5D4N East Java Indonesia | Ijen Crater | Ijen Blue Flames | Tumpak Sewu Waterfall | Mount Bromo | Paragliding (26 Sep - 30 Sep 2025)
Before the trip | Planning
Browsed through some websites and decided to go ahead with Bromo-Tour. I contacted Bromo-tour on 4 September via WhatsApp and was able to have such a fuss free booking confirmation. The tour that we booked was 5 Days and 4 Nights https://bromo-tour.com/bromo-ijen-tumpak-sewu-waterfall-paragliding-tour/ (5,250,000 IDR per pax).
The booking process was highly based on trust, with no prior payment or deposit required. After looking through the various options for the trip, we decided to try one which included paragliding, an experience that both of us have yet to try. The tour guide suggested that we arrive at the airport latest by 11am (Day 1) and depart at 7pm earliest (Day 5). All accommodations are included in the tour package. We had to provide our names, date of arrival and departure, pick up and drop off time, phone number. Payment to the tour guide had to be paid in cash on the day of arrival, so that it can help to facilitate payments for the upcoming activities. The fees for paragliding was an additional 500,000 IDR which we would have to pay directly to the paragliding company. Clear details of the itinerary and contact details of the driver were also provided prior to us arriving in Surabaya.
26 Sep Day 1 | Landed in Surabaya, Chill and Relax
Early in the morning, we boarded the plane for departure at 8.15am SGT. Flight duration was 2.5 hours, reaching Surabaya at 9.40am Indonesia Time. Our driver, Mr Bambang, picked us up at the airport.
We had some seriously delicious Roti O and water at the airport before entering the car for the start of a 3 hours ride. Our lunch place had a nice and relaxing atmosphere and most of the customers seemed to be brought over by their tour guide. The coconut was so huge that it shocked the both of us.
We had tom yum soup and fried rice with chicken satay (185,900 IDR).
After lunch, we continued the drive to our accommodations at Baratha Hotel where we knocked out and woke up at 7pm for dinner. We had nasi goreng ayam, kway teow ayam and ice lemon tea (89,000 IDR). Heading back to our bed right after satisfying our tummy and rested for 4 hours (8pm to 12am) before the start of the new day at 12 midnight on Day 2.
27 Sep Day 2 | Ijen Blue Flame
What is about to come..
- Wake up 12am
- Drive 2 hours
- Start hike at 2 to 2.30am
- Hike 4km up
- Hike 0.6km more to see blue flames
- Hike back down
- Total hike for 4 to 4.5 hours
- 6 to 6.30am reach back to starting point
We woke up and started the drive at 12am from our accommodation towards Ijen crater. It was a 2 hour drive and there were so many stars in the night sky. We reached the carpark area of Ijen entrance at 2am. Our breakfast, sandwich and water was provided. The weather was really cold, 13 degrees. I wore heat tech clothing, wind breaker, gloves and a beanie. Yet, I was still so cold!!
We went and drank hot milo in the cold weather in one of the shops along the car park before we started the hike. The shops used charcoal to create heat and it was really smoky. Other people there were also smoking, so everywhere just felt really smoky, cough cough. The local tour guide for the Ijen hike, Yan, then brought us to hike. The tour package included a local guide for the Ijen Blue Fire Tour and provision of the gas mask and headlights.
Starting from 2.30am, we took about 2 hours to trek up.
The hike had various difficulty levels, ranging from gentle slopes, to steep uphills and downhills. Some level of physical fitness is definitely needed.
Yan also asked if we wanted to get the goggles, so that it can help to protect our eyes and see the flames clearer. Yan rented the goggles at one of the checkpoints and it cost 25,000 IDR each.
Tip: Recommended to get the goggles because it can get really smoky.
4.36am. We saw the blue flames.
The smell of the sulfur gas got stronger along the hike and that was when we wore the gas mask. When the sulfur gas went through our nose and throat, our nose started to leak and we began coughing.
The strong support of Desmond and Yan allowed me to hike at an appropriate pace. Otherwise, it would be quite hard to witness the flames once the sun was out and the sky got brighter. It took just about 15mins for the sky to become so much brighter, a huge change in colour contrast of the view of the surroundings. We felt so thankful and blessed to witness the blue flames when the sky was dark.
4.51am.
Along the way, there were many locals that offered taxi services by saying “Lambogini, Lambogini”, aimed to bring the travellers up and down. The mode of transport was the locals using a cartwheel that had some cushion on it. The price was 200,000 IDR onwards. With every few steps, we could hear them saying “taxi taxi” to ask us if we wanted to be transported. We rejected the offer by shaking our hands and heads politely.
After witnessing the unique wonders, we hiked along the same route back and reached the entrance at 6.39am.
We ate the sandwich breakfast in the car while driving to Tumpak Sewu. Then, we slept through the ride, so sleepy and tired. Legs were aching from the hike. After a 6 hour drive, we reached Tumpak Sewu and had lunch in the area. At about 1pm, we had our lunch, nasi goreng ayam and mee ayam fried noodles (90,000 IDR). From the lunch place to our homestay, it was a 15 minute drive. Our homestay was at SAMBAS COTTAGES AND RESTO SAMBAS 2. At Tumpak Sewu, hotels were rare and there were many homestays. We stayed in one of the rooms with the basic facilities.
However, the water felt so cold, shiver shiver!! We had our dinner in the homestay, fried kway teow, chicken soup, fries and lychee drink (110,000 IDR).
