Bromo, one of the most wonderful mountains in the world. I went there just last week to see its beauty and I'm amazed!
It is easy to go there, even with public transportation, let alone with private transportation. Other people might go in a group, but going single is also fun, although it might cost a little bit more. My cousins were worried that I wanted to go by myself. At first I insisted, but then I gave up and let them took me to Cemoro Lawang, the closest village to the mountain. Off we went in a sedan driving up the mountain. Since the weather would be very cold, I packed a thick jacket, a pair of gloves, two pair of socks, a scarf and wearing a long sleeves t-shirt, comfortable hiking sandals, the most important one, of course, my camera :-). Some snacks for the night hike are needed to be in your backpack, if you get hungry easily.
I started my trip from Malang, East Java, via Probolinggo and up to Bromo. For public transportation access, Probolinggo is the easiest transit place to go to Bromo. By bus or train from Surabaya or Malang, we need to go to the bus terminal Bayuangga. From the terminal, take the car, Elf or the people there call it PS or Bison /bees'on/, right outside in front of the terminal. It costs 40 thousands rupiah (18/03/2015). The only problem is this car will only go when it is full of passengers, so you need to be extra patient. It has no AC, but don't worry, the journey to Bromo right after leaving Probolinggo, the weather is very cold, plus the scenery is a pleasure to the eye. This trip will take about 1.5 hours.
For the place to stay, my cousins wanted me to stay in a nice place, I didn't mind, of course. So we stopped for the first hotel, Java Banana Lodge. Look so fancy. It should be comfortable and nice. I went inside and... tadaaaa!! $135/night. Right away I said thank you and moved on. After a few more investigations, I decided on my first choice, Yoschi's (http://www.yoschihotel.com). It is a descent clean hotel, with friendly staff. In low season, the price for standard room is 200 thousands rupiah plus 20% tax, so 240 thousands /room. This price includes breakfast (coffee/tea and nasi goreng/bread). If you stay with another person, you will cut down your expense. In June, July or August, the price become 300/room (most prices there will be more expensive). The bathroom is shared, but has hot water which you will certainly need when the weather is under 5 degrees Celsius or lower.
Don't forget to book in the receptionist for your Jeep to Penanjakan 1, where you can see the sunrise,and Bromo crater, for 150 thousands per person (group might be cheaper). This trip will start around 3.30 AM or earlier. Also, if you don't want to wait with uncertainty for the PS/Bison/Elf going to Probolinggo, you might also need to book a night before in the receptionist for 50 thousands.
I arrived there then straight away met a friend, she is from South Korea who was also travelling alone. We clicked and talked about lots of different topics, including our travelling stories :-). She told me that it is much cheaper to book a tour package in Jogjakarta than in Probolinggo like what she did. She regretted booking the tour in Probolinggo for Bromo - Ijen - Bali (Jogja's price was 850 thousands while Probolinggo's was 1,400 thousands) *low season. The food in Yoschi's is not really good and expensive, but the coffee is pretty good. There is a small "warung" up near Yoschi's. There you can eat nasi goreng, mie goreng, or rawon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rawon) - a traditional food from East Java, or mie rebus (I prefer the instant noodle soup with egg). You can also drink ginger tea here. If you are lucky, the owner might have fried sweet potato (ubi goreng) for Rp 1000/ slice. I had a cup of "teh panas" or hot tea and two ubi goreng, I was really full.
The jeep trip was tense, but exciting. Take the front seat for better experience. You can't really see the view since it was still dark (to catch the sunrise at 4.30am, we need to go like 2 hours before). The positive thing going at night is that you can't see around the road and how winding it is. It seemed to be in an off-road trip for me.
Even in the low season, the people visiting Bromo can't be said as 'low', there were so many people up there. The view is much better in June, July, August, but the weather could get to -5 degrees Celsius, plus, the visitors will be too many.
The sunrise is best seen from Penanjakan 1. This is the highest point around Bromo area that can be easily accessed. Going to this place, thick jacket, socks and gloves (for me) are needed.
