My name is Dino Lopez and I am the only independent, experienced and professional freelance driver and guide in Flores, one of the most beautiful islands in Indonesia. You will find my name in several travel guide books as a recommended choice to cater for your travels in Flores.I have been working in Flores for the past ten years and consider myself to have extensive knowledge of Flores history, culture and places of interest to tourists such as your self. I am experienced in working with tourists from all over the world and I welcome you to see Flores with me!
In booking your tour with me you are making the right choice in supporting an independent, English speaking tour guide who has the best knowledge about this island of paradise, its culture, history, people and places.
I truly look forward to meeting you and sharing the passion and beauty of my island home. My aim is to do what I can to make your holiday in Flores even better than what you expected!
Please do not hesitate to contact me either by email or phone regarding any of your travel needs or queries in Flores or further east of Indonesia.
Kindest Regards,
Dino Lopez
(Independent, English speaking, licensed, freelance driver and guide)
Ph: +62 (0) 81338709569
February 21st, 2008 at 7:36 am
Hi,
I am interested in your trip.
Tell me more about the main highlights of Flores.
IE: the coloured lakes and the Komodo Islands.
Thanks,
Allison
April 3rd, 2008 at 1:24 pm
This is first time in my life when I don’t know what to say. After reading all comments I’m shocked. What has happened with our society, with our young generation? They are commenting terrible information, their lexis sounds terrible. Is that true, that only words they know is “cool”, “cute” and cussing words? What are they thinking of? It’s better not to think about it, it’s too sad
April 11th, 2008 at 8:21 am
I wonder why so many people like to comment stuff. Why is this kind of spending your free time so popular? Maybe people have a lack of communication in real world? Maybe that’s because they have a lot of problems in reality and want to run away from them? Maybe they need new impressions and experience? Or they just got suck here? I don’t have a clue. What do you all think?
October 20th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Hi there.
Great job. But not enought info. Where can i read more?
Thanks. Yours Anne!
October 27th, 2008 at 11:32 am
Hi.
Great job. But not enought info. Where can i read more?
Good Luck!
Andy.
June 3rd, 2009 at 1:58 pm
Bonjour Nong Dino
Flores me manques beaucoup …
tu es vraiment un gars.Intelligent et super sympa
tu fais du bon boulot
Bon Chance et Merci beaucoup Dino
à très bientôt j’espère!!!
mary~eva~guy
July 10th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
Found you!
Everything ok there in the beautiful Flores?
It was a nice trip and Flores is really recommended for other travelers.
Add us at facebook.. See you
Groetjes Gemma en Myrtle
August 12th, 2009 at 7:20 am
Hi Dino,
thank you for four amazing days on Flores. Back in Cologne we checked flights for 2010.
Hope we’ll see next year to see more of FBI!
Best regards,
Christian & Mandy
November 21st, 2009 at 9:16 am
Lost paradise….that’s true! I spent 2 weeks there in Flores, did an overland trip together with nice people, Dino introduced to me while having BBQ together with his friends in his house.It was wonderful and very interesting to experience Flores like that. Even though Dino knows a lot about culture and all the places worth to see.
Thanks for an unforgetable vacation!
And say hello to everybody in your house!
Katharina from Austria
January 12th, 2010 at 1:33 am
Hai Dino…
Apa kabar?
Pengalaman jalan2 ke Flores May 2009 lalu saya tulis di blog saya http://yeniunique.wordpress.com/ (di Travelling & Places, Judulnya: Sejuta Pesona Flores Part 1: Dari Maumere ke Moni, dan Sejuta Pesona Flores Part 2: Bajawa hingga Labuhan Bajo)
Guess what?? Udah beberapa orang minta nomor contact kamu ke saya. Mudah-mudahan mereka jadi ke Flores dan menghubungi kamu ya…
Cheers,
Unique
February 3rd, 2010 at 7:47 am
We travelled with Dino and you can read all about it on our blog [day by day] with photos! Dates for blog reference were mid January 2010.
Brilliant! Thanks Dino!
http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?TripID=11628
April 27th, 2010 at 11:00 am
Hi travellers,
If you are looking for an authantic and original holiday destination get in touch with Dino from beautiful indonesian island Flores.
The island is full of unique traditional culture still being “lived” by local people,amazing natural scenery and friendly,smily flores people.
Dino is not only a competent driver and guide but also a person with lots of the local knowledge.
Thanks to Dino my time in Flores was fun, learning experience and adventure all in one!
I would highly recommend Dino to everybody, who travells around Flores and who wants to know more than what a guide book tells you.
May 18th, 2010 at 12:27 pm
hey,I obtain that your web log is incredibly informative and useful and we were interested if there can be a possibility of obtaining More content like this on your blog. If you willing to support us out, we will be willing to compensate you… Best wishes, Manie Lovallo
May 27th, 2010 at 3:28 pm
Hey guys,
we travelled with Dino and we can’t tell you how amazing it is. You have to make your own experience!
German? Read our blog, if you like
Apagangwa Dino and greetings from the 4!
