–500 per person
Dive trips (2 days)	IDR 1,600,000–3,000,000	IDR 2,500,000–5,000,000
Overland transport	IDR 800,000–1,500,000 total	IDR 2,000,000–3,500,000 total

Estimates as of 2026. Prices vary with group size; most transport costs are per vehicle, not per person.

10 Days in Komodo & Flores: Dragons, Diving & Coloured Lakes