The airport lies almost 30km away near Soa, from where you'll have to charter a bemo (US$10). The bus terminal is 2km out of town at Watujaji . Regular bemos from the terminal to the town cost Rp500. When it comes to moving on , most buses come into town to look for passengers, but it's best to be on the safe side and go to them. Buses east to Ende (Rp5000) run pretty much all day from 7am and take four hours. Tourist buses were not running at the time of writing, but were due to start up again soon. When they do resume service, they should run to Moni for Keli Mutu (5hr 30min; Rp7500) and west to Ruteng (5-6hr; Rp7500), starting at 7am but stopping in the early afternoon; the morning buses for Ruteng continue on to Labuhanbajo (11hr; Rp10,000).

The Merpati office is next to the market on Jalan Pasar (Mon-Sat 8am-2pm), the BNI bank on Jalan Piere Tandeau, a continuation of Jalan Hayamwuruk, and the Bank Rakyat Indonesia on Jalan Sukarno Hatta; they will only change US dollars. The Telkom building near the BRI is open 24hr, and the main post office is slightly to the west on the same road.

Accommodation in Bajawa is pretty basic, but there are a few decent options. As the road from Watujaji bus terminal reaches the outskirts of the town, it splits at a T-junction and becomes Jalan Achmad Yani, where a small path leads up to Sunflower Homestay (tel 0383/2123 under $5). Its outward-facing rooms have nice views, and well-informed guides congregate here. Hotel Anggrek on Jalan Letjend Haryono (tel 0383/21172; under $5), a few hundred metres beyond the market, has clean rooms, most of them en-suite. The management of the Nusantara is notorious for press-ganging travellers at the bus terminal, but the rooms are dirty and to be avoided.

For food , try Restaurant Camellia, opposite the Korina losmen on Jalan Achmad Yani, which does fantastic, reasonably priced guacamole and chips, kentang goreng and delicious lumpiah (spring rolls). Further up the hill on Jalan Gajah Mada, the Kasih Bahagia has a similar, though slightly more expensive, menu plus cold beer. In the market, the local stalls selling snack food are the cheapest places to eat in town.