For anyone heading to this part of Indonesia, I have come up with a list of what to do in Alor Island, and it is based purely on my experience here in September 2017.
Alor Island is not your regular tourist destination, so the information is crucial for anyone planning to head to this part of Indonesia.
Alor Island is well known for scuba diving, but after my visit here, I compiled a list of things to do in Alor Island for just about any other traveller.
There is only one main town on the island called Kalabahi, and probably 90% of the people here do not speak English.
There are no modern buildings, cafes, malls, Starbucks or what you usually find at popular tourist destinations. This is the real kind of Indonesia that some travellers want to experience.
What to do in Alor Island?
There is only one main town on the island called Kalabahi, and probably 90% of the people here do not speak English.
There are no modern buildings, cafes, malls, Starbucks or what you usually find at popular tourist destinations. This is the real kind of Indonesia that some travellers want to experience.
What to do in Alor Island?
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| One of the iconic structures at Alor Island in East Nusa Tenggara. |
I will be very honest: During my four days on Alor Island in East Nusa Tenggara, I managed to do some other things besides scuba diving. I wish I had more time to explore this beautiful island, too.
For those who love to explore the unexplored, Alor Island is an excellent place for this, considering this is one of the least visited places around this region.
I have compiled a list of things to do in Alor Island, which is in no order below.
1. Visit Takpala VillageFor those who love to explore the unexplored, Alor Island is an excellent place for this, considering this is one of the least visited places around this region.
I have compiled a list of things to do in Alor Island, which is in no order below.
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| Takpala Village is one of the highlights of Alor Island. |
Takpala Village is a traditional Alornese tribe that lives on a hill. They are the only tourist-friendly attraction on the island that you can visit with a tour. You need a tour guide as no one in the village speaks English; hence, translation is required.
To visit Takpala Village, it is about 30 30-minute drive from Kalabahi, and arrangements need to be made by the tour company. Here, you will witness the traditional lifestyle of the Abui tribe of Alor Island.
2. Scuba Diving at Alor Island
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| The beautiful clear waters on Alor Island are ideal for scuba diving. |
Most of you will be visiting Alor for scuba diving as it is the only attraction here. Scuba diving at Alor Island will allow you to see one of Indonesia's best dive spots.
The underwater landscape is rich with marine life and comes with crystal-clear visibility. For macro and leisure divers, you will be in for a treat when you dive here at Alor.
Diving at Alor can be done on land or with a live onboard. However, for my trip, we used a live onboard boat for our daily diving but stayed at the only hotel on the island, the Pulo Alor Hotel.
Those who are interested can find out about the dive sites in Alor Island. I highly recommend this place for those who want to experience cold water diving with crystal-clear visibility.
The underwater landscape is rich with marine life and comes with crystal-clear visibility. For macro and leisure divers, you will be in for a treat when you dive here at Alor.
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| A photo was taken with a GoPro during one of my dives at Alor Island. |
Those who are interested can find out about the dive sites in Alor Island. I highly recommend this place for those who want to experience cold water diving with crystal-clear visibility.
I also have an Alor Island scuba diving trip report based on my few days here. That article has photos taken underwater and an overall review of the place.
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| The local Bubu Fishermen of Alor Island have huge bamboo fish traps. |
One uniqueness of the Alor fishermen is that they can dive deep underwater with only their handmade wooden goggles.
These are called the Bubu Fishermen of Alor, where Bubu means bamboo fish traps in the local Indonesian language. These massive Bubu fish traps range from one to two meters in length.
The diving fishermen bring them down underwater and place them there to catch whatever goes in. The fish caught are consumed by the locals and not commercially sold.
Seeing the Bubu Fishermen of Alor in action is one of the highlights when you go scuba diving around here. If you are lucky, you may come across them at one of the dive sites of Alor.
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| A seabird with its catch was spotted at Alor Island. |
This is for those who are into birdwatching, as Alor is home to several island, sea, and land birds. As an amateur bird watcher, I must have spotted at least 20 to 30 species of birds during my trip here.