The next destination after watching the sunrise is Bromo crater. At around 6.30 we got there. We were welcomed by lots of horses with their jockeys who were persistent to ask us to "go up by horse". When the jeep driver told them, "Turis semua" - All tourists, means all foreigners, the jockeys went away.
The top of Mount Bromo can only be reached by 'hiking' up the stairs. A girl who was in my jeep counted the stairs when walking and down, and they are not the same numbers. Try to count them, and see if you get the number the same or different. I had to take rest three times before I got to the top.
But the view form the top is worth all of those hundreds of stairs. And surely warm up your body. I took of my jacket and gloves while walking up the stairs.
After the crater, my group went back to the hostel. There are actually two more interesting place to visit around Bromo, the savannah (Bukit Teletubbies) and the black sand desert (Pasir Berbisik - got the nick name from a famous Indonesian movie). They usually be visited after the crater.
After arriving in the hostel, I had breakfast, nasi goreng with egg and black coffee, then take a hot shower. I packed my bags and ready to go. For going back to Probolinggo (the closest city for transit to Ijen, Malang, Surabaya or other destinations), it's better to book the shuttle car a day before. It costs 50 thousands rupiah. It goes once a day at 9.30 am. If you want to take the PS/Bison, it costs 40 thousands with unpredictable departure time. I insisted to take public transportation, so i waited for the bison, and I had to wait for about two hours. But the waiting is not a big deal, I was in the old style bison car, which very authentic. No need AC since the air is very cold, I was wearing my jacket inside.
The bison car dropped all the passengers off at the bus terminal in Probolinggo after 1.5 hours car ride. There was another bison car waiting that will go to Ijen right in front of the Bromo car when you get off. So, If your next destination is Ijen, get on this car, this is the best choice since going to Ijen is more difficult. But if you are more to adventure, then get on the bus from inside the terminal to Banyuwangi.
I went back to Malang, by Patas AC bus (means no stopping, direct bus with AC) for 30 thousands.
So, it is easy and fun to go with public transportation and it is totally fine to go by yourself, even if you are a woman :-).
Have fun planning your trip to Bromo!
It is easy to go there, even with public transportation, let alone with private transportation. Other people might go in a group, but going single is also fun, although it might cost a little bit more. My cousins were worried that I wanted to go by myself. At first I insisted, but then I gave up and let them took me to Cemoro Lawang, the closest village to the mountain. Off we went in a sedan driving up the mountain. Since the weather would be very cold, I packed a thick jacket, a pair of gloves, two pair of socks, a scarf and wearing a long sleeves t-shirt, comfortable hiking sandals, the most important one, of course, my camera :-). Some snacks for the night hike are needed to be in your backpack, if you get hungry easily.
 |
| A sedan in Bromo road, a rare view when the common cars used are hardtop jeep. |
I started my trip from Malang, East Java, via Probolinggo and up to Bromo. For public transportation access, Probolinggo is the easiest transit place to go to Bromo. By bus or train from Surabaya or Malang, we need to go to the bus terminal Bayuangga. From the terminal, take the car, Elf or the people there call it PS or Bison /bees'on/, right outside in front of the terminal. It costs 40 thousands rupiah (18/03/2015). The only problem is this car will only go when it is full of passengers, so you need to be extra patient. It has no AC, but don't worry, the journey to Bromo right after leaving Probolinggo, the weather is very cold, plus the scenery is a pleasure to the eye. This trip will take about 1.5 hours.
For the place to stay, my cousins wanted me to stay in a nice place, I didn't mind, of course. So we stopped for the first hotel, Java Banana Lodge. Look so fancy. It should be comfortable and nice. I went inside and... tadaaaa!! $135/night. Right away I said thank you and moved on. After a few more investigations, I decided on my first choice, Yoschi's (http://www.yoschihotel.com). It is a descent clean hotel, with friendly staff. In low season, the price for standard room is 200 thousands rupiah plus 20% tax, so 240 thousands /room. This price includes breakfast (coffee/tea and nasi goreng/bread). If you stay with another person, you will cut down your expense. In June, July or August, the price become 300/room (most prices there will be more expensive). The bathroom is shared, but has hot water which you will certainly need when the weather is under 5 degrees Celsius or lower.
