How to Visit Mount Bromo Without a Tour

Travelling to Mount Bromo without a tour is a challenge, but it is worth it. Visiting this active volcano along with Kawah Ijen were two firm highlights of my Indonesian backpacking adventure. Actually, I loved this region so much that I went back a year later for seconds and completed the Mount Bromo hike again. 

Brandishing the covers of travel guides around the world, Mount Bromo is one of Indonesia’s most recognisable icons. Bucket loads of tourists travel there each year to hear its roar and see it spew its ash.

The volcano is located in the Tengger Massif region in East Java, within the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park. The crater rubs shoulders with four other volcanoes, all of which tower over Bromo. It seems size really isn’t everything when it comes to volcanoes. 

Mount Bromo is very much alive and is rarely seen without its signature plume of ash. However, it’s totally safe to visit and you can hike safely through the surrounding desert and right to the summit. Sometimes, when activity is at its most rampant, the crater will close to visitors until the tremors subside. So if you plan to visit, it’s worth checking the news before setting off. 

Below is a recount of my experience visiting Bromo independently so you can glean some insight into what to expect. But first, the practicalities on how to visit Mount Bromo without a tour. 

How to Visit mount bromo without a Tour

There are several ways to reach Mount Bromo independently and my own journey began in Probolinggo which is one of several jumping points for reaching the national park. Surabaya is an alternative option. Journeys, to be more precise. My first visit was in September 2018 and I travelled on my own. A little over a year later I returned with my boyfriend, retracing my footsteps with the exact same journey.

Once you arrive in Probolinggo you need to travel to Cemoro Lawang which is a high-altitude hamlet that rests a short distance from Mount Bromo. Besides from taking a tour, there are three ways to travel to Cemoro Lawang, which are:

a) Private taxi: A private taxi might be worth your while if you’re not constrained by budget and have enough people in your group to fill all the seats. They’re pretty pricey for solo backpackers, I was quoted in the region of 700,000 IDR for a one way ride.  

b) Back of a motorbike: A motorbike is a good shout unless you’re travelling with cumbersome luggage. It’s a steep road up there, and I wouldn’t have fancied doing that with my main backpack whilst riding pillion. It’ll cost you around 200,000 IDR if you choose this option. I didn’t even look into options for renting my own motorbike as I’m not sure this exists in Probolinggo considering that you’re on tour mafia turf. 

c) Shared bus (bemo): This is the cheapest and most frustrating means of getting to Mount Bromo without a tour. For the former reason, that’s why it’s the option I used twice. You can take the bemo from near Terminal Bayuangga (Probolinggo bus station).

Note that the shared buses do not leave from Terminal Bayuangga itself. Once you’re at the terminal, head to the strip of eateries just outside the station, on Jl. Raya Bromo. Search ‘Depot Marinda’ or ‘Probolinggo-Cemoro Lawang Bus Terminal’ on Google Maps and you’ll see the spot. Also, the shared bus isn’t like your standard local transport which is why I’m referring to it as a shared bus rather than a public bus. It’s designed for tourists, so don’t expect to see any locals queuing for one of those seats and helping you find the right place. 

At the time of writing, the total cost of the bus is fixed at 525,000 IDR, which is divided by all passengers. If you hit full capacity (15 pax) that’s 35,000 IDR per head (less than £2). Alternatively, you can make up the difference with your fellow passengers. 

Probolinggo to Cemoro Lawang by bemo

If you arrive into Probolinggo during the mid-afternoon or evening, your best bet is to stay in Probolinggo overnight and catch the bemo in the morning. In order to save time in the morning, I booked a guesthouse that was within walking distance of the Terminal Bayuangga (Probolinggo bus station). I stayed at Hary’s Homestay and coughed up 198,000 IDR for a room to myself and a free pick up from the train station.

There are other budget-friendly homestays that are a short drive from the terminal and you can book online in advance. 

The following day, I checked out at 9 am and was at the Terminal Bayuangga within 20 minutes. I got lucky the first time as there were a number of other travellers that day. However, on my second trip to Bromo, no other travellers turned up. So my boyfriend and I (more him, to be honoest) ended up negotiating the cost down and riding the bemo just the two of us.

(That’s a much shorter version of a long and slightly intimidating experience after we got chased down the road by men on motorbikes whilst trying to secretly arrange a Gojek ride).

My advice is to arrive at the Terminal Bayuangga by 8 am to veer on the safe side as you never know how many other independent travellers will show. 

