East Indonesia - I’ve just finished a UK to Bali cycle trip want to explore Flores and Timor but I’ve got not idea what the overland options are. Hitchhiking? Shared taxis? Backpacking? Etc

Hi, I’ve just finished a year’s trip cycling from UK to Bali and while I’d absolutely love to carry on cycling across Sumbawa, Flores, and then to East Timor, I think I completely burned out of cycling and dripping in sweat all day every day.

I’ve decided I really want to make it to East Timor overland anyway, so I’m looking at all the various buses and tours. Renting a scooter and strapping my bags to it would be a trip but unfortunately I don’t have an international driving license!

I’m not so bothered about sightseeing in Sumbawa and Timor, but Flores looks absolutely spectacular and I’d like to get off the main road on that island. There’s buses across the island obviously but it looks like you’d miss all the interesting stuff just being on the main trans-Flores road. Multi-day tours go into the interesting remote areas, but they’re very expensive, prioritising plush cars and fancier accommodation for western tourists which I don’t really care for.

Has anyone backpacked Flores and could shed some insight on how you got around, and how you managed to see the interesting stuff? Trying to find a middle ground between expensive tours that see all the sights, and just taking main public transport which skips everything.

Thank you!