| welcome to Mt Bromo national park |
Here is how I went to Mount Bromo without joining a tour and I did not pay the admission charges. Mountains are part of nature and I think they should be made free to all, hence I do not like to pay hefty admission charges or even for tour guides when the climb was so straightforward. Some people might disagree with me, saying that paying for guides would help boost the local economy. However, despite the flow of tourist dollars into the town, I did not see an improvement in infrastructure nor any conservation projects for the area. They even raised the admission charges for tourists to 227,000R.
Depending on your city of origin, take a public bus to Probolinggo. For me I took a bus from Surabaya to Probolinggo for 20,000R.
Take a small bus from Probolinggo to Cemoro Lawang, the town at Mt. Bromo, for around 25,000-30,000R and ask to be dropped off at the highest guest house. There are several guesthouses in the area, depending on your budget. I shared a room with another traveler from Bulgaria, we paid 200,000R for a room at Sintra Ndana. For dinner, there are many local eateries around Cemoro Lawang where you can get a meal (eg. nasi campur, nasi ayam, nasi percel etc.) for below 20,000R. Beer in the town was more expensive because it is a touristy place, one big bottle cost 50,000R. Unfortunately, the beer served to us was not cold.
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| rows of jeeps parked along the road side as they wait for their passengers to finishe taking photos of the sunrise |
I’m sure everyone has heard/read about Cafe Lava while doing their research on Bromo. This guesthouse has an information booth that can give you pricing on tours or write out a map for you on how to get to Bromo without a tour. However, when I visited, there were too many tourists checking in on that day and the staff did not really answer my questions specifically.
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| sunrise from Mt Pennajakan |
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| there were not many clouds on that day, so I could not see Bromo in a sea of clouds |
At 3am, I headed out to start my trek of Bromo in order to catch the sunrise. There were already many jeeps on the road waiting to bring the passengers to the top of the mountain. Bring a head lamp and a jacket (if you need a jacket, one can be rented cheaply for 24 hours at Cemara Indah guesthouse). I walked through the volcanic sand and towards Mt Penanjakan which is the favourite place to catch the sunrise over Mt Bromo. The humming engines of the jeep as they made the steep ascent up the mountain guided me along the hiking trail. Stop about a quarter of a mile from the summit (before the asphalt road) and get a more private view of the sunrise because at the summit, there were way too many tourists, with tripod stands, huge professional cameras all trying to capture that picture-perfect moment.
Climb back down the mountain to Cemoro Lawang. Take the minivan to Probolinggo (35,000R). It leaves when full. The drivers will be around looking for tourists to bring down, so there should not be a problem getting it if you are leaving in the morning. Arrive at the bus station in Probolinggo and get on a bus headed to your next destination.
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| walking along the soft sands at the base of the volcano |
Hi!
Just saw your post while doing my research, great post and such a budget :o!
Anyway, I was wondering what bus did you take from Surabaya to Probollingo for Rp20,000?
And was that bus available directly from the airport?
I did my research and all were directing me to Airport>Terminal Bungurasih>Probollingo, which will cost more than Rp20,000. So I was just wondering what bus you took 😛
I'm having some trouble with my itinerary and hope that maybe you can give me some advise from your previous trip?
Thanks in advance!
Regards
Christina
hi Christina,
I paid Rp20,000 for Bungurasih -> Probollingo. I had a friend who picked me up from the airport, I stayed overnight in Surabaya, then he sent me to the bus station the next day. Maybe you can take an ojek (motorcycle) from the airport to the bus station.