There are probably no bird guides available on Alor Island; therefore, you need to engage one from Labuan Bajo or Kupang.
Bird watching in Alor is relatively new, as no proper guidebooks exist on this. I use the general Indonesian bird's guidebook.
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| The Cantik Homestay at Alor Island. |
For the culture lover, you can book a homestay on the island in Kalabahi, and there are a few around. This will allow you to get to know the local Alornese people and their cultures and eat local food.
Most homestays in Alor cater to tourists and local travellers who speak decent English, which is good news for travellers.
The rooms are basic and decent while the local home-cooked meals are worth the experience. I had the pleasure of visiting a homestay and having twice dinner there.
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| Locals at Pasar Kadelang Market in Alor Island. |
This wet and dry market in Kalabahi, Pasar Kadelang (Kadelang Market), is pretty raw and original. Therefore, if you are the type that enjoys a proper market, give this a miss.
At the local 'Pasar Kalabahi' or Kalabahi market, you will see how daily life revolves among the Alornese people.
The market sells a variety of local homegrown produce, dry goods, fish and meats and some of the local Alor snacks and cakes.
These are the ones to try, especially the local Alor popcorn. People are friendly and smile when you smile at them here.
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| Mike, Nick, and Olly try betel nut chewing at the Pasar Kadelang market in Alor Island. |
One thing on your must-try list at Pasar Kadelang is the Betel Nut or Areca Nut, a widespread habit among the locals.
The Betel Nut is chewed with the leaf and is one of the unique, strange foods or customs in this part of the world.
The taste can be exhilarating and out of this world, but it is an experience of a lifetime. If you are a food lover, this is hands down a mist-try thing. You need to engage a local guide to bring you around here to do this.
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| Inside the Museum Seribu Moko in Kalabahi. Photo by https://backpackerjakarta.com. |
I wanted to see this place, but time did not permit me to; hence, I will still list it here. Located in Kalabahi, this Alor Island museum showcases the diverse culture of the Alor people and their old traditions.
The museum is also called Museum Seribu Moko or 1000 Moko Museum and gets its name from the Moko jar, which represents an essential Alornese cultural object.
You will find traditional looms, woven fabrics, pottery, and fishing equipment among the items on display.
The museum is informative, and you can easily spend an hour here. It is open from Monday to Friday only, from 8.00 AM till 2.00 PM, and till 3.00 PM on Fridays.
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| Sarah from Girls That Scuba spots some dolphins. |
The fact that the waters around here are untouched guarantees you can spot dolphins easily. On my trip in September, I was an entire school of dolphins, numbering into the hundreds, which included a pilot whale.
This can be arranged by the dive operators as they would know where the best places to spot dolphins are on Alor Island. You should know that chartering the boat is best done in groups, as there are no dolphin tours here.
10. Learn an Alor Language
With so many different tribes found on Alor Island, the languages are said to be of Papuan or non-Austronesian descent.
However, from one village to another, the locals communicate in their mother tongue rather than in Bahasa Indonesia, which is widely spoken throughout Indonesia.
For the linguistic traveller, you could probably learn a language from the Abui, Adang, Hamap, Kabola, Kafoa, Woisika, Kelo, and Kui tribes here.
Unfortunately, I tried to learn a few words, but it was pretty hard, even for a Malaysian, so I can imagine this for others.
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| One of the amazing beaches at Alor Island. Photo by https://www.pesonaindo.com. |
Quite a few beautiful beaches are found all over Alor Island, some of which are in pristine condition.
This means it is generally untouched and only by the locals here. You can only imagine what you will discover on some of the beautiful beaches at Alor Island.
Ling'al Beach - Found southwest of Alor Island and is known as probably the most beautiful beach on the island. Travelling from Kalabahi overland will take around five hours, while boat charters take around three to four hours. The closest village to the beach is called Halerman Village.
