Beyond Bali: Exploring Flores Island

Like most people, I was guilty of only planning on going to Bali for my first trip to Indonesia. There’s just no denying that that’s usually what all the hype is about, right? But the more I researched, the more I found that there was SO MUCH more to see in Indonesia, including the amazing, Flores Island.

So I dug a little deeper, and found another area of Indonesia that especially caught my attention; Flores Island. Why? Well to be honest, I have this personal goal of going to all of the New 7 World Wonders of Nature, and Flores has one of them; Komodo Island. But additionally, all I had to do was take a peak at the Google Images for the island, and I was hooked.

Have you ever seen different colored volcanic crater lakes in the middle of a jungle before? Or hiked a hill with a birds-eye view of an island that has three different colored sand beaches? For my Game of Thrones fans, animal lovers, and everyone’s inner child; have you ever wanted to see a real dragon in real life? Flores Island in Indonesia has ALL of that, and more!

So how do you get to Flores Island? How in the heck do you get from one side of the island to the other, plus all of the places in between? Everything you could ever possibly want to know, is below!

How to Get to Flores Island

Let’s just say that it’s a bit of an adventure to get to Flores Island. You’ll first need to fly to Bali, which, I can also give you tips about as well since I’m basically a pro flight price hacker. From my experience, using the flexible search options on the airfare comparison site, Skyscanner.com has always found me the cheapest flights to Bali.

I’ve done full tutorials on how exactly I do this, which you can see in some of my other posts below:
–How to Find the Cheapest Flights to Indonesia

–How to Get to Komodo Island on a Budget

Or you can just search and compare the cheapest flights here.
Once you get to Bali, you’ll next need to take a flight or a boat over to Flores Island. The flights are only about an hour long and only cost around $100 or so, and I personally would recommend that route because I’ve heard it’s a lot safer than taking the boats. Flights run every day at the same time, and the boats are on a constant schedule as well.

You have a couple options for where you can fly into, it will mostly just depend on what you want to see first (maybe also factor in weather, time of the week, etc.). We flew into Komodo first, and from Komodo flew to Ende, where we had to take a bus inland in order to see the volcanic crater lakes. Then we continued by bus to the opposite of the island, Maumere, where we caught a flight back to Bali.

Best Things to See on Flores Island

Since my main focus was the Komodo Islands, I spent the most time there, and so of course, have the most recommendations for that area. In all honesty I feel like I could have skipped Maumere, however would 100% recommend making the trek to Ende to see those crater lakes! So here’s my list:

#1 Komodo Island

The actual island itself is not that pretty at all. In fact, it’s basically like a big, dry, reptile cage that you can walk around in. But, it is the only place in the world where you can see the super rare, super creepy-looking Komodo Dragons in their natural habitat. That’s why it was voted onto the list of the New 7 World Wonders of Nature!

But to be completely honest with you again…I have no idea who in the heck they let vote for that. In my opinion, there are definitely a lot of other natural places in the world that I think deserve the spot!

#2 Scuba Diving/Snorkeling in Komodo Islands

Aside from one of the islands randomly being home to giant lizards, the Komodo Islands as a whole (cluster) are also well known for their incredible underwater scenery. I arrived a day late, so I didn’t get to scuba dive, but that didn’t stop me from snorkeling and free diving down to the reefs! So far I’ve only scuba dove in the Maldives, Miami, and recently the Red Sea in Egypt, and out of those three I’d say that even without going too deep, Komodo Islands had the most colorful, “pretty” corals and fish I’ve seen.

I also get to proudly brag that even though I did not get to go scuba diving, I DID get to swim with Manta Rays! I spotted them flopping around in the water and my cool little Indonesian boat captain let us just jump off the boat with some snorkels! Apparently they were eating, because they kept swimming in circles around me with their mouths open like vacuum cleaners. Whatever the little microorganisms were made the water cloudy, and I’m pretty sure a few stung me. I also noticed that some had bioluminescence (flicker blue lights), so yeah, that was cool, but not as cool as constantly turning around to see a 9 foot sea creature flying by!

#3 Volcanic Crater Lakes – Kelimutu National Park

This is where those three different colored volcanic crater lakes are that I mentioned earlier. It’s pretty much in the middle of Flores Island, and like I also mentioned, you need to fly (or take a really long bus) to Maumere, then a bus or car to Kelimutu National Park. You also have to get there early AF, and I’m not just saying that so that you get a good picture. Well, wait. Yes I am actually, because if you get there any later than sunrise, the fog covers the two coolest looking craters due to temperature differences.

By the way, volcanic crater lakes are hot. Like, a lot hotter than the cool climate up at the top of the extinct volcanoes. That’s why the fog/clouds form over them. Yes, I was a science nerd in college. Any who, if anyone is wondering how these three lakes get their pretty shades of blue and greet, it has to do with the acidity of the water, which comes from the earth below it, and changes constantly. The greener the more acidic, and the darker the blue the more basic. Either way, all three of them are extremely dangerous, so no…you cannot touch the pretty water.

You also need a guide to go up to the crater lakes (at least it says so at the little info booth), and I’d highly recommend bringing a lot of warm layers. Not joking, we were all seriously confused about why it was so cold in Indonesia, but remember, you’re at the top of a volcano. I’d also recommend setting up a GoPro on time lapse mode if you have one!

#4 Padar Island in Komodo

Padar Island used to be my number one recommendation a few blog posts ago, but after thinking back on things, it was the above three rare sites that stood out the most. But Padar Island is also a super rare site, so it definitely deserves a spot on the list! What’s cool about Padar Island is that if you hike up a small mountain, you get this incredible view its three beaches at once; all of which have different colored sand. I shit you not, you can see the colors with your own eyeballs, and they aren’t just different shades of white!

One beach has black sand, one has freaking pink sand, and the third (which you dock at) is bright white. Even if you are color blind it’s still an incredible site to see, I swear! Make sure you bring water, water shoes/sneakers if you have them, and sunblock!

#5 Coconut Garden Beach Resort

As I mentioned before, I probably could have skipped Maumere because there wasn’t a terribly ton of things to do there. BUT! That’s also coming from an over-ambitious adventurer/workaholic who can’t relax for more than five minutes without getting antsy. That’s why I’m including Coconut Garden Beach Resort on the list, because it really was a nice place to just chill out and relax.

This quiet little seaside resort is on a black sand beach that’s totally secluded from everything. I’ve not been so impressed with the design and layout of bungalows since I was in an over-water one in the Maldives, and even those fancy ones were not as creatively put together as these ones. The owner/creator not only must have thought out the design of each and every private bungalow thoroughly, but he also employed a lot of the locals to work there, and uses a portion of the revenue to build a local school!

Travel Gear I’d Recommend Bringing to the Flores Island:

GoPro Hero 5 Black (waterproof)                   GoPro Hero 5 Session (waterproof)

GoPro Dome (under-over water shots)              GoPro Memory Card                 

Selfie Stick PLUS Tripod Attachment           Water Shoes/Sneakers

 Lifeproof Phone Case                             GoStrap (Can’t drop your phone)

Waterproof Mascara                                       Natural Sunscreen

 Collapsable Travel Backpack                  Quick Drying Travel Towel                  

            Weekender Bag                                                   Granola Bars

Disclaimer: This post is in collaboration with Skyscanner, who so graciously brought me to Flores Island in Indonesia to write about my awesome findings. All photos and opinions are my own.