Dozens of jeeps stirring up dust, horses with pink manes and smoky craters against a purple sky: you have found yourself at Mount Bromo. A volcano located on a two-hour drive from Malang, it is undoubtedly one of the best things to do when visiting Malang. From epic views to adventurous car rides, it is not a place you should visit on your own without guidance, which is why this Mount Bromo Travel Guide (with gluten free tips!) should help you plan your trip to Indonesia’s famous volcano.
Why Should You Visit Mount Bromo?
Seeing Mount Bromo at sunrise is arguably one of the most popular things to do on Java, but despite the crowds it is still worth it. Once the sun rises and the sky turns a purple pink, you forget the other hundred people milling around trying to take pictures. Furthermore, while most Mount Bromo travel guides will solely mention the smoking crater, most people do not know you actually get to see three volcanoes, of which the Bromo is the smallest and most active. Looking at the sunrise picture below, you will find the smoky Bromo on the left, the larger cone-shaped volcano Batok to its right and the even bigger Semeru volcano in the distance behind it.
Besides seeing three volcanoes, you get other epic views in return: from the Sea of Sand nature reserve to the Teletubbies mountains which are way more impressive than they sound, Mount Bromo should be on your bucket list even if you dislike crowds. Do a daytime tour to beat them, or some mindfulness exercises while checking out the sunrise: either way, after reading this Mount Bromo travel guide, you will be booking that trip!
Should You Book a Tour?
While doing a tour of Mount Bromo on your own is not forbidden, it is discouraged, especially when you want to get up there for sunrise. You could rent a bike and drive up to the viewpoint yourself, but the terrain is tough to navigate, with boulders, sand and other obstacles jutting out of the ground. Going with a tour makes sure you are brought to the viewpoints in a 4×4 Toyota jeep and by a driver that knows the terrain like the back of his hand.
If you are an experienced off-road driver, you can try and do it on your own through renting a bike in the nearby town of Probolinggo, but be careful when going at night! This is not your regular highway, and the chances of you getting hurt are high. You can read all about doing the Bromo tour solo through Journey Era’s blog post.
Another reason why I would highly recommend going with a tour is that they take care of everything, not just the jeeps. The most important one here being the permit. With a tour, there is no need for you to stand in line sat the Bromo Tengger National Park Management Office and pay the 220K IDR fee, as everything is included in the price.
We went with Smartway.ID and had the best time! They picked us up at The Shalimar Boutique Hotel in Malang around 00:30 AM and drove us to all the best spots on the tour. Even though we had to deal with a language barrier with our driver, our drive was very ‘gezellig’ as we say in Dutch, and our guide told us everything there was to know about the amazing environment we found ourselves in. The cost of the sunrise tour we did was around €60 and totally worth it.
What to Wear to Mount Bromo
Do not underestimate the drop in temperature at night. While you might leave Malang when it is still hot outside, you will find yourself at a higher elevation to look at the sunrise. As the sun comes up and you explore the rest of the landscape around Mount Bromo, it will heat up a little, so make sure to wear layers. We brought our own warm clothes as we were planning on hiking the Rinjani a week later, but if you just packed summer clothes, you can rent warm jackets and other clothes from Smartway.ID! But, if you plan to bring your own stuff, at least bring the following:
- Hiking shoes – you will encounter some rough terrain on your tour.
- Thermal underwear – a shirt might be enough for you when you are wearing long trousers, but thermal leggings would not hurt!
- Down jacket – the final layer that blocks the icy wind.
- A buff or scarf – I always have to protect my neck so it does not get stiff in the cold wind, but a buff is also very much needed if you are planning to look at the crater: this will keep a bit of the sulphur out of your lungs.
- Gloves – nothing is worse than cold hands, so protect your joints by wearing gloves!
- Hat – I did not bring one, but it would have been nice to protect my ears and forehead, which truly took a beating in the cold wind.
- Sunscreen – it might be cold, but the sun is strong, so wear your SPF.
What to Bring to Mount Bromo
Besides the proper clothes, when you are a celiac or gluten intolerant traveler you will have to bring your own snacks. Smartway.ID and other tour guides do provide some GF snacks like fruit, but the main breakfast consists of bread. If you are leaving from Malang, you must visit Kenoa Bakery the day before. This gluten free bakery sells carrot cakes, brownies, banana bread and cookies all day long, but you can also order gluten free bread in advance.
Tip! Read all about the best gluten free food in Malang in this gluten free guide
Other than snacks, Smartway.ID provides you with plenty of water, and if you do get hungry, there are some shops around the area where you will be able to buy some food. Some things I always bring myself, however, are my camera and my drone. And so should you: you will desperately want to capture the gorgeous landscape around you!
Where to Stay near Mount Bromo
You can visit Mount Bromo from a few different towns. Smartway.ID will be able to pick you up from Malang and Surabaya, but when you reach out to them, they can also pick you up from three towns a little closer to the nature reserve, namely: Probolinggo, Gubukklakah and Cemoro Lawang (Bromo Town). The pros of staying at the latter three are their proximity and therefore your ability to sleep a little longer before heading up for sunrise. Staying in Malang, however, will allow you to combine Mount Bromo with all of Malang’s other best things to do.
Tip! Read what other things to do when traveling to Malang right here
We stayed at the Shalimar Boutique Hotel, which was one of our best stays in Indonesia. The building itself is stunning and the people who work there are kind and fun. On our last day we had the pleasure of not only having Javanese breakfast, but also enjoying Maria’s tour of the hotel afterwards. Read my complete review of the place here, and if you decide to stay at the Shalimar Boutique Hotel, say hi to Maria from us.
