Kawah Ijen can be accessed by either Banyuwagi or Bondowoso. If coming from Bali, Banyuwagi might be more convenient while Bondowoso is more convenient for those coming from the west (like Mt. Bromo or Surabaya).

From the bus depot in Bondowoso, a morning bus leaves daily bound for Sempol – the closest town to the volcano. Hire a bicycle taxi for a dollar or two to take you from your hotel to the bus depot. The bus leaves at 9am but it varies as the drivers are not exactly punctual.The ride up took around 2.5 hours as it made frequent stops for supplies. The cost of the bus ride was 35,000-50,000R.

However, since I arrived in Bondowoso in the afternoon, I was told that there were no more public buses until the next day. I was offered two options: to take a motorcycle up to Ijen and back for 250,000R or a shared car (600,000R for four people). I would have preferred the shared car as it works out to 150,000R per person, but there were not enough people to share with me. So I had to settle for the motorcycle (also known as ojek) instead. Luckily, the guy was kind enough and he brought me to his house to wash up, so I stayed there for about seven hours, from 1600-2300. I got to sleep on the bed and used their bucket shower. I did not mind it as I was quite dirty after climbing Mt Bromo during the day and I made use of the opportunity to rest before I had to wake up early to start my next climb.

Most people stay at Arabica Guesthouse (the intersection will have a sign advertising tourist information) after arriving in Sempol. There is another option for lodging – Campir Guesthouse which is closer to the trail entrance. Hire an ojek from the bus stop to get there for around 30,000R – be sure to bargain.

Part of the risk of approaching this without a tour is the potential of the rooms being booked out by tours. In this scenario, there are always homestay options. That said, they can be overpriced for what they deliver, so bargain hard on those as well. Apparently, the owners would often ask where the travellers was from before quoting a price, determining how much the person could likely afford based on the purchasing power of the traveler’s own country. There are a couple of warungs (small eateries) in town that provide cheap food as well if you want to avoid costly guesthouse pricing for dinner.

 I spoke to a few friends and tourists who did not manage to see the blue flames or the sunrise. Or they only saw the sunrise because they arrived at the summit too late. The volcano is beautiful but hiking in with the stars, getting up close to the blue flames and viewing the truly stunning sunrise were what made this trip so wonderful and unique. I started my hike at 0100 and had to pay the entrance fee of 150,000R for foreigners. I could not sneak past the security as there was someone checking. There were many people along the way, so I felt that there was no need for a guide. I just followed the crowds and if they were walking too slowly, I would overtake them. Remember to bring a torch and spare batteries, plus some snacks and water as you could take breaks along the way.

Hiking under the stars with the mountain peaks looming under the moonlight was an incredible experience. The initial 1km was a steep climb but it evened out after that. Upon reaching the volcano crater a rocky and steep path leads down to the blue flames. Plenty of workers are already there preparing to carry down their first load of sulfur. Some will attempt to lead your way and will ask for a few thousand rupiah in exchange for guiding you. This may be worth it given their unique knowledge – especially if you’re amongst the first to arrive. I was talking to a worker in bahasa and he offered to guide me down, but I declined as there were quite a few people down there already and I could just follow them by their torchlights. The blue flame seemed like an eternal flame, shining brightly under the starry night. I met two Indonesians traveling together and made friends with them. They were also solo travelers like me, and this was their second trip climbing mountains together, the first one being Mt Bromo.

The three of us hiked back up the stairs after enjoying our fair share of the blue flames. It was around 4am and there were way too many tourists trying to make their way down the steep, narrow walkways. Some tourists did not even bother giving way to the sulphur miners who were carrying heavy loads on their shoulders, they just stood in the middle of the steps to try and take a photo of the miners. We went up farther along the crater rim, turn left after you go up to the starting point of the crater to the blue flames. The view of the sunrise from the crater rim was simply breathtaking, coupled with the smoke emitted from the machinery as they extracted the sulphur and the turquoise waters of the crater lake. It was indeed a sight to behold. There was even a large group of Singaporeans with a flag and they took a group photo. It was National Day in Singapore and I was happy to be out of the country, to be at peace with nature.

 Upon reaching the end of the trail, there were plenty of private busses and ojek drivers around. You can either catch a public bus back down to Bondowoso and then take a bus from the terminal onwards to your next destination, or organize transport with the private tour companies staying in your guesthouse to Bali at the end of your trek. Since I already had my ojek driver, he drove me back down to Bondowoso, and we stopped at Sempol for breakfast. Some parts of the road were really bumpy as they were not well-maintained. And now biking through the forest during the day is so different from at night as I got to see all the trees and the cliffs on the other side of the road.

From Bondowoso, I took a six hour bus ride back to Surabaya. This concluded my Java trip where I covered Mt Bromo and Mt Ijen in four days, without signing up for a tour package. Overall expenditure  700,000R.