Mount Bromo blog — The field guide to Mount Bromo for first-timers

June 16, 2023

Coming to Indonesia, people cannot miss exploring the active craters, 2 of the volcanoes worth visiting are Gunung Bromo and Kawah Ijen. Located in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, there is a mountain called Gunung Bromo named after a god who is the creator of the Hindu god and it comes from the Javanese pronunciation Brahma. In this article, let’s explore Bromo (Indonesian: Gunung Bromo), Bromo located in the Tengger Mountains, in East Java, Indonesia with an elevation of 2,329 meters (7,641 ft).

mount bromo java indonesia — Mount Bromo | mount bromo blog

The sun began to rise, the naked eye gradually began to see Mount Bromo. | mount bromo blog

So, what to do in Mount Bromo, how to get to Mount Bromo, how to go to Mount Bromo and how to visit Mount Bromo? Let’s check out our Mount Bromo travel blog (Mount Bromo blog) with the fullest Mount Bromo travel guide and suggested Mount Bromo tour, Mount Bromo tour from malang and Mount Bromo tour package as follows!

How to get to Mount Bromo? (#mount bromo blog)

Stage 1: Ho Chi Minh City – Surabaya City, East Java, Indonesia.

We booked a flight from Saigon to Juanda International Airport (Surabaya) of Scoot Airline from 5:20pm to 8:25pm, then we transited at Changi Airport (Singapore) for 12 hours to continue our journey. The next morning, the flight departs from Singapore at 8:20 am to Surabaya at 9:35 am (GMT+7).

The time I went was June 2022, I needed basic procedures such as: Round-trip ticket, hotel booking information, certificate of vaccination of 2 doses, TravelCare insurance.

Entry: Surabaya Airport is quite small and the number of tourists at the time I went was not much, so the entry was quite fast and simple.

Stage 2: Surabaya City – Malang City, East Java, Indonesia (#mount bromo blog)

From Juanda airport (of Surabaya), I booked a Gojek car to move to Terminal Purabaya Bungurasih bus station (about 10km).

In Vietnam, on traveloka.com’s application, you only need to switch to Country & Language mode, which is Indonesia (English) to be able to search for means of transportation, bus ticket information, and operating hours of bus operators of destinations in Indonesia which is very convenient with flexible payment methods. KALISARI is a clean 45-seat car that gives you a very comfortable experience when going through the roads with green trees, watching the Gunung Arjuna mountain through the village of Lawang.

At Terminal Purabaya Bungurasih bus station, we waited for the bus to leave at 3:20pm of KALISARI bus station to Terminal Arjosari Malang bus station with a distance of about 100km.

Stage 3: Malang City – Bromo Volcano, East Java, Indonesia.

The place to start the journey to the Bromo volcano will be Probolinggo or Malang, these are the two areas at the foot of Mount Bromo, most tourists will choose Probolinggo to join the Bromo-Kawah Ijen tour and then continue to Bali but but this time we choose the starting place is Malang so we can explore more Jodipan rainbow village.

Mount Bromo tour

There are 2 types of tours: Private tour and Share tour:

Private tour: Whether you go with 1 person or a group of 10 people, there will be a tour guide, a private car, and can adjust the services on the trip according to your needs.

Share tour: You will be paired with many different people, from many different countries, the number of people will depend on your tour operator.

Option 1: Book a package tour

Private tour: The itinerary will include a shuttle bus to take you from Surabaya airport to the points in the itinerary, and the ending point is Bali if you have a need (Or vice versa, the journey will start from Bali).

Share tour: The journey will start from Probolinggo or Malang depending on the operating area of the tour operator, and the end point is Banyuwangi, or the ferry terminal for you to continue go to Bali, or you can still deal with the tour operator to transport you to Bali.

The Mount Bromo tour package tour will include:

The vehicle moves between points in the journey.
Hotel/Homestay: Depending on your payment, the tour operator will book a room for you.
Tour guide.
Meals.

The price of the package tour will depend on whether you choose a private tour or a shared tour, on the number of people, pick up and drop off points, type of hotel or homestay.

The cost for booking a package tour will be from $169.96 to 297.43 for one person.

A small town next to the volcano looked like a fairyland. | mount bromo blog

Option 2: Go self-sufficient, only book tours at each destination.

There will also be 2 forms of private tour and shared tour. You just need to let the tour operator know the hotel where you are staying, the tour operator will come to pick you up on the day you choose to join Bromo or Ijen. In single tour to Bromo or Ijen will include car in the itinerary, tour guide (not including hotel, meals).

To go to Bromo volcano, most tourists will book a package tour, choose a private tour or a share tour to both Bromo and Ijen, but to save costs and increase the experience, we chose to go self-sufficient and choose Share tour with 2 different tour operators in Bromo and Ijen. Going to Bromo volcano, the tour operator picked us up and dropped us off at our hotel in Malang, then we will continue our journey to Ijen volcano.

