Things to do in Labuan Bajo

Labuan Bajo Things to Do

Besides the famous Komodo Island, many other exciting places around this part of Indonesia are worth exploring. Here is a list of things to do in Labuan Bajo, Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia.

Many may only know Komodo Island, located about an hour from Labuan Bajo. After visiting Flores twice last year, I can now share many other things to do here.

Things to do in Labuan Bajo

Your main gateway into Flores is also the city of Labuan Bajo or Ende, where there are direct flights available from Jakarta and Bali, and most visitors would fly into Labuan Bajo for the opportunity to see the Komodo Dragons or for their diving trips here.

I have personally visited Flores twice, once with the #TripofWonders and recently in September 2016 with Skyscanner Indonesia therefore; on both trips, I managed to see quite a bit of Flores Island and also Labuan Bajo, where I can now share my experiences with the would-be visitor here. 

Komodo Dragon
Komodo Island Tours.

1. Visit Komodo National Park

This is the number one place to see the world's largest lizard, the Komodo Dragon. Four islands are home to the Komodo Dragon, but only two are open for visitors: Komodo Island and Rinca Island.

You can book day trips to these islands or an overnight live-on-board boat experience to several islands. Prices range anywhere from IDR 600,000 to IDR 2,000,000 per person, depending on the type of Komodo Island Package you choose, and most people would do a 2D/1N live-on-board trip. 

Komodo Pink Beach
Pink Beach at Komodo Island.

2. Visit Pink Beach

One of the most unique beaches in the world is found here in the Komodo National Park, which has a beautiful and sweet pink beach!

Around nine pink beaches are located around the national park, where most Komodo Island tours will bring you to the most popular one on Komodo Island.

The Pink Beach at Komodo Island is also perfect for photo shooting and social media, and in general, this place attracts people from all walks of life, so coming here on a weekend will indeed be crowded.

Snorkelling here is quite impressive, too, as the marine life is awe-inspiring. Some even take a 15-minute hike up the main hill that overlooks the pink beach for that epic landscape photo. 

3. Go Komodo Island Hopping

For sun-seekers, photographers, and explorers, there are several beautiful islands around the national park, and visiting them can be arranged with your boat or tour operator.

Note that the price is slightly different when you book a multiple-island hopping package in Labuan Bajo. It is always best to ask about the costs and islands you are visiting before you confirm the trip. 

4. Experience Sembilan Island Stingless Jellyfish

I have heard about this place but have yet to get a chance to visit it due to time constraints. Some tour operators offer tours to Pulau Sembilan or Nine Island, where there is a small pond on the island home to a species of sting-less jellyfish where you can snorkel and see them. Truly unique, and this is one of my following places to visit in Flores.

Photo of Padar Island
There is a stunning view of Padar Island on the left side.

5. Do Padar Island Photography

Hands down, the most epic photo you will get at the Komodo National Park. Padar Island is part of the national park, and many visitors come here to trek to the top of the island for their epic photos and mesmerizing views.

The trek up is around 30 to 40 minutes, depending on your fitness level and once up there, all your tiredness will vanish. The Padar Island photo went viral a few years ago after an epic photo of someone standing with a fantastic view went viral in Indonesia.

Now, hoards of local and foreign tourists, some even dressed up, make their way here to get that epic photo at the top of Padar Island.

6. Visit the Manggarai Cultural Village

A very ethnic cultural village located in the highland of Flores, which is around an hour's drive from Labuan Bajo, where you can see the Manggarai tribe perform their traditional dances (Caci Dance) while sampling some of the local food and also local Flores Coffee.

Suitable for culture lovers, this experience would take around three to four hours and needs to be booked by one of the local tour agents in Labuan Bajo.

Sunset Labuan Bajo
A beautiful Labuan Bajo Sunset.

7. Do Sunset Watching at Labuan Bajo

The best place to see the Labuan Bajo Sunset is from the many beaches or some modern beach resorts and bars facing the west.

I have seen beautiful sunsets from the hotels I have stayed at, namely the Sylvia Waicicu Beach Resort (www.sylviaresortkomodo.com/), which I highly recommend, Le Pirate Hotel for hipsters and for the family traveller, Laprima Hotel (Email reservation@hotellaprima.com) by the sea.

Other sunset-watching places in Labuan Bajo are Atlantis Beach Club or Paradise Bar, which sits on a hill overlooking the bay where you can have cocktails or a drink just before dinner.

