Mount Bromo is probably Indonesia’s most famous volcano. It sits at the Eastern end of Java between Surabaya and Yogyakarta and is quite often lumped in as part of a tour heading out of one of those two cities. This typically involves taking a private van with a few other tourists and staying in accommodation that has been pre-booked. The bus will make multiple stops at pre-arranged eateries and rest stops. The guest houses may or may not be nice to stay in. The experience will be cookie-cutter. It will end at Mount Bromo for the sunrise, where multiple vans arrive with boat loads of tourists who will leave shortly after 5am. It requires very little effort, and is rather anticlimactic.
There’s a way to not only save money, but to make this tremendously more exciting and authentic: See Mount Bromo independently of a tour.
My jumping off point happened to be Bondowoso after climbing Kawah Ijen, which I also did independently of a tour and was really happy with my experience when all was said and done.
A public bus departed the Bondowoso bus station bound for Probolinggo (just as it would from Surabaya or Yogyakarta) several times per day. Catching the afternoon bus, I paid 16,000 Rupiah (USD $1.60) to the bus attendant and settled in for the 4-hour ride. Stopping a few times to let on guitar-playing buskers and snack touts, the ride took me through absolutely stunning countryside and only made minimal, and very brief, stops.
From Probolinggo, a small bus takes off for Cemoro Lawang (the base of Bromo) when full. This can be arranged for 30,000 Rupiah one-way at Toto travel at the Probolinggo bus station.
Knowing that I wanted to use my own legs to hike to the summit for sunrise, rather than taking a jeep, I searched out accommodation at the highest point near the trail head. While there are many options, I ended up at Losmen Setia Kawan home stay.
The first day was spent walking to the Bromo volcano itself, which involved a walk across the sand sea, bypassing the Hindu temple, and climbing up a set of stairs to the crater opening.
This part of the hike is usually accessed with a jeep tour right after the sunrise at the summit. The walk was mostly flat, however, and pretty easy to do sans-tour. Plus, I prefer a walk to a ride.
The rest of the day was spent visiting the warung near Cafe Lava, eating an amazing meal for under $1 each time, and plotting a plan for the wee hours of the morning.
The next day at 3:30am, jacket on, hand-drawn map in hand, and headlamp in tow, I started what would be about a two hour climb. The path was pretty obvious for the most part. It wasn’t nearly as challenging as say, Rinjani or Kinabalu, but was a great way to get some exercise and was still a nice challenge.
*For those who are feeling tired by the time the road turns into a steeper dirt track, there’s a really nice view from the first summit as well. Many climbers choose to stop there.
The summit itself was so full of cars and people that I was instantly turned off. The hoards of other tourists made it almost impossible to get a decent view. The benefit of not being on a tour was my ability to wait for them to clear out after the sunrise to get some decent pictures. Those on a tour didn’t have the luxury of waiting around for a clearer vista, nor did they get the satisfaction of climbing to the top.
I wish I had stopped at the wooden railings just a half kilometer from the summit. The view was just as good and there were probably only a handful of people watching the sun rise there, as compared to the hundreds I had to contend with. It’s one of those things you find out after the fact. So, let me be the one to pass along that the perfect place to watch the sun rise is not at the top lookout point near the antennae, but the last wooden railing you get to before the asphalt road. Chances are there will be a guy there with a motorbike asking to take you the rest of the way for some money. He probably also has some food and hot beverages to sell. Might as well stick around and hang out with him while the sun comes up.
Do it Yourself:
- Take a public bus bound for Probolinggo from wherever you happen to be. The earlier, the better
- Take a small bus from Probolinggo to Cemoro Lawang, the town at Mt. Bromo, for around 25,000-30,000 Rupiah and ask to be dropped off at the highest guest house. There will be several to choose from so feel free to shop around and haggle on prices
- Make sure you’re not climbing without travel insurance. It’s pretty cheap and worth it should the worst occur. It is going to be dark and at some points, steep (in the spirit of full disclosure that is an affiliate link to the company that I get my insurance from)
- Head to a guest house where the information booth can give you pricing on tours or, even better, write out a map for you on how to get to Bromo without a tour
- Bring a head lamp and a jacket (if you need a jacket, one can be rented cheaply for 24 hours at Cemara Indah guesthouse). Head out around 3-3:30am in order to catch the sunrise at the summit. Even better, stop about a quarter of a mile from the summit (before the asphalt road) and get a more private view of the sunrise
- Climb back down and take the small bus to Probolinggo. It leaves when full. The drivers will be around looking for tourists to bring down
- Demand to be brought back to the bus station, as these smaller vans will likely bring you to a private tour operator. Say you have already bought an onward ticket and they should relent fairly easily
- Arrive at the bus station in Probolinggo and get on a bus headed in the direction you next aim to visit
Laura says
Gorgeous photos! Had planned to visit here but after a nightmare travel saga, we never made it. Definitely would still love to go though!
Kristin says
Thanks! Nightmare travel sagas tend to happen in Java!
Kristin says
That’s great! You can do both Bromo hikes in one day but I broke it up into two. They’re opposite directions and it would be a lot in one day. The tours hit both in one day because they drive. No hiking involved which made me disinterested. Bromo itself is across the sand sea and the viewpoint is a neighboring vista so you can see the sun rise above bromo. Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions!
Susi says
Despite your great guide, we took a sunrise jeep tour anyway – and regretted it! There were hundreds of identical jeeps parking along the small winding road to the viewpoint (almost impossible to find your jeep again later) and hundreds of people crammed onto the platform waiting for the sunrise, as you said, almost impossible to get a good shot. It was also very loud due to the roaring jeep and motorbike engines, the many vendors and people talking, which also spoilt the experience for me.
Luckily, we stayed longer than the other travellers (who only came for the sunrise the night before, leaving the next morning at 9am), hiking on our own through this moon-like landscape which was great! Despite the high season we didn’t see many people apart from locals while walking during the day. I’d definitely recommend staying longer and doing independent hikes!
The viewpoint is also stunning in late afternoon/for sunSET. Another option avoiding the crowded sunrise is chartering a private jeep for sunset. Not very common, but there very drivers in town willing to do it (it’s more expensive, though). xx Susi
Kristin says
I wondered about the sunset! I was thinking it would be really nice. Glad you still got a chance to enjoy it but yeah, there are WAY too many jeeps and people at the top. Was such a turn off!
Go Adventure ID says
For sunset it will be so peacefull, I have been have sunset tours with my client and we are the only peoples at teh mountain.
Joy says
My boyfriend and I are planning on doing this tomorrow! How long was the bus ride from Probolinggo? Do you think the home stays book up like the hotels? We’re going there on the weekend during peak season. Yikes. 🙂 thanks so much for writing about this. It’s so helpful!
Kristin says
I want to say no more than two hours. Pretty short. They told me I was there during peak season too and I didn’t have any issues. Have fun!
Joy says
We had a tough time and ended up taking a tour. It was almost dark when we arrived and the drivers didn’t want to take us any further than Yoschi’s guesthouse. We were too far away to do it ourselves and by this time we just wanted to get out of there (it was one person after another overcharging us for everything). So we did the tour, signed up for the Ijen tour, and we were finished in 2 days. I admire you for doing it yourself – nearly everyone we met who didn’t book through a tour was unhappy and having a really difficult time finding transportation. Actually even people that did book it through a tour were unhappy – very disorganized, the accommodations were pretty awful, they were promised something they didn’t receive, etc. It’s beautiful up there but such a hassle. 🙂
Kristin says
Didn’t “want” to take you any farther? Scammers. I’ve had to put my foot down a number of times in Java and insist on things until they relented. It definitely wasn’t easy doing it without a tour. It was frustrating at times and difficult, but it was the only way I was willing to do it. Unfortunately there are no perfect methods, especially there. Kawah Ijen was MUCH tougher as I was the only person not on a tour. I hope you still enjoyed it as much as possible.
RICK says
I have been to Java from Bali 4 times. 3 by my own car and once by motorbike.Never had a problem except for police guiding us to wrong location of hotel when it was 200 m away.???
Bromo was never a problem. Approached a Landcruiser guy asked a price. he said 50000IDr for sunrise and included the drive to Bromo, but not the horse ride. Poor bugger, carried ALL my camera and video gear up to viewing point and down. Got me water and coffee at the top and stayed with me the whole time. Picked up the same horse (we liked each other??) out on the sand.
Money well spent. Stayed 2 nights and am going back on bike in August during a circum navigation of Java
Aubrey says
Hey Rick!
I would like to approach Kawa Ijen from Bali as well. I’ll be in northern Bali Sept 11-15th. It is feasible to travel there from Bedugal area?
If so is there a suggested method of transport. I imagine a ferry of some sort will be involved.
Kristin says
Yep I basically did that when I crossed from Gili T to java. You’ll take a ferry and then get on a bus bound for Surabaya.
Anmol says
Hi Rick,
I’m planning a trip in the end of July.
I am curious to know if I could rent out a motorbike from Jakarta and ride along the way to visit Yogyakarta – Bromo – Ijen and then drop off the bike at a city before moving on to Bali (not riding all the way back to Jakarta)
Would you have any idea about this kind of deal?
Also by any chance would you have the contact detail of the Land Cruiser Guy who took you to Bromo?
Divya says
Hey Kristin,
I am planning to head to Bromo this weekend – your post is very encouraging. It will be my second solo trip (the first one being last week at Borobudur) and first hike alone. Few questions –
1. Is it safe for a girl to travel alone- especially the 3.30 am hike? – any specific precautions I should take?
2. Will it be too late to get to Cemara Lawang on Friday evening if I plan to land in Surabaya at 4.30pm? – I would not like to pay $20 to hire the mini bus by myself!
3. Is it possible to cover both Ijen and Bromo (hiking) over the weekend and still take the last flight out of Surabaya on Sunday? Am I being to ambitious? – Can’t say I am in the best shape!
Thanks a lot for writing this article!
Kristin says
Both in the span of two days with a Friday night arrival might be tough if you are taking public transport. This is probably the only time I actually would advise a tour. They will get you to both places quickly.
RICK says
AMBITIOUS!!! To say the least
Bromo Tour says
Thanks for share your experience
wonderfull photos!
Roxanne says
Thanks for this helpful article!
I have a question: where do you suggest I leave my big backpack? Are the accommodations at Cemara a good option?
And if I go down way after 9 am, are there still buses running for the way back or will I get stuck for another day?
Kristin says
You won’t be trekking overnight so just leave it in your guest house room in Cemara. The busses just leave when full, so I think you’re fine to leave a little later. I think we left at 9:30am.
Yahn Singapore says
this part right here….how much do the bus charged ?
Rachel says
Hi,
Fantastic write up and amazing photos!!
quick question: im planning to do the walk from Cafe Lava guest house to the top of Mt Penanjakan. Do u have a copy of the map that you used?
After sunrise at Mt Penanjakan (and possibly stay longer to take photos after the crowd leaves), how do you get to the base of Mt Bromo to climb to the crater?
thank you so much for your help!
Kristin says
The only map is the one I posted to the summit. The walk to the crater is pretty flat and straightforward. Cafe lava is really helpful with directions and actually gave me the map that I used so just ask them to help you out 🙂
frankie says
Hi Kristin
Thank you,your blogs is very helpful,i will be there in early feb,had booked at cemara indah,would you know how far it is to the crater? and do i need to go on 4×4 tour at all from there.
thank you.
Kristin says
I didn’t do any tour at all. If memory serves Cemara Indah is near the start of the hike to the summit. The crater is a different hike, mostly flat, and only a few km.
Shehnas says
Hi Kristen,
I’ve been reading and re-reading about your Bromo and Ijen independent tours because that’s what I’d realllyyy want to do + going on tour is just too crazy expensive.
I will be arriving at Surabaya on the 19th of December, (my flight touches down at 1:15pm) and plan to head to Mt Bromo from the airport. Could you pleaseeeeee provide me with a break down of how I should get there? And what time approx would the last buses be at that place and what would be an alternative? My main concern is that I may not be able to catch the next bus from Probolinggo to Cemoro Lawang (considering I may reach probolinggo at about 4pm).
Please help!
The other thing is how do I get to Ijen from Bromo by public transport? From my extensive reading (which has now caused me a huge headache), it seems like it’s not as clear cut as Bromo to get to Ijen. Again, could you help me break this down on what’s the best possible way i can get there using public transportation? Again, my concerns are just missing the next bus (since we’d have to take bus after bus). Like worse case scenario, if I am unable to get to Sempol, how much would a motorbike ride cost to get to Ijen? I would really like to catch the blue flames too — and that complicates where I stay and how far I should be.
I am a little short on time as I can only spend one night each at Bromo and Ijen, which makes the travelling a little bit more stressful.
About acoomodation — because I can’t check anything out for home-stay bookings, do you think it would be really risky for me and my partner to just show up to get a room? Would that cost crazy expensive? As I will be going in 2 weeks, i’m assuming that’s a super peak season.
Miscellaneous questions:
1. Is it necessary to get a guide to walk at the Ijen crater and at Mt Bromo?
2. What are the entrance fees like for Bromo and Ijen?
3. When breaking down the bus used — could you please kindly add in the cost of each bus and how long would the journey take?
