Backpacker guesthouse in Kupang
The Lavalon guesthouse is located near the Danamon bank on Jalan Sumatera, a quiet residential side street. Ony Meda, the manager, is a helpful man and speaks good English.
He is able to assist or guide visitors on tours to Roti and West Timor or even Alor and Flores. He is a good hearted guy and honest.
Rooms are 30,000 – 40,000 rupiah a nite. Rooms 2 and 3 seem to be the nicest.
T
here is tea or coffee and bread in the morning.
Ony has to run errands to earn extra money to support his family as the guesthouse is not busy enough to be a sole means of support.
When he is not around I just take a vacant room, grab a shower, take the key and head to town and get with Ony later.
It’s a short walk to the Lavalon bar and Bank Danamon. I have been able to change USD to rupiah at Danamon and they have a atm there as well. BNI bank is just down the street.
If the banks are not changing money or they have a problem with the serial number or date on your notes you can try changing it at Pitoby Travel, Kuanino, Jl-Jend-Sudirman. They give you a crap rate but if you are in a bind it might be an option.
If you are headed to East Timor the people there don’t care what condition the money is in so if you have US currency that is pretty ratty that will be a good place to get rid of it.
The only problem is that when you are spending USD in East Timor your money seems to go very quickly. East Timor is not a budget destination.
You can also buy or sell dollars at the border. The East Timor visa has to be paid for in US dollars, it is the national currency for now.
Kupang itself is rather spread out and you will need to organize transport to the docks and airport as they are 15 to 20 minutes away.
There are 2 different boat docks depending on where you are going and what boat. The fast boat and the slow boat to Rote for example leave from different ports.
The ojek, or motorbike drivers, are pretty reasonable if you are not carrying a lot of bags but if you have surf boards or large backpacks you can get a taxi easy enough.
There are not any rumah makan near the guesthouse but when the sun has gone down and it is not too hot it is an easy walk to the bemo center.
There are heaps of food vendors there with really good fresh food for 5000 rupiah.
There are some restaurants with really good food spread out throughout the city, so it helps to have wheels to get around.
Ony rents out the motorbike but I was fortunate enough to borrow one from one of the guys at the Lavalon. (Gary of Kaki Kaki Ayam) Tabalong.
There is also a pretty intensive network of bemos but that takes a few days to figure out.
Timor Travel runs shuttle buses from Dili to Kupang and will pick you up from your place in the morning. At the time of this writing the border is closed. (old post from 2006) I have done that trip 4 or 5 times and the cost was around 20 US dollars.
Lavalon is a good place to meet ramblers from all over the place.
Two Swiss on a motorbike just wheeled in from Pakistan last time I was there.
(The short guy in the photo is Ony.)
selamat jalan
Climbing Mount Apo
General Santos
Growing Orchids
Judy's Resto Bar
Logging with Motorcycles
Mount Mayon
Balabac Island
Biri Island
Calbiga Cave
Capul Island
Mangrove Swamp Palawan
Mikes's Resort
Wood Boat to Manila Philippines
hi. how are you?
My name is rama. i was browsing to find infos on alor when i found you. as i might be in kupang around the first week of march for some works and planning to take few days off after (limited only for 5 days to spend tho), i’m wondering if you could give me some infos of places worth (beautiful exotic beaches) to visit. I especially thinking to go to Alor or Rote. As for that, i have few questions. How is the weather for alor in march? are you providing services in transportation or accomodation arrangements? and so, if alor and march weather aren’t perfect match, do you have any other recommendation for other places around kupang?
i’d appreciate any feedback from you. thanks in advance.
cheers,
Rama
Hello Rama,
Maybe 5 days is enough to get a glimpse of Alor if you fly into Kalabahi. If you take the boat you will loose a day each way and the schedules are sporadic so it will be too tight to fit it all in 5 days.
I suggest going to Rote and seeing a bit of West Timor.
The weather can be iffy in March.
Check with Ony of the Lavalon Guesthouse. He and Edwin of the Lavalon Bar are the top authorities on the area.
dp
Hello, DP,
Very useful info on your blog, thanks for sharing. Just wondering if you could give me some suggestions. I will be flying into Kupang and then onto Alor the following morning. Is there any accommodation near the airport you would recommend(as I am arriving at night)? What’s the chance of getting a room in Lavalon without advanced reservation? Is there a way to contact Ony? Many thanks in advance.
Best
Kat
Hi Kat C
The airport is way out of town and there is no lodging there that I am aware of.
Best to take a cab or motorbike to town where there are plenty of hotels and a few restaurants to choose from. There are at least 4 hotels within walking distance of the Lavalon Bar on the waterfront.
Use the Lavalon as a base – you can leave your bag there with Edwin if you want to have a look at a few of the hotels across the street. The Lavalon Guesthouse is up the alley, the Susi and the Maliana Hotels are just across the street.
Oni can be contacted through Edwin. I don’t have his cell phone number handy and don’t think that they take advance reservations ( keep in mind the rooms are less than 5 USD) Oni can take you back to the airport in the morning. If you are handy with the Indonesian language, you could take the bemo (small mini bus) to town.
The Maliana Hotel is a good call too. The Lavalon Bar is a good place to get information about West Timor, Alor, Pantar, etc – ask Edwin
Have a nice trip!
dp
Oni,
Do you remember me? I need your service, please mail me to …
(I removed email address but sent you an email – robots and spammers use published emails, dp)
Hi Carlos Pereyra,
Please try to contact Oni through Edwin at the Lavalon Bar or through Edwin’s website
dp
my name is binyam tell me maor info bot transportashin 10q
Hello binyam,
I am assuming that you want to know about hiring transport within 10 kilometers of Kupang?
Bemos are relatively cheap but you have to check the routes to see if they are going where you want to.
The airport is quite a ways from town but I have taken a bemo (small van) before – I think it was 2000 – 3000 rupiah.
A motorbuke ride to the airport might run about 40-50,000 rupiah.
If you just want to do a bit of touring in the area check with Oni of the Lavalon Guesthouse and he should be able to take you around for a low price. He is a really good guy.
He is also fluent in English because he was the caretaker of old “Jack” – a regular of the Lavalon Bar on the waterfront for years before he passsed away.
rip Jack – an Aussie that was well loved in the community.
also check with Edwin of the Lavalon.
cheers
dp
Hi,
We plan to visit Alor in the next month, and will stop at Kupang for two days. We’d like to stay at Lavalon guesthouse. Do we need to make reservation and how to do? And, how can we get there from airport?
Thanks.
Jason
Hello Jason,
You will have to take a motorcycle taxi (ojek) or a car taxi from the airport to Kupang which is around 20 kilometers away. The Lavalon Guesthouse is not the kind of place that will have a reservation desk – it’s more like a 4 bedroom house that is set up for backpackers.
The Lavalon guesthouse is located near the Danamon bank on Jalan Sumatera, on a quiet residential side street.
I stay at the Maliana Hotel sometimes – they have air conditioning in the rooms and are a tad more upscale.
If you can find the Lavalon Bar on the waterfront ask Edwin where Ony is and he can show you the guesthouse – about 150 meters up a side street.
You could even take a bemo from the airport to town – that only cost me 2000 rupiah last time I was there,but that was in 2006.
dp