Ijen or Bromo and Ijen: which trip from Bali should you choose?

The short answer

If you have little time in Bali and mainly want to see the Ijen crater, an overnight Ijen trip from Bali is enough. If you also want sunrise over the Tengger caldera with Bromo and have three days free, choose the Bromo and Ijen tour from Bali. If you are travelling via Surabaya or Malang and want to add Tumpak Sewu waterfall, look at the three-day Java tour that starts in Java. On all three, the weather and volcanic activity decide the programme, and nobody can guarantee the blue fire or the view.

Prices and available dates change, so you will see them on each trip's page.

One volcano or two?

Ijen and Bromo are two different experiences. Ijen is a crater with a turquoise, highly acidic lake, sulphur mining and, when conditions allow, the blue flames of burning volcanic gases. You hike up at night and the reward is the morning above the lake. Bromo is about the landscape: a smoking crater in the middle of the Tengger caldera, the sea of sand around it and Mount Semeru in the distance. Here the highlight is sunrise from a viewpoint.

Java is not Bali. To reach either volcano from Bali you cross the strait by ferry, and you spend most of the time in the car. The more places you add, the more driving there is, but the more evenly the journey is spread out.

What the overnight Ijen trip looks like

The Ijen trip from Bali is private and fits into a single night and morning:

1. Night pickup in Bali and drive to the port of Gilimanuk in the west of the island.
2. Ferry across the strait to Ketapang near Banyuwangi in Java.
3. Transfer by 4WD to Licin village below Ijen. From there you walk to the crater with a guide.
4. Hike to the crater, the blue fire if crater conditions allow, and morning above the lake.
5. Breakfast at a local restaurant and drive back to Bali.

According to the offer, the price includes pickup and drop-off, the ferry ticket, Ijen entrance fees, a trekking guide, a gas mask and breakfast. Lunch, dinner and the medical certificate for Ijen are not included, and pickup in east Bali or outside the usual area costs extra.

Expect to spend this night in the car, on the ferry and on the trail, not in bed. It is the shortest way to Ijen, but also the hardest on sleep. You will come back tired, so do not plan anything demanding for the next day.

What the three-day Bromo and Ijen tour adds

The Bromo and Ijen tour from Bali is also private and adds what one night cannot:

• Day 1: pickup in Bali, ferry from Gilimanuk and a long drive to the Bromo area with a lunch stop. Night in accommodation near Bromo.
• Day 2: sunrise over the Tengger caldera with Semeru in the background, the steps up to Bromo's crater, breakfast and transfer to Banyuwangi. Night in accommodation near Ijen.
• Day 3: Ijen hike after midnight, morning at the crater, breakfast at the accommodation and return to Bali.

According to the offer, the price includes two nights of accommodation (one room for two), Bromo and Ijen entrance fees, a private air-conditioned car or minibus, the ferry, an English-speaking guide, fuel, parking and mineral water. Accommodation depends on availability. The operator's information on the Ijen medical certificate is inconsistent, so check when booking whether it is included.

The second night is short too, because you leave for Ijen after midnight. The advantage is that you sleep in a bed between the volcanoes and the journey is spread over three days.

Where Tumpak Sewu fits

Tumpak Sewu waterfall is not part of every Bromo and Ijen tour. In our selection only the three-day Java tour includes it, and it starts in Surabaya or Malang. Day one is the hike to the waterfall, day two is Bromo at dawn with a jeep, the sea of sand and the crater, and day three is the night hike up Ijen. It is a shared tour (a car or van with other travellers), not a private one.

According to the offer, the price includes two nights (a private room in the regular option, a shared room and bathroom in a hostel in the cheaper option), 3 breakfasts and 1 dinner, local guides, the Bromo jeep, entrance fees, a gas mask, a headlamp and the medical certificate for Ijen. Whether the tour ends in Surabaya or in Bali depends on the option you choose.

If you are staying in Bali, you first need to get to Java. That makes this tour best suited to travellers who are passing through Surabaya or Malang anyway.

Start, finish, nights and what to pack

• Start and finish: the Ijen and the Bromo and Ijen trips start and end in Bali. The three-day Java tour starts in Java and ends according to the option you choose.
• Nights: on the Ijen trip from Bali you have no hotel. Both three-day tours include two nights in accommodation, but the wake-up calls are very early.
• Warm clothes: it is very cold at Bromo before dawn and on the rim of the Ijen crater, even when Bali is hot. Bring a warm jacket and layers.
• Shoes and light: sturdy shoes with good grip and a head torch. The Ijen trail is steep in places and slippery when wet.
• Cash: for small expenses along the way.
• Mask: a gas mask is used at the crater. According to the offer, it is included on the Ijen trip from Bali and on the Java tour.

Entering Ijen and Bromo: what to keep in mind

• Medical certificate: according to the area's management, Ijen requires a valid medical certificate issued no more than 3 days before the visit. The hike is not recommended for people with heart disease, asthma or other breathing problems. Trip operators specify a certificate issued the day before. Agree how you will get it when you book.
• Closed days: Ijen is usually closed on the first Friday of the month for clean-up of the area. Bromo closes during certain ceremonies and holidays. Both can also close at short notice because of weather, fires or volcanic activity. Check your date before you book.
• Blue fire and views: the blue flame depends on conditions in the crater and the view on the weather. Nobody can guarantee them.

Who it is not for

All three trips are demanding. The operators of the two trips from Bali do not recommend them for people with limited mobility, heart or breathing problems, vertigo or a cold. The Bromo and Ijen tour is also unsuitable for people with kidney disease and for wheelchair users.

The three-day Java tour is for ages 9 and up and is not suitable for pregnant women, people with heart or breathing problems, wheelchair users, people with diabetes or altitude sickness, people with low fitness or people over 70. For the trips from Bali, the operator does not state a minimum age. Even so, we do not recommend them for small children because of the darkness, the gas and the steep trail.

Which option fits your holiday

• You only have a few days in Bali: Ijen from Bali. You lose one night and one tired morning, not whole days.
• You want to see both volcanoes without changing base: Bromo and Ijen from Bali. You start and return in Bali.
• You are travelling around Indonesia via Surabaya or Malang: the three-day Java tour with Tumpak Sewu, ending in Bali if you choose that option.
• You want sunrise over a volcano without the ferry: see Batur on foot or by jeep right in Bali.

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Tags: IjenBromoJavaBalivolcanoes