4. How much in total did you spend to get to Bromo and Ijen?
I would reallyyyy appreciate any kind of help! Thank you so much in advance.
Cheers,
shehnas (from singapore — let me know if you’re ever coming here, and i’d be happy to help you out!
Kristin says
From the airport make your way to the bus station in Surababya and get on a bus to Probolinggo. You could do this by taxi since you’ll be in a hurry, but a bus may also be possible. Do you already have your visa for Indonesia? A VOA will take some extra time so it’s hard to say when you’ll actually be heading out from Surabaya. There are busses all the time to Probolinggo, though. Don’t pay for a ticket until you’re on the bus. Shouldn’t be more than a dollar sixty or so. I have doubts you’ll reach Probolinggo by 4pm. I got there after dark and was able to get one of the shared ride vans up. They leave when full. I organized this at a stand with a woman named Indah. Wasn’t too expensive. If you arrive too late you’ll have to cover the cost of the van yourself and it’s not cheap.
After you hike Bromo take the shared bus back down to Probolinggo. Leaves around 9-9:30 (again when full). The driver will probably stop by your guesthouse and ask you when you want to go. From there you want to head to Bondowoso on public bus – again a few dollars and maybe 3-4 hours. There’s a public bus that leaves from Bondowoso to Ijen area but it’s in the AM and you’ll miss it. Try to barter with an Ojek driver. I can’t say what that will cost. They kind of charge what they want. Just haggle the best you can. It might be risky to show up and find a place to stay up there because there is really only one hotel that’s not super expensive and they book up with tours. I only got a room there because I ran into a guy who was walking back and checking out. Got very lucky. Some home stays will be offered to you by locals if you show up to the hotel and it’s full. They’re dingy and overpriced but if you have to, you have to.
If you’re planning on doing both sunrise hikes this is going to be stressful and really tiring, I have to warn you. I had more than 2 days and if you can extend it even to 3 you’ll be MUCH happier. You never need a guide. I didn’t pay an entrance fee for Ijen (because I was on the public bus and kind of hid but they will illegally charge you a bit if you come in via ojek. Perhaps you can try refusing or asking for a receipt -) for Bromo I forget but it wasn’t too ludicrous. Maybe 10-20 USD.
Ann-Katrin says
Great tips, thanks! I have been to Mount Bromo and while it was gorgeous and I am very happy I went I wish I had done what you did. Sure, it wasn’t too packed with tourists as it ws very much off season and the reason I took a tour rather than do it myself was that I got caught by another volcano erupting so I had to change my route unexpectedly and hadn’t done any research – but STILL. I had to spend the bigger part of the tour trying to keep an angry English old man and a young German girl apart. It took away from the experience…
I may return and if I do I will follow your tips!
Kristin says
Sorry to hear the trip was tainted by bad fellow travelers! Glad you enjoyed it, though!
Brandon says
Hi my wife and i are heading to indonesia for our honeymoon. We are starting in Jakarta and then flying into Surabaya airport at around 6 in the morning. Our flight then leaves the next night at 5pm. We were hoping to get a bus from the airport to the base of bromo. We wanted to see the sunrise there and then have to head back for our flight out at 5pm that night. Is this do able or is it to tight. Can you book tours when you land from the airport? Or do you think our schedule is to tight to achieve this? If so we may just have to scratch this from our itinerary and spend a few extra days elsewhere on our trip. I would love some help we are super stressed about this and its the only thing left to figure out on our itinerary. PLEASE HELP!!! Thanks for taking the time hope to hear from you. Not sure if this matters but we arrive FEB 3 at 6am and flight out is feb 4 5pm.
Kristin says
That’s cutting it super close. It takes a few hours to get from Surabaya to Probolinngo then another hour or so to Bromo, and if you took a tour, it would include the sunrise at Bromo which might mean you wouldn’t make it back to the airport in time for your flight. You can probably find a tour company at the airport to help you out, I’m struggling to recall. You may also be able to book something while you’re in Jakarta.
Ann-Katrin says
Brandon: Don’t do it. Indonesia is fascinating but it is a developing country and the infrastructure is just not in place for such things, not on a short schedule. Distances that may not seem far can take forever to travel. If you have time, sure, but you don’t travel Indonesia under time pressure. Bali is a golden exception, it is well adjusted for tourists and they are used to handling us – it is what they live from – but the rest of Indonesia? No. As much as I enjoyed meeting all the people there you have to be prepared for the unexpected. You don’t want to start your honeymoon getting stressed, missing flights and so on. When I was there there were tsunamis, torrential rains, volcanoes eruption and a few other things, as well as cancelled planes and airports without any information available. I enjoyed it – well, the country, not the natural disasters – but it is definitely not for beginner travellers. I take it you are an experienced traveller as you came up with the idea of going to Indonesia in the first place but even so; You need to be flexible, it is the single most important thing when travelling there, if you ask me. And when I say flexible, I mean with everything – because things may just not turn out the way you expected… Here a limited post I wrote about Indonesia, I had more on an old blog but that one is closed down.
http://ak-thenextchapter.blogspot.tw/2013/06/the-most-spicy-food-in-indonesia.html
David says
This message is for Brandon. Hello my name is David. I am an American living and working in Surabaya. I frequently travel to Bromo Semeru Tengger National Park. I understand that you will be on your honeymoon and have an interest in visiting Bromo during the short time that you will be here. Unfortunately, there are no companies at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya with whom you can book a trip. Actually, if there were… I’m afraid you would have to pay them a rediculous amount of money simply because of the fact that your a tourist. If you still have an interest in seeing the sunrise at Bromo. I hope I can help you find the best, most affordable, and time efficient way to do it. No worries, I’m not a company. I’m not trying to sell you anything. Like I said, I live here and work here. It’s just me, my wife, and my children. I teach English. I just like to try and help out foreigners if I can because I really hate watching them get abused by the locals. (financially that is) Anyway, let me know if I can help. Love to hear from you.
Rosemarie says
Hi David,
Just found your post tonight. My husband and I and a friend are arriving at the harbor in Semerang (sp?) on board the MS Rotterdam for the day. We would like to go to Mt. Bromo for the day from the ship. I understand it is about a 2 hour drive using the expressway (?) one way, so we thought to leave around 9:30 to be back in time for around 3:30. We want to see the crater and plan to stay about an hour. The ship arrives around 8 am and we have to be back on board by 5.00 pm latest, but don;t want to cut it too close. On the way back we thought perhaps to stop for a quick ‘photo op’ at the bridge and around the old Dutch town if possible.
It is also possible that we may be joined by another couple, but not sure at this time, so would count on the 3 of us for sure.
Would you be available to take us around tomorrow ? I’m also a teacher ( retired now) so don’t know if you have to be in school or not tomorrow.
If this is possible at this late date would you please let us know what you would charge, and waht kind of vehicle you have ? Also how long would you suggest at the crater, realistically ? We are pretty good walkers, depending on the heat.
Look forward to your reply,
Rosemarie
Feb 24, 2014
Tom says
Hello there,
Could you please tell me how long does it take to hike from Cemoro Lawang to Bromo crater and back?
Thanks!
Kristin says
At least a couple of hours to the crater but if you also want to do the summit that’s two different hikes. The summit is more like 4 hours if you’re fit.
Tom says
4 hours return or 4 hours each way?
Cheers!
Gavin says
Hi there, is it possible to camp at the Mt Bromo national park ? I would be tempted to try camping, but not with loads of other campers. Is it possible to choose my own camp ground, away from the noisty crowds of people ?
Kristin says
I understand that you can but you must register at the Cemoro Lawang gate where you pay the park entrance fee. There’s a camp ground there. I am not sure how busy it gets as I didn’t camp there myself. This is still far from the masses of tourists who visit the summit, though. Be prepared with warm gear as it gets very cold there at night!
Nala says
Thanks, this info helped me. Family is going on a roadtrip to bromo (and beyond), and considering camping there.
Happy travels! ❤
Danielle L says
Lovely information (and website). I was here May 2011 and there was no railing at the top of Bromo. We couldn’t get over it. It was amazing but we were stunned there was no railing as you could easily misstep and land yourself in the hole of the volcano. Also it puffed as we were heading to the top! 🙂
Kristin says
You’re kidding! There’s definitely a railing now!
Rose says
Hi Kristen, reading from your post and response to the queries here, is it safe to assume that it is better to join a tour to a Ijen once we reach Probolinggo on our own? I am quite concern when you mentioned that the options to overnight in bondowoso is limited since there is only one hotel
Kristin says
Hi Rose,
You’ll be alright in Bondowoso. It’s once I reached the base of Ijen in Sempol that I had the issue. You do have options, though. You can do a home stay, which will be offered to you if you show up to Arabica and it’s full. There are also more expensive options but really, the tours there seem extremely rushed and I am glad I didn’t do one. Hope this helps.
Stef says
Hi Kristin, great pictures and post! Wanted to check if you started from the guesthouse at Cemoro Lawang at 330?
Thanks!
Kristin says
Yes I did.
Anonymous says
Hi Kristen. Thank you for the reply. I need your views on the most ideal hotel in Comoro Lawang. I have checked that Cemara Indah is fully booked on the day that i intend to travel. Any suggestion? Thanks in advance
Kristin says
I just showed up and booked in person at a small unknown and unlisted home stay. You could easily do that or check out lava view.
Mimi says
Hi Kristin,
It’s great to know that we don’t have to join an organized tour to Mt Bromo. My question to you is how safe is it to take the bus from Surabaya to Cemoro Lawang? It’s mentioned in one of the guide books for Indonesia that the buses might not be safe, that thieves go through ppl’s luggage since it’s a long trip, and to keep the bag next to you as opposed to leaving it in the luggage compartment out of view. Also, is the trip to Cemoro Lawang from the airport two hours or four? Thank you for your blog, and I’m looking forward to your answer.
Kristin says
It’s four hours minimum if you’re flying into Surabaya. I always had my stuff with me but I was traveling with a carry on. I’d keep valuables with you in a smaller bag and put your big bag underneath if you need to. I’d follow that protocol in every country I travel to, including the US. I wouldn’t otherwise consider them to be unsafe… well, no more than elsewhere in SE Asia or any other mode of transport
Jeff | Planet Bell says
This will be a very helpful post for me as I plan our trip. Thanks for the info! Beautiful photos also!
Kristin says
Awesome! I hope you’ll let me know how it goes afterwards!
Kitty says
Hi, Thanks for sharing all your travels. We are planning a short trip from Singapore ( where we live) to Bromo. We want to hike it ourselves, but I have the following questions. We will fly into Surabaya and get transport to a inn near Bromo. What time do you suggest starting the trip, it seems you arrived fairly early at Cafe Lava and then had to stay there until 3:30 am to start the trek for the sunrise. Is it possible to get a room at Cafe Lave guest house.
We will have one more day in the area before we have to come back , what would be your suggestions for another day in the area.
Thanks so much, our departure date is 3 April so appreciate your response. Unfortunately we do not have more time for this trip.
think I will look at Kawah Ijen and see if this might be a better choice, first I have to learn where it is!!
cheers,
Kitty
Kristin says
I arrived late at night to a small, no-name guest house closer to the start of the trek. I only visited Cafe Lava the day before for the map and directions, though you could definitely stay there as well and then walk over to the start of the trek, maybe 5 minutes away, if that. The hike is to the summit which overlooks the volcano, you could also use the extra day to trek to the volcano crater itself, which is a different route entirely. It’s a pretty flat walk along sand.
Kawah Ijen is amazing. It’s in Bondowoso, very close to Bali.
Marjloveslife says
Thanks for inspiring and convincing us to do the same!! We are heading to Bromo in one week and want to avoid the many tourists. So thx 😉
Kristin says
Awesome! Please tell me how it goes!
Ale says
Hi Kristin,
Your photos and tips are simply amazing.
Can you please share a little bit more about Kawah Ijen? My friends and I (Total 6 of us) are planning a trip to Bromo and we will be including Ijen in our itinerary. I have written to some drivers for transport quotation for airport transfer and to bring us from Bromo to Ijen. I find it strange because some replied that they will provide car + jeep because we will definitely need a jeep to bring us to Ijen as normal cars are not able to get to the start point of Ijen and some simply replied a price for the car only, without suggesting that we need to use a jeep to get to the start point of Ijen.
We are so confused now, because there were no mention of jeep usage in many of the travel reviews for Ijen. It will be great if you can share some tips on Ijen. We are planning to go on our feet for both Bromo and Ijen. Thank you.
Cheers,
Ale
Kristin says
I used a public bus to do all of it. You can get from Bromo (a mini bus from Cemoro Lawang which leaves when full) to Probolinggo where you can catch another public bus to Bondowoso. From there you can get a mini bus – they leave in the AM sometime between 7am and 9:30am, driver’s discretion, to the town where you’d start a Kawah Ijen hike. I’d suggest staying overnight and waking up at 2am to hike up with the stars and see the blue flames. You can then negotiate with a motorbike driver to bring you to the start of the trek at 2am, via your guesthouse.
