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Green hills falling away to the sea on the Flores coast road

Trans-Flores Highway · Private 4x4

You land knowing a harbour, you leave knowing an island

Five to seven days across Flores with a private driver-guide, boutique stays and a pace set by you rather than a minibus schedule.

Plan the route

In short

A Flores overland tour crosses the island west to east on the Trans-Flores Highway, by private vehicle with a driver-guide, stopping at villages, volcanoes and crater lakes.

  • 5, 6 or 7 days, Labuan Bajo to Ende or Maumere
  • Private Innova from IDR 1.500.000 per day
  • Kelimutu reachable only overland
  • Combines with a Komodo sailing stage

Three journeys

Five days, six, or seven

All three end with a flight out of the east, so you cross the island once rather than backtracking.

Classic Overland

5 days

4 nights

Labuan Bajo → Ruteng → Bajawa → Moni → Ende. Cancar spider-web rice fields, Bena village, Kelimutu sunrise. Flies out of Ende.

Most popular

Full Trans-Flores

6 days

5 nights

Adds Riung: the 17 Islands boat day and the Mangeruda hot springs, finishing in Maumere.

Grand Flores

7 days

6 nights

Adds the Wae Rebo overnight — the cone-roofed village above the clouds — then Bena, Riung and Kelimutu to Maumere.

Travellers looking out over the cone-roofed houses of Wae Rebo

Why bother leaving the harbour

Bena and Wae Rebo are inhabited villages, not museums. You are hosted rather than ticketed, and the difference is obvious within about ten minutes of arriving.

Ruteng and Bajawa sit high enough for cool evenings, good coffee and cloud forest — a different island entirely from the dry west coast you flew into.

And Kelimutu, the tri-coloured crater lakes, is a sunrise drive from Moni and reachable no other way. No boat gets you there.

The classic, day by day

Five days across Flores

The shortest journey that still crosses the island properly.

  1. 01

    Day 1 · To Ruteng

    Out of the dry west coast into Manggarai country — around four hours of mountain driving, with a stop at the Cancar spider-web rice fields.

  2. 02

    Day 2 · To Bajawa

    Four hours through the island's finest ridge scenery, then an afternoon in Bena, the megalithic Ngada village below the volcano.

  3. 03

    Day 3 · To Moni

    Down to the coast past the blue-pebble beach at Penggajawa, on through Ende to Moni at the foot of Kelimutu.

  4. 04

    Day 4 · Kelimutu sunrise

    A pre-dawn drive to the crater car park and a short walk to the viewpoint above the three lakes. Breakfast after, then on to Ende.

  5. 05

    Day 5 · Departure

    Fly out of Ende, or carry on eastward toward Maumere.

Prices & inclusions

Private Toyota Innova Reborn with driver

Basis
12 Hours - All In (Melo/Golomori, Cunca Wulang)
Rate
IDR 1.300.000

Private Toyota Hiace with driver

Basis
12 Hours - All In (Melo/Golomori, Cunca Wulang)
Rate
IDR 1.800.000

Wae Rebo 2D1N stage

Basis
Per journey stage
Rate
From IDR 2.500.000

Komodo National Park entry

Basis
Per person, sea add-on days
Rate
USD 40-50

Included in every journey: private air-conditioned vehicle with fuel and a licensed driver-guide from first pickup to final drop-off, all accommodation in the best available room category confirmed before travel, daily breakfast, drinking water and fruit in the vehicle, entrance fees and village donations along the published route, and one planning contact on WhatsApp throughout.

How it is run

What makes the difference on the road

Your driver-guide

Licensed, English-speaking, and driving these stages every season. You stop when the view demands it, not when the schedule allows.

Boutique stays

Hillside lodges above Ruteng's terraces, garden bungalows near Bajawa's hot springs, the best rooms in Moni before the crater sunrise. Flores does not do large resorts east of Labuan Bajo — which is the point.

A Komodo add-on

Two to four nights sailing before you drive, planned by the same team. The handover between boat and car happens on time because one operator owns both halves.

Frequently Asked Questions

Plan the route

Tell us how many days you have and where you would like to end up. A planner sends a stage-by-stage itinerary and an itemised quote within 24 hours.