FAQs
We can tell you everything about Mount Bromo
Everything you need to know before arriving in spectacular Surabaya
Mount Bromo is located within the massive Tengger Caldera in Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park in East Java. The nearest major city serving international flights will be Surabaya, which is about 4-5 hrs drive away. There are 5 volcanoes within the Caldera; Mount Bromo (2,329 m), Mount Batok (2,470 m), Mount Kursi (2,581 m), Mount Watangan (2,661 m), and Mount Widodaren (2,650 m).
In terms of weather, the best time to visit Mount Bromo is during the dry season from March to November. Incidence of rain is higher during the wet season from December to February and the national park is open to visitors during this period. However, the climate is generally tropical,. It therefore really depends on luck because it may even rain in the dry season or it may be sunny in the wet season when you are there for 1-3 days. You will always be allowed to travel there, even during festivals.
In the early morning or before sunrise, temperature in Mount Bromo can be as low as 10 to 15 Degrees Celsius. Temperature in the late morning and noon time will be around 20-30 Degrees Celsius.
Just pack a windbreaker or jacket will do. For customers from Europe or colder climates i.e. Canada, it is not cold. That’s what most of our customers from this region say anyway.
Lazy to bring? Fret not, just rent from the locals at about 3-5USD/jacket or about 20,000 rupiah/jacket.
Winter wear is essential for visiting Mount Bromo in the early morning. You should layer appropriately, preferably in three layers:- a quick dry base layer, a thick fleece or wool jacket and wind breaker with accessories like beanie, scarf and gloves which you can easily remove when the sun rises and gets significantly warmer.
Most of the trek is on relatively flat and sandy ground except for the flight of stairs from Mt Bromo base to its top. It is a relatively easy trek more akin to Mac Ritchie trail walking than to Mount Ophir (Steep slope) trekking. It is definitely suitable for beginners. Would be okay for elderly below the age of 70 as well as children from the age of 3 and above. For customers thinking of going to Ijen, it will be a tougher hike of 2-3 hours, it will only be suitable for customers aged between 12-65 years old.
If you have young travellers or senior citizens, check out our Family tours.
Yes, we can arrange camping for your night stay at Bromo area. But this will incur extra charges and generally we not recommend customers from doing so due to the strong cold winds outdoors.
We did camping trips before and most of the time, we are battling the winds to keep the tents or finding warm shelters for our customers. Only suitable for the adventurous.
Looks good on photos but not exactly fun.
Yes, you can do so at the post office in Sukapura Village near to Bromo and you can purchase postcards in the village itself. Simply request our tour guide to make a stop at the village in advance.
We will provide three classes of accommodations for customers to choose – budget, standard and luxury. These options with prices will be provided upon trip enquiry. It is also possible for customers to book their own accommodations. We would recommend at least the standard (Hotel stay) and above if possible and budget allows. Also, the higher end accomodation will adopt safe practices for COVID19.
For travel between cities and towns, the following vehicles with ample space for luggages are used:
1-3 Pax Group – Toyota Avanza 5 Seater
4-5 Pax Group – Toyota Innova 7 Seater
6-9 Pax Group – Isuzu Long ELP 11 Seater
13-25 Pax Group – Usually a combination of 2 x Isuzu ELPs as it is difficult for big buses to travel on narrow mountain roads
For travel to Gunung Penanjakan, Sand Sea and Whispering Savannah, you will switch to a 4WD Jeep
This is the most popular itinerary among the customers. However, if you want to add, change or skip some attractions, we can customise itinerary for you. All the attractions and activities are optional, you can always skip if you don’t want to go. You can leave a note when you check out or tell our guide in the tour.
The entrance fees have various pricing i.e. foreigner, local rate, peak prices etc. It would be better that the customer pay on the spot depending on his/her nationality. Also, it will solve the refund issue if you choose not to go to the attraction when you are on the tour.
