LBJ to MOF

[billt4sf]

I checked prices for the driver to take us from Ende to Kelimutu lodge, thence to Maumere from two sources: (1) Kelimutu Eco Lodge in Moni; and (2) Sea World in Maumere.

From the Lodge at Kelimutu the price was $185 I think; from Sea World it is IDR 1.8M which is about $125.

These do not include accommodations at Kelimutu Lodge which itself is $95 for two.

Accommodation at SeaWorld is IDR 700K - 1.1M depending.

Someone please tell me that the quality will be the same if I book from SeaWorld then if I book from the Kelimutu Eco Lodge. Or that the $60 diff would be worth it to book through Kelumutu. (It has been my experience that booking a driver through a lodge or accommodation is a better idea than grabbing a driver at the airport.)

- Bill

 

[boletus1973]

I checked prices for the driver to take us from Ende to Kelimutu lodge, thence to Maumere from two sources: (1) Kelimutu Eco Lodge in Moni; and (2) Sea World in Maumere.

From the Lodge at Kelimutu the price was $185 I think; from Sea World it is IDR 1.8M which is about $125.

These do not include accommodations at Kelimutu Lodge which itself is $95 for two.

Accommodation at SeaWorld is IDR 700K - 1.1M depending.

Someone please tell me that the quality will be the same if I book from SeaWorld then if I book from the Kelimutu Eco Lodge. Or that the $60 diff would be worth it to book through Kelumutu. (It has been my experience that booking a driver through a lodge or accommodation is a better idea than grabbing a driver at the airport.)

- Bill

never been at the lodge…. but we do one to long week at sea world in august 2013..... at that time bungalow was really nice and clean… the beach was good for swimming and relaxing… the dive shop was horrible, we quit diving after two days for this reason and also because i hear many bombs underwater… the restaurant wasn't good at all… we book the driver at seaworld for our flores trip to lbj… it was a nice small new car… the driver was an indonesian rasta man… funny guy with al lot of knowleage about his island! ;-) if i remember correctly the name of our driver was donatus…

 

[David McGlamery]

Hello friends:

In September we plan to dive at Komodo resort for a few days and then fly to Maumere to catch the boat for Dan’s ring of fire trip.

Maumere and Labuan Bajo are at either end of the island of Flores.

By far the cheapest and fastest way to get there is to fly on wings air, a direct flight of 55 minutes.

Has anyone taken this flight, or flown on wings air? Is it something you recommend? The alternatives are far longer.

Thanks,

Bill

I just got back from that region March 27. The airline I had trouble with was Batik Air. They cancelled two of my flights and didn't tell me until I got to the airport. I did fly into MOF on Wings air from Makassar to MOF. When I checked in at Jakarta, I was told my checked bag could be 20Kg and my carryon could only be 7Kg. My carryon was 15Kg and they were going to charge me 1.3 million Rupiah. Approx. $90. This was when I checked in on Batik air , transferring to Wings air. On my return from Saumlaki to Ambon, I checked in with Wings air and they told me my checked bag could be 20Kg and didn't even weigh my carryon bag. It's just a crap shoot. A word of advice is to check with the airline you are flying a week out to make sure your flights are OK. I flew Batik from Jakarta to Sorong RT in January 2019 on Batik air and had no problems at all. Just have enough Rupiah to pay for your luggage just in case.

 

[RobinC.]

Now things are little bit easier.
With Lion / Wings Air , no luggage included, 7kg Carry-on. You iwll have to pay luggage at booking or at the counter (more expensive).
With Batik Air (Upper brand of lion air group ) 20kg free allowance and 7kg Carry-on.

 

[billt4sf]

Does anyone know of a platform that allows you to buy a ticket for flying in Indo (in this case, Wings) *and* pre-pay for the baggage ?

I've tried NusaTrips, Tiket2, and Kiwi so far, but they all say "pay for baggage at counter" which is a recipe for tourist-exploitation.

- Bill

 

[David McGlamery]

Does anyone know of a platform that allows you to buy a ticket for flying in Indo (in this case, Wings) *and* pre-pay for the baggage ?

I've tried NusaTrips, Tiket2, and Kiwi so far, but they all say "pay for baggage at counter" which is a recipe for tourist-exploitation.

- Bill

Bill, Travel in Indonesia is a little different. I went from Jakarta to Sorong in January 2019 and Jakarta to Maumere and Saumlaki back to Jarkarta in March 2019 and I can only speak from experience. I had to pay for luggage in Indonesia only once. There is no rhyme or reason to it, you never know if you will have to pay. I travel with one bag with my scuba equipment and a carry on with my clothes. Most of the time they weigh my check on bag (allowed 20 Kg) and don't weigh my carry on. Once I made the mistake and checked my carryon and had to pay about $90 US. I didn't make the mistake on the way back and it cost me nothing. My last time to Indonesia they weighed my carry on and said it could not be over 15 Kg, I think, or I would have to pay over $100 US. I was able to move the extra weight to my check on and they were good, even though my check on went over weight. On the way back, they could care less, so you really don't know. My advice is to take enough Indonesian Rupiah to cover the luggage just in case equal $100 US per bag each way.
Another word of advice is to check your flight just before you leave the US. I didn't and two flights had been cancelled weeks before I left and I was not notified.
I know this sound bad but, don't get upset, thinks will work out. I hope this helps.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Speaking of Batik canceling a flight and not notifying anyone....

Mr OOO has had a Batik flight booked for a few months now. We booked through Nusatrip and we followed up with them about booking pre-paid baggage. They had to look into it and get the price before charging it through. They then told us that the flight has been cancelled and that we will need to rebook or figure out something else. Had we not asked about baggage, who knows when we would have been notified, if at all? It was for one of the outbound legs for a liveaboard which would have really set him back. Thankfully, he built in a 24 hour cushion but still, how annoying, eh?