3^rd June 2026 – Labuan Bajo

Have had a lazy week swinging on a mooring in the outer harbour of Labuan Bajo and visiting the town to catch up on things we have missed out on over the past couple of months.

Labuan Bajo is the centre for the tourist trade around the Komodo National Park Area.  It apparently used to be a fairly small place but is rapidly expanding to cater for an increasingly popular tourist destination.  The town sits on the western end of Flores and overlooks the spectacular Komodo archipelago situated between Flores and Sumbawa.  There are three main islands (Komodo, Rinca and Padar) and countless smaller islands.  The big draw here is the Komodo Dragons but there are also spectacular dive sites due to the amazing marine life and onshore trekking routes to explore.  The islands are accessed either by charter Phinisi or day tripping speedboats.  There are also a bunch of onshore activities visiting caves, villages, volcanic lakes etc on Flores.

Labuan Bajo sits on a hillside and is protected from the North by a couple of small islands and the south by the main island of Rinca.  It is a busy port with God knows how many Phinisi are moored in the anchorage and nearby areas.  There is a marina complex which is not really a marina but more a commercial wharf area for the tourist trade.  The town has the feel of Bali from thirty years ago – not too big, laid back without the drawbacks of excessive mass tourism.  There are cafes and restaurants and bars, shops and supermarkets.  Most of the tourists seem to be European with surprisingly few Australians. And the rubbish situation is nowhere near as bad.  There is still some garbage but nothing compared to Raja Ampat.  The locals are as friendly as anywhere in Indonesia but not as persistent as in Bali.

Labuan Bajo Anchorage/Mooring Field South

So given all the shore side amenities Nik and I have been like kids in a candy shop.  We go out in the morning and wander around buying food and having coffee and then in the evening have found a cool bar to watch the sunset over the islands before having a diner which we did not need to cook and comprises of more that just variations on vegetables and rice.

We had sailed non stop from Raja Ampat to Labuan Bajo which took approximately eight days and Nik had decided to stay with me for the crossing.  This is a big deal as Nik is not a fan of long distance sailing but I reassured her that the conditions would be calm and we both want to stay together on the boat rather than travel separately.

We departed the Fam islands on the morning of the 20^th May.  The total journey is over 800Nm and consists of a couple of legs.  The first is approx. 250Nm to the Kelang Strait off the west coast of Seram near Ambon and then from there its another 600Nm to Flores.  The forecast was good if a little light especially for the initial stage of the trip.  There were a number of islands all along the route where we could have put into if necessary.

The Raja Flores Route

We sailed for most of the first day but then motored in the afternoon once the wind died.  It was forecast to pick up again in the night so we anchored for six hrs until the wind came in.  After sailing most of the night into Thursday the wind died and we ended up motoring the whole day to the Kelang Strait which needs to be carefully navigated due to the string currents.  Once through the strait we picked up south easterlies which were anywhere from 2 to 15kts.  Generally the sailing was great akin to trade wind conditions but every now and then the wind died and we just had to wait it out.

There were a couple of squalls which were the only time Nik was really on edge.  She has a phobia about the boat leaning over and even though I explain the physics she cannot overcome the feeling in the pit of her stomach.  Anyway we got through those and I think she enjoyed the rest of the trip.  It was a huge achievement and I am very proud of her for doing it but do not think she will be doing the Indian Ocean with me.

Calm Crossing Conditions

We reached Flores on Wednesday 27^th May and anchored at a small island near Labuan Bajo for a couple of days to get some rest before heading into the town.  Finding a spot to anchor proved difficult.  There are charter phinisi  everywhere and small boats darting around between them and shore.  The whole of the anchorage is taken up with moorings for the charter fleet so it looked impossible to anchor anywhere and so in the end we picked up a mooring which we managed to hang onto for a couple of days before we were asked (very politely) to move to another spot.

A couple of mooring shifts later and we are still here in the outer harbour with the town dingy dock a short dingy ride away.  We have completed most of the necessary chores I.e. laundry, fuel, water, visas, provisioning etc. We have decided to take a tour on a Phinisi – get off Sea Otter for three days and let someone else drive us around and cook for us.  The trip starts on Friday and goes to a number of spots around the islands.