Weekend Guide to Mount Bromo & Ijen Volcano Crater

Thinking how you should spend your weekend? Why not consider a short trip (4 Days/3 Nights) to explore East Java region in Indonesia. Mount Bromo is the top draw and having make it so far, why not consider another 7 hours car ride to view the majestic Kawah Ijen volcano and crater lake.

Here is the cost breakdown of my trip (4 Days/ 3 Nights):

Flights:

The journey begins with a flight to Surabaya, the gateway city to Mount Bromo. Should you be flying from Malaysia or Singapore, there are plenty of budget flight options ranging from AirAsia, TigerAir, Jetstar Asia. I bought my flight that departs from Singapore for SGD$190 (All-in) on Jetstar Asia. As it leaves on a daily late morning flight (11.10am) and choosing to take the Saturday late night flight back home, it gives one plenty of time to roam around.

Tours:

There are many tour agencies that offers packages to Mount Bromo and Kawah Ijen. However, one have to do the homework by ensuring and comparing the different tour packages on offers. Some common questions to have in mind before deciding which tour agency to take:

• Does the tour operator pick you up from the airport and drop one off at Surabaya?
• Does it includes entrance fees to Mount Bromo, Ijen crater, etc.
• Does it include a trip to Madakaripura Waterfall?  In fact, this is one of the nicest waterfall I had seen so far. Read more further below blog post.

After comparing a few, I will recommend BROMOIJEN Tour Transport as Ms Ary from the BromoIjen tour is very efficient in all her emails reply before my trip. In additional, with tip top service I got from the driver and local guides, it is one of the best choices I had made for my trip to Surabaya. Below is our reliable car that accompanies us for 3 days…

Mount Bromo

Mount Bromo is famous for its sunrise so make sure you get there before dawn to witness it. One will not regret foregoing sleep if you had the opportunity to witness the splendid sunrise. Its is definitely amazing to have clouds below you while the sun slowly start to appear within your sight. The sun rises around 5am…. Do note that it can be very crowded at the peak so it is recommend to arrive 1 hour before the sunrise. Book a place and get the best view!

There are serveral places to stay in nearby to Mount Bromo. The closest city is Surabaya but it is not recommended to stay there as one will need to leave Surabaya at 11pm in the night so as to reach the peak in time for sunrise. The best bet is to stay at Cemoro Lawang area as you will get to the peak in 50 minutes time. I left the homestay area at 3am and managed to reach the peak by 4am by taking the jeep.

It can get pretty cold up there the mountains, so do prepare thick winter clothing. A jacket coupled with 2 layers of clothing would be ideal. It may get a little warmer as the sun rises so one can remove the layer of clothes later easily. If you did not bring winter jacket, you can rent it easily from the many stores there at IDR25,000 (About Sing Dollar S$2.60).

Usually after seeing sunrise at 5am, everyone will start to head down south which is around a 10 minutes walk depending how far your jeep is parked. Ride the jeep down and along the way, you can stop to take beautiful pictures.

After which, enjoy Bromo Crater. One can either take a horse ride (about Sing Dollar SGD$15) or 2km walk (one way) to the Bromo Crater. Do note that it may seem to be just 2km walk, but factor in both way which will be more than 4km in distance and imagine walking in the soft sand at high altitude, it will easily tire oneself out. However, one will enjoy beautiful pictures along the way.

Madakaripura Waterfall

Madakaripura Waterfall is 5km inland off the main road that one will be travelling along from Surabaya heading to Mount Bromo. This is one of the best waterfall I had ever witness so far. You got to see it for yourself to truly appreciate her beauty! Do note that it can be rather dangerous while walking on the side as one slip might cause serious injury. However, it would be wasteful if you give this waterfall a miss having travelled so far.

Getting to the waterfall requires one to embark on a motorcycle adventure ride which takes around 10 minutes, allowing one to embrace in the cool breeze.

This is followed by an hour walk into the woods although it is only 1km from the entrance to the waterfall area. The inital start of the walk is pretty easy and it gets tougher as one heads nearer to the base of the waterfall. Do bring along rain ponchos otherwise one can purchase it from the vendors at IDR10,000 (Singapore Dollar $1). 

Kawah Ijen Volcano

Kawah Ijen Volcano is known for employing about 300 miners who carry huge load of rocks filled with sulphur under extreme heat and toxic fumes conditions in exchange for about five dollars a trip. On average, these miners makes 4 trips each day and work almost everyday from 1.30am onwards.

It is an early wake up call from our bunk beds as well at 1am as we drove an hour from the town of Banyuwangi where we stayed to Kawah Ijen Volcano under the dark skies. We begin our 4km hike up at approxmiately 3am in the morning.  It is about 2 hour hike up.

If one reach before 5am, you will be able to witness blue flames from the Kawah Ijen crater that will only start to disappear when the sun rises. The view was definitely worth with the steep climb up. With the wind conditions, we managed to experience what the miners go through each day when the Volcanic smoke blow towards us. Do note that one will require gas masks or face mask to cover up. The sulphuric smoke may lead one to cough, feeling tired and cause our eyes to experience a spicy sensation.

If you are looking for an itinerary to Mount Bromo and Kawah Ijen, you may click here

Categories: Asia Region

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