This is a highly requested topic and I’m sorry I’ve been putting it off. I should have written about the Flores itinerary before the Pantai Paris Homestay entry. Anyway, I hope you’ll get a better overview of how our journey went.

#momokandcogoestoflores. Guess who was the actual momok?

Overview

Our whole trip actually lasted 15 days as we spent a few days in Bali as well. To keep things simple, I’ll be focusing more on Flores here.

Kuala Lumpur – Bali – Maumere – Moni – Bajawa – Ruteng – Wae Rebo – Labuan Bajo – Bali – KL

Details on what we did each day are outlined below. I have written a blog post on Pantai Paris Homestay here, and Wae Rebo here. Alternatively, you can check out our posts on Instagram with the hashtag #momokandcogoestoflores.

If you’re planning to go the same route we did, be sure to check the travel times with the locals or your driver. The Trans-Flores highway is a two-lane, zig zag road connecting all parts of Flores. It’s always safer to allocate more time to enjoy each place. Rushing will get you nowhere – you’ll be exhausted, and you won’t it.

The most popular of East Nusa Tenggara’s attraction of course, lies in Labuan Bajo. I can assure you we enjoyed the lesser known parts of Flores just as much. There is definitely a lot to be discovered!

We chose to start in Maumere because my sister and I had family friends we wanted to visit there. We wish we could have stayed longer and go to Larantuka, where they were originally from.

Expenditure

Here’s a rough breakdown of what we spent. Keep in mind the accommodation, trips and transport were split between the four of us.

Flights:

• KUL – DPS: RM 180
• DPS – MOF: RM 290
• LBJ – DPS: RM 200
• DPS – KUL: RM 180

Accommodation: RM 200/pax

Sailing Trip & Wae Rebo: RM 900/pax

Transport Maumere – Lembor: RM 205/pax

Sunset at Gili Lawa

Tips

• Labuan Bajo has a wide range of accommodation suited even for luxury travellers. Not so much for the smaller towns.
• Support ecotourism and book your accommodation through the Flores Homestay Network!
• Bring enough cash. I think you can only find ATMs in LBJ and Ende.
• Other options for transportation: riding a motorbike or a public bus. Some solo travellers benefit from sharing a driver with other travellers. You can ask your accommodation to arrange this for you.
• The people of Flores are mostly Catholics but halal food was actually easier to find than I thought it would be. The Muslims operating nasi padang stalls are usually Javanese. If you’re fussy and constantly hungry then go for the Pop Mie lah okay.
• Embrace their song and dance. I’ve never heard so much reggae music in my life, plus it’s a fun ice-breaker!
• Motion sickness meds – just bring them along. You will thank me.
• Be wary of do’s and don’ts of each place you’re about to visit. Learn about the people and places before going. I can’t stress this enough maybe because I’m a nerd, but also, it’s a matter of respect.

I hope this has been useful. Now, a present from me: a downloadable PDF version of the itinerary here.