Normal cars CAN get to the start of Ijen…even motorbikes can. That’s what I took. This is the cheapest and most local way to do it. You could also do a tour from Bromo to Ijen, or hire a private jeep or car driver to take you from one to the other but of course that’s the most costly option. Public transport costs next to nothing but it’s slower. Hope this helps 🙂
Ale says
Thanks Kristin, it’s a great help. At least we have a clearer sense of how it goes now. Cheers 🙂
Han says
Hello Kristin,
Thank you so much for posting this info. I’m planning a trip to Mt Bromo without a tour as well but I’m kinda worried from the point where I leave Probolinggo to Cemoro Lawang. How long does it take for you to hike all the way up from Cemoro Lawang to see the sunrise as shown on your last photo? I hope to hear from you soon! I’m leaving tomorrow for Yogyakarta and then to Mt Bromo.
Thanks!
Han
Kristin says
If you leave by 3am you should be able to make it. If you leave even a little earlier then you’ll get a better vantage point as it gets crowded up there.
Han says
Thank you so much for your prompt reply 🙂 It’s my first time in Indonesia and I’ll be travelling solo. So pumped for it!
Judah says
Hi, you mentioned about Rinjani. Did you do an independent climb there too? I’m a novice and I read that we need a guide for that. Do you have some friendly advice? =) Thank you! =D
Kristin says
Generally you need a guide there and can’t go during the rainy season. A guide isn’t 100% needed but it’s more the porters you need, and they’re included in the trek cost: https://www.bemytravelmuse.com/mt-rinjani-trek-reviews/
Brenden Steury says
Hey Kristin
Im planning on taking a backpacking trip through Southeast Asia and I was wondering what your opinion was on traveling only knowing one language. Is it not a good idea? How hard is it if you only speak English and would you still be able to get around fairly well?
Kristin says
Well I certainly don’t speak any Southeast Asian languages and I was fine. Communication with the hands is usually fine and those who work in tourism there make it a point to learn some English.
Brenden Steury says
Thanks!
Ale says
Hi Kristin,
Do you have any idea how cold it is at the peak of Bromo (we are planning for sunrise hike) and Ijen (we are planning to go for the blue flame)? Thank you.
Cheers, Ale 🙂
Lorna says
Some really good info on this and has helped a lot! Thank you for this and I will out it into practise in a few weeks!!
Amy says
Hi Kristen.
Thank you so much for your blog it has some fantastic advice! My boyfriend and I are planning to do Mt Bromo in July and we were wondering how long you think it would take to do the sunrise walk and then the walk across the sand sea. We’re unsure whether we can fit them in time before leaving around 9am- otherwise we might add an extra night stay. Do you think it’s worthwhile staying two nights? Is there enough to do?
Cheers and thank you so much,
Amy
Kristin says
You could do both in one day – first Bromo and then walk back to town and across the sea. It’ll be dusty because of the Jeeps – that’s the only bummer. If you wait until the afternoon it might be better since they tend to go in the AM. It would be hard to do both by 9am. I stayed two days and thought it was a nice little town.
Ming says
Hi Kristin, good information from your blog. i am planning a trip to cross Yogja-Bromo-Ijen. I have a non-trekker friend may come with me, want to know whether the 2 hours trek to Mount Bromo and the one in Ijen is feasible for a person who never did trekking before.
Kristin says
It’s not a difficult trek to Kawan Ijen nor Bromo. Bromo is a little more challenging but there’s a good lookout point partially up the way that’s another good place to see the sunrise if you get too tired to continue.
Will says
Hi
Things have changed. In the nineties you could walk or go up by mule halfway and walk the rest. Another nice volcano to climb is Keli Mutu on Flores
Jess says
Hi Kristin!
I’m from Australia (tim tam slam love), planning to check out Gunung Bromo and Kawah Ijen (sunrise hikes for sure) in July in between trekking around Sumatra, and diving the Komodo Islands.
Was wondering what your opinion is on the safety factor of being a solo female traveler in Indonesia?
I’m also planning to use public transport to get to Mount Bromo (sunrise), then from there to Kawah Ijen (same day, sleep for a few hours then a 3am sunrise hike), then straight from there to Ketapang harbour to get across to Bali (that afternoon). Think this is viable in terms of time and logistics?
Your blog is actually amazing, cannot extend enough thanks for the vast information and inspiration.
Cheers
Jess
Kristin says
I love Tim Tams!
I did exactly what you plan to do while in Indonesia and I did so solo. The boys there sometimes make cat calls and rude gestures but I never felt like I was in danger. I even hitchhiked a bit in Java. You can try to pack that all into that short period of time but you’d be better off if you just give yourself a little bit of wiggle room in case it doesn’t work out quite like that. Sometimes transport isn’t super reliable. Tours will make this easier but I wrote all these guides to try to help in case you don’t want to take a tour. I didn’t but I had 4 days to do all of what you mentioned. I was there in July as well which is a great time of year! Enjoy!
Kristin says
I don’t think you need to plan ahead too much time-wise. Just see how it all goes and head to Bali when you’re done. I didn’t book ahead but at Kawah Ijen when I showed up I was told the rooms were all booked with tours, but I could do a home stay for $15. That’s a lot for Java and it felt like a scam. Unfortunately there’s no great options around there but check out Arabica first as they’ll be cheapest. Bromo was a non-issue. We just asked to be brought as close to the start of the trail as possible. You could also do Cafe Lava which is linked at the bottom of this post.
Jess says
Excellent, thanks for the in depth advice, much appreciated. T-minus 2 days!!
GuitarPlayer says
Hi Kristin, its unfortunate that there are problems as a solo female traveler, but damn you got some captivating pictures. I look forward to your next posts 🙂
Kristin says
Thank you!
son antix says
You may perform both equally a single time – 1st Bromo after which it go walking here we are at town along with over the marine. It’ll be dusty with the Jeeps – that’s the sole bummer. In case you hold out prior to the evening it might be greater since they often go in the particular AM. It could be hard to do both equally through 9am. My spouse and i spent the nights two nights along with imagined it was a good very little town.
Andras says
Hi Krisitn,
could you pls help me whether this the route what you used, or not: http://en.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=1600733
thx,
Kristin says
That looks like the route, yes.
Andras says
and can you locate the point what you describe as “last wooden railing you get to before the asphalt road”. maybe the yellow flag in the middle (named “temple”)?
damon says
Hi Kristin, my girlfriend[now my wife]and I hiked Bromo 15 Years ago,doing the whole backpacker budget thing , which was great , but now we want to take our 3 children [10,12,14] to experience bromo but without roughing it but not the complete tourist trip. How long does it take from Surabaya if we charter a mini van ,and can we easily charter one from the airport ? Can you recommend a nice place to stay at bromo for a family [ semi luxury].. Cheers
Kristin says
It’s hard for me to comment on that because that’s not how I did it, but I imagine a private van would be much quicker than the public bus which makes a lot of stops. It took me about 5 hours to get to Surabaya from Probolinggo by bus. I can’t be sure if there are vans for hire at the airport since, again, I didn’t do that. I think Cafe Lava Cafe (which I have linked at the end of this post) was one of the nicest places by Bromo. There’s not a whole lot of luxury and unfortunately the accommodation in Java as a whole left much to be desired for me.
Zac says
Hello
Booking online for the guesthouse at the nearest point to the foot are very limited and somewhat expensive.
I know you mentioned options available near cerama indah guesthouse which I assume it’s very close to the starting point of the hike.
When you mentioned these options, how easy is it to find an accomodation for a group of 2 to do so for a night when we reach there? We want to be as close to the foot of the mountain like you did.
Are the accomodations cheaper than those on Internet? Eg cerama indah cost abt ID600,000 for a night
Regards
Zac
Kristin says
Hi Zac, other than the one I have linked at the bottom, I’m not aware of any that offer online booking that I’d suggest. I just showed up and found a homestay for closer to 100k per night, and it was right by the start of the trek. In some areas you’re better off at a much smaller guesthouse that doesn’t have internet and therefore isn’t set up to take online bookings.
Zac says
Hi Kristin
Thanks for that. What I would like to find out is if we show up like you did, are there many accomodation options to choose from aroud the area near the start of the trek? I assume show up in your context means no prebook of accomdoation and searching for a place to stay only when you reach the trek area?
Kristin says
I went on exactly this day a year ago and didn’t have any issues. Of course I can’t guarantee that you will find something, but that’s what I did. Nothing pre-booked.
Rudolph Andrew Furtado says
Will be in Jakarta tomorrow(11-8-2014) and later intend doing the Mt Bromo and Kawah Ijen treks. Your blog is really helpful and hope to replicate your method of travel.
Kristin says
Thanks and I’m happy to hear it is helpful.
Ankur says
Kristin, Thanks for writing this post. You helped me planning and enjoying my Java trip…
Kristin says
Glad to hear it!
Kristin says
Aw sorry to hear that. Lots of amazing treks in Indonesia.
Hadi Yazid says
Hello there. I am from Kuala Lumpur. Is it okay for me to take a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Surabaya in order for me to get to Mount Bromo? I would like to take public transportation solo. Please advice.
Kristin says
Yes you can fly into Surabaya and then take a bus from there.
Cassie says
When I attempted to go from Probbolingo to the town near Mt. Bromo, there were only two travelers of waiting and no locals. After hours of waiting, we paired up and went back into town to the other guy’s hotel the night before. We were able to connect to a shuttle passing through town going there, but it was a stressful pain. Be aware for people planning on taking the shuttle you may need a plan B!
And as for the independent tour to both the sunrise and Mt. Bromo, I did both on the same day and it was very doable.
Kristin says
Sometimes you do have to pay more for the van up to Bromo, unfortunately. I was there during high season.
mariana says
Hi Kristin! I’m so glad I found your blog cause Im not interested in making a busy crowded tour at all. Your tips and pics are just amazing!
I’m landing early morning in jakarta (in few days time) and will be in java just for three days (unfortunately just a mini time off work). Would like to see bromo, kawah ljen and borobudur so I’m trying to figure out whether is better to fly to yogyakarta or straight to Surabaya? I’ll definitely have to choose the sunrise in one of the places. What would you suggest? Also, I’m not super fit and I’m afraid it’s difficult hikes haha.
Kristin says
Three days is pretty short and where you fly into depends on what you want to prioritize seeing. I’d do the sunrise at kawah Ijen. It was the coolest part of it all for me.
Kristin says
Awesome. Enjoy!
Kristin says
Stopping right before the viewpoint is the right approach, I think. Otherwise you could get stuck in the clouds at the crater.
marianna says
Hi!
I would like to know the exact spot where you took the last two pictures, please!
I’ll be there in December, wet season, and I really hope I can have the chance to visit Bromo.
Kristin says
These are along the hike up to Bromo, which you’d miss if you took a Jeep. It’s only slightly under the lookout point, however.
Kate says
Hi Kristen,
Just wanted to say thank you for this blog. With your help I just did bromo independently. I arrived pretty late and accommodation was all full being a public holiday but a lovely group of locals let us stay in their homestay with them and offered us transport up the next day. We ended up walking alone and I stayed later to do bromo itself which was unbelievable so thank you to your blog because if I hadn’t have found it I would have just done the lookout and skipped bromo which would have been a mistake. I just wanted to add some info that I found out here; like you said the lookout was super crowded so we headed back down to where you suggested and the view was amazing but we met an English guy later who said that beyond the lookout is a little dirt track and if you take that it goes higher and he was the only one there at the very top. With bromo itself they were charging 320,000 for entry because it was a public holiday even to locals. The same English guy showed us a gap in the fence by the entrance to Cemara Indah and there is a track from there tat is really easy to follow across the sand plains. I’m not sure if that is what you did or if you paid but I just thought I’d share. I’m off to do ijen now cafe lava organised a transport and accommodation package for 500,000 which includes all buses and transfers from Cemoro lewang to ijen and then back to banguywangi including a night in sempol. I’m not sure how much all your transport came to but it seemed like a pretty good deal. I will feedback how I get on so thanks again!
Kristin says
Hi Kate,
That does sound like a pretty good deal for Ijen and a lot less headache. I just wanted to do it independently of a tour so that I could provide the info on this blog, but it wasn’t easy! I didn’t pay for Bromo but it wasn’t a holiday. I’m so glad to have helped you! Thanks for your thoughtful comment.
Jigs says
Hi Kristin! I am heading to Mt. Bromo at the end of this month and came across your blog while researching about it. I have several things I want to ask:
1. On your second day, is the summit you hiked up to Mt. Penanjakan’s?
2. From the summit, is there a jeep available that would take me back down and drop me off where the walk to Mt. Bromo will start?
2. How long did the walk towards Mt. Bromo, crossing The Sea of Sands, take?
3. How cold is it there? Is a jacket and let’s say jogging pants necessary?
Hope you answer my questions. Thanks in advance! Amazing blog!
Kristin says
1. I do believe so, yes
2. You probably can’t book a jeep just one way. Try asking at Cafe Lava guest house though, and they might be able to tell you better. What you can definitely do is barter with an ojek driver to bring you back but he’ll ask pretty outlandish prices
2.(2.) I think it took a couple of hours total
3. It’s cold. You’ll want pants and a jacket, especially prior to sunrise. You can buy them up there for cheap or even rent one, like I did.
Rebecca says
Hey Kristen – This info is awesome. Thanks for sharing.
