Labuan Bajo

Enfolded by the feral western end of Flores, washed by the lapping waves of the Flores Sea, and facing up to the wild islands of Komodo across the straits, Labuan Bajo certainly has a location that's worth writing home about. The town itself has graduated from being just a humble fishing and transport hub to catering to the steady stream of visitors that now drifts across to this eastern enclave of Indonesia.

The result is a place packed with peanut-scented warung (traditional taverns) and lively Bali-style bamboo bars. Dive Outfitters and adventure-ready Labuan Bajo tour guides are plentiful, some offering expeditions to meet turtles and sea sponges in the ocean, others for waxing up the walking boots and trekking jungle-clad Mount Mbeliling.

Caving and sailing, walks to waterfalls, and snorkelling in secluded coves can also join the itinerary. But they're all overshadowed by the pulls of the mysterious Komodo National Park. Labuan Bajo is a fine basepoint for excursions there, where you can go to wonder at the hulking Komodo dragon and its habitat of pink-sanded bays and scrub-topped peaks that rise straight from the cerulean Flores Sea.