Ways to get to Komodo National Park

KOMODO ISLAND (JP): There are various ways of getting to Komodo National Park: by air, land or sea.

Kal Muller, a noted writer who has written 12 travel books on Indonesia, said that in general, intra-island and inter-island transport systems are much better than they were some 20 years ago. Despite the progress, the transportation companies, especially the airlines, seem to be forever having technical problems.

"It would be a surprise if the flights were on time," commented Herling Sanger, the nature conservancy coordinator of the Indonesia Field Project for Regional Coastal and Marine Conservation.

According to Herling, who frequently travels the route to Komodo Island, flights are rarely on time and airline personnel usually cannot give a timeframe for delays.

"Just be patient and adapt yourself to the situation," he suggests. A delay of several hours is acceptable, he said, reminding that passengers often get stranded for days.

Merpati Airlines, and to a lesser degree, Bouraq Airlines, have flights which connect the major towns on circle routes from Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa Besar, Kupang via Waingapu and/or Ende and Mataram.

To the new routes (to Roti and Sawu from Kupang, for example) DE-3s and F-27s are being added all the time. Flights are so frequent now that booking usually is not necessary. Despite the high frequency of the flights, would-be passengers should always be prepared for a delay or cancellation.

No air service, however, links Lombok to Sumba or Timor, nor is there a flight from Sumba to Flores.

It is worth noting where air services do and do not exist. Flights depart from Denpasar to anywhere in Nusa Tenggara; those from Lombok only go to Sumbawa, western Flores (not to Sumba, Timor or Maumere).

From Sumbawa, it depends on where you are. From Bima you can fly anywhere, but from Sumbawa Besar you can only fly to Lombok, Bali and Java. From Sumba, flights go only to Bima (approximately Rp 42,400), Denpasar (approximately Rp 74,600) and Kupang (approximately Rp 54,200) but not to Flores or Lombok.

From Flores, it depends where you are: Labuhanbajo now has an airport, making Komodo Island a little bit more accessible for direct flights to Bima, Denpasar and Ruteng.

From Ruteng or Ende, you can fly to almost anywhere.

Maumere has almost daily Merpati flights to Bali (and on to Java) and daily flights to Kupang (approximately Rp 31,600). Larantuka now has an airport from where you can fly to Kupang.

On the delightful trip from Komodo Island to Labuhanbajo you can count island after island. Kal Muller describes the areas between Komodo and Rinca as: "Revealing seas dotted with islands -- large and small minicules, mostly bare and pimpled with hills."

Flying from Bima is also a thrill. It is relatively cheap and takes only 30 minutes, but waiting for the plane can be agonizing.

Motorized and sailing vessels ply the coasts and travel between islands; the Solor and Alor archipelagos East of Flores are about your only inter-island options.

Good passenger ferry services link Bali-Lombok-Sumbawa-Komodo- Flores-Adonara.

These frequent ferries are more reliable than the services run by Pelni, the state-owned shipping company.

Once a week there is a ferry service from East Sumbawa to West Flores which stops at Komodo Island on the way. As an alternative, you can simply charter a kapal motor (motor boat) from Labuhanbajo (W. Flores) to Komodo Island for around Rp 125,000 (round trip).

Another service likely to be used by travelers is the Pelni boat between Ende and Waingapu. The trip takes a whole night. The shipping offices and harbormasters in the various ports can tell you about other connecting services.

In Ende, it is fairly easy to get on a boat for Kupang. If you hang around Maumere or Bima long enough, you'll find boats going to Singaraja and Surabaya. (06)