Any idea how often or when the buses leave from Probolinggo back to Surabaya? I have a midday flight out of Surabaya, which means i have 1 of 2 options:
– Head back from Cemoro Lawang the night before and spend the morning in Surabaya (I’d try to take the latest bus back so i have a good day at bromo) OR
– Use the morning to get from Cemoro Lawang back to Surabaya for my 1PM flight (think it’s too risky?? i’m willing to pay direct mini bus transfer to make it to Probolinggo in time)
Thanks for your help girl
Rebecca
Kristin says
I think it’s too risky to try to head back for a 1pm flight. I think I’d just spend the night in Surabaya which isn’t that interesting but not bad either.
Sonia says
I want that Tim Tam…
wafitour says
it is amazing, im waiting u again in indonesia… thanks for coming indonesia
Kristin says
I will come back for sure. I want to see more of the country.
Margherita says
Hello Kristin and happy new year!
Thank you for your articles regarding Bromo and Ijen.
I have some questions to ask 🙂 I will be in Indonesia for a solo traveller in February.
May I ask you how long does it take to hike up (you wrote, I know, 2h) and down to Mt. Penanjakan? And to go up and down to the crater of Mt. Bromo?
Last questions..to come back to Probolinngo, how long does it takes the trip by bus? If I hike up Mt. Penanjakan in time to catch the sunrise over Mt. Bromo, I will be in Probolinngo at 11AM?
Thank you for your time!
Best,
Margherita
Kristin says
Hi Margerhita, I wouldn’t count on being back in Probolinngo by 11am. That’s really cutting it close. You could potentially do so if you cut out the crater, which I did the day before. Even so, I don’t think I made it back down that early. budget at least an hour and a half for the crater if leaving from the base of Mt. Penanjakan.
Nat says
Hi there!! Great post! I’m trying to organize a trip to Bromo without a tour too! Only thing is, I’m traveling in a large group of 8 people! Understood from your post that you stayed at losmen Sertia kawan before your hike up to Mt Bromo and just to ensure my group of 8 have lodging, is that the hostel with cool paintings and art hanging on their walls? Just want to make sure I reserve a correct hostel and don’t want to have my friends and I with no place to stay when we actually arrive at Bromo.
Kristin says
I didn’t stay at a hostel, actually. It was a homestay and I don’t know the name anymore. It was right next to the start of the trek but only had 3 rooms.
Pranav Goyal says
Hi Kristin,
Excellent post. I have a few queries. I intend to go to Bali and then plan to trek one of the mountains (intention is to see sunrise as well as a volcano from top). What do you think would be the best option for me? I want to see the sunrise as well as the volcano by the crater.
Do you think bali to surabaya and then to bromo would be a good option or any other mountain would be a good choice.
Also, I am a bit confused regarding the hike to the summit and to the crater. So basically first you hike to summit to see the sunrise and then go down back and take a different route to reach crater? And how much time does it take going back and reach the crater for bromo? Can I do it the same day or I need to spend time in town and start next morning again?
Also when you are trekking are their clear signs about where you need to head to reach the summit?
Thanks a lot in advance.
Kristin says
They’re two different hikes but the jeeps all drive to the crater after sunrise and it gets really dusty. I did it the afternoon before which was good, if you have time. You could also check out Kawah Ijen which is between Bali and Surabaya, if you have time. Follow the map I have on there because it’s not always clear how to get to the summit when in the dark.
Pranav Goyal says
Thanks for the reply Kristin.
I read your post on Kawaj ljen and quite fascinated to visit that mountain. I am planning to do Singapore -> Bali -> Ljen -> Bromo -> Surabaya -> Singapore.
About the Bali -> Ljen -> Bromo part: is it fine if I do it like this or you recommend something else? Because till now wherever I have read people generally do bromo and then ljen.
Also what do you think how much time Bali -> ljen -> bromo part would take (3 days would be enough?) considering that I am planning to do it on my own (hiking all summits on my own the way you’ve posted).
Is there anything I need to consider in specific? Also I would be grateful if you can mention the way I need to take for Bali -> ljen -> Bromo
Thanks in Advance
Kristin says
I’d do Bali, Ijen, then Bromo as it makes the most sense geographically. Ijen is in the farthest east part of Java. Three days might be too quick if you’re traveling overland (including ferry) from Bali. That’s a long journey. The other problem is you can’t be sure that things will operate on time. My bus broke down repeatedly and got stuck in traffic due to two fatal accidents in Bali and a trip that was supposed to take 9 hours took 24.
ssjye says
Hi Kristin, did you pay the RP 227,000 of entrance fee into Mount Bromo? The submit you watched the sunrise, was it Mount Penanjakan 1 or Viewpoint Penanjakan 2?
Kristin says
I did. If you’re a foreigner you have to. I’m unsure what the view point was called but I have a photo of the map I used in the post.
Farouq says
Hey! If i’m going without the tour, which bus should i take from the airport to Mt Bromo? How long will the climb up be without 4×4 Jeep? and where’s the nearest decent hotel?
Kristin says
All of that is answered in the do it yourself portion at the bottom 🙂
Farouq says
Oh! Sorry missed that little section..
I’m still curious as to how many hours will it take to get to the top from the guest house?
I’m planning to walk..
Kristin says
It depends on how quickly you go and how fit you are for hiking. I think it took me 3-ish hours.
Eleanor says
Hiya Kristin,
Thanks for the great advice. I am on a bit short on time and am trying to squeeze in a visit to Bromo and would love your advice on how you’d do it. I arrive in Surabaya at 7PM on a Thursday and fly out to Bali Saturday at 1PM. It seems quite a few of the tour companies run midnight tours, but they can cost upwards of $100. Am wondering if you think it might be feasible to hire a car to take me up and then take public transport back. Cheers.
Kristin says
That’ll be tight since it’s hard to rely on public transport. I’ve had busses break down before in Indonesia and it tacked on 10 full hours. It’s definitely more expensive to take a tour bus but worse to miss a flight!
Eleanor Shi says
Got it! Think I’ll go with the tour option then. Thank you!
Cassie says
Hi! I’m wanting to do bromo without a guide. I will be heading there from yogyakarta. Since I’m currently backpacking, all my my stuff is in an oversized heavy backpack. Will I have to bring this with me as I hike? What did you do with your stuff? Especially if you broke it up in two days.. Hike #1 with a large bag sounds less fun
Thanks so much
Kristin says
Hi Cassie, the hike only takes a few hours. Just leave your backpack at the guesthouse!
face says
Hi Kristin,
thanks for your detailed info about how to visit bromo by own, however, some confuse after study your map, i need to find paved road near with Cemara Indah Hotel then turn left(but the map should be turn right?) or that road should be “BEFORE” reach Cemara Indah Hotel? can u tell me more on this?
besides, after bridge & step, the 1st dot point mentioned onto map should be viewpoint 1 or 2 actually? and then where is your suggestion sunrise location? need to climb up again after this crowd viewpoint location, right? how much time you spent between this point to your selected sunrise point? pls tell me for easy reference. =)
Kristin says
This is a really rough hand-drawn map. This is the exact viewpoint I suggest: https://www.google.com/maps/views/view/114308345165399261967/gphoto/6031495338984119106?gl=gb&heading=178&pitch=88&fovy=90
face says
oh yes, that’s quite good for pointing out in google map(also in satellite view, i know how to go right now). many thanks for your prompt help
face says
oh sorry Kristin, one more question, in case i walk up to this particular viewpoint by myself(finish @0630/0700 believe), then is that possible to have faster way e.g. find ojek/jeep ready for going to crater or back to downtown just one-way instead of tour package/2-way drive easily?
Marijs says
Hey Kristen,
This is such a valuable post! My head has been going crazy with the information about Mt. Bromo and how to get there. I’m currently in Surabaya and it is most certainly not easy to find an affordable tour to there. Moreover I really do not want to be stuck in the crowd at sunrise. I’m heading out by train in the morning and will be writing about it on my own blog! I hope everything goes as smoothly as it did with you!
Kristin says
Good luck and glad I helped!
I didn’t even know there was a train. I’m curious to read what you have to say!
Ardi says
Simple way to mount bromo (without tour)
From Bali – Bus to Probolinggo (from Ubung Bus Station) – Probolinggo Bus Station – Small Bus to Cemoro Lawang.
From Surabaya – Purabaya Bus Station to Probolinggo (Bus Station) – Small bus to Cemoro Lawang
Andre says
Will be doing this next week, the tip about the alternative location to watch the sunrise – I’m sure – will turn out to be absolute gold. Thank you for putting the article together. I shall let you know how it went.
Kristin says
Awesome looking forward to your impressions!
vani says
Hey Kristin,
i’m planning to do bromo in june. alone cos no one else can make it then.
will be flying in to surabaya. the shared van brings me to probolinggo city then i have to find my way to cemoro? or is there a direct way for me to get to cemero on the day i land?
also wanted to check if there are plenty of ppl starting to climb at wee hrs of the morn. hoping to join up with other non-tour climbers..
thanks!
Kristin says
There were plenty of hikers when I went. I’m not sure when your plane lands so it’s hard to say but if it’s still daylight you should be able to get up there the same day. Nothing direct from the airport though.
Handsome says
There is small path before entrance fee post, it also used by hikers to reach Mt Bromo
Laura says
Hi Kristin,
This post is really a great help. Me and my friend are doing the Bromo trek this Saturday on our own. We plan on doing it in 2 days and take the bus from Probolinggo to Cemoro Lawang. Anyways we just wanted to ask a few question
Kristin says
shoot
bartus says
you are a legend!
Jones says
Hi, I started out reading the comments with a bunch of questions but find myself at the end with only one. This blog is super useful even for a clueless illiterate such as myself who intends on doing it solo like yourself.
Here’s my q – At any point during the trip do you think it would be a problem to carry a large 70l backpack/trolley case as well as a 30l daypack, either in terms of transport and leaving it at a hotel/home stay once situated?
Not sure what my accommodation arrangements will be but I’ll either leave the large bag at a place in Yogyakarta while I take 3 days or so to make it to Bromo and come back to Yogyakarta or take it all with me and move on from there.
Kristin says
Well first I’d have to ask why you need 100L worth of stuff. I only have a 35L and have used it for years (Except for last year when I was in cold climates and warm ones without stopping, so I upped it to 60). Having that much stuff is cumbersome. You can leave it in your room, though, and lock it with a PacSafe lock, or put the valuables in a locker, which not every place will have. When I went trekking I regularly left my stuff behind with guesthouse management and retrieved it when I was done.
jones says
Wow, that was quick. I recently replaced my samsonite duffle which was about 60l, with a rigid wheeled case (with backpack straps) due to some ongoing back and ankle problems which make it difficult for me to carry stuff, especially transitioning form one place to another.
The 70l was the closest I could find to my original which starts of light but fills up during the course of my travels which usually take 21-40 days at a time. I mail some stuff home occasionally but usually carry most items myself.
So there should be no problems with local buses, not intended for tourists or small vans with regard to luggage then? I can’t wait to get up there, the thoroughness of your blog has really cut down on my research time for this particular location, so thanks!
Kristin says
Generally you’ll have to put the larger bags in the undercarriage, so just keep the valuable stuff in a smaller bag on your person. Glad it helped!
Jeremy says
Hi,
Just couple of questions i’m not sure if they’ve been answered. i’ll probably be coming in from surabaya early probably around 0900hrs. I’m not sure how long its going to take me to get to Probolinggo but once i get there however where exactly is this bus terminal? Is there a specific name for it? Then once i get a bus from Probolinggo to Cemoro Lawang and find a place to settle in, how much is the fee to enter mount bromo? And if you just give a rough break down of the price range for everything bus, fee, stay that would be great! thanks!
regards
Kristin says
Hi Jeremy, everything you’ve asked is answered in the post and the comments section
Deniz says
Hi Kristin,
first of all I’d like to share my admiration: you rock!
And thanks for taking the time to share so much valuable information. People like you are making a difference.
Now, back to the regular guy, this one has a question 🙂
Do I need hiking shoes for Mount Bromo or are running shoes sufficient?
Thanks a lot
Kristin says
I used running shoes although hiking would be superior.
I also used running shoes for hiking for two weeks in the snow in Nepal and everyone thought I was crazy so maybe take my advice on that one with a grain of salt? 😉
Deniz says
Thx for the quick reply!
I guess I’ll need to find a free space in my backpack to carry the extra shoes.
Kiat says
Hi Kristin,
Love your post and those amazing photos.
i am staying in Singapore and planning to visit Bromo -> Ijen -> Yogyakarta over the upcoming long weekend in July (4days). Going to be a tiring trip but i believe going to be worth it. I am planning to fly on Thursday night and visit Bromo once i reach Surabaya to catch the sunrise. Possible to share with me the best way to get me from Surabaya to Bromo? Since i am reaching in the mid of the night, i was thinking what advance transportation booking i might need to arrange.
Kristin says
I don’t think that’s enough time. You might have to take a tour in that case.
Sarah says
Hey Kristin,
thanks a lot for this helpful blog, it’s so difficult to find any information about a private tour to Mt Bromo without a tour guide.
We’re planning to arrive in Surabaya at Sunday early afternoon, then go to Cemoro Lawang to get a first overview, then explore the nature around Mt Bromo on Monday and do a sunrise tour on our own Tuesday around 3 am. Do you think, our time schedule is realistic?
I’m really nervous of getting lost somewhere on the way at our night/ morning hike and that we dont find the right way or is the direction to walk self-explanatory ?