For those wanting a magnificent and beautiful view, you can explore the Sylvia Resort, where there are a few hills behind the resort where you can walk or drive up there. The view from up here is breathtaking, and you can see both sides of the island.

Labuan Bajo Street Photo
Street life in Labuan Bajo.

8. Explore Labuan Bajo Town

This place is developing in terms of tourism; therefore, the main street is probably the only place you will be exploring. The main road, called Jl. Soekarno Hatta, goes one loop around the main town area as it is one way and near the old harbour area; there is a great night market selling all kinds of fresh local Indonesian food and seafood worth exploring.

In the main street area, where hotels are also located, you can find local and international restaurants, cafes and even a French Bakery next to a Mexican Restaurant! There is also a spa, banks with ATM machines, pharmacies and general stores, so this is your one-stop place to get items. 

9. Try Flores Coffee

This is one of the top coffees produced in Indonesia, and you can find Flores Coffee at some of the local cafes here. One coffee joint in Labuan Bajo which stands out is the Cafe In Hit Coffee Shop, located just next to Le Pirate Bajo Hotel.

You can get some delicious latte and cappuccino (some say it's perfect) for your daily fix, apart from the iced latte, frappes, and some interesting salads and sandwiches. Prices are very affordable for no,w too.

Labuan Bajo Birding
Bird Watching in Labuan Bajo.

10. Do Bird Watching in Labuan Bajo

Labuan Bajo and its surroundings offer some exciting species for the avid bird watcher or birder to spot or photograph. There are over 10 endemics in Flores and around 280 species of birds throughout the island.

In the city area of Labuan Bajo, you can easily spot Eagles, Kingfishers, Drongos, Flowerpeckers, Pigeons and many others.

As I am still an amateur bird watcher, I spotted at least 30 species of birds during my last trip in September 2016, and thus, I highly recommend bird watching in Labuan Bajo, Flores. 

11. Try Scuba Diving at Komodo Island

Scuba divers will be in for a treat as the Komodo Islands are one of the best places in Indonesia to dive, and most operators in Labuan Bajo are professional and offer all kinds of diving in Komodo, ranging from day trips to live-on-board boats.

Personally, I did a Komodo day trip dive because of the time restriction we had, so we visited three of the most popular dive sites - Pink Beach Dive Site, Manta Point, and Batu Bolong, all three fascinating. Each dive site offered a different kind of diving in Komodo with unique seascape and marine life.

Photos of Labuan Bajo

Below are photos taken around Labuan Bajo town and its surroundings in September 2016 using my Nikon DSLR camera and Samsung smartphone.

Photo of Labuan Bajo
A panoramic photo of Labuan Bajo. Click to see the full image.

Pelabuhan Labuan Bajo
Local boats at the Labuan Bajo port.

Labuan Bajo Manggarai Tribe
Manggarai People from West Flores, near Labuan Bajo.

Tour Packages in Labuan Bajo
Various tour packages in Labuan Bajo.

Pasar Labuan Bajo
Local wet market in Labuan Bajo.

Labuan Bajo Sylvia Resort
Sylvia Resort in Labuan Bajo.

To get to Labuan Bajo, you can fly directly from Bali via several airlines, namely Wings Air, which does two daily flights and only takes an hour from Denpasar.

Alternatively, you can check AirAsia for the cheapest flights, as I checked from Kuala Lumpur to Labuan Bajo. It costs only RM1,700 with three stops. But if you fly directly to Bali and connect to Labuan Bajo, it could be cheaper, too.

Suppose you are also heading elsewhere in the country. In that case, you can also read my other article on places to visit in Indonesia to give you some idea, as I have personally visited all of the places listed in that article due to my previous trips around Indonesia. 

Conclusion

If you are heading to see the Komodo dragons, you can also read my article on how to get to Komodo Island, which I wrote about. This is currently one of the upcoming destinations that will explode with tourism.

With this list of Things to do in Labuan Bajo, I hope you can visit this fantastic place soon, as the air connectivity nowadays keeps improving.

Malaysia Asia

Blogging since 2007, but writing online since 1997. I belong to the 1st generation of worldwide bloggers, which is of course old-school. Since 2008, I created Malaysia Asia and this travel, flood, gadget and lifestyle blog has won numerous physical awards from tourism boards around Malaysia. (Not those online awards). After 12 years of blogging, I have semi-retired and now blog about things I like, do product reviews and enjoy life. My work has been featured in Lonely Planet, CNN Travel, Yahoo Travel, Wall Street Journal, and many other international publications. Find out more about me and thank you.

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