How To Visit Nuca Molas: Jurassic Park Island In Flores

The latest place in Indonesia that’s been compared to Jurassic Park is Nuca Molas, a little island off the coast of Flores with wild and exotic scenery.

It’s well worth a visit if you’re road tripping through Flores, going to Komodo, or planning to visit the nearby village of Wae Rebo.

The scenery on this island is spectacular, and you can climb the lighthouse or hike one of the hills for better views of the mountains in the middle. The location is a bit remote, but that keeps the crowds away!

This travel guide will explain how to get to Nuca Molas, and everything you need to know before you go!

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Where To Stay In Labuan Bajo

Bayview Gardens

Komodo Suites

Seaesta Komodo Hotel

Plataran Beach Resort

How To Get To Nuca Molas

• Step 1: Flying To Flores Island

Start by flying to Komodo International Airport (LBJ) in Labuan Bajo.

This is the closest airport to Nuca Molas, and there are daily flights from Bali, Jakarta, and Kuala Lumpur for very reasonable prices.

The flight from Bali only takes 1 hour. You can shop for flights on Skyscanner.

Hiking in the mountains of Nuca Molas

• Step 2: Driving To Dintor

Next, you’ll need transport to Dintor village, the jump-off point to Nuca Molas island. From Labuan Bajo, the drive takes 4 or 5 hours by car because the roads are in bad condition.

Your options are to rent a scooter and drive yourself, hire a private driver with a car, or join an organized tour.

I wouldn’t recommend driving yourself, because the roads are unusually rough and it’ll take a long time to get there by motorbike, even if you have experience.

Lighthouse at Nuca Molas island in Flores Indonesia

The lighthouse at Nuca Molas

I visited Nuca Molas as part of a road trip through Flores island, so the natural choice for me was a private driver. It costs about 1 to 1.5 million Rupiah for a one way transfer from the Labuan Bajo airport to Nuca Molas.

I hired Emanuel Saman as a driver for this trip, and had a great experience with him. His vehicle is good and he’s a careful driver. He also speaks English and you can contact him by WhatsApp at ☎ +62 821-4543-6263.

After Nuca Molas, I continued road tripping through the island of Flores, visiting sights around Ruteng, Bajawa, Ende, and more. I wrote about my whole experience on the blog if you want to read it.

Epic landscapes at the center of Nuca Molas island in Flores Indonesia

Nuca Molas has wonderful scenery

While you’re in the area, you should at least consider spending a day or two visiting Wae Rebo village as well. It’s a traditional village surrounded by amazing mountains, and it’s not far from Nuca Molas, so you can do both places in the same trip.

However, if you’re not doing an extended road trip across Flores and just want to see Nuca Molas only, then an organized tour can be a good option.

Here’s a 2 day tour that includes transportation from Labuan Bajo, meals, overnight accommodation, and an English-speaking guide. It’s probably the simplest and most convenient way to visit Nuca Molas.

We’ve used this company for lots of tours and activities around the world, and they’re great. Highly recommended!

A drone pic of Nuca Molas island and beach

A drone pic of Nuca Molas island showing the beach

• Step 3: Boat To Nuca Molas

Once you get to Dintor village, you can actually see Nuca Molas island from the coast. It looks impressive even when it’s looming in the distance!

I arranged the boat trip in advance by contacting the owner of Jose Homestay, where I also stayed overnight before continuing to Ruteng during my Flores road trip.

Jose lives right by the coast, and you can take a boat to Nuca Molas directly from the beach in front of his homestay. He’s friendly and helpful, and even though he barely speaks English, we were able to make it work with a translator app. 🙂

You can contact him by WhatsApp with the number listed on his Google Maps profile.

Alternatively, you can go to the little harbor in Dintor village (map here) and try to arrange a boat yourself, but that would be more challenging to do on the spot because the locals there can’t speak English.

We used a little raft to get onto the boat

The boat ride to Nuca Molas takes just half an hour, and it’s safe and comfortable enough even though the boat is small.

If you’re bringing any cameras or other electronics, I’d highly recommend using a waterproof bag to keep them safe. When I went in May, the waves were too bumpy to land the boat on the main beach, so we had to use a little raft to get to the boat.

I was really worried I’d drop my backpack in the ocean and ruin my camera gear, but everything turned out okay.

In hindsight though, a dry bag would’ve been great to have there. I just wasn’t expecting to use one for this trip!

Wandering the island with Jose

Visiting Nuca Molas: What To Expect

Nuca Molas, also known as Pulau Mules, is such a cool looking island. It’s easy to see why it’s been compared to Moana or Jurassic Park.

The whole interior of the island is covered with steep hills and palm trees, and there’s one giant peak in the center that looks awesome.

The lighthouse and main peak

Drone picture of the hills on Nuca Molas island

Another view of the rolling hills

Plan to spend half a day on the island. The main thing to see is the lighthouse, and you can climb to the top, but the steps and ladder inside are a bit steep. Go at your own risk. The view at the top is amazing.

After visiting the lighthouse, I did a short hike with Jose to one of the hills in the center of the island. The view here was the best! We even saw Javan rusa deer running in the distance.

If you want to do some more exploring, the island also has a bat cave and several nice white sand beaches. Just remember to bring water, because the midday heat is no joke.

Hills and palm trees

More Indonesia Travel Guides

Thanks for looking! I hope you enjoyed this guide for how to visit Nuca Molas island in Flores.

Don’t forget to check out my other travel guides for Indonesia before you go!

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