Thanks a lot for your help!
Greets from Germany,
Sarah
Kristin says
Hi Sarah, I think that’s a perfectly realistic schedule. In the dark at one point it’s a bit confusing to find the way, but you won’t be alone as there will be others around. I have a map pictured as well so I’d suggest taking that.
Sarah says
THANK YOU!
Dhita says
So Beautiful!
Harry says
Thank you for the tips! Loved the hike. It’s a bit tougher at the end but it’s worth it. As you said went up independently to the village (30-40k if you get a public bus or a minibus that leaves full with 15 people, or 80k with moto – note you might change moto half way coz the scooters cant climb the mountain). Got a homestay for 100k. At 3.30-45 I started to hike, was up just on the moment of the sunrise. Incredible place!! You could also see the other far volcano spitting smoke in the horizon!
Note: they ask for an entrance fee if you go with a tour or package or some 220-310k more or less; if you go independently you can easily skip it! – July 2015
Kristin says
Thanks so much for letting us know how it went, Harry! I had to pay the entrance on the bus, sadly, but maybe taking a motorbike is better. Sometimes they get you, sometimes they don’t.
Allyson says
Hi Kristin
My boyfriend and I just returned from Bromo and wanted to let you know how amazing your blog post was. We actually got dropped at our hotel at 130am with no idea where we were (our original booking was full!) With a bit of wifi we were somehow able to find our way up the mountain with the picture of your hand drawn map. We watched the sunrise mostly to ourselves at a clearing just before the wooden railings and it was the most amazing view. We walked to the summit afterwards just for fun and couldn’t believe all the jeeps and motorbikes crammed up there. So thanks for your amazing advice. Also fun fact, almost every foreigner I met had read your blog!
All the best!
Allyson & Mike from Canada!
Kristin says
Hi Allyson,
WOW that’s so amazing! I love how many people have come back and let me know how well the advice worked for them and avoided the jeep fiasco at the top. Thanks so much for coming back and commenting and so glad that it worked for you!
Ankur says
What a wonderful coverage!
I visited the place and it was totally awesome experience. I may head again this year for a photography only trip… 🙂
Kristin says
So glad you found the post helpful!
Garisha says
Hi,
Your post is encouraging to take a trip to Mt. Bromo without any tour people. Me and my friend are planning to reach Suryabaya airport on December 25th (friday) about 11am ( haven’t booked flights tickets yet). Unable to decide weather 3 OR 4 days will be required. I am willing to visit Mt. Bromo, Mt. Ijen may be .. and also want to have a snorkeling experience at some good underwater spot. First, is there at all any such good spot nearby? Second, how should we plan this, as in which day what. FYI, my friend had a operation done for a knee injury that happened while playing tennis in Jan. So he would not be able to do hard trekking. So even if we trek Mt Bromo on our own, can we just take the horses to cross the sand without having to deal with the tour guys. I am from India and visiting Singapore on 24th. ( Was earlier planning for Lombok but then decided to visit East Java instead after knowing 1. Mt. Bromo is awesome. 2. It is easier to climb than Mt. Rinjani)
Any advice will be helpful !
Thanks a ton. Your post and replies to earlier comments has already helped a lot. Just this little more. 🙂
Kristin says
Hi Garisha,
I think if your friend is still feeling his/her knee that you’ll find the climb to be quite steep for both. A jeep might be a good idea. I also don’t know about taking a horse across the sand sea because I walked that too. I did my diving in Komodo so not sure about snorkeling but you’re not near any coastline if you stick to the volcanoes. To do ALL of that you need more than 3 days.
Miles of Happiness - Marie says
Amazing experience up there… I loved it. The village, the atmosphere, the sand, the smoke… What an adventure!
Ben says
here’s my experience, which began a few days ago and ended today. i planned to do a solo trip to see the sunrise over bromo and then hike up to the crater itself with no guides, horses, just my own two feet, as cheaply as possible.
i flew into surabaya. upon exiting the airport i turned left and found about 3 DAMRI buses going to the main bus station in surabaya. i paid less than 2 USD and the bus was off to TERMINAL BIS PURABAYA, aka BUNGURASIH (15-20 mins). from there i entered the bus station and grabbed a few snacks and drinks. i followed the signs for antar-kota (between cities, as opposed to inner-city) and found the bus to PROBOLINGGO. it was the ekonomi bus, which means cheap, but no frills, and a bit on the slower side, as it would be making multiple stops (2.5 hours). i paid a little over a dollar for this leg of the trip. negatives – people will smoke on the bus and there is no AC. so be prepared to sweat it out a little and deal with some unfortunate smells. i arrived in PROBOLINGGO station and got off the bus (it’s an actual bus station, with little shops and lots of other buses so don’t be fooled into getting off anywhere else). i exited the station and went to the street and turned left. about 50m from the bus station were a group of ANGKOTs (minibuses) headed for CEMORO LAWANG (aka BROMO). there were two indonesian boys who would be driving the angkot and a few others waiting around. the price was about $2.50 per person AS LONG AS THE BUS WAS FULL. that would mean waiting until 15 people filled the bus. well i arrived around 4pm and waited until 5pm on a wednesday afternoon and no more people showed up. so me and two others decided to pay for all the empty seats just to get going. we each shelled out about 12 USDs and were on our way (1.5 hours). the boys doing the driving were a bit crazy, passing trucks and motorcycles, chain smoking. the angkot had a lot of mosquitos, so bring some bug spray. i arrived at CEMORO LAWANG, which is inside the national park, around 7pm and checked into the YOG BROMO HOMESTAY. i grabbed dinner next door at the CEMARA INDAH hotel next door, which was very good considering where i was, and they had BEER BINTANG. YOG BROMO was an okay place to stay if you just want a place to sleep for a few hours – shared bathrooms, warm blankets, that’s about all you get for $17 USD.
i woke up around 2:45am to do the morning hike and was off by 3am. The full moon illuminated most of the way until i got up to the side of the mountain and then i needed my headlamp. there were a few other groups of europeans hiking but it was pretty quiet most of the way up. i probably reached the “kingkong” platform around 4:45am and waited a bit. some other tourists that had taken jeeps up also joined us and there were probably around 20-25 people at the platform waiting for the sunrise. after i took a bunch of photos, i continued up the cement sidewalk path for about 200m and hit the jeep road. every ojek driver stopped and asked if i wanted a ride but i politely refused. at the road i turned left to descend for about 6-8 km (maybe 3-4 miles) until i reached the sea of sand. some sections were quite steep. i followed the jeep tracks for about 2km, a little more than a mile, until i reached mount bromo. there were lots of horses in the area and hawkers who wanted me to rent one. i basically ignored them and followed a dusty path full of horse manure up to the bromo steps. it was pretty dirty going, with deep ash, flies, and the ever present stench of horse and dung. up the stairs, took some more photos and back down the stairs. i was pretty tired at this point, having not had any coffee or real food, so i was ready to head back to the hotel.
i spent about 30 minutes crossing the sea of sand (again) toward what could be discerned as a path up the hillside and into the village with the hotels. this is where my journey got a little weird….
because i arrived past dark and in an angkot, i never stopped anywhere and paid for a ticket into the national park. well as i was trekking across the sea of sand to leave the park around 10am, i was approached by a very strange looking man. he was not really an indonesian…. he had dark skin, but sharp european features including dark blue eyes, and wore a camo headscarf and a scraggly but full beard. he wore a black outfit and a red reflective vest that had the TAMAN NASIONAL logo on the back. he carried a walkie-talkie. anyway this individual approached me and asked me for my ticket. i told him i didn’t have one. he said that was a big problem and that i would have to follow him to the ticket office. i told him i didn’t know who he was, and he should show some identification. he reported through his walkie-talkie that i wasn’t being cooperative, and then turned around producing a STUN GUN. he activated it and basically threatened me to go with him. a few minutes later a group of 6 french tourists arrived. he demanded the same thing of them – their tickets, and they didn’t have any either. he was about to escort us all to the gate with his stun gun when an ojek rode by with two women. for whatever reason he decided to chase them down instead. we walked to the exit of the park and met with the gate guard, who also had a walkie-talkie. i asked him if there was any trouble and he said no. i reported to him that there was a strange man in the park with an electric weapon who was demanding that any foreign tourist without a ticket follow him. anyway i left the park after that but the experience with this strange man, legitimate or not, left a very bad taste in my mouth. considering the activities of groups like ISIS kidnapping foreigners and conducting beheadings and whatnot, one can NEVER BE TOO CAREFUL. be aware of this individual and do not let yourself be targeted.
Jesse says
Hey Ben,
Sounds like a pretty intimidating situation that you found yourself in but I am glad to hear you were able to get away unharmed and not scammed.
I have a question for you… please let me know if I missed it in your post.
You mentioned you didn’t pay for Bromo? How did you manage to not pay for the ticket at the entrance?
When you’re hiking from Cemoro Lawang to the viewpoint to watch the sunrise is there a ticket station where Bule (foreigners) have to pay?
When you told the man that there was a stranger asking for money with a stun gun from foreigners, did the guard ask you to pay for the ticket then?
Thanks for the help hope to hear from you soon
Kristin says
You have to pay for an entrance to the national park, I just mean that you don’t have to pay a tour operator to go hike to the top like you would if you take a Jeep.
Ben says
forgot to mention a few things. first, i wore boots based on what many others had to say about this trip. i’d say boots were a good idea but not necessary. a pair of trail runners or salomons would have been fine too. in a pinch, regular old running shoes would be fine for most of it, though there are some steep ashy sections up the trail to “kingkong” lookout. it starts off a paved road but at some point turns into a narrow dusty trail.
about clothes – it was a lot warmer than i expected starting out. i quickly went down to just a t-shirt for a majority of the hike to the observation platform. once there, it got cold, so i changed into a dry t-shirt, put on a merino wool sweater and then a think gore-tex layer above that. i had a pair of brooks running gloves (very thin and light) and no hat. overall i was okay for warmth, just a little chilly in the fingers. once the sun was up, the jacket went back into the pack and by 8am the sweater too. so it’s important to dress in layers for this one – the way up will be very warm because of the energy you will be exerting, but once you stop, you will need the extra layers and a DRY shirt. after a few hours with the sun up, you will want to dress down again.
Robin says
Hi,
Off the back of your post my partner and I decided to do the bromo trip without a tour and it was the best decision of the holiday. We started in yogyakarta after visiting borobudur. From here we got an economy train to probolinngo (left at around 8am and arrived at about 4pm costing 200k rp for both. We bought out tickets the day before from tiket.com). On arrival at probolinngo we got a yellow public bus from outside the station to the bus station for 5k rp each. As we had expected, it tried to drop us at the tour office up the road from the bus station, with a little persistence on our part we continued on and we’re dropped at the main bus station. The public mini buses run from the main road just outside the bus station. We paid 40k rp each but had to wait until there were enough passengers. If the mini bus was full it would have been 35k rp each. We stayed arrived two hours later in cemoro lewang and stayed at budi homestay. We got up at 3am to start the hike to the viewpoint of bromo. I ensured my Google map had loaded for the area and then used GPS to check we were going the right way (bearing in mind we arrived after dark in the evening so had to go off my map alone as we didn’t see any of it in the light) to navigate the first bit in the dark. It was a tough slog in places with a scramble up rocks necessary on one occasion (just beyond the first viewpoint). We didn’t go to the very top as you advised and instead for a small peak a short way back down the main road lined with the obnoxious jeeps. It was a stunning view, if only I remembered my tripod….. Doh! After sunrise we cheated a little and got an ojek back down and across the sea of sand to bromo so we could do it all in one day. After seeing bromo we walked back across the sea of sand to cemoro lewang. It was tiring but well worth it and I would recommend it. The only bit which was difficult was getting to the correct bus stop in probolinngo.
We cheated, again, for the next bit as we decided to book a tour to ijen. We wanted to do it the very next morning and realised it would be difficult to get to bondowoso and onwards ready to walk the next morning, given it was gone 1pm when we got back to probolinngo and we were shattered. Even with the one day tour though it was pretty full on given the two very early starts and a lot of travelling.
Thanks for the great blog, it gave us the confidence to give it a go ourselves, making the whole thing a very memorable experience.
Robin
Kristin says
Hi Robin,
Thanks so much for this comment and for letting me know that the advice worked out well for you! I think your “cheats” were a good idea given your limited timing and I’ll suggest that to anyone else trying to do both in a short amount of time, so your comment is super helpful. So glad that you enjoyed your trip and if only I knew back then what I know now about photography, my photos would be way better too. The memory is pretty good, though 🙂
Kristin says
Can’t recall exact distance but I just know how many hours it took. I think I woke up at 2:30 to start.
Kristin says
Hey Ron, you can get there from both of those starting points. I flew out of Surabaya when I left Indonesia so I can vouch for that route. Trains and busses are also easy. You can most likely find a headlamp somewhere along the way around Bali or other areas, maybe even near Bromo but I’m not sure. I just rented a jacket and didn’t need gloves. You’ll see other trekkers for sure. Have fun! Let us know how it goes.
Indranil says
Hey kristin! Great post this. I just had a couple of questions here. Is surabaya worth a visit if you only had 2 weeks for Indonesia or should I save that time for the Bali leg of my tour?
