Bromo and Ijen Tour: The Perfect 3-Day Route

Day 1 – Waterfall, Hill Farms & Savannah

The drive from Malang to Cemoro Lawang (Bromo village) is a beautiful two-hour drive with a 4×4 jeep. You will need a four-wheel-drive car since you will be climbing a lot towards Ngadas village. Just before entering the Ngadas region, you can visit the Coban Pelangi waterfall.

You can either see it from a viewpoint (5 min walk, 10000 IDR) or experience its power at the foot of the waterfall (Free). It is a 15-minute walk down over a well-paved path and definitely not too hard.

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This 3-day Bromo and Ijen tour route starts in Malang but can be done the other way around, starting at Ijen from Bali.

Ngadas Village is a vegetable area (farms) located on steep hills. Not many foreign tourists pass this route as it is not a well-known way to follow the Bromo and Ijen tour.

After Ngadas, you will start descending into the Savannah, the flat area around Bromo. Drive around through the ‘Sea of Sand’, take some awesome photos with your jeep, and arrive at Cemoro Lawang (Bromo village) before sunset and visit the secret sunset viewpoint, which you can find in the article linked below.

Day 2 – Sunrise at Bromo

Make sure to head to bed early on day one and set the alarm at 2:45 AM. At 3 AM, your jeep will take you up to one of the viewpoints that look onto the Bromo volcano. Followed by visiting the actual crater and have a look inside an active volcano.

On that same day, make your way towards Ijen with a stop at the second-highest waterfall in Indonesia. The Madakaripura waterfall. As water cascades from all sides, you and your camera will get wet. Don’t worry; rain jackets are sold at the entrance. From Bromo to Ijen is a 4-hour drive.

Day 3 – Sunrise on Ijen

For your trip to the Ijen Crater Lake, you have to start hiking at 2 AM to experience the ‘Blue Fire’ or at 4 AM to experience sunrise on the lake. It is a 1.5-hour walk, so make sure to leave on time to not miss one or both of the above-named moments at Ijen.

Book a Bromo and Ijen Tour

A Bromo and Ijen tour can be done in many ways. If you are not on a super strict budget, we recommend you to book a tour since it saves so much time and hassle.

Contact our great driver Azhar on Whatsapp (+6281336042045). Make sure to tell him you came via ‘Salt in our Hair’ so you’ll get the best price.

Where to stay near Bromo

Plan to spend the night at a guesthouse or hotel. The village is entirely focused on accommodating visitors, so you should always be able to find a place. Please note that you may not have hot water at a homestay.

Our favorite hotels in Bromo 😴

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Gubuk Ndeso Homestay

Bromo

Cahyo Homestay

Bromo

Bromo Camp House

Bromo

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Hotels near Ijen

You have a few options to get to Ijen. The easiest way is to find a guesthouse or homestay near Ijen. The best location would be in Banyuwangi.

Our favorite hotels in Ijen 😴

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Ketapang Indah Hotel

Ijen

Maharani Homestay

Ijen

Snooze Ijen

Ijen

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Another option is to stay in a larger city called Bondowoso. The only downside is that you have to drive for another two hours to get to the starting point of Ijen.