Looking at the stream of dew, the clouds were soon flowing, but I wanted to ride along. | mount bromo blog

From this angle the volcano can be seen closer. | mount bromo blog

I was lucky, so the fog cleared up pretty early that day or I wouldn’t see anything in the Black Desert :)) | mount bromo blog

Hotel in Malang

Cities, towns around Mount Bromo where you can choose a place to stay. | mount bromo blog

Hotel Victoria Boutique Residence

Address: Jl. Ciujung No.7, Purwantoro, Blimbing, Malang, Jawa Timur, Indonesia.
Room price we paid: 505,000 IDR/2 nights about $33.86.

You can check rates, reviews and book on Agoda.com or Booking.com. And find the best hotels in Malang on Agoda.com or Booking.com

We find tour operators mainly on the Instagram hashtag, in addition you can find and view reviews of tour operators on Tripadvisor. Indonesians use WhatsApp to communicate, so we also made friends with several tour operators via WhatsApp and talked and negotiated prices with many different tour operators to choose from. Finally, we chose a tour operator to Bromo from Malang for 750,000 IDR about $50 per person. On this trip, we were able to join 6 more people.

Jeep of Bromo Project tour operator | mount bromo blog

Information about tour operator offer tours to Mount Bromo in Malang:

Name of tour operator: Bromo Project
Instagram/Facebook/Tiktok: bromoproject.id

The good thing is that no matter how you choose to tour Bromo volcano, there will be a hearted photo session from the tour guide, I think that’s how Indonesians help the world know their beautiful country.

Mount Bromo tour itinerary

00:30 am: Driver came to pick us up at the hotel and then took us to Basecamp Bromo Project in the village at the foot of the mountain.

We waited to arrange the car at Basecamp of Bromo Project. | mount bromo blog

2:00 am: With a temperature of only about 6 degrees Celsius, we were able to get on jeeps that led to the rolling mountain roads to the village of Cemoro Lawang, the cars rushed through the black sand desert formed by the ashes of the volcano erupt, this scene reminds me of the movie “Mad Max fury road”.

We sat and drank hot tea in the village of Cemoro Lawang. | mount bromo travel guide

Around 5:00 am: We go up the hill in Cemoro Lawang village area to see the sunrise and the panoramic view of Bromo volcano area. But unfortunately the day we went, the fog was too dense, so we missed this majestic scene.

The fog was thick that day. | mount bromo travel guide

The Jeep took us to Bromo | mount bromo travel guide

6:00 am: We continue to get on the Jeep to the foothills of the volcano Bromo, where we have a buffet breakfast at a local people’s home for 30,000 IDR/person (about $2.1).

Many side dishes to choose from. | mount bromo travel guide

Have breakfast at the foot of Mount Bromo. | mount bromo travel guide

Hot cups of tea are always needed when coming here | mount bromo tour from malang

We went to Mount Bromo in the previous days as “Yadnya Kasada Ritual Ceremony” only the people of Indonesia can participate, so tourists will not be able to go to the crater on those days and the day we come is the people have to clean up the ruins of the ceremony, so before going to Bromo, you need to check with the tour operator because Indonesia has many festivals, ceremonies taking place during the year that will affect the visit of foreign tourists.

At the foot of the volcano Bromo | mount bromo tour from malang

Although we could not go up to the crater of Bromo volcano, we had experiences around the steppe area and the black sand sea at the foot of the volcano that was extremely romantic and wonderful before the creation of nature for this country.

Black sand is formed from the eruptions of the volcano Bromo. | mount bromo tour from malang

The vast black sand sea. | mount bromo tour from malang

The horses are allowed to ride by the locals to take pictures. | mount bromo tour from malang

The steppe around the magnificent volcanic area. | mount bromo tour from malang

11:00am: We finished the Bromo volcano discovery tour, the tour operator took us back to the hotel, then we packed our luggage and continued to travel to Banyuwangi for the next Ijen discovery trip. (So, stay tuned for our next post about Kawah Ijen)

What to prepare for the trip to Mount Bromo

Physical and mental: Because the journey starts at midnight and travels on a rather winding and rugged road, this trip is not recommended for those with vestibular disorders. And always keep your mind relaxed and enjoy nature even if the weather is not favorable for your exploration.
Keep your body warm enough with warm clothes, gloves, scarves… because the weather in Bromo is quite cold, usually ranging from 11 to 14 degrees Celsius, the day we go it’s about 6 degrees Celsius. At the foot of the mountain you should drink a cup of hot tea, it would be great.

Steps to the crater of Bromo | mount bromo tour from malang

At the end of the trip at Bromo volcano, we made new friends when we chose to share the tour, experienced riding on the roof of a Jeep through the volcanic ash desert, a very yomost feeling, bright smiles, delight, eyes are filled with majestic natural scenes. Moreover, we are recharged with energy and new knowledge about the traditions and culture of the people here.

Note: The text and some photos is copyrighted by Duong Tran.

Some best day tours, trips, activities and transfer services, tickets in, to and from Mount Bromo and Bali you can refer to

Are you looking for more Bali travel guide and top things to do in Bali: Tours, activities, attractions and other things? Read more: Bali travel blog — The fullest Bali travel guide blog for a budget trip to Bali, Indonesia.