Secondly, is yogyakarta-surabaya-probolinggo-mt bromo a good route or is there an easier route from yogyakarta?
Please do answer. Pretty Please! :))
Kristin says
Seems like that is a good route. Surabaya doesn’t have much to it and it’s just the place I flew out of.
Ron says
Hi Kristin
Thanks for your reply & advice sorry to take a bit long to get back to you i have had connection problems i leave Surabaya by train at 09.00am on Monday 30th to Probibillinggo i’m a bit worried that trying to get to Cemoro Lawang by public bus there wont be many people to fill the bus as its low season here now is there an alternative ?say a motor bike or private car to Bromo guest houses? i know i will have to pay a lot more but i dont want to get stranded in Probillinggo, also i am thinking of skipping the Sunrise to Bromo as the weather here has been very cloudy i had the same problem when i did the Sunrise to Borobudur the weather was very cloudy & foggy very dissappointing ,my plan B was to trek to the Viewpoint around 5.30am -6am then do the Sand & Sea at crater on way back in the 1 day is this viable ? or is it too hot during day to do both ?i would love to do the ijen crater if time permits is it a must see ? i might have to do a tour if time is not on my side , i need to be back in Bali by Dec 4 or 5 ,i got a flashlight & warm jacket now thanks again cheers Ron
tiger shiok says
Hi Kristin,
Me and my wife plan to visit surabaya on 1 mar 2015. and would like to spend one night in hotel Bromo Permai and go for the sunrise at Bromo and also see the crater. Since my wife could not do tedious walking(her knee problem), I plan to take tour. My questions:
1. Even with tour/jeep, is there any hiking or tedious walk to arrive at the sunrise view point?
2. Same question for the crater?
Thanks,
tiger
Kristin says
Nope you take the Jeep to both places. The only thing is there are a lot of stairs to climb to the crater, but she can take them slowly
Hans Guichardo says
Hi Kristin,
I will be at Mt Bromo next Sunday and Monday. I am landing in Surabaya at 9:55am. I am staying at Cafe Lava Hostel.
Do you know how much is the taxi from the airport to the bus station? Is it metered or a flat rate?
Do you remember how much is the bus to Probolinggo from Surabaya?
I’m traveling alone, do you know if I will have an issue finding public transport from Probolinggo to Mt. Bromo on Sunday and back on Monday morning?
I appreciate your response!
Kristin says
The prices have probably changed since I went for both busses and taxis, but I was traveling on my own and didn’t have an issue joining the small minibus to get to Bromo and back down again. They drive around looking for passengers and you can let them know when they drop you off that you want a ride back down in the morning.
Khelsie says
Hi Kristin!
I’ve been reading a ton of all these comments, just to get a better idea of this hike! I want to do it without a tour (I’ve been really turned off by the cookie-cutter guided tours), and your blog was really helpful. However, I really only have 1 day to do this hike, and am wondering if it’s possible to hire a private car to take me to Cafe Lava at 3am (from Surabaya at maybe midnight the night before?), hike to the summit, then to the crater, and take public transport back to Surabaya for the evening. I have a 7am flight that following day, but if I can get back to Surabaya after hiking Bromo via public transport, this is ideal. Please help! And thank you in advance!
Kristin says
Hi Khelsie,
It’s probably possible to hire a private car if you order it in advance. I’m not sure if you can find a bus back down in the evening but you can get all that hiking done by the afternoon if you do the sunrise walk. The crater is mostly flat. The busses just show up randomly and leave when they’re full, so I can’t tell you yes and then be wrong about that. I left in the morning. However they should be bringing people up and down all day so just try to finish early and if you see one before you’re ready to go, talk to them and ask them if they’re coming back later and tell them you need a ride.
BPS says
Hi thank you for this post. I had my own negatives with Cemoro Lawang. The day I’m about to descend, the shuttle bus is offering the ride back to Probolinggo for 75,000IDR which I marked as a ripoff thanks to your tip that it’s just around 30k per pax. I took the faster and more expensive Ojek. The local ojeks won’t budge for less than 100k. That’s how greedy they turned out to be. But I’d rather get ripped off by ojek than by shuttle operators.
One can’t take transport from lower viewdeck all the way to the top of “Pananjakan”. Bromo spews ash clouds so its not possible to go near the crater. Another ripoff is the transport from Cemara Indah viewdeck to the final stop for transport. It’s just near so no point of hiring a ride from there. Had to learn that the hard way. Another gimmick now is the horseback riding. They will bug you nonstop and will insult you if you insists with a ” no”.
I stayed in Kusuma Tengger for 120k IDR per night. A minute away from Cemara Indah. It’s OK to pay around 100k IDR for ojek going up (43km) but I think it’s a ripoff if same price going down. If you’re going down and heading to Surabaya you can negotiate with driver to bring you to “Tanos” (bus stop) instead of the terminal. That Tanos is already past the terminal and nearer to Surabaya by bus. With me I cut trip from Cemoro Lawang to Sukapura then Sukapura to busstop via ojek.
Kristin says
They charge for the bus based on how full it gets, but I went there in 2013 so it’s tough to say what the price should be these days.
The lower view deck I referenced is the lookout point for the volcano at sunrise, not the crater. It’s super easy to just walk as it’s flat and any time of day is good for it.
Antony says
Nice article Kristin.
I will let you know the current prices for the short hop from Probolinggo to Cemoro Lawang as I should be going in a few days while the fresh eruptions are occurring, I read 90% drop in tourists due to this which is actually a god send!
I was last there in 2012 and going in through the back door via the Savannah from Malang side was a dream but it was a long way to travel from Tumpang to Cemoro by Ojek!!!
Kristin says
Thanks for offering to update me! That would be super helpful to the other readers as well
Megan says
Hey Kristen,
Thank you so much for this post! This might be a stupid question, but what is the name of the mountain/volcano that you climbed up to see the sunrise? Based on your post, your second climb was of a mountain with a view of Mount Bromo, not actually on the mountain itself. Also, is the Cafe Lava hotel closer to the sunrise hike or the crater? Sorry if these have been answered, I really did try to look before asking!
Kristin says
Cafe Lava is in between the crater and viewpoint. You just want to hike up to the ‘viewpoint’
Everyone will know what you mean if you ask for that.
Michael Yunus says
Hi Kristin, planning to go to Bromo from Malang as u did. Is public transport available all d way up to Cemoro Lawang esp if travelling solo as i plan to do in sept or oct? Appreciate details. Tnkiu.
Kristin says
When I went, it was already dark. Just depends on how many people are also wanting to go and how much you’re willing to pay if there aren’t others around to split the cost with you.
Emily Tay says
Great and informative post, Kristin!
One little question. I tried very hard to look for the answer to this. Since you did Bromo over two days, where did you stay?
Did you hike out from Losmen Setia Kawan to Mt Bromo itself the first day, then back to Setia Kawan before starting on your second trek the next day?
Referring to your map: I’m assuming Day 1 was the left trail to Mt Bromo, and Day 2 was the right trail towards to radio antenna?
Really appreciate your help! Will be checking your blog out for further inspiration!
Kristin says
I stayed in Cemoro Lawang at a little guesthouse at the start of the trek. I went to the crater on the first day and yes to the antenna on the second.
Mike says
This blog is super helpful, especially the headlamp tip!!
We’re planning a trip next month and were hoping to book in advance for Cafe Lava Hostel. Do you know an email or whatsapp number to contact? They aren’t listed in hostelword.
Kristin says
No and that’s probably because they don’t have internet.
mike says
that’s good to know! thank you! I found an email that said it was their booking site however it asked for a paypal payment to confirm the booking and I am not going to do that. Hopefully we can call once in Indonesia to confirm a room. Thanks again, your blog is awesome 🙂
Kristin says
Let me know what ends up working for you if you don’t mind! Would be great to update the article 🙂
Val says
Hi Kristin, the google maps link is not available anymore, do you have the GPS point maybe ? Thanks a lot
Kristin says
Yikes I don’t. If anyone else goes there please send them over so that we can update this!
Val says
Hi Kristin, do you have the GPS point that you recommend because the link you psoted on google maps seems to be unavailable now. Thanks a lot.
Andreas says
Nice article, thank you!
One thing I did not really get:
Did you stay two times in a hostile to get up to Bromo?
First in Losmen Setia Kawan home stay
And than in Cafe Lava?
Thank you and best wishes
Andreas
Kristin says
I never stayed at Cafe Lava, I just asked them for directions. I suggest staying there because it looked nice but I didn’t have the budget back then. I stayed at a hostel before the hike and left that day after I finished.
Alvin says
very informative post you have there!
just a question, from the climb to see the sunrise plus climbing Bromo and back to the hostel at Cemoro Lawang, how long will it take? I’m thinking whether I can check in to the hostel, stay for a night, see sunrise plus climb Bromo and get out of Cemoro Lawang before the check out timing for the hostel..
Thanks in advance!
Kristin says
I arrived too late at the hostel to do any hiking but you could walk to the crater during the day then stay overnight and do the sunrise hike then leave the next morning at 9am. That’s the time that I left.
Giuseppe says
Dear Kristin,
I thinking to visit Bromo during my next Indonesia trip, I’m mainly interested to take photos
as I have problem with my legs and can make just short steep walk do you think I can make it?
I read it’s possible to ride horse but didn’t understand if they go to the top
Thanks in advance!
Kristin says
I’m not sure I understand exactly what you mean but it’s a tough hike and it’s several days. Might want to ask about a horse but I never saw any. I don’t think they could walk up that gravel.
Dominic Wild says
Hi, Read interesting stories re the Probolinggo bus stop. Hard to get info which bus and how much but “helpful” people will “asist” to take your luggage to a bus. Then scammers arrive and charge you three times as much, like 60,000 IRP. They are to be ignored. No one will help you but the whole bus station Mafia is waiting for the commission from the successful scammers. Then the scammers will return and wave a key to claim that one of them is the driver, ignore that.
Only pay the correct price once the bus is moving and hopefully you are on the correct bus.
Giulia Tarraran says
Hi, a friend and I are coming from Yogyakarta with Bali as the end destination. I was thinking of hiking Bromo and the Kawah Ijen before making our way to Bali, but from the sounds of it this may be more trouble than its worth? Would you recommend either one of these over the other or simply skipping the whole thing and taking a plane and trying to do local hikes on some of the smaller islands in Bali? Thanks! Giulia
Kristin says
I’d never say they’re more trouble than they’re worth. They were both awesome. If I had to pick one I’d choose Kawah Ijen.
Adelia says
Hi Kristin, is the location in google maps removed? I can’t seem to find the location that Sailesh mentioned. Im planning to head over to bromo next two weeks, it would be great if you can get back to me on this.
Thank you!
Kristin says
I tried to find it and unfortunately I don’t even see the trail on Google maps but others have gone and reported that with my directions they found the spot easily. It’s hard to miss.
Sarah Weaver says
Hi Kristin,
I just wanted to say thank you for this article! It successfully got us to the top of Mount Penanjakan without a tour. What an incredible view!! Unfortunately I found myself sick from the altitude- but I suppose that’s part of the experience. Thanks again for your helpful tips!
Sarah
Cheng says
hi kristin, im planning a trip to Malang and planned to stay in malang centre. is there any public transport from malang to mount bromo and how much would it cost. if im to hike up without following the tour, what time would you suggest we start our hike? i want to watch the sunrise. and i would like to see the sea sand. did you happened to visit the madakaripura waterfall?
Kristin says
I’ve never been to Malang but maybe your guesthouse there can answer that question.
Viki says
Hi I want to go to mt Bromo next week and don’t want to do a tour, how is the public transport with a large 80l back pack were in Bali at the moment and not sure how helpful local buses will be
Kristin says
They may charge you extra for that but still cheaper than private tourist transport
Steve Evans says
Hi Kristin. So glad I found you!
Just planning our itinerary when I (65 yrs old, fine health wise but not super fit) and my 2 daughters are touring Bali, Java and Sumatra in August.
This is what I’m thinking – your advice on feasibility and any other reccomendations would be welcomed.
Arrive in Surabaya from Denpasar around 10.00am.
Bus to Probolinggo.
Private transport to Cemoro Lawang. Find accommodation.
Sunset at Bromo. Back to accommodation.
Next day, back to Surabaya.
Kristin says
It’s the sunrise, rather than sunset, that you want to catch at Bromo
Anonymous says
Hi Kristin,
I am glad that I read your article before going to mount bromo and kawah ijen. As my understanding, the journey to mount bromo and kawah ijen can be done in one day. correct me if I am wrong.
My question is do I need to prepare food by myself? How do you settle your meal? Is there any public toilet along the way to the top? As I have been to mount Rinjani and there is no public toilet and I had to “let go” in bushes XD.
Appreciate your reply. Thank you. Jake
Kristin says
No public toilet and if you want to eat yes, bring along your own food if doing this independently 🙂
Chris says
Fantastic info! Helpful comments too. Doing the Bali-Ijen (via Banyuwangi)-Bromo-Surabaya route from the 21st, 4 nights total. Should be an experience!
