Unfortunately during lebaran holiday in 2021 the Indonesian government decided to reduce the schedule for public transportation due to Covid-19💔
So Labuan Bajo also became very quiet during lebaran holiday because there’s no tourist. And I also got stuck in Labuan Bajo because no flight to escape to Bali!! It really makes me confused how can I spend my time during this long holiday in Labuan Bajo lol
So I decided to explore Flores island by car as land trip and visit Riung 17 islands marine park by boat during this holiday✌️
This trip was really amazing so let me share the information for you♪
WHERE is the RIUNG?
Riung is 130km away from Labuan Bajo. We used a car and it took 11 hours including lunch break at restaurant. Surprisingly the road from Labuan Bajo to Riung was well paved even this kind of area is very untouched place! But You should bring medicine for motion sickness because there are many winding road.
How to Reach There
We departed from Labuan Bajo at 5:00am in the morning and drove to Ruteng without a break, it took 3.5 hours!
From Ruteng to Bajawa, it took 5 hours and we took a lunch break at Aimere🍽 After that drove to Riung without a break and it took 2.5 hours! So we reached at Riung at 4:00pm.
A lot of people normally use the shortcut which name is Jln.Soa(Soa Road) but this time we used Jln.Boawae (Boawae Road) which road is well paved. So even we used a car it was really comfortable during the land trip🚘
In my opinion, even we used the shortcut with terrible road, it will take time too because it will be hard to drive with speed so maybe total duration will be almost same💡And there’s possibility that your car or motorcycle will be broken due to the off-road😱
WHERE to Stay?
We stayed at Nirvana Bungalows which is in the middle of town⛺️
The property was really clean, comfortable and homy:) And the owner is friendly & full of kindness.
Let me share you the details🤙
Atmosphere
I didn’t expect that I can stay in the property which is well cleaned and no insects in the middle of countryside👏
The bed is comfy and the shower room is very very clean! I was very happy to see that they use TOTO brand for the toilet bowl and Panasonic for air conditioner haha
They have King bed room and Twin bed room category so it is suitable for solo traveler, couple, family and friends🌴
They have a restaurant and they can serve you from morning to night time🍽 Since this place is semi-outdoor, you better to bring anti-mosquito just in case👍
I booked a room including breakfast so every morning I had a breakfast at this place. They served us banana pancakes, fresh fruits and flores coffee😋
Sadly due to Covid-19, the town was really quiet and maybe due to fasting(The muslim’s holy & spiritual habit during Ramadan) a lot of shops were closed so almost every day we spend lunch and dinner in the Nirvana Bungalows as well.
Dinner menu is mostly based on the seafood and it was soooo delicious✨And they served us really big portion till we couldn’t finish all🤣
And there were puppies🐶They were so friendly to all of the guests. OMG I miss them so much!
Explore 17 islands Marine Park
It is mandatory that you explore 17 islands marine park if you visit Riung!!
Nirvana Bungalows has own tour so it is easy to book:) You can just talk to the staffs there.
Riung 17 islands marine park actually consists of more than 20 islands. Then why is the number 17 used? It turned out that the reason was patriotism🇮🇩Indonesia became independent on 17th August 1945.
Tour Schedule
We explored 4 spots including snorkeling⛵️The each destination is not so far, it took around 1-1.5 hours to each spots.
This is the boat which we rent⚓️
Ontoloe Island
You can see the flying bats during the day time🦇 In Komodo National Park, there is Kalong island which you can watch the flying bats migration but that is only during sunset time. It is very rare you can watch them under the sun in Riung☀️
You can watch them from the boat. Look! There are a huge number of bats hanging on the tree👀
This view is magical. I’ve never seen this before in my life…!
Three Island (Pulau Tiga)
This island has calm white sand beach and there are many places with shadow. So it is suitable for you to just chill on the island🌴
And boat captain and guide will prepare BBQ on the beach✨ I’m sure you will be spoiled during this trip. haha
They served us fresh seafood, fresh avocado & tomato salad, stir-fried egg plant, fried noodles, rice, bananas and papaya😋 Surprisingly they have plenty of menus! And of course, it was really tasty:)
Look at this view! I can’t express it in my words💙 Anyway, THIS IS THE BEST.
Snorkeling
Under water world in this marine park is also beautiful💎 I’m sure you will love it!
The ocean is calm and you can see a lot of sea creatures and corals✨
Feeling like I was swimming in the pool.
Rutong Island
This island shape is unique. There is a hill looks like a box and you can trekking to the top of this hill👣
During the day time, it was super hot so we were just relaxing on the beach till around 4:00pm🏝And boat crew served us a snack:) You won’t be hungry during this trip😄
The afternoon snack was bananas, passion fruits, papaya and coconut water♪
After got enough relaxing time, we went for a trekking🔥Actually it was super hard trekking because you need to climb up holding rocks😂It was not trekking, but maybe rock climbing. lol
But the view was spectacular✨It was worth to climb up here.
Explore the Town
In Riung, there’s possibility that the signal is cut depends on the areas. But I love it! I was happy to spend my holiday without handphone😍
I think that real relaxing holiday should not including handphone sometimes🙌
When I was in Nirvana Bungalows, there was a signal sometimes but I can’t guarantee because it will be depends on the weather or situation. I heard that before Seroja cyclone they always had a signal but after cyclone attacked Flores island sometimes the signal is cut suddenly.
Watu Mitong Hill
It took only 10min by car from the bungalow. The view was amazing👏 I recommend you to visit here as well if you come to Riung for holiday.
And the trekking course was very easy. From this hill you can see the sunrise but I came here during sunset time. Even I couldn’t see the sunset nicely, the landscape of this island was unique and never get bored to see it⛰
This is the view✨
Culinary
Unfortunately due to Covid-19, the most of the restaurants were closed but we found a restaurant are still open for a whole day!!
Pato Resto is one of the popular restaurants in town🍽 It just 5min from the bungalow as well.
The menu is simple but they have a plenty of choise👌
And the portion was huge!! We couldn’t finish all so we took away the balance of these.
Travel Costs
A lot of my friends asked me about how much did I spend my money for this trip💸
Let me share the breakdown, here we go!
Nirvana Bungalow⛺️ : Rp.400,000/night × 3nights = Rp.1,200,000 (※Rate is depends on the season. Original rate is Rp.500,000/night including breakfast)
Boat tour⛵️ : Rp.1,000,000/boat (If participant is more than 3 pax it will charge Rp.400,000/pax)
Food expenses 🍗: Rp.515,000/pax for 3nights 4 days
Gasoline 🚘: Rp.870,000/round trip
Car Rental Fee🚙 : Rp.400,000/day × 4days = Rp.1,600,000
Total : Rp.5,700,000
Of course the price per person will be cheaper if you invite a lot of friends:) But this time luckily we could rent a car from my friend so we could save a lot of expenses for a car. Normally if you rent a car from the transportation agent you will be charged around Rp.800,000 – 1,000,000 per day🤑
But we still paid my friend a car rental fee with a sense of gratitude because it was risky that we bring his car to the countryside too!
Thank you very much for visiting my blog. I hope that this information will be useful♪
