Planning a trip... Komodo, Maumere, Alor- Logistics???

[Uli Kunkel]

Hey everyone!

I need a little advice, and a few helping hands would be greatly appreciated!

On July 25th to August 5th I will be doing a Komodo liveaboard with Kararu Voyages on the MS Aurora. (I havent heard much about this boat, so any reviews would be greatly appreciated!)

Afterwards I will be heading to both Alor and Maumere for a few days of diving each. Im pretty stoked but I cant figure out which is the best way to plan it out.

Questions:
1) After Komodo, is it possible to just drive over to Maumere? How much and how long?
2) Is there any overland transport available to Alor from Maumere then? Cant find the ferry port for Alor...

Basically I'd like to just island hop over to Alor and then fly back to Bali. But I am up for the most convenient and hassle free ride possible that saves time. Not easy to do in Indo, I know! I've also got a bunch of camera gear with me as well, which changes things!

Thanks!

 

[highdesert]

We wanted to do Komodo first and then Alor, in one trip. Our starting point was Bali. We worked with an agent in Bali who tried to put it together. After she made calls to people in Komodo and Alor, the decision was that it was much "easier" to fly Bali - Komodo - Bali - Kupang - Alor - Kupang - Bali. With some of these flights operating twice a week, and considering no-fly days, it became unmanageable, at least for us. We gave it up and dived Komodo and Bali instead. Alor will have to come another time.

PS - One generally gathers opinions about a liveaboard before booking it, not after.

 

[vladimir]

PS - One generally gathers opinions about a liveaboard before booking it, not after.

Yes, and I've read some COMPLAINTS about a different Kararu boat recently, so I hope the OP doesn't regret it. I had a great Komodo trip aboard the Kararu Safari, but that was four or five years ago.

 

[Uli Kunkel]

Hahha, I knew this would come up first. I usually research these liveaboards quite a bit, but Im not going to "look a gift horse in the mouth," as they say...

 

[Luko]

Questions:
1) After Komodo, is it possible to just drive over to Maumere? How much and how long?
2) Is there any overland transport available to Alor from Maumere then? Cant find the ferry port for Alor...

1- yep, it's a long trip that will take 3 days, but you can also relax and take 4-5 days, Flores island is truly magnificent.
2- Batavia flies from Maumere to Kupang then you can fly to Alor. I don't know of any ferry that would take you to Alor from say Lembata harbor. (far east of Flores)

 

[danz]

I agree with highdesert. If you have only a few days it is not manageable to combine Komodo and Alor. Last year I had also plans to combine both places but you need at least 7 or even 10 days extra.
First option is to fly back to Bali and then to Kupang and then to Alor (but this also consumes time!). Don't forget that departure and arrival time are quite flexible in Nusa Tengara.
You can go overland from Labuanbajo to Maumere (500/600km) but it will be a challenge to do it in 2 days. (Some Indonesian drivers do it in 1 day and night but I wouldn't recommend it. I did it in 4 days with some sightseeing.
There are plans to start a flight from Labuanbajo to Maumere. But as far as I know this flight is not already active. For the latest evolution you can contact local diveoperators in Maumere (they know well the situation).
If you want to go overland from Maumere to Alor you will need at least 3 days. There are irregular ferries from Larantuka to the islands east and I think that there is a regular ferry to Kupang. So for this traject flying is a better option.

 

[Shasta_man]

Uli is an adventurous kind of guy.

 

[buiszie]

I agree with highdesert. If you have only a few days it is not manageable to combine Komodo and Alor. Last year I had also plans to combine both places but you need at least 7 or even 10 days extra.
First option is to fly back to Bali and then to Kupang and then to Alor (but this also consumes time!). Don't forget that departure and arrival time are quite flexible in Nusa Tengara.
You can go overland from Labuanbajo to Maumere (500/600km) but it will be a challenge to do it in 2 days. (Some Indonesian drivers do it in 1 day and night but I wouldn't recommend it. I did it in 4 days with some sightseeing.
There are plans to start a flight from Labuanbajo to Maumere. But as far as I know this flight is not already active. For the latest evolution you can contact local diveoperators in Maumere (they know well the situation).
If you want to go overland from Maumere to Alor you will need at least 3 days. There are irregular ferries from Larantuka to the islands east and I think that there is a regular ferry to Kupang. So for this traject flying is a better option.

I totally agree. If you have a few days to dive only in Alor it too much hassle to get there. But if u want to dive try to find ur flight with Cheap Flights - Compare Airline Tickets with Skyscanner.com . It is possible to book domistic flights with a foreigner credit card.

What i know about Alor, the diving is great and it should be a shame if u only dive there a few days...

 

[jake11]

I have been diving in Alor! Awesome diving. It was quite chilly in parts when I was there.. early to mid May. We spent 3 full dive days just at one site! It was amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was on a LOB from Ambon to Maumere! Fantastic trip!!

 

[frogfish]

Alternative would be a live aboard from Komodo to Alor - Grand Komodo for instance used to do such trips.