Welcome to furthest edges of the earth. Or at least, that’s what Labuan Bajo felt like to us. Though it’s only a 90-minute plane ride from the center of Bali, it feels light years away from the more well-beaten travel paths of Indonesia. It looks like the doorway to the magical waters and islands of Flores and Komodo National Park just beyond the piers, it sounds the Mu’adhan’s call to prayer from the mosque that pulses throughout the town and up into the hills, it smells like glorious friend fish (and sometime stinky old fish but hey that’s character), and it feels like a place that is a real home to real people, and not just a tourist jump off.
How To Get To Labuan Bajo
From Ubud, you can easily fly from Denpasar (DPS) to Labuan Bajo Komodo airport (LBJ) in just about 90 minutes. Flights leave pretty much daily starting around 7 or 8 am, and it’s quick and easy. From Labuan Bajo Komodo airport, welcome to the wonderful world of “everything’s 10 minutes away from the airport!” Cabs are waiting, and will take you anywhere you need to get to in under 10 minutes and $10. Here’s me, being awkward in front of the airport while Kevin takes a picture:
If you’re on a super budget, there are also overnight ferries available with companies like Pelni. However, when we read up we didn’t find the best things about this route. A lot of complaints about smoke, noise, overcrowding, and grimy bathrooms for 13 hours, which definitely would have made my overtired ass cry. So if you can swing the flight to Labuan Bajo, just swing it.
Where To Stay In Labuan Bajo
We stayed at Villa Seirama Alam, which was pretty much amazing, as long as you’re prepared for A) battling droves of mosquitos and B) running in your towel/skivvies at odd hours of the day and the night from your bedroom to your (private, don’t worry) bathroom which is located at the opposite end of an open-air terrace. Trust me, though- both of these things are more than tolerable in exchange for the three-walled window view from the delightful little ship’s cabin of a bedroom (below) with polar A/C, and pretty much the best view you’ll ever wake up or fall asleep to in your life. Oh and they stock your fridge with big-size Bintangs including two free welcome ones!
If you want to stay right “downtown” (downtown being defined by the one main road with all of the restaurants, shops, hostels and diveshops) and you are on a budget or need a quick and cheap place to stay before hopping onto a liveaboard for the week, we heard great things about Le Pirate.
There are several mid-to-mid/high-range resorts and beach complexes available further out of the main downtown area, but I’d recommend trying to stay closer to downtown as it’ll be the main jumping off point for all of your daytime adventures. Plus, for such a small little town, there’s a surprising amount to see and experience!
Labuan Bajo is finally starting to grow in terms of tourism and I’m sure there will be new resort-type options to look at soon, but really there isn’t much better than Villa Seirama Alam in my book.
What To Do In Labuan Bajo
Diving & Snorkeling
If you’re coming to Labuan Bajo in the first place, there’s a remarkably high chance that you’re coming to dive. And good choice, because the diving off of LB and in the surround Komodo and Rinca area is absolutely world class. If you’re like us and love exploring the water but have been too lazy to get PADI certified, you’re in luck too. Plenty of outfitters will take you snorkeling for the day or even on a multi-day liveaboard trip although these are much harder to book than standard diving trips and may require more advance planning. Better yet, get certified on-site through one of the many dive shops that offer learn-to-dive lessons and liveaboard options!
We heard the best things about Wicked Diving, Komodo Dive Center, and Divine Diving. Wherever you go, just make sure to do your homework and ask questions. Although there are literally dozens of dive shops to be found in Labuan Bajo, not all follow the same standards when it comes to safety.
Komodo & Padar Tour
A guide to Labuan Bajo is not complete without including tips on getting your Komodo and Padar adventuring on. And yes, it’s that good. Although there are many different tour companies who can organize a trip for you, do yourself a favor and go with the sweet and wonderful team at Komodo Blessing Adventure tours who will take wonderful care of you and can offer you a private speedboat day tour option if you’re willing to pay (for about $260-$300 a person for the whole day it’s worth it!!). This way, you can both sleep in in the morning and take your time throughout the day with a small group of travel buddies. Komodo Blessing’s kiosk is quite small and resides downtown on the shore side of the street. Keep an eye out for it.