The Problem with Probolinggo

Probolinggo has a shocking reputation for transport scams and is under the control of the local transport mafia. The most common scam is that a local taxi agrees to take you to the bus station but instead deposits you at a tour agency they’re in affiliation with and they insist on you booking the tour. Put your foot down if this happens and demand to be taken to the Terminal Bayuangga. 

Once at the correct bus station, more tour operators appear and may tell you that the bemo to Bromo is not running. What’s that? Oh, another scam.

Grab and Gojek are strictly off bounds in Probolinggo. Much like Bali, ride share drivers are subject to horrific abuse in Probolinggo and other drivers and tour agencies are known to physically attack ride share drivers. The apps do work and you can safely request drivers from most guesthouses but around the train station and bus terminal it just isn’t worth putting these poor guys at risk. 

Basically, the city makes it extremely difficult for tourists to travel independently and many people you meet will try to shove you onto a tour bus or into an extortionately priced private vehicle. 

Mount Bromo without a tour: A Tale

That’s the basics of how to get to Cemoro Lawang via bemo. This is how it all went for me that time when I flew solo.

09:30: Terminal Bayuangga

I arrived at Terminal Bayuangga bright and early, after my overnight stay down the road. Forewarned by the powers of The Internet and fuelled by my distaste for scammers, I was ready to ward off any tour pushers.

Two German backpackers were ahead of me, waiting for the bus. They’d had a pretty gruelling overnight journey and were eager to get on the way. We agreed that if we could get a few more passengers we’d be happy to split the fare and leave with it a third or so full. After seeing the bus none of us much fancied the thought of squeezing 15 people plus luggage in there.

10:30: Terminal Bayuangga (still)

Maybe an hour or so later, two Dutch backpackers rocked up. They were keen to wait for a few more people to keep the costs down so we continued to wait. A French-Moroccan couple arrived, as well as an older Chinese couple.

With nine people, the general consensus was that we were set, and happy to pay 60,000 IDR each!

12:00: Terminal Bayuangga (yes, still)

However, the Chinese man wasn’t having it. He was adamant that even at full capacity, the bemo was overpriced and was convinced he could bat it down a little. Or, find a cheaper alternative altogether.

It was clear that we’d be waiting a while… 

The man wandered off and spoke to a few vendors at the main bus terminal. 10 minutes later, he returned looking defeated. After a little bit of sweet-talking, we convinced him the price of the bemo between nine of us was perfectly reasonable. Bromo, here we come!

Well, almost. All the to-ing and fro-ing, waiting and haggling had worked up an appetite.

13:00: Bemo to Bromo 

And then, at last, full of noodles, we were ready to head up into the mountains. Rupiahs surrendered, we piled into the bus with nine backpacks, and nine daypacks, like a giant human Tetris.

After a long morning, the drive up into the mountains took around an hour. It’s wonderfully scenic, with valleys of greenery plunging down the side of the winding road. Along the way, we passed small villages and a couple of fancy-looking hotels with mountain panoramas. You can peer out the windows to see agricultural workers out in the sloping fields.

In classic Indonesian style, our driver had his foot firmly on the gas and we had a few hairy moments overtaking other vehicles and motorbikes. Especially around the many, many bends in the road. Buses in South East Asia are never anything but exhilarating.

14:00: Cemoro Lawang

The mountain village of Cemoro Lawang is the starting point for all trails in the Tengger Massif. It’s a tiny place with only a scattering of guest houses, shops and tiny eateries. At altitude (2,217 metres above sea level), the air is clean, fresh and several degrees lower than Probolinggo. By night, you can feel a nip in the air that warrants jeans and a jacket. After the stifling heat of lowland Java, it’s really refreshing. Also, the people in Cemoro Lawang are lovely and helpful, it’s much more chilled out in comparison to Probolinggo.  

As we’d all gotten on so well on the bemo, we decided to hike to the crater of Mount Bromo for sunset together. 

My guesthouse owner kindly pointed out the not-so-secret path to the volcano so we could dodge the fee for entering the volcanic park. The fee is technically for motor vehicles but unwitting hikers who pass the gate are also asked to surrender the same fee. The path starts round the back of the Cemara Indah Hotel car park. As you approach the entrance you need to shimmy to a small hole in the fence to the right. If you use Maps.me the point is marked. 

The villagers are happy to point hikers in the direction so if you can’t find it just ask the first person you see.

