Complete Guide: How To Get To Labuan Bajo

After being in Bali for so long, I decided it was time to explore new Indonesian islands. I heard a lot of great things about Flores and Komodo National Park in the past, so it made sense to book a holiday there.

If you’re planning to travel to Komodo Island at some point during your Indonesia trip, let’s take a look at the options and how you can get from Bali to Flores.

Before we start, in this article, you’ll find all the information about Flores, Labuan Bajo, and more importantly how to get to Flores from Bali.

Where is Labuan Bajo?

Bali to Labuan Bajo, Flores

Labuan Bajo is a small fishing town located on the northwest coast of Flores Island in East Nusa Tenggara Province.

Labuan Bajo is basically the starting point for most boat tours to Komodo Island.

Where is Flores?

Flores is a few islands away from Bali. It’s way passed Lombok.

You can see it on the map below.

Where is Komodo National Park?

Komodo National Park is located between the islands of Sumbawa and Flores.

There are many islands included in the National Parks but the biggest ones are Komodo Island, Rinca Island and Padar Island.  

Komodo National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is also known as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature (and I would totally agree with this title!).

If you have heard of Komodo dragons before – that’s where they live!

Getting to Labuan Bajo by Flight

There are different ways to get to Labuan Bajo from Bali. You could take buses, ferries or boat tours from the islands around Bali to get there, but it’s going to be a pretty long journey.

I personally decided to take the flying option. It was a great alternative as it only takes about 45 minutes to get to Labuan Bajo from Bali.

When I first started to look for flights to Labuan Bajo, Flores, it felt like this was going to be a mission. With airlines like Wings or Nam, it sounded a bit dodgy.

Wings and Nam are actually tiny airplanes operated by bigger air group such as Lion Air Group (which is quite infamous since their last crash).

Although considering the length on the flight which is basically about 45 to 60 minutes, it’s frustrating when you look at the prices (about IDR 2.000.000 for a round trip).

There was also the option of flying with Garuda Indonesia which was more expensive, but it seemed to be a bit safer. I decided to investigate.

After comparing the different airline incident history and a comparison with my favorite Asian airline (AirAsia) which also has a fair bit of incidents, it seemed pointless to pay more for an airline that actually has more incidents recorded.

I decided to try both ‘dodgy airlines’ and I booked my flights via Traveloka as I couldn’t pay by credit card using other airline websites such as Lion Air.

My flight there was operated by Wing Air and my flight back was operated by NAM.

To give you an idea, we’re talking about a 20 row kind of planes.

You can check the options for a flight on Skyscanner first to have a rough idea of the prices.

I preferred my flight with Wing Air.  The plane was a bit smaller, but it was on time. My flight by NAM was rescheduled, which can be annoying.

Getting to Komodo Island

Once you’ve reached Labuan Bajo, the next step is to pick your boat tour to see Komodo National Park. You can pick different tours with various stops.

Some people prefer to go on a day trip, I personally picked a 2-nights-3-days tour as you get to see a lot more and if I was going to go in this area, I might just make the most of it while I’m there.

I’d recommend booking your trip with Flores XP Adventure – I personally did the Padar Island Tour which I highly recommend!

Final Thoughts On Getting To Labuan Bajo

It’s fairly easy to get to Labuan Bajo from Bali. We hope you will enjoy your time in Flores as much as we did!

Disclaimer: I had a complimentary boat tour with Flores XP. As always, all opinions are my own. Happy travels!