In Reply to: Flores: Kelimutu AND Dragons in 3 days? posted by ralf on Tuesday, 28. February 2006 at 05:40 Bali Time:
The reason that the tours are longer is that a good few days are needed to visit Flores. To see Kelimutu and Komodo in 2 days may almost be impossible - even 3 or 4 days is a squeeze.
The only way that it would be possible to is to fly everywhere, as Mitch suggests. Another possibility (if flying to Ende involves a lot of stops) is flying to Maumere from Denpasar direct. I flew with Merpati on this route and it costs around 800,000 one way. Then you can travel to Moni, spend the night here and get up in the early hours to see the Kelimutu lakes for sunrise (go any later and it is likely that you won't see anything through the clouds).
From here you could drive up to Ende and fly to Labuanbajo, or drive to Labuanbajo with a driver. Driving, it would be a more comfortable trip if you stopped overnight somewhere (probably Bajawa), otherwise you would be driving pretty much all day.
What I would say is this. Kelimutu and Komodo are two of the biggest attractions that Flores has to offer. And yes, I can vouch for the fact that the lakes are spectacular and the dragons are great. But in trying to squeeze these main sights into such a short time frame, you will have to fly everywhere, and will miss out on everything else that Flores has to offer. Although they are definitely worth seeing, by travelling across Flores by land you see so much: the scenery is some of the most stunning I have ever seen, the villages are so traditional and unspoilt, and the people are so welcoming. Wherever you stop for a photo of an amazing hillside or rice field that has just popped up round the corner, villagers will appear seemingly out of nowhere on a derserted road, to shyly look at you. Children everywhere will shout and wave whenever you pass. Pigs and other animals just seem to wander everywhere. The roads are bumpy and slow to travel, but you just see so much travelling this way. For me, this was the best part of Flores, and by rushing to see the 'big attractions', it is all this that you will miss.
I only stayed for 8 days in Flores, and wished that I had longer. I'm sure you will too. If you really are short on time, try to make the trip at least 4 days, because it will be wirth it.
Finally, don't rely too much on domestic flights. They are unreliable as it is in Indonesia, but it seemed to me that the firther east you got, the worse they got too. Cancellations and delays are almost more common that planes going on time.
If you have any specific questions, feel free to email me or message me on the forum. Have a fantastic time in Flores.