Return airport transfer service is included. We would pick you up at Surabaya airport on your arrival time on day 1. If you are already in Surabaya, we would pick you up at your hotel at around 9am instead. On the last day, we would offer free airport transfer from your hotel.
The nearest international airport to Mount Bromo is Surabaya Juanda International Airport.
You can also start the tour from Bali or Yogyakarta.
Generally, our tours are all inclusive except for Entrance fess and lunch and dinner during the tour.
For lunch and dinner expense, you can budget it at around 50,000 rupiah/meal or about 5SGD/meal or 4USD/meal. It greatly depends on what you order and where you dine.
As for the entrance fees, we usually state in the tour details or you can pay through us first as a selected option.
Yes. You can request for the optional Milky Way tour which starts around midnight from your lodge at Cemoro Lawang. You will head to a nearby peak such as Mount Pananjakan, Mentigen Hill, Kingkong Hill or Seruni Point where you can view the Milky Way. Avid photographers should bring suitable camera equipment such as tripod for Milky Way Photography. You would then continue with the standard itinerary for sunrise views over Mt Bromo. The extra cost is 200K IDR for each jeep (4 customers to a jeep).
It cost around 75K IDR for one way trip to cross the sand sea on a horse. For a return trip, it will cost around 150K IDR. Note that the horse ride ends close to the start of the stairs to Mt Bromo crater. You will still have to climb the flight of steps up to the crater. Horse ride is entirely optional and you can also walk across the sand sea which most visitors do. Do negotiate with the horsemen to try to get a better deal.
No. Mount Bromo area is very dark and cold in the night. For the safety concern, we don’t allow the customers to hike solely on foot rather than taking the Jeep.
At least 2 litres of drinking water for the whole tour. There is no water source along the way except for some paddlers along the trail selling canned and bottled drinks.
Sunglasses and sunblock lotion are highly recommended – the sun rays can be harsh and at high altitude, it is easy to get sunburnt even though the surrounding temperature is cold. The terrain is very sandy– wearing a face mask is also recommended for protection. (Akin to walking in a desert). If you are visiting the waterfalls, please bring along wet gears (swim suits with t-shirt and shorts, booties/sandals, spectacle hooks, waterproof cover for camera which can be secured to your body, change of clothes, towel).
Our vehicle will drop you at the parking lot of Madakaripura Waterfalls where you will hop to a motorbike (Ojek) for a short 5 minutes ride to the entrance. Then you need to do a short trek of around 15 minutes (1km) to reach the waterfalls.
Swimming is no longer allowed at the waterfalls since 2018. But you will still get wet from the water. Our guides will provide ponchos for everybody. For footwear, we recommend covered rubber shoes like Crocs. Sandals/slippers with good grips are also fine but please be careful not to hit any rocks.
Your passport with min. 6 months validity; Vaccination proofs (fully vaccinated with at least 2 does); return tickets; travel insurance (highly recommend) and other travel essentials.
No. However, it’s highly recommend to purchase COVID-19 related travel insurance.
This depends on the type of restaurants you visit. As a guidance, you can estimate around IDR 100,000 for lunch and IDR 150,000 for dinner for pretty decent restaurants. Less if you do not mind more humble eateries, more if you visit international restaurants or go for seafood.
We suggest around IDR 75,000 per day to guide and IDR 75,000 per day to driver for the whole group for good service. For example, for a 4D3N Ijen Crater & Mt Bromo tour, the suggested tipping is IDR 300,000 to guide and IDR 300,000 to driver. Tips are generally expected and it motivates our tour guides and drivers to do better.
Yes. Since 2018, foreigners need to present their passport and register for a local sim card from the official store of the mobile operator. We recommend buying from the airport store directly upon arrival. For best connectivity, we suggest getting Simpati from Telkomsel. Mobile (including data) connection is available throughout the trip except at very rural areas such as Paltuding (start of Ijen trek). For customers who prefer less hassle, activating data plan from Singapore is also pretty affordable. For example, it cost SGD 12 for 1 GB data under Singtel’s one month ReadyRoam plan.
