We live on this island
Hello Sumba works out of Waikabubak, in West Sumba — not Jakarta, not Bali, not Labuan Bajo. That is more than an address.
Why every trip is overland
Sumba takes four to five hours to drive from its western tip to its eastern one, and most of the places worth seeing have no public transport at all. So every trip we run is a private overland journey: one vehicle, one driver who also guides, from the airport until you are back at the airport.
Routes change with the season
A waterfall in full flow in March can be a shallow pool by September. The tracks to some villages are only comfortable when dry. Hills that are green in May turn gold by August.
We tell you this before you book, not after. If the waterfall you had in mind is low, we say so and offer an alternative — rather than letting you find out at the end of a two-hour drive.
About visiting traditional villages
Sumba's traditional villages were not built to be visited. People live in them, and the Marapu faith is still practised there. That brings rules: permission is asked through a village elder, betel nut is offered as a courtesy, some things should not be photographed, and some days are simply not a good time to arrive.
We arrange permission and the betel-nut offering for every guest, and explain the etiquette before you walk in — including what a reasonable donation is and who it should go to.
Your driver is your guide
Our drivers are Sumbanese. They speak the local languages, know the roads without a map, and know what time to arrive where — reaching the savannah hills before nine, for instance, while the light is still low and the other vehicles have not come.
Company details
How we work
- Private trips — you are never put in a group with strangers
- One air-conditioned Toyota Innova per departure
- A Sumbanese driver who also guides
- Village permissions and courtesies arranged for you
- Honest conditions on the ground, told to you before you book
- Trip photos handed over as files, yours to keep