The Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park offers some of the most amazing landscapes in the whole of Indonesia. It is especially beautiful at sunrise as the mist rolls over the valley and the sun rises behind Bromo Volcano. However, arranging a Bromo Tour can be surprisingly difficult. It’s easy to get over charged, stay in the wrong place or make a silly mistake (like not bring a warm coat).

To help you arrange your Bromo trip I created this short guide. The guide covers everything you need to know to arrange a Bromo tour. The guide has been broken down into easy to navigate sections. You can click the link to jump directly to a certain part of the Bromo Tour Guide.

Bromo Tour

  1. Where to Stay: Find Out More
  2. Entrance Fee: Find Out More
  3. Jeep Rental: Find Out More
  4. Bromo Tour: Find Out More
  5. Booking a Tour: Find Out More

Let’s get started.

Where to Stay

When you visit Bromo you can stay in one of the following three cities; Malang, Surabaya or Probolinggo. Surabaya is the furthest away from Bromo. It is a 90 minute car drive from Surabaya to Mt Bromo. Malang is a little closer. It is a 60 minute car drive from Malang to Mount Bromo. Probolinggo actually overlooks Mount Bromo.

If you are going to visit Bromo from either Malang or Surabaya you will also need to arrange a car rental to take you here. The cost for a car rental from Surabaya and Malang is Rp 725,000 for 12 hours. This includes gas and a driver. This obviously makes the Bromo tour more expensive.
bromo view

The 3 Mount Bromo Tours

From Surabaya: Bromo Midnight Tour

If you decide to book a hotel in Surabaya you will join the Bromo Midnight tour. The reason it’s called the Surabaya to Bromo midnight tour package is because you get picked up from your hotel at midnight. From Surabaya you will be driven directly to Bromo for sunrise.

From Malang: Bromo Sunrise Tour

The Bromo Sunrise Tour is for people who are staying in Malang (which is closer to Bromo). The driver of your car will pick you up from your hotel in Malang at 3:30am. It’s a one hour and forty minute to 2,5 hours from Malang to the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park at night. During the day it is around 3-3,5 hours journey. To actually visit Bromo you need to swap cars, because only members of the local community can drive the jeeps you need to take to visit the volcano.

From Probolinggo: Bromo Probolinggo Tour

The Bromo Probolinggo tour is the most convenient of the three options. The hotels in Problinggo actually overlook Mt Bromo volcano. If you are staying in Probolinggo then you have the option of either walking to the Penanjakan viewpoint or renting a jeep to take you there. It’s a 3 hour walk from Probolinggo to Penanjakan, which means that you will need to set off at approximately 1:00 am – 2:00 am to reach the viewpoint for sunrise (the walk is almost all uphill).

bromo east java

Visiting Savana Hill. It’s a beautiful green landscape in the wet season.

Mount Bromo Entrance Fee

There is an entrance fee to enter Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park. For Indonesians the price for entrance to the national park is at around Rp30,000 per person. For foreigners there are two price prices. On weekdays the price for the entrance ticket is at around Rp 240,000. On weekends and Indonesian public holidays the cost is at around Rp 340,000.

Entrance Fee Weekdays Weekends & Public Holidays
Foreigners Rp 240,000 Rp 340,000
Indonesian Rp 27,500 Rp 37,500

Jeep Rental

To take the Bromo tour you will need to arrange a jeep rental. There are two different tours you can choose from, the short tour and the long tour. On the short tour you will visit Penanjakan Viewpoint to watch sunrise and climb Mount Bromo Volcano, before returning to your hotel/ driver.

If you go on the long tour you will go to Savana Hill and Whispering Sands (Sea Sands). You can arrange a jeep rental on arrival in Bromo, but it is more convenient and cheaper to pre-book the jeep. All of the jeep rentals at Bromo are pretty much the same model. A Bromo jeep rental can fit up to five passengers. The price for a Bromo jeep rental changes according to the tourist season. See the table below for more information on jeep rental prices.

Jeep Rental Low Season High Season
Short Tour Rp 500,000 Rp 650,000
Long Tour Rp 700,000 Rp 850,000

Mt Bromo Tour

If you take either the Bromo Mindnight or Bromo Sunrise tours you will need to change cars to a jeep to get to Penanjakan. If you are staying in the Bromo National Park area the jeep will pick you up at your hotel. Penanjakan does get really crowded for sunrise. There will be a big crowd. For the best experience visit on a weekday, because it’s not as packed and it’s also cheaper (it’s still quite busy though).

Whichever tour you take, the first place you will stop is Penanjakan viewpoint (or other viewpoints such as King Kong Hill, Cinta Hill, etc). This is where you will watch sunrise from (it’s where everybody takes those beautiful photos that Bromo is so famous for). There’s a perfect 15 minutes or so to take some amazing photos and then it’s over for another day. Those 15 minutes are worth waking up really early in the morning for.

Sunrise overlooking Bromo and Batok mountain

Climbing Bromo

After sunrise the jeep will take you to Bromo crater. It is a 25-minute car drive from Penanjakan to the crater. The jeep will drop you off on the dusty valley floor. From there it’s a relaxing 30-minute walk to the crater. If you have children, or you just want to do something different, you can ride a horse to the crater.

It is an easy climb to the top of Bromo crater. On the final part of the climb there are concrete stairs dug into the side of the crater. From the top of Mount Bromo you can look inside the crater, which is normally smoking. Many locals throw offerings into the crater. The view from the top are really beautiful. If you are on the short tour the driver will take you back to your hotel after climbing Mt Bromo.

bromo indonesia

The rugged landscape of Whispering Sands.

The Long Bromo Jeep Tour

After you’ve climbed the volcano you will visit the Tengger Sea Sands and the Savanna Hill.  This part of the tour takes around an hour. During the tour you can ask the driver to stop so you can take some photos. The landscape is really impressive. At the Tengger Sand Sea you see the volcanic sand. This area is popular for people who do off road motocross.

In the Savannah area you are surrounded by an island of green (or brown-ish if it is dry season). The visit to these two places is a real chance to see the contrasts in the landscape of Mount Bromo. On the tour of Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park you’re guaranteed to take beautiful photos that you’ll want to share with your family and friends.

bromo sunrise view

Arranging a Bromo Tour

The Bromo tour is really special. The view of the sunrise is an unforgettable experience. You can probably understand why I tell all my friends they have to join this tour if they visit Surabaya or Malang or Probolinggo. To help you arrange a tour without the usual hassle I’ve partnered with some local independent drivers and we can take care everything.

Here’s What’s Included in the Package:

  • Pick up from your hotel or the train station/ airport
  • Transport in a comfortable car
  • Experienced local driver
  • Entrance costs for Bromo
  • Drop off at your hotel

FYI
Bromo is an active volcano. We do monitor the volcanic activity at the crater. Sometimes people are not allowed to visit the crater when the authorities request the visitors to be 1-3 km away from the crater. You can still enjoy the amazing landscape of Bromo.

Interested in joining the Bromo tour and visiting the most famous tourism sites in East Java? Press the button below to find out more.

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Have you ever visited Bromo? Do you have any tips, advice or places you’d recommend?