Bajawa · 70–75 km
Three to four hours on sealed road. The shortest and the most reliable.
Photo: Felix Dance / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
Map & distances
Riung sits on the north coast, and the drive is the trip.
Coordinates, honest road times from every direction, and why published estimates disagree with each other so badly.
In short
Riung is at roughly 8.42°S, 121.03°E in Ngada Regency — about 70–75 km from Bajawa, 130 km from Ende and 340 km from Labuan Bajo, all of it overland.
- Bajawa is the shortest approach, three to four hours.
- Ende via Mbay is three and a half to five.
- Labuan Bajo is eleven to thirteen hours of driving.
The approaches
Four ways in, and what each one costs you in hours
Times are for dry-season daylight driving. Add an hour in rain, and more after a landslide.
Ende · 130 km
Three and a half to five hours via Mbay. Morning buses run this way.
Photo: Serenade / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Moni · via Kelimutu
Sunrise at the crater lakes, then north the same day. A long but good day.
Photo: Bagus Pinandoyo Basuki / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Labuan Bajo · 340 km
Eleven to thirteen hours. Nobody sensible does this in one push.
Photo: Jakub Hałun / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
Why the numbers disagree
Every source quotes a different drive time
Published estimates for Bajawa–Riung range from two and a half to six hours. They are all describing the same road; what differs is whether the writer drove it, took a bus, or copied someone who did neither.
Assume the upper end. The road climbs, it is single carriageway most of the way, and a truck in front of you sets your pace for the next twenty minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Ready to put dates on it?
Riung boats are arranged locally, at the pier. For the Komodo leg or a full Flores itinerary, the reservations desk answers on WhatsApp.