Mount Bromo Travel Guide: What to Do
Toyota Jeeps and Midnight Coffee
Before visiting one of Mount Bromo’s amazing sunrise viewpoints, Smartway.ID will pick you up from your hotel at midnight (if you booked the sunrise tour), swap their car for a jeep, and take you up the Gunung Penanjakan mountain opposite the Bromo while crossing the Sea of Sand in the dark. Be prepared for a spectacular sight of hundreds of jeeps lighting up the terrain with their headlights.
Because Mount Bromo is one of the most popular sights on Java, it will be busy and parking will be near impossible, which is why Smartway.ID took us up the mountain two hours early. To kill some time, you will enjoy a cup of coffee or tea in one of the many tea houses lining the road. Despite our sleep deprivation, we had the best time chatting with the other travelers on our tour.
Best Sunrise Viewpoints
Then, finally, it is time to pick a nice spot to look at the sunrise. The best views can be found on the Gunung Penanjakan mountain, with the most popular ones being Penanjakan Hill, King Kong Hill and Seruni Point. However, you can ask your guide to take you up further to find a less crowded spot, like Bukit Cinta, which is advisable if you are there on a Chinese holiday like we were!
While you should always prepare yourselves for crowds at spots like these, we were surrounded by hundreds of Chinese tourists waving flags and handing out wine to their friends. At a certain point, they started to sing their national anthem. While this made the sunrise a little less romantic, who can say they partied at the Bromo? Even with these crowds, the sunrise was magnificent: the sky turned purple and pink, the Bromo was rumbling and soon we were cast in a golden glow.
Sea of Sand
After the sunrise it was time to see the rest of the tour. SmartwayID took us to the Sea of Sand, the next stop of this Mount Bromo travel guide and a sandy plane of volcanic ash that has been a nature reserve since the beginning of the 20th century. Here, we watched the jeeps race each other, bright horses graze the grass, and our driver turn photographer as he snapped pictures of us on the jeep. Looking at the pictures below, some of the mountains may seem made of earth, gravel and stone, but they are hard-packed sand dunes! You could just imagine the lava spilling out and carving rivers in the sand.
Mount Bromo Crater
Next in this Mount Bromo travel guide: Mount Bromo crater. Crossing the Sea of Sand to the line of market stalls and locals trying to get you on a horse, Smartway.ID gave us about 1.5 hours to explore the crater and nearby temple. This is also the spot where you can find some restrooms and food, so make sure to take a rest here, as the crater is your halfway point.
It is about a 45-minute walk to the crater, which you can do by foot or by horse. We chose to walk past the Hindu temple, the Batok Volcano and through the canyon of volcanic ash. From there you will find a stone stairway leading to the crater rim. As we got to the top, my eyes immediately started tearing up and I felt like I could not breathe: the sulphur was a little too much for my asthmatic lungs, hence my tip to bring a buff or a scarf. Still, the view of the rumbling depths of the earth left us awestruck by the sheer power of our planet.
Bromo is Javanese for Brahma, the Hindu god, which is why you can find a Hindu temple at its foot, and which makes the volcano a holy mountain. While we were there, lots of tourists brought speakers playing loud music, which to us was very disrespectful to both the holy significance of the place and the people living in the volcano’s shadow. So, please be respectful when visiting Mount Bromo and play your music in your hotel room.
Teletubbies Mountains
Our final stop of the tour and this Mount Bromo travel guide were the Teletubbies Mountains, of which the name was a little confusing, but made sense after an explanation from our guide. After the monsoon season, these hills turn a vibrant green and therefore look as soft and fluffy as the hills in the Teletubbies show. While the hills were yellow, orange and red, because we were there right before the monsoon, it was still a gorgeous sight to see!
While I would advise against flying your drone from one of the crowded sunrise viewpoints, this is your perfect playing ground to get that perfect shot. Mount Bromo will be out of sight here – and which you could best drone from the Sea of Sand – but the landscape here is just magical.
Optional: Waterfalls and Ijen Crater
We personally loved our tour with SmartwayID: the guides were super knowledgeable and hospitable, making sure we had everything we needed. We chose not to visit the optional Coban Pelangi waterfall as we were knackered from our trip so far, but for a couple of rupees you can visit this gem as well.
If you are not an early bird, however, you can also choose their afternoon tour instead of the sunrise tour. This will also mean fewer crowds and more energy for you to enjoy the sights. Furthermore, if you want to do more than just see Mount Bromo, you can also choose either their two- or three-day tour.
Their two-day tour will take you to Mount Bromo on the first day, the Ijen volcano on the second day, and drop you off on Bali at the end of the second day. The three-day tour is even more impressive: you will visit the Tumpak Sewu waterfalls, go to Mount Bromo and visit the Ijen crater and its neon-blue lake at sunrise. Check out all their tours to find the best fit for your trip!
Read this one next: What to Do in Yogyakarta in 24 hours: One Day Itinerary
Final Thoughts on this Mount Bromo Travel Guide
During and after our trip, when we told people we visited Mount Bromo, everyone seemed surprised we loved it so much. Apparently, it is viewed as a tourist trap. But trust me: braving the crowds is worth it. Nothing beats these views of Mother Earth’s raw power. Furthermore, it will give you further insight into the elements the people of Java had and have to deal with on a daily basis. I hope this Mount Bromo travel guide convinced you to visit!
Planning on seeing more of Java? Then check out my 24-hour itinerary of Yogyakarta here or read all about the best things to do in Malang. If you are a gluten free foodie like me, you must also try these restaurants in Malang during your time there. Want to know what else to do in Indonesia? Then sign up to my newsletter or keep an eye on my Instagram to stay up to date with the latest blogs and travel tips.