I’ll post follow up afterwards
THANK YOU
Isa says
Hi Kristen, 🙂
Me and my family (total of 4 ppl) will reach Surabaya in Sept on a Tuesday. I got a tour itinerary for about 2,500.000 idr per pax for a 2.5 days and 2 nights – Mount Bromo first then Ljen. I am planning to go without a tour since your blog is very helpful to me, thank you!
Got some questions:
1) From Surabaya Airport to Purabaya Bus station requires how much per way?
2) Planning to leave my luggages at the hostel (haven’t decide yet) and walk to Mount Bromo. After hiking and crossing the sand sea, do you think it is possible to get back to my hostel (Most probably will book the homestay you have stayed) by check out time at 12pm?
3) For Ljen, we plan to go there after checking out from Mount Bromo hostel. We will have to take bus from Probolinggo to Bondowoso (just at base of Ljen)?
Thanks 🙂
Kristin says
Hi Isa
1) not sure I didn’t do it but I can’t imagine it should be more than 100,000 by taxi. There may even be a bus
2) I did the sand sea the day before so I didn’t need to worry about that but they probably have a storage room if you’re worried
3) First a bus from Bromo to Probolinggo and then onto Bondowoso and then another bus up to Ijen.
Rdz says
Hi kristen
Your posting is so great and helpful. Im planning on doing the same too. I’ll be travel to surabaya on next year 11th January until 14th January.
I was concern about my timing. As per my booked plane ticket, I’ll be touch down at Juanda around 5 to 6 pm local time. Is it wise to continue the journey or i rather search for accommodation first waiting for the next day?.
FYI I’ll be travelling with my 2 friends from Kuala Lumpur. Say that we will arrive at Probolingo around 9pm-10pm. Would it still possible to make it to the sunrise straight away?.
Well actually I’m just concern and not clear about my messed up plan. Can you guide me please on what to do considering that I’ll be touch down Juanda at 6pm.
Please help me.
Thank you
Kristin says
I would head to the bus station and try. They may still offer you a ride but say that you have to pay for the empty seats on the bus
anna says
Hi Kristin,
We just visited Mt. Bromo and your blog has been of great help to us. Thanks so much!
Nee says
Hi,. I travel alone. Can I know I should go ijen first or mt bromo first
Kristin says
Bromo is probably closer to any airport you’d fly into
Erika Savitt says
If we arrive into Surabaya at 7am on a thursday, we could make it to bromo by 2 to do a hike of the crater and see sunset? Then you would recommend staying at one of the homestays such as cafe lava on the mountain to start the 3:30 am hike the next day. We would then leave aroudn 9:30 on a public bus down and then head to Mt Ijen and possibly do a hike and see sunrise there the next morning? does that sound correct? any help you can provide is appreciated.
Kristin says
You can probably do it but just keep in mind that it’s Indonesia and sometimes busses break down and things get cancelled so if it doesn’t work out, have a plan B
david says
Hey Kristin,
I see everyone is keeping this particular post alive! I’m going to be tackling bromo solo, in a few days.
I wanted to ask if you knew which viewpoint you walked to for the 7th photo, labelled ‘The volcano’?
I’ve managed to find a walking route as well, looks like the first half is along the bottom of the mountain, does that look about right to you? https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1AKJVdixuUrNFf5Jyz7OhySnJSr0&hl=en_US
Thanks a mil!
David
Kristin says
That does look right, yes. I took that last photo on my way back down and I believe it was at the viewpoint I said I wish I had stopped at.
Alicia says
Hi Kristin,
I have a few questions to ask. Did you made your visit during peak season? Do you recommend booking the accommodation ahead? As there is very little information available on the website so is it okay to just show up and find a room at Cemoro Lawang? WIll it be too risky to do that?
Appreciate your reply! Thank you.
Kristin says
I did visit during peak season and I just showed up and booked a room in person. That was a few years ago, though, and it could be more popular now. My guess is that if there’s very little info online that there aren’t a lot of other people booked ahead of time either, though. I almost always wing it in Southeast Asia and it’s alright.
Mujeeb Rahman says
Hi Kristin
first of all I’d like to share my admiration: you are awesome!
And thanks for taking the time to share so much valuable information. People like you are making a difference.
I need your advice to plan itinerary on our planned trip to ID in Aug 2017 (7-Aug to 19-Aug)
3 families (6 adults, 5 teenagers and 2 children)
Reaching Jakarta on 7th Aug heading to Bali. Bali accommodation booked for 7 days.(12to 19th Aug)
We want to enjoy our trip Jakarta to Bali, by road. Our plan is to take train on 8th Aug from Jakarta to Yogyakarta and rent a mini coaster/van with driver for the rest of the trip (including for Bali)
The ideal itinerary should include family entertainment, little adventurous, fun, sports etc.
Jungle (light) trekking, camp fire, ‘minor’ hiking, water sports, street foods/special foods……. etc.
Appreciate if you could guide me to prepare the same…
Thank you very much in advance
Kristin says
Thanks for the kind words! I’m not a travel agent and haven’t done that trip myself so that’s not something I can help with. This blog is to help you design your own trip using my advice if you wish. Have fun!
JIvanka says
Thank you this blog! It’s great and highly informative.
I am planning to visit Mount Bromo on the 11th of Jan 2017.
> Lombok to Surabaya, Fly, 10th Jan (morning/afternoon)
> Transport from Surabaya airport to Cemara Indah Hotel, 10th Jan (Evening)
> Hike Mount Bromo on the 11th Jan (Early morning) (by myself)
> Back to Surabaya, to catch a flight to Yogyakarta, 11th Jan (Afternoon/evening)
Does that sound reasonable?
I was wondering what is the best way to get to (and from) Surabaya Airport to Cemara Indah Hotel?
OR should I stay in Malang (how to I get there from the airport) and get a 4WD drive from there?
Any other tips would be most welcome!
Essentially I am not sure the best spot to stay, start my hike and the transport to and from Surabaya!
(Alternatively, I can skip Surabaya altogether and do Mount Bromo from Yogyakarta).
Thank you,
Jivanka
Kristin says
It could be possible that this would work. Take a taxi from the airport to the bus station and get on a shared bus from there to Cemara Indah. However you’re not leaving any room for anything to be delayed or go wrong, and this is Indonesia, so consider that you could miss a flight unless you’re willing to pay for private transport in case it’s necessary.
JIvanka says
Thank you 🙂
Kristin says
You could walk down to it very easily, yes. Unfortunately Google changed their links so I can’t find that spot anymore. Apparently it’s become a bit more popular since this post came out so you might have more company there than I would have!
Joel says
Can I see milky way with naked eyes?
Kristin says
It will be dark enough.
DIY says
If you want to save some money and hike Bromo by yourself, you can do it! I flew into the Surabaya airport during January and it was definitely the low tourist season. I was the only “tourist” on the plane and it landed around 12:45 pm. The teenager next to me was trying to take a selfie with me in it. I told him “No, put that away”. Once you land, walk outside the baggage claim/arrival hall and avoid at least 10 taxi drivers. You will see 1 or 2 big, white Damri buses. There is a man in a uniform outside the bus and he asked me if I was going to Probolinggo. Most people will know why you are there. I said yes and boarded the bus. I knew it was going to the Bungurasih bus terminal . I was the only tourist on the bus. There is a sticker on the windshield that says the ticket price is 25,000 R. A lady in a uniform gave me a ticket and I paid her. The bus was about full and it left for Bungurasih and arrived in 20 minutes.
Once you exit the bus, avoid the 20 taxi touts and follow everyone into the main bus terminal. If you walk towards the main bus terminal, you will see a sign that says “antar-kota”. Walk towards it, turn left, turn right, and then turn left. You’ll see a big red LED sign that says bus terminal. There will be about 15 big coach buses sitting in their stalls with a TV screen showing departure times. I stopped there because I saw between me and the buses, about 15 men shouting directions at people to board different buses. Some buses had numbers on their stalls and city destinations. But I didn’t see Probolinggo, so I tried to read the TV screens. I wanted the AC bus and not the economy bus. I didn’t see the AC bus, so I stayed in the terminal and walked down the aisle trying to read the signs above the buses. One of the many touts asked me where I was going “Bromo?” and I decided to say yes. He pointed me to a bus that had Probolinggo written above it. I asked him if it had AC and he said yes. I thanked him and walked towards it. Another man started walking with me saying “Bromo? I will take you to the bus.” I told him what bus I was going to because I didn’t want the economy bus and he took me to the same bus the first man told me about. It was in the middle, right of the row of buses. I boarded the bus around 1:45 pm, ready for all the scams and nothing crazy happened. It must be low season I thought. I was the only tourist on the bus and the bus was only 30 % full. It took about 2 hours and it cost me 20,000 R. I paid on the bus after it was traveling for 10 minutes. There is a driver and a money collector.
Once you arrive at the Bayuangga Bus Terminal at Probolinggo, make sure it really is the bus terminal. I was watching my GPS on my phone and when we arrived, there will be about 20 other big coach/tour buses. Don’t get off before hand otherwise they will scam you. My driver took everyone to the correct terminal. I read that I needed to find Toto Travel inside the terminal. I arrived around 4:00 pm and walked past and ignored the touts asking me where I was going and saw a big sign that said Toto Travel. Mr. Toto used to drive people up to Cemoro Lawang (pronounced Jemoro Lawang or Chemoro Lawang), drop them off at a guesthouse and then come back to Probolinggo. But then he opened his own travel business and it just the middle man now. Talk with him. He is honest. He told me not too many tourists were coming through this week. I was the only tourist there. He said you could wait outside the terminal for the little minibuses but a group of 4 people had just left 30 minutes ago. The minibus takes 1 hour to get to Cemoro Lawang and they charge 450,000-500,000 R. If there are 12 people seated comfortably, it’s cheaper, but if there are only 4 people, they want you to pay around 115,000 each. Toto said the motorcycle taxis will take you for 100,000 R. He showed me the driver and I said I would do that. It was almost 5 pm, raining, and I wanted to get up to the mountain. Toto also said he could book me a homestay guesthouse for 150,000 R. I read online that some people were getting 100,000 R a night, but I thought I would get there after dark and didn’t want to search around. He called Yog homestay and booked the room for me. I paid him.
After a quick dinner in the bus terminal at Depot 32 (the menu on both walls said that Nasi Goreng was 8,000 and the guy tried to charge me 10,0000. After reading about all the scams at Probolinggo, I wasn’t going to get ripped off so I put my foot down and he gave me correct change), I got on the motorcycle taxi and 1 hour later, made it to Yog. There was the less expensive rooms and the more expensive rooms. Yog consists of two houses near Cemara Indah Hotel. My house had 5 bedrooms and a shared bathroom. It was cold up there. About 15 degrees C, 59 F. No hot water. No heaters in the rooms. Just two big blankets and a pillow. I spoke with a German couple who had hiked Bromo that day and went to bed. I woke up at 4 AM because they said the sun rises a little later in the winter months. I walked towards Cemara Indah Hotel and the road forks. Go straight towards the Cemara Indah guard shack or turn right to go up to Mt. Penanjakan. From Mt. Penanjakan, you can see Bromo. I walked towards the right and up the road to the lookout point #1 and the sun rose about 5:30 AM. I had a flashlight app on my phone and didn’t have a jacket, so I took one of the blankets off the bed and wrapped it around me. It was definitely needed. Two Jeeps passed me on the way up the mountain. Part of the road was brand new. There were about 15 people at lookout point #1, and by 8 AM, most of them had left because it was pretty cloudy. I walked back down the mountain at 9 AM and passed a lot of farms.
Since Yog is next to the Cemara Indah Hotel, I decided to walk to the parking lot for a better view of Bromo. It started to rain and I saw a horse path going down towards Bromo with a sign that said “You need to buy a ticket at the ticket office”. The tickets were 217,000 R. There is a little guard shack at Cemara Indah Hotel, but there wasn’t anybody in it. I started walking and saw where all the Jeeps were meeting. I walked near them but then turned towards the Hindu temple. I didn’t see a ticket office but some people were trying to sell you flowers and horse rides. I just kept walking through the rain until I reached the steps that go up to the volcano. I declined several attempts from the other Indonesian tourists to have my picture taken with them (we’re here to see Bromo, not me!: ) ), and looked into the crater, breathed in too much sulfur, and then walked back to Yog. I booked another night with Yog, and left the next morning at 10 AM. There were 11 other tourists that had shown up and we met at the bottom of the hill and paid 40,000 R each to go back to the Probolinggo bus station. The minivan dropped us outside the bus terminal and it was up to us to go to the bus terminal, train station, or stay in town.
Grace says
Kristin, hi.
Great tips for visiting Bromo! I am going in couple weeks with my husband and 3 year old. Do you think we can manage the independent hiking with our son? We have a child carry backpack that we use for hiking, and I am not worry about us but about him. What is the temperature during night when you start the hike? Any advise you can give me?
Kristin says
Definitely bundle up because it will be cold, but you’re still in Indonesia so it’s not freezing. You can easily make it to the first viewpoint and that’s a great spot to watch from, and then you can decide from there if you want to continue. It got a bit steeper and harder to find the trail.
Giorgio says
Hi Kristin,
we will arrive at Surabaya from Singapore at 9 PM, do you think that it would be still possible to take the last train to Probolinggo?
Otherwise we are thinking to rent a car from Surabaya, would you reccomend it? Thank you!