16:00: Sea of Sand 

The hike from Cemoro Lawang takes around one hour / 90 minutes, give or take. The route cuts across the Sea of Sand; black, volcanic ash which feels somewhere between scenes of the Arabian Nights and Mars. Hiking across this high-altitude desert really did feel like walking across a lonely planet. The sky was cloudless, and the light changed throughout the hike as it got closer to sunset. It is very dusty so take a scarf to cover your mouth if you’re planning to hike.

The hike itself is not strenuous so you don’t need to be mad fit to hike to Mount Bromo. In fact, it’s pretty flat until the very end when it becomes a moderate slope to the base of the crater. Once you reach the foot of the crater, it’s a steep manmade staircase up to the rim of the volcano. This is where I felt grateful for my big bottle of water.

Spare a thought for the poor horses who carry tourists across the Sea of Sand. There were two skinny horses tethered at the foot of the stairs, obviously exhausted, under-watered and not well-treated. I saw many more the following day, lugging people up the road to King Kong Hill. If you don’t want to hike you can hop on the back of someone’s motorbike instead.

18:00: Sunset at Mount Bromo Crater 

The volcano was much louder than I expected. As I climbed the staircase, I could hear it and did wonder briefly if it was about to go off. 

Standing on the rim, I looked down into the crater and saw smoke billowing out from the depths as the volcano roared. There is a handrail for a short distance, but after that, you’re on your own on a narrow strip of the path which only fits one person. You’ve got to admire the Indonesian approach to health and safety. As I’m prone to tripping and didn’t want to become a human barbecue, I didn’t stray too far sans railing myself. 

The scenery from the crater rim is phenomenal. Mount Bromo is cradled by the other mountains within the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, so you get a striking view and I was lucky to see an incredible blood orange sun drop behind the mountains behind a wispy curtain of volcanic fumes. In fact, my second was equally spectacular. Sunset is my recommended time to visit Mount Bromo do take a torch for the hike back in the dark!

After grabbing a post sunset bite to eat in Cemoro Lawang, we made our way back to our various guest houses for a couple of hours shut-eye before the second hike of our Mount Bromo without a tour experience.

02:30: Hike to King Kong Hill

Our troop all set our alarms for 2.30 am. Yes, really…you need to hit the road at 3 am to make it to the summit in time for sunrise! I crawled into every single tee-shirt I owned, plus my rain jacket (which I’ve since discovered isn’t a rain jacket). Over dinner, I’d caught the eye of a local vendor selling knitted hats and bought myself one. That’s one thing you never think you’ll need this close to the equator but it was 8°C, practically freezing. 

15 groggy minutes later, we met to start the climb up to the sunset viewing point from King Kong Hill. 

The walk up to the viewpoint is mainly on a concrete road which varies in gradient from mild incline to steep-as-fuck slope. We’d stop every 10 minutes or so to peel off a sweaty layer then set off again before the cold could catch up to us. I found this much more tiring than the trek to the volcano. 

The final leg was more fun; we scrambled through a rugged makeshift mountain path on the edge of the hill which was probably forged by goats. Eventually, this led us to a small open area a few yards down from the viewpoint where the jeeps were parked. If you decide to take a tour to Bromo, that’ll be your sunrise spot.

Where we set up camp to watch the sunrise isn’t the official viewpoint. But, the view was clear enough and there wasn’t much of a crowd. It was still freezing freezing freezing, but by this point, the first strands of first light were breaking through the clouds so there wasn’t too long to wait. So, we all sat and huddled in our multiple tee-shirts and waited for Mother Nature to do her thing.

05:30: Sunrise over Mount Bromo

Naturally, the sunrise was beautiful. It was totally worth the early start, single figure temperatures, sweating, mild sensation of an asthma attack, pitch-black fumble over rocks and a nippy wait on the edge of the mountain. And yes, it was worth the infuriating game of backpackers’ hopscotch with the transport mafia in Probolinggo. But, at the end of the day, can a sunrise ever disappoint? 

At this point, the tour groups from the top of King Kong Hill lit up the ignition and hotfooted it across to the crater. This was when I was especially grateful to have visited Mount Bromo independently. I could sit and savour the rising sun for as long as I liked, and not have to dance around selfie sticks on the edge of the active volcano. Because we’d already peered into the depths of Bromo, our little gang sloped back down to the village to pick up breakfast, rinse off the sweat and board a bemo back down the mountain.

So, that’s my story of how to visit Mount Bromo without a tour. Despite the hassle of navigating the many scams of Probolinggo, it was absolutely worth it.

You’ll save money, skip the crowds, and have more of an adventure along the way.

Up next, Mount Ijen!