Check out more on our Komodo, Padar, Pink Beach and Manta Point itinerary and adventures here!
Cunca Rami Waterfall
Cunca Rami falls is absolutely, 100% not to be missed while in Labuan Bajo. It is the most hidden of all gems, and it was my childhood dream of discovering the real Olmec’s Temple come to life. So what if you have to scoot about 30 miles up a winding 2 lane road with a precarious cliff drop and giant trucks hurtling downhill to your left, scoot 2 miles more down a “road” that better resembles a boulder graveyard, and you have to trust people like me telling you that when a stranger pops out of the forest and offers to be your “guide” for $20 that you should absolutely give him some money and then start following him into the unknown? It’s worth it, it’s worth it, and it’s worth it. Visit my Guide to Cunca Rami Waterfall here.
Guide To Labuan Bajo Eats:
Labuan Bajo offers surprisingly good eating, especially (and obviously) if you’re ready to get your seafood on! Here is Kevin’s and my definitive guide to Labuan Bajo dining:
The Fish Market
This is the coolest. When you walk by the market during the day, it resembles an old abandoned carnival. It’s an abandoned ghost town of tents and kiosks piled up against building lining a rickety old harbor, and you’re half expecting to see an out-of-order Zoltar machine at the end of the pier. Then, at about 5PM, it magically transforms into a booming fish market with everyone hawking their catches from the day.
Literally point to the fish on the table you want, tell them how you want it cooked (if they even ask you), and then you post up at cheap plastic tables with a bunch of strangers (We made a bunch of friends from New Zealand and i think Sweden!) until your fish is ready and you bring it over! You can buy Bintangs from the little grocery store across the street for about 60 cents a pop and drink them with your meal, if you do Indo like us and include an extra large Bintang with just about everything you eat, see or do 🙂
Happy Banana
Happy Banana is an insanely good, unexpected find that serves quality sushi and kickass desserts! The pricing is SUPER reasonable ($25-30 for 2 people for a ton of food) even though it will probably be your priciest meal on Labuan Bajo. It’s also quite easy to justify because everything else costs about $8 for 2 people. Get all of the sushi you can eat and try the local fish! Also try the frozen chocolate dipped banana. I had about 18 of them. They were much less than $10 each.
Paradise Bar
Holy bejeezus the view at this place (see the opening photo for this post). Arrive well before sunset so you can get the prime balcony seating for a view so dazzling it will burn your entire face off, and stay for the crazy late night dance party jams. We spent every night here. Glorious. They also serve excellent standard-variety french fries and chicken nuggets. Side Note: While you’re walking/scooting to this place you’re going to think you’re lost or going the wrong way; you’re not. Keep going and you’ll see it on your left as you make your way up from the fish market.
Blue Marlin
Blue Marlin is a higher-end diving operation that has a really clean bar area where you can get excellent coffee. They serve booze too, but we only hung out for coffee in the AM. There’s also a GREAT little local coffee joint across the street called Cafe In Hit.
There are also juice bars everywhere; for such a teeny little fishing village, their ubiquity is quite remarkable!
Good To Know: A Pro-Tip Guide to Labuan Bajo
- Pronounce Labuan Bajo La-Boo-On BAH-joe, not LA-bwon BAH-ho as you may be included to refer to it if you’re like me and took just enough Spanish to be dangerous and make stupid assumptions about other languages following the same pronunciation rules.
- ATMS: Easy-to-find, several on the main drag with a standard service charge fee
- Scooters: Scooters are the easiest way to get around if you want to leave the main town to do some exploring. Thoroughly examine your scooter before picking one out. Make sure it has full tire, working parts, a safe helmet that fits, and enough gas in it for where you want to go.
- Drinking Water: Be CAREFUL and stick to trusted water sources and bottled water. I got a mad case of indigestion on this leg of the trip that didn’t go away until a few days after I got home. It sucks, and you don’t want to deal with it. Especially somewhere that specializes in outdoor adventures with no toilets nearby.