flying to bali or Labuan for Komodo??

[vann evans]

we will be diving on the Black Manta in Komodo in Sept. we will board the boat in Labuan. should we fly into Bali and take a local flight to Labuan or try to fly direct to Labuan? We are getting conflicting information. We leave the boat at Maumre, Flores and will fly back to Bali.

does anyone have ideas about things to do in Labuan, Maume or Bali in general? Where would you spend your extra days before or after the dive trip?

thanks for any information.
Vann Evans

 

[Cali_diver]

Fly into Bali and spend a couple days there before your trip. Bali is fantastic. If you want to experience a little culture in Bali stay in Ubud. Go see some temples etc. If you want beach there are other choices... Seminyak, Sunur, Nusa Dua etc. Black Manta should help you with your domestic flights to Labuan Bajo.

 

[diver2005]

yes ubud is quite a nice area. my sisters was there just a few months ago and from the pictures and their review it was a really good trip seeing the bali culture, temples, scenic. its a must-see in bali apart from diving!!

 

[jake11]

We flew into Bali and took the local flights to Labuan. Spend your time in Bali since there is a lot of stuff to do!!!Ubud is indeed a great place to visit!

 

[Mike Veitch]

There are no international flights into Labuan Bajo (don't confuse it with Labuan which is located near Brunei and is part of Malaysia). You will have to fly to Labuan Bajo from Bali. Maumere has a few cool attractions such as the multi coloured lakes etc but to be honest there is not a lot going on there. You could do a tour from Maumere to Labuan Bajo and fly back to Bali from Labuan Bajo and there are certainly some attractions to see and volcanoes to climb, could be a fun few days with no crowds. Have a google for Flores Tourism to see some info

 

[lamarpaulski]

Good advice to have Black Manta help on flight from Bali to Labuan/Komodo...i had to make reservation to Labuan after arrival in Bali ( which stressed me out) as the reservation system didn't work from outside Indonesia..that was 2 years ago so maybe they have modernized. Local help on that leg is a very good idea. If you can see Bali..esp Ubud...do so but be conservative on travel due to traffic and snafus...snafus are pretty common. Hire a driver there. Not much to do in Labuan..worth a day just so you dont miss the boat. Awesome place to dive.

 

[Lorenzoid]

My wife and I did a Black Manta trip out of Labuanbajo, and it was wonderful. You'll have a great time. As others have said, ask the Manta people for advice on flights--they have the latest information.

We had planned to do a day of diving out of Sanur on Bali after we returned from the liveaboard, but we decided we were tired and just wanted some easy land-based time, so we hired a driver in Sanur to take us up to Ubud for the day. The Ubud area with its terraced hillsides and stereotypical Balinese culture is one of the major attractions on the Bali tourist trail. Stay overnight if you can.

 

[Zippsy]

As noted, there is a lot of difference between Labuan and Labuan Bajo. You want to fly to Labuan Bajo and the best way to do that is to take a domestic flight from Bali after at least on night's stay there. The flights are early in the morning. If you have time, enjoy Bali either before or after your Komodo trip. If you have more time, enjoy Flores and/or Maumere too. It is possible to book local flights now but Max at White Manta can also help with advice or connect you with an Indonesian agent.

 

[jake11]

A side note.. Be prepared for possible long delays on the domestic flights out of Bali. Our flight to Labuan Bajo was supposed to leave in the very early AM. We were up and at the airport on time where we waited for 2 extra hours due to delays! We also flew out of Maumere once and the same thing happened. The airport in Maumere was not too bad if I remember correctly.

 

[charlier]

One alternative is a fly Garuda from Singapore to Bali with a connecting Garuda flight to Labuan Bajo. You can connect from Singapore to Labuan Bajo on the same day, without spending a night in Bali. We usually book inexpensive flights from Singapore to Bali on Air Asia or Tiger Air. Our last flight was S$100 r/t. Following up on Jake11's side note, we left about 30 to perhaps 45 mins early for a flight from Bali to Labuan Bajo. All the passengers were at the gate, so they boarded the flight and we left. Only in Indonesia...