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| A beautiful photo of Ling'al Beach by https://travel.tempo.co. |
Batu Putih Beach - Known in English as White Stone Beach, it is north of Alor Island. This beach gets its name from the white corals that dominate it here. The turquoise waters and white beach make this a perfect place to relax.
Sakura Kalabahi Beach - Found northwest of Alor Island, Sakura Kalabahi Beach is famous among the locals.
No actual Japanese Sakura trees are found here, but you can find the local cherry blossom species grown along the main road of the beach here.
Sakura Kalabahi beach is quite popular among the locals, especially during the sunset hour, where you can get some beautiful photos of the Alor sunset here.
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| The Sakura Kalabahi Beach in Alor Island. Photo from https://aroundguides.com. |
Generally, the above sums it up. Alor is considered a very new destination to many and is still in the infancy of tourism. Much needs to be done to cater for mass tourism, but I hope it stays as it is.
Indonesia already has many places that cater to mass tourism, like Bali, Lombok, Gili Trawangan and now Komodo Island. However, for those wanting to see the natural side of Indonesia, then Alor Island is the place to visit.
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| The Alor Island Airport is known as Bandar Udara Mali Alor. |
The best way to get to Alor Island is by flight to save time. Only one flight lands at the Alor Island airport, which is via Kupang in Flores.
Direct flights from Bali or Jakarta are non-existent, so you must connect from the larger cities. Even in Labuan Bajo or Komodo, you must connect via Kupang.
Flights that codeshare and connect to Alor Island are Garuda Airlines, Lion Air, Sriwijaya Air, TransNusa Airlines and Wings Abadi Airlines.
You can also check the AirAsia MOVE app to see what airlines fly to Alor Island and possibly even book hotels via the app, which was once known as AirAsia Superapp.
The other way to get here is via ferry, and a few companies operate the Alor Island service. Ferries take long, and timings are pretty tricky.
You can take the Pelni Ferry from Kupang to Kalabahi, Alor Island. Another good choice is to check Indonesia Ferry for the timings and schedules, and you can also book your ferry tickets there.
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| I took the Wings Abadi Airline plane from Kupang to Alor Island. |
You can take the Pelni Ferry from Kupang to Kalabahi, Alor Island. Another good choice is to check Indonesia Ferry for the timings and schedules, and you can also book your ferry tickets there.
A car ferry runs daily from Kupang to Kalabahi, a 12-hour journey that is also an exciting way to get here.
For those planning to visit Alor Island, I recommend researching well before heading here. Your stay choice would be either one of the homestays at a local resort or the Pulo Alor Hotel. Alternatively, there are budget hotels like Hotel Laguna Alor Island, an OYO Hotel here.
And for a seamless experience here, you will need an adequately registered tour company and a local guide. If you book an Alor Island dive package, the dive operator will provide all of your arrangements. Only your flights or ferry service will be done by you.
Additional tours are optional; therefore, you need to inform your operator if you want to explore Alor Island. This guide on what to do in Alor Island is written based on my trip here in September 2017.
It was a campaign with the Ministry of Tourism Indonesia to promote scuba diving and adventure in this part of Indonesia. If you have any questions, feel free to ask below.
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| Me and the women of the Takpala Village. |
Conclusion
For those planning to visit Alor Island, I recommend researching well before heading here. Your stay choice would be either one of the homestays at a local resort or the Pulo Alor Hotel. Alternatively, there are budget hotels like Hotel Laguna Alor Island, an OYO Hotel here.
And for a seamless experience here, you will need an adequately registered tour company and a local guide. If you book an Alor Island dive package, the dive operator will provide all of your arrangements. Only your flights or ferry service will be done by you.
Additional tours are optional; therefore, you need to inform your operator if you want to explore Alor Island. This guide on what to do in Alor Island is written based on my trip here in September 2017.
It was a campaign with the Ministry of Tourism Indonesia to promote scuba diving and adventure in this part of Indonesia. If you have any questions, feel free to ask below.