July 12th, 2010 at 12:14 pm
Voilà nous terminons aujourd’hui notre séjour avec Dino (10 jours).
Nous l’avons trouvé grâce à son site web.Après échange de quelques mails son offre nous apparut attractive et avons franchi le pas. Je dis bien franchi le pas car c’est la première fois que nous partions avec un guide chauffeur indépendant.
Il est clair qu’envoyer comme cela de l’argent par western union à quelqu’un à l’autre bout du monde a quelque chose d’un peu angoissant.Bref nous l’avons fait.
A l’arrivée notre stupéfaction est totale , nous avons affaire avec un professionnel qui va jusqu’à s’excuser par sms de quelques minutes de retard sur l’horaire indiqué! Je peux vous dire qu’en Indonesie c’est du luxe!
Le voyage commence donc et on constate qu’on a au volant un excellent chauffeur qui conduit prudemment et efficacement.
L’arrivée à Moni et le Kalimutu sont un ravissement!Puis s’enchainent Riung avec le parc national des 17 iles à l’occasion duquel Dino s’occupe de nous organiser un barbecue sur une ile déserte, on rêve éveillé.Dino est au petits soins pour nous; il cherche tout le temps à optimiser notre plaisir et notre bien etre.Les autres sites defilent au fur et à mesure et à chaque fois la presence discrete et l’efficacité de Dino font que notre voyage se deroule dans de parfaites conditions;il n’essaie jamais d’imposer mais de suggerer et conseiller par rapport à nos desirs et centres d’interet.
Nous sommes un couple la soixantaine commençante c’est notre 6eme voyage en Asie et le 2eme en Indonesie.
Si vous avez envie de visiter Flores et de vous impregner de la culture locale alors n’hesitez pas et faites confiance à cet homme les yeux fermés.
Hi Dino it would be too long to translate what I have writen! To make a shortcut your the best driver and guide we never have.Hope we will see you again and become friends. Marco and Bernadette
September 10th, 2010 at 11:33 am
Hey,
we travelled with Dino from Labuan Bajo to Maumere and had the most amazing time. Flores is a great island, lots to see and explore! We had heard that Trans-Flores highway can drive you crazy, but with Dino the trip never felt long or tiring. Thank you, Dino, for the interesting introduction to the culture, people and nature of Flores! Hope to be back and see more of the Eastern part of the island!
Eva & Susanne
September 16th, 2010 at 7:20 am
Voilà nous terminons aujourd’hui notre séjour avec Dino (10 jours).Nous l’avons trouvé grâce à son site web.Après échange de quelques mails son offre nous apparut attractive et avons franchi le pas. Je dis bien franchi le pas car c’est la première fois que nous partions avec un guide chauffeur indépendant.Il est clair qu’envoyer comme cela de l’argent par western union à quelqu’un à l’autre bout du monde a quelque chose d’un peu angoissant.Bref nous l’avons fait.A l’arrivée notre stupéfaction est totale , nous avons affaire avec un professionnel qui va jusqu’à s’excuser par sms de quelques minutes de retard sur l’horaire indiqué! Je peux vous dire qu’en Indonesie c’est du luxe!Le voyage commence donc et on constate qu’on a au volant un excellent chauffeur qui conduit prudemment et efficacement.L’arrivée à Moni et le Kalimutu sont un ravissement!Puis s’enchainent Riung avec le parc national des 17 iles à l’occasion duquel Dino s’occupe de nous organiser un barbecue sur une ile déserte, on rêve éveillé.Dino est au petits soins pour nous; il cherche tout le temps à optimiser notre plaisir et notre bien etre.Les autres sites defilent au fur et à mesure et à chaque fois la presence discrete et l’efficacité de Dino font que notre voyage se deroule dans de parfaites conditions;il n’essaie jamais d’imposer mais de suggerer et conseiller par rapport à nos desirs et centres d’interet.Nous sommes un couple la soixantaine commençante c’est notre 6eme voyage en Asie et le 2eme en Indonesie.Si vous avez envie de visiter Flores et de vous impregner de la culture locale alors n’hesitez pas et faites confiance à cet homme les yeux fermés.Hi Dino it would be too long to translate what I have writen! To make a shortcut your the best driver and guide we never have.Hope we will see you again and become friends. Marco and Bernadette
+1
December 25th, 2010 at 9:13 am
Thank you, Pak Dino for showing us the beauty of Flores. We have truly enjoy the 5 days trip of Flores from the start to the end. Although 5 days is definitely not enough, Flores is definitely a destination where we will come back again one day.
Dino is a very straight forward guide, none of those guides who works on commission. We truly feel that he has our best interest at heart. We never felt forced to do anything and the trip was very flexible according to our own pace. It’s as if we discovered Flores through a friend.
The boat trip from Labuan Bajo to Rinca and Komodo is definitely the highlight of the trip. THe Famasena boat crew and captain were in credibly kind and the captain actually cooked the best food I’ve eaten so far during that trip.
For those who would like to discover Flores, we highly recommends Dino to be your guide.
Merci beaucoup and see you next time!!