28 Sept Day 3 Sunday | Tumpuk Sewu Waterfall
We woke up at 7am for breakfast at the cottage. This breakfast is included in the tour package too. We had soto, mee goreng and fried rice. At 8am, we started to drive towards Tumpuk Sewu waterfall and reached it in 15 minutes. The local guide was ready to bring us to witness this magnificent waterfall. Starting from the top of the waterfall, we took about an hour to reach the bottom. Some of the stairs were very steep while there were also some gentle stairs. We had to face the stairs while climbing down because it was just too steep to climb down normally.
Tip: Avoid wearing clothes that are cotton or absorb a lot of water. Highly recommend water proof shoes. Our tour guide wore slippers to climb, wow!
From the top, we could already see the waterfall. But, when we reached the bottom of the waterfall, we were even more amazed by the view. There were many other people and we all queued up to take the photos. Water sprinkles (ALOT) kept splashing onto us. The atmosphere was cold yet sunny.
Throughout the entire hike, our local guide managed to capture so many different shots and angles, making us and the waterfall look so wonderful. While climbing up to go back to the entrance, he was able to climb and edit the videos that he took concurrently, multitasking level was so high. He edited it to a beautiful video and sent it over to us.
We climbed back up and reached the top in an hour. Dear offered to piggyback me up the remaining flights of stairs and I readily accepted the kind offer. He was so fit and I felt so happy. After reaching the top, we downed a bottle of coke and rested for a short while. Then, we changed out of our very wet clothes and began the drive towards Bromo. The drive was about 4 hours and we stopped by a minimart to buy some food and drinks. We checked into our accommodation at Istana Bromo and ordered some food for lunch. We got nasi with fried chicken, indomie and french toast with hot chocolate (78,000 IDR). After that, we had some maggi and slept for the night because we had to wake up early the next day.
29 Sept Day 4 Monday | Witnessing Mount Bromo
We woke up at 1.30am and had a 15 minute drive before transferring to a Jeep. MR Bambang and the Jeep driver sat in the front, while we both sat at the back. There were many Jeeps travelling through the rocky areas and sandy paths along the same path towards Mount Bromo. After parking the Jeep, we took a short walk towards the shops and entered into one of the shops that was closest to where we could see the mountain. We sat near the burning charcoal to get some warmth and had milo with maggi. At about 3am, the sky was still dark and there were so many stars. I was freezing and trembling in the cold so much. We stayed at the store for about an hour before walking off to find a spot to witness the sunrise.
Tip: Reach early and enter a shop to wait for sunrise. There can be a lot of traffic when all the Jeeps start to drive in at a later time.
At 4+am, we could see a small yellow light and that was when the sun was rising. There were so many people around looking at this beautiful sight. It was amazing to watch the sky change from almost total darkness to radiating with natural sunlight. In the area, there were many shops selling magnets and postcards. The magnets cost 20,000 IDR each and 50,000 IDR for 3 pieces. We continued to take photos before heading back to the Jeep. After that, the Jeep driver drove us to the base of the volcano. The weather was more sunny but it still felt cold.
We then had a short Jeep drive before reaching a spot where we could either walk up or take a horse ride to see the inside of the volcano. Each horse ride cost 300,000 IDR and the price is inclusive of both of the rides upwards and back to the base. We hopped on the horse and it galloped up in about 15 minutes. It was a rocky ride so hold on dearly to the rope! When we reached the highest point that the horse could bring us, we had to climb up a number of stairs. The horses and owners waited for us, giving us about 30 minutes to climb up the stairs to reach the top of the volcano and witness the interior of the volcano. I started to count the stairs and it felt like there were 230 stairs. It was so tiring. Make sure to take a break, stand at a corner and just breathe, whenever needed. Climbing down is much easier than climbing up. Yellow sulfur, smoke and very loud noises could be seen and heard from the volcano. We managed to take so many scenic photos as well. It was such an amazing experience. We then rode the horses back to where the Jeep was.
At 8.30am, we reached our hotel and had nasi goreng and mee goreng which were included in the package. We had a short rest before checking out at 12pm.
Heading over to Malang was a 2+ hour drive, stopping by the minimart and spending 126,000 IDR getting some food.
We checked into our room and rested for a while before heading out to have chicken with rice at Ayam Bakar Gubernur - Kota Batu (24,000 IDR).
30 Sept Day 5 Tuesday | Tandem Paragliding
For breakfast, we had toast and nasi goreng that was provided by the hotel. After that, we headed to Coban Rondo waterfall. The waterfall has many dangerous rocks and we could only snap pictures from a distance. There were just a few shops near the waterfall. We had some yummy spicy grilled corn (3,000 IDR) after visiting the waterfall. The store owner sliced the corn into the takeaway box so swiftly.
At 9.30am, we reached GUNUNG BANYAK - BATU where we did tandem paragliding. The cost was 500,000 IDR for each pax. We would need to sign a form and make payment there. The staff passed us a card so that we could take a motorcycle back to the peak from the landing zone. After that, we were ready to go ahead to experience paragliding.
It was a new experience for both of us. We could also use the selfie stick provided by the staff to take video. The paragliders were very experienced and skillful. After wearing our gears (safety vest & helmet), the staff buckled us up. We had to run downwards before letting our legs lift off the ground, and there we go, flying up in the sky!! It was such a scary feeling running downhill but Desmond felt comfortable. The experience was about 15 minutes long and there were free falls moments. Ahhh~ my heart~
insert paragliding
The whole motorbike ride was also an experience on its own. I gripped on to the motorcyclist for my dear life, with him maneuvering his motorbike with such ease.
Apple farm
It began to rain heavily and this was an apple plucking experience. Apples were small and we could take them back for 1kg at 30,000 IDR. I think it would be okay to skip on this. We had lunch at a bamboo restaurant (128,000 IDR), then headed for a 3 hour drive to the airport. Off to take the plane home!
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