Don't forget to book in the receptionist for your Jeep to Penanjakan 1, where you can see the sunrise,and Bromo crater, for 150 thousands per person (group might be cheaper). This trip will start around 3.30 AM or earlier. Also, if you don't want to wait with uncertainty for the PS/Bison/Elf going to Probolinggo, you might also need to book a night before in the receptionist for 50 thousands.
I arrived there then straight away met a friend, she is from South Korea who was also travelling alone. We clicked and talked about lots of different topics, including our travelling stories :-). She told me that it is much cheaper to book a tour package in Jogjakarta than in Probolinggo like what she did. She regretted booking the tour in Probolinggo for Bromo - Ijen - Bali (Jogja's price was 850 thousands while Probolinggo's was 1,400 thousands) *low season. The food in Yoschi's is not really good and expensive, but the coffee is pretty good. There is a small "warung" up near Yoschi's. There you can eat nasi goreng, mie goreng, or rawon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rawon) - a traditional food from East Java, or mie rebus (I prefer the instant noodle soup with egg). You can also drink ginger tea here. If you are lucky, the owner might have fried sweet potato (ubi goreng) for Rp 1000/ slice. I had a cup of "teh panas" or hot tea and two ubi goreng, I was really full.
The jeep trip was tense, but exciting. Take the front seat for better experience. You can't really see the view since it was still dark (to catch the sunrise at 4.30am, we need to go like 2 hours before). The positive thing going at night is that you can't see around the road and how winding it is. It seemed to be in an off-road trip for me.
Even in the low season, the people visiting Bromo can't be said as 'low', there were so many people up there. The view is much better in June, July, August, but the weather could get to -5 degrees Celsius, plus, the visitors will be too many.
The sunrise is best seen from Penanjakan 1. This is the highest point around Bromo area that can be easily accessed. Going to this place, thick jacket, socks and gloves (for me) are needed.
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| The sunrise |
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| Mount Bromo view from Penanjakan 1. Which one is Mount Bromo? |
The next destination after watching the sunrise is Bromo crater. At around 6.30 we got there. We were welcomed by lots of horses with their jockeys who were persistent to ask us to "go up by horse". When the jeep driver told them, "Turis semua" - All tourists, means all foreigners, the jockeys went away.
The top of Mount Bromo can only be reached by 'hiking' up the stairs. A girl who was in my jeep counted the stairs when walking and down, and they are not the same numbers. Try to count them, and see if you get the number the same or different. I had to take rest three times before I got to the top.
 |
| There you go, the stairs! |
But the view form the top is worth all of those hundreds of stairs. And surely warm up your body. I took of my jacket and gloves while walking up the stairs.
 |
| The crater. When you come sometime in August, you might see the Tengger ceremony called Kasada. They throw some offerings into the crater. |
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After arriving in the hostel, I had breakfast, nasi goreng with egg and black coffee, then take a hot shower. I packed my bags and ready to go. For going back to Probolinggo (the closest city for transit to Ijen, Malang, Surabaya or other destinations), it's better to book the shuttle car a day before. It costs 50 thousands rupiah. It goes once a day at 9.30 am. If you want to take the PS/Bison, it costs 40 thousands with unpredictable departure time. I insisted to take public transportation, so i waited for the bison, and I had to wait for about two hours. But the waiting is not a big deal, I was in the old style bison car, which very authentic. No need AC since the air is very cold, I was wearing my jacket inside.
The bison car dropped all the passengers off at the bus terminal in Probolinggo after 1.5 hours car ride. There was another bison car waiting that will go to Ijen right in front of the Bromo car when you get off. So, If your next destination is Ijen, get on this car, this is the best choice since going to Ijen is more difficult. But if you are more to adventure, then get on the bus from inside the terminal to Banyuwangi.
I went back to Malang, by Patas AC bus (means no stopping, direct bus with AC) for 30 thousands.
So, it is easy and fun to go with public transportation and it is totally fine to go by yourself, even if you are a woman :-).
Have fun planning your trip to Bromo!
