Nusa Tenggara Islands

Nusa Tenggar Regions Map

The Lesser Sunda Islands or Nusa Tenggara ("Southeastern Islands") are a group of islands in Maritime Southeast Asia, north of Australia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up the Sunda Islands. The islands are part of a volcanic arc, the Sunda Arc, formed by subduction along the Sunda Trench in the Java Sea.

Regions

Nusa Tenggarra is administratively divided into two provinces:

West Nusa Tenggara (Nusa Tenggara Barat)

Lombok

Sumbawa

East Nusa Tenggara (Nusa Tenggara Timur)

Flores

Alor Archipelago

Sumba

Entry

By plane

The main airports, with frequent flights from Java and Denpasar (Bali), are lombok , Maumere (Flores) and Kupang (West Timor). A few flights a week also go from Denpasar, Bali to both Waingapu, Sumba (eastern part of the island) and Waikabubak (western part, near where the Pasolas are held annually).

The only direct international connection from anywhere outside Indonesia directly to the islands is on SilkAir from Singapore 3 times a week to Lombok's International Airport, (Bandara Internasional Lombok), (BIL), (IATA: LOP) in central southern Lombok near the city of Praya.

By boat

There are frequent ferry services from Bali to Lombok. There is a ferry from Padang Bai, whilst there is a fast boat to GilI Islands and Senggigi from Sanur, Benoa, Kuta, Padang Bai and Amed. Connections between Nusa Tenggara and Indonesia's other islands are limited to the occasional PELNI ferry sailing between Makassar (South Sulawesi) to Floresand, if you really want to get away from it all, from various ports in Papua via Tual and Saumlaki, Maluku to Kalabahi, Alor and onward to Flores.

Get around

By plane

TranNusa Air Services offers a number of short distance inter-island flights.

By bus and ferry

From Bali in the west to Timor in the east, the classic island-hopping backpacker trail across Nusa Tenggara runs something like this:

Ferry from Padangbai, Bali to Lembar, Lombok

Overland across Lombok via Senggigi

Ferry from Labuhan Lombok to Poto Tano, Sumbawa

Overland across Sumbawa via Sumbawa Besar and Bima

Ferry from Sape to Labuanbajo, Flores

Overland across Flores via Maumere to Ende

Ferry from Ende to Kupang, West Timor

Overland across Timor to Dili, East Timor

Popular detours include visiting the 3 Gili Islands lying a few km of the western coast of Lombok and Komodo north of Flores. Less popular options include going via Sumbainstead of Flores.

A night time ferry also runs, sometimes, from Waingapu, Sumba to Ende, Flores, taking about 11 hours.