How to Explore Flores with the Scooter

Everything you need to know about renting a scooter in Flores, choosing your route, managing luggage and staying safe on the road

Flores is an amazing island to explore by scooter. The nature and views are incredible, you drive through rice fields and mountains, and there’s even a beautiful ocean road. Even though Flores is one of the least developed islands of Indonesia, the roads are generally in good condition. You can choose to do a round trip from Labuan Bajo, or a one-way trip from Maumere or Ende.

We’ll show you:

– How to start and where to rent your scooter for a one-way trip from Maumere/ Ende
– How to manage your luggage
– How to prevent scams

Rent a Scooter in Maumere/ Ende at Lena House

You have three possible starting points on Flores: Labuan Bajo, Ende, and Maumere. If you start in Labuan Bajo, you could do a full round trip and find places to rent a bigger scooter, such as the Yamaha NMAX (155cc). However, a Honda Vario (125cc) is more than enough, and you can rent it in Maumere or Ende for a one-way trip, just as we did ourselves. We also recommend a one-way trip, as it already takes you to all the places worth seeing and is more time-efficient. We did it in 14 days and saw everything.

Starting in Maumere is highly recommended, as there are almost no tourists here, and the corals are more beautiful than on the snorkel/dive tours you can do in Komodo National Park, especially because it’s less crowded. You can rent a scooter in Maumere at Lena House. This is an amazing home stay for your first nights, with sea-view bungalows, and it’s very affordable. They have family in Labuan Bajo, and they will collect the scooter after you finish your trip. The scooter was reliable and got us everywhere safely. Just text them for making a reservation for the scooter.

If you have less time and care less about snorkeling/diving, you could decide to start in Ende. We found out about this option because our flight to Maumere was canceled and changed to Ende, but Lena House delivered the scooter to Ende. We texted them that our flight had changed, and they immediately sent someone to drive the scooter to Ende. We already had the scooter the same evening! Because of our dive and snorkel addiction, we drove to Maumere the next day, best decision ever!

When you start in Labuan Bajo and do a round trip, you can rent a scooter at your accommodation or ask for recommendations. However, with a round trip, you’ll drive some roads twice, which is more exhausting, so we don’t recommend it.

Note: Safety first! The roads on Flores are generally in good condition, and there’s much less traffic than, for instance, in Bali. But of course, it’s still Asia, so be careful and expect the unexpected. Make sure you feel comfortable driving on two wheels, as you’ll be riding winding ocean roads and curvy mountain passes. We always wear helmets and avoid wearing just flip-flops, and driving in the dark. Fuel is easy to find in larger towns, but you shouldn’t assume that petrol stations will be available whenever you need one. On remote stretches of road, you may come across small roadside sellers offering fuel in bottles. These can be useful when there are no petrol stations nearby.

Bring Just Small Backpacks on the Scooter

We managed perfectly fine on our scooter trips together by both only bringing hand luggage, meaning a small backpack, around 20 – 25 liters in size. Joshua has a simple Decathlon backpack that he can fit between his legs, while Sophia travels with a comfortable Osprey day pack that she keeps on her back while driving. For this, make sure you have a scooter where you can fit one of the backpacks between your legs, such as a Honda Scoopy or Vario. If you mainly bring clothes and essentials, it won’t feel heavy on your back, and if you have heavier items, you can put them in the backpack between your legs or in the scooter’s storage compartment. The same goes for solo travelers, you can easily manage with one small backpack between your legs or then even one on your back as well.

Now you might be asking yourself: what’s essential to bring? Read soon how to pack hand luggage for 4 weeks in Asia.

Rent Storage for the Rest of Your Luggage in Bali

To arrive in Flores from outside of Asia, you often have to go via Bali. If you’re traveling long-term, chances are high that you’ll have big luggage with you, which is less suitable for riding on a scooter, especially with two people. Flores has small airports, so you won’t find good connections from outside Asia. From within Asia, you can find good connections from Kuala Lumpur or Singapore. However, in Bali, you can store your big luggage in a locker first, so you’re ready to continue with smaller luggage on the scooter.

At first, we were hesitant to store our stuff for a longer period, but we found the perfect option! Bali Safe Storage in Denpasar rents out lockers for both short and long term. For one month, we paid just 60 euros, a small price for full freedom. We repacked our luggage at our first accommodation in Denpasar, then rented the scooter. Joshua drove the scooter to the locker, while Sophia took a Grab taxi there with all the luggage. We used this same storage trick for our road trip through Bali. Curious about Bali? Read soon more about how to explore Bali by scooter in our next article.

Take Photos & Videos of the Scooter to Prevent Scams

Even that we had good experiences with renting scooters, its of course always good to be careful. One of the best ways to prevent scams is to take pictures and videos of the scooter before you get on it, right in front of the person renting it to you. This way, it’s clear that no damage can be blamed on you afterwards. They might ask you to leave your passport as a deposit, but never do that! It’s better to leave a less important card with your name on it instead. And of course, check the lights, brakes, tires, and mirrors.