Kristin says
No idea, as I took a bus, and they don’t have reliable schedules.
Huyen says
Hi Kristin,
I plan to visit Indonesia in April, but I heard that April is raining season in Indonesia. Do you think I can visit Mount Bromo in April? Thank you a lot 😀
Kristin says
Probably depends on how heavy the rains are at the time
Kelvin says
Hi, im going for a climb on the coming march. Actually i would have joined my friends a team of 8 and followed them on a tour package. They actually gt the package for around 1600000idr. But now im alone and so it would cost me 300000idr for a tour. So expensive, doubled the old price.
I actually planned to go on a tour and meet them at the peak. But would need a permit and some sort of other arrangements right? Where can i apply for the permit (where did you applied). Does it take a long time for processing?
Kristin says
I didn’t have a permit, I just had to pay a park entrance fee on the bus drive in.
Jeremy says
Hello!
I have a few queries which i hope you’re able to help with.
1) You mentioned that you spent your first day walking to Bromo volcano itself.. How long did that take?2) You also suggested taking a small bus to back to Probolinggo. Is there a specific pick up point? I will be staying at Cafe Lava so was wondering if it would be anywhere near there? Are there plenty of them?
Your pictures are amazing!
Kristin says
1) I’d budget 2-3 hours in case you want to stop by the temple or hang out at the top for a while
2) Tell them when they drop you off to pick you up there again the next day (or whenever you feel like leaving)
Kristin says
Awesome! So glad that it worked out for you and thank you for letting me know!
Anisa Ramadan says
wow amazing journey! last saturday i went to bromo too. touring by motorcycle and it takes 4 hours from malang. before 5am i arrived to the top. so much challengging!
maybe someday u have to try trip to Mount Rinjani too. i’ll be wait ur journey!
Tiru says
Hi Kristin. First off, thank you for a wonderful blog. It’s detailed and is about just the same way I would plan a trip. It’s nice to see an engaging comments section too, with people updating new information.
A couple of questions, if you would be so lind as to help me out.
I’m flying in from Singapore and don’t speak or read Javanese or Indonesian. Will that be a hurdle to do a DIY trip to Mt Bromo?
And I saw you mention ‘This is Java, things can go wrong’ many times in the comments section. How much buffer time would ypu suggest I plan for? I was thinking of a 3 day plan, between take off and return to singapore. (Singapore > surabata > probolinggo > Mt Bromo > Probolinggo > Surabata > Return to singapore).
What do you think?
Thanks for your time!
Tiru
Kristin says
I don’t speak Javanese either! If you’re only trying to do Bromo 3 days is OK I think
Flamur Lataj says
Hey did u have to pay the entrance 2 times? Both days?
Kristin says
Nope just upon entry
Joelle says
Hi! This is a really great guide thanks. I know it was published a while ago but I’m still hoping that you’ll be able to help us. We really want to go to Mt Bromo before we go to Bali but don’t want to spend very much. How much did the trip cost you in total please? Transport and accommodation?
Me and my boyfriend are currently in Malaysia, so we’re hoping to fly from KL into Jakarta since its the cheapest option, get there in the afternoon, then catch a night train to Surabaya, get there around 6.30am, then a bus to Probolinggo and go up the mountain on the mini bus. Spend one night, catch the sunrise and then travel into Bali. Does this sound doable? Would it be cheaper than getting a tour? Sorry that it’s so long but I’m worrying trying to plan all this, thanks x
Kristin says
You could do that. I believe it would work out. Is Surabaya really that much more expensive to fly into? I ask because you’ll be in for a very long trip to Bali AND a very long trip to Surabaya and I’ve done it before in the reverse and it is TOUGH. You’re sleeping on hard ferry benches and in busses. It’s kind of an adventure, though, and very local and authentic.
That won’t cost much at all if you only take local transport. Under $100 I think all in.
Ferdinand says
Things are getting very hectic in Probolinggo near the bus station. I’ll encounter foreign shills everywhere assisting the transport mob, connectors. I shopped for a minibus, but only one ran, and with people I refuse to associate with and was determined to avoid.
Imagine now being on the mountain with junkies smearing you for extortion money, and at the mercy of these same Premen you met at the bottom to bring you down from the top tomorrow.
I decided I just don’t care if it’s a pretty photo op. Maybe there’s a tour company that’s reputable, but it’s difficult to run anything honestly on this island. They’ll shut you down. They shut down public bus terminals. They shut down public sidewalks. They shut down police, they shut down Islamic virtue.
Kristin says
Hm, it was kind of like that when I was there too. There are always touts, though it may have become worse.
Julius says
I write this comment right out of the little village next to bromo and I only want to update a few prices. When I asked the local busdriver for the costs to go to probolinggo he told me ig would cost 35.000 idr now. Also renting a Jacket costs now 50.000 idr at the same place Kristin told us. I also figured out that you can get into the park in the morning without paying if you just tell the rangers that you stay in the hotel which is right behind the entrance. I also had to figure out the hard way that you always should bring enough money because the next ATM is 3 km away and doesn’t accept visa. And finally I want to thank you, Kristen, for giving us that amazing advice 😀
Kristin says
Thank you for the updates!
giada says
Dear Kristin,
I know that you have to pay a ticket to entry into the mount bronmo area (about 220K idr),
Is it true?
Karen says
Thanks so much for this article and all your responses to questions. Heading to Java and this has REALLY helped with finfing a way of hiking independently ?
Desa says
Hi, there! Filipina here! I’m planning to go to Bali next year, specifically targetting March. I find this post really helpful cause I might go alone. I have several queries, though, if you don’t mind. How will I go there if I am coming from Bali? How much are your total expenses for this trip?
Kristin says
You can take a ferry then a bus. I know that the prices of transport have increased since I did it but I don’t think I spent more than USD $120 which for that many days, met my budget. I saved a lot by eating at warungs, and taking only public transport and buying tickets on the bus rather than from touts.
Andrea Auyeung says
Hello,
I will be doing my first solo trip to SE Asia and glad I stumbled across your page! I’ll be flying from Miami to Kuala Lumpur THEN flying to Surabaya, arriving at 2:30 pm on May 29 Tuesday. I’m planning on spending 3 days and Mount Bromo is my top priority. I don’t want to go on a tour cuz it’s a bit expensive and I also want to be able to get clear shots of Bromo, as well as the sunrise. I have a few questions and hopefully you can help me out 🙂
1) Since i’m arriving mid afternoon 2:30pm, would it be better to stay in Surabaya for the day then head out to Bromo in the morning? Or leave to Bromo as soon as I land?
2) Was it difficult for public transportation from Juanda airport to Bromo and Bromo back to Juanda airport? How much roughly?
3) Was it difficult to hike to Bromo and especially early as hell to catch the sunrise?
4) Where did you stay and is it necessary to take public transportation to the park ?
5) Were shops and accommodations walking distance from where you stayed?
Thank you!
-Andrea
Kristin says
Awesome!
1) I would head straight to the bus station and get a ride up to Cemoro Lawang where the base of Bromo is, if you’re not super exhausted by then. If so, then take it easy 🙂
2) Taxis are not that expensive. They’ll typically try to overcharge you at an airport, just par for the course. I can’t remember the price since I didn’t go straight there from the bus station but definitely under 100k. Haggle.
3) Bring a headlamp as it will be dark. I feel like difficulty is relative but to me it wasn’t difficult.
4) I stayed at a tiny guesthouse at the base, and I suggest you do the same. There’s a minibus that leaves the bus station in Surabaya when full.
5) Yep!
Andrea Auyeung says
Thank you for the quick response! Sorry, just a few more questions hehe
1) Do the buses from the airport travel the straight 3 hour ride to Cemoro Lawang or do they stop somewhere for break? And would you suggest taxi or bus to go there?
2) Which guesthouse did you stay at?
3) Did you feel safe doing the hike hours before sunrise?
4) Where did you do money exchange ? SIM card? (indonesia, thailand, cambodia)
Kristin says
You’ll need to take a taxi to the bus station in Surabaya then you can go to Cemoro Lawang. It’s a straight shot.
I don’t remember the guesthouse it was tiny!
Yes I felt safe
I don’t do money exchanges I only pull out from ATMs and you can buy a SIM card at any stand that says ‘telkomsel’
Anonymous says
This is really comforting. I forgot to ask about visas, do you need it upon arrival for Thailand, Indonesia, or Cambodia?
Kristin says
You can get one on arrival in all three places. It costs $20 (at least for Americans) in Cambodia and in each you get 30 days. If you want more I suggest sorting it out beforehand at the consulate or embassy at home or in the capitol of whichever country in SEA you’re in before traveling to the next one. For example I got my 60-day Thai visa in Vientiane, Laos and my 60-day Indonesian visa in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Pedro says
Thks for the great guide to the Bromo!!!!
We’ll get to Probolinggo by train, and then where can we get a transportation (bus) to Cemoro Lawang? at what price? it’s mandatory that we get to the bus stop?
The day after, after seing the sunrise at the Bromo we would like to take the train at 11:00 in probolinggo, it’s possible to get there in time? What should we take, the public bus too?
We’re 4 adults.
Thks
Pedro
Kristin says
It might be risky to try to do it all by public transport if your window is so tight. You could hire a jeep for the whole thing as a tour. The bus to the top leaves when full or when you’re willing to pay for whatever empty seats there are so it’s hard to say what it will cost, and I know it’s always changing.
prayogga says
Hi Pedro,
really kristin says, would be very risky if you use public transport.
i suggest you to take a private transport ( rent cars ), you can found from google map or website to book in advance for pick up you in Train station to cemoro lawang and the day after pick up in cemoro lawang to transfer in Train station.
James says
Thanks for this, a great summary and it gave us the confidence to do it a few days ago ourselves, without a tour, which was tons better.
Grab any homestay in Cemoro Lawang, none of them are great but you’re only there to sleep, then it’s a simple 1hr walk up to the viewpoint; sunrise was just after 5am but get there at 04:30 to see the light emerge – it’s stunning. Directions are very easy, just ask your guesthouse. You don’t need much fitness; it’s a rigorous up hill walk for the last 20mins but fine if you take your time.
Re: transfers, if you are in Surabaya flying through and tight for time, splash out and book a transfer from the airport all the way up to Cemoro Lawang – it’s 3hrs drive and costs 500,000 Ir (about $35usd) each way, but cuts out all the pain and means you can see this amazing place.
Re: separate walk to Bromo itself, that is a separate walk which is well worth doing in the afternoon / daytime before your morning sunrise hike. Allow 1 hour to walk from Cemoro across the sand sea up to the crater (confirm with your guest house the right one! It’s not the huge one in the middle of the sand sea, it’s the one to the left of that!) then an hour back – not hard at all and really worth it; once at the crater you can literally see and smell the sulphur water bubbling away at the bottom. Amazing.
Thanks again to Kristin, well written and very handy!
P.s – suggestion: yes there are touts/hawkers and other Indonesian tourists all over the hill seeing the sunrise, making a bloody racket and flying bloody drones, selling hats and all sorts, but that’s life. Bring good headphones and an iPod, find a spot away from them, sit down and zone out watching the amazing sunrise “show”, just ignore the crowds that way!
Kristin says
Thanks for the update! I still think that spot slightly below the viewpoint, before the tar road is a great alternative.
Mei Lan says
Hi,
Thanks for all the writeup, my name is Mei Lan from Malaysia, Penang, I’m planning to go for this in the month of end of July, I would like to know what is the best month to visit? and I’m also taking this for 5 days including travelling time, is 5 days enough for the visit? Well, my main plan is to go Bromo and ofcourse go with the hike without tour (is it good to be at Bromo for like 2-3days)? then after that will just seeking around at the city (which city is recommended) before I heading back to Surabaya?
Kristin says
I went in July as well and it was great. Least likely to rain and it was a lovely sunrise. 5 days should be good!
Lucy P says
Hi Kristen,
If you had to chose between climbing Mount Bromo or Rinjani which would you choose?
Thanks!
Lucy
xaxa says
Hi Kristen , Thank you for your elaborate and helpful write up. My husband and I wanted to do independant trip to Bromo because all the tour package that we surveyed only stay briefly in Bromo and we on the other hand want to stay there for 2 or 3 days..
However, we will be travelling with 3 kids, 2,4, and 6. Do you recommend we do independent Bromo trip, and hiking to the crater with the kids?
Thanks,
Xaxa
Kristin says
I think a 4 year old will find this hike challenging, and a 2 year old will probably need to be carried. You might want to take a car for that reason.
xaxa says
Yes, will definitely put the youngest in a baby carrier..How about Penajakan? Would you say it is Beyond our reach?
Thanks Kristin.
Prajyot says
Thanks Kristin!! Your blog was very helpful for me while planning my solo tour.
Kristin says
awesome!
Julia says
Hello,
With summit are you talking about? Penanjakan?
Thank you!
Julia
Zahro says
the article is very helpful, but for now the climb to view point 1 (mount penanjakan) has been closed and the tourists will be switched to Seruni point
Kristin says
Thanks for letting me know, can anyone else confirm this?
Mount Bromo Tour says
Has been reopened
jhon says
Hi Kristen,
which harder between climbing Mount Bromo or Rinjani ?
Thanks!
Kristin says
Rinjani. It’s much longer (days vs hours) and steeper.