February 27th, 2011 at 3:05 am
I was travelling around Indonesia by myself and had fallen ill in Sulawesi. Feeling a bit sorry for myself, I was considering cutting Flores off my itinerary and returning straight home to Jakarta – thank goodness I didn’t!
I first met Dino in the foyer of my hotel feeling sick and angry that my luggage had been left behind in Bali. Initially I ignored Dino off who was trying to be friendly and ran off to my room.
The next morning I went for breakfast with tissue box in hand, feeling like death warmed up and with no clean clothes. I got talking to Dino and realised we had two mutual friends who apparently had been on many trips with him! He offered to take me to the airport to pick up my luggage which was arriving later in the day. To my surprise he would not take any payment and said that it was a complimentary service! Later that night he invited me to a barbeque at his house where after a good feed, a local remedy, some local brew and great company, I started feeling better.
Originally, I was going to take public transport to Labuan Bajo and then fly out to Bali but after chatting to Dino and his friends, I realised that Dino was genuine and not one of those guides who just wants your money. In the end, we organised a trip to Moni, Riung, Bajawa, Ruteng, Labuan Bajo and Komodo/Rinca Islands. In Moni, we met a couple of French people who asked Dino for advice on their trip. Dino was only too happy to help them and they ended up taking another car and joining us.
I can’t really pinpoint a highlight of my trip as the whole trip was unforgettable. From hanging out with friends in Maumere eating great food, visiting traditional villages, seeing the sun rise over Mount Kintamani, snorkelling in crystal clear waters, relaxing in a hammock and having a barbeque on an island which we had to ourselves for the day, seeing how the local brew is made (and sampling some of it), swimming in hot springs, visiting Komodo and Rinca Islands and seeing the Komodo dragons, sleeping on a boat and waking up to a peaceful bay view – there is something for everyone.
At the end of my trip, I was feeling much better and very refreshed – we had seen a lot but I didn’t feel exhausted or that we were running to a schedule.
I have been recommending Dino to my friends and would definitely recommend him to you. I look forward to my next trip and exploring more of Flores and East Nusa Tenggara!
Takara
March 6th, 2011 at 12:37 pm
Hi Dino, thanks again for the great trip!
We are Canadians living in Jakarta and found out about Dino from an Indonesian friend who had recently had a very satisfying trip with Dino. We used the same itinerary and flew to Maumere on 27 Feb 11 for week-long drive to Labuan Bajo, where we departed on 06 Mar 11. In Maumere, Dino was ready to pick us up at the airport and take us to our first night’s stay at a nearby villa. Dino guided, drove and accompanied us throughout the week and on the way to Labuan Bajo we visited original Ikat weavers, Kelimutu Lakes, blue-stone beach, Bena Village, Bajawa hot springs, Ruteng and the spider rice paddies. From Labuan Bajo we sailed out to Rinca island to see Komodo Dragons, snorkelled at several sites, found a newly hatched sea turtle at Pink Beach aka “Pantai Merah” and swam with Manta Rays at Manta Point. Our boat was “Dua Satu” (meaning “Two One”). The crew prepared very tasty food nicely served with big smiles. Dino accompanied us on board and made sure everything ran smoothly. Throughout the trip he made all bookings, explained history, culture and the topography and overall was an excellent ambassador of Flores and Indonesia. We had great confidence in his driving, planning and organization. He lived in the Netherlands for several years and Australia, and is properly trained and accredited Indonesian guide. Through his experience, Dino showed great intuition in helping us choose schedules, accommodation standards, restaurants – in short, Dino understands what tourists want and will tailor your trip to suit your personal needs. Yes, he requires a deposit up front (we paid 1/3 of the total by bank transfer) in order to protect his time in case of cancellations. This is reasonable but it does require a level of trust on the tourist’s part. But Dino is a Flores guide for the long-haul. He knows that word-of-mouth referrals are his bread and butter, so once he accepts your deposit, he will dedicate himself to your trip, as he did to ours.
Dino, thanks once again for an excellent trip and yes, we hope to see you again in the future for another great Flores experience!
Cheers,
Keith, Carol, Camden and Kiana
Canadians living in Jakarta
July 14th, 2011 at 2:45 am
Hi, Dino!
Do you remember guys from Russia? Elena wrote your some e-mails but she didn’t receive anything in reply yet. Do you check your e-mail?
We sent you present but don’t know did you receive it. Write us something!
January 8th, 2012 at 6:30 pm
My family and I (consisting of 3 teenagers, mum and dad) explored flores with deano while on holiday for six weeks in indonesia. Our time with deano was the highlight. thank you so much for your amazing knowledge, humor, experience, and care. It was such an amazing trip and i recommend using deano to anyone without a slight hesitation! every unforgetable moment was during our trip with deano!
joni, 18, NZ
- The kiwi family
January 14th, 2012 at 9:07 am
Hey Dino,
We are really glad to have met you through a mutal friend Lucky! Thanks to my aunt Sylvia Kaitjily. Thanks for picking us up thr airport, and gettong medication for my stomach!
We are very excited to go on a 6 day trip with you! It looks very promising and adventures!