Watching the sunrise at the Mount Bromo volcano in Indonesia is easily one of the most amazing travel experiences in the world. You can even climb the crater and look directly into the smoking volcano!
Bromo can be visited on a road trip through East Java, along with other epic sights like the Ijen crater lake and giant waterfalls, or you can fly from Bali straight to Surabaya and visit Bromo on a day tour from there.
We’ve done it both ways, and would love to go again. Either way, the Bromo volcano is a bucket list item you shouldn’t miss on your journey through Southeast Asia.
The iconic lineup at Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park. The smoking crater on the far left is Bromo. The volcano erupting in the background is Semeru.
Where Is Bromo?
Mount Bromo is an active volcano crater located in East Java, Indonesia.
It’s part of the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, where you can see a cluster of 5 incredible volcanoes (including Bromo), and Java’s highest mountain Semeru puffing out smoke in the background.
Drone pic of the smoking Bromo crater
How To Visit Mount Bromo
The easiest way to visit Bromo is to fly to Malang or Surabaya, and then book a day tour or a multi-day trip from there. If you’re in Bali, you can also do it in the opposite direction, starting overland from Bali and then ending at Malang or Surabaya.
Bali has direct flights to and from Surabaya (SUB) every day, and a one way ticket can be as cheap as 700k Rupiah ($45 USD). You can shop for flights to Malang or Surabaya at Skyscanner.
We normally like to do things without a tour, but this is one case where I think the tour is a good idea because it’s much more convenient and it includes extra activities like Jeep riding around the volcano. Bromo is a bucket list item and you want to do it justice.
Best Tour Package For Mount Bromo
Here’s a top rated day tour package for Mount Bromo starting from Surabaya or Malang.
You can book this with Klook as a private tour or shared tour, and it includes all of the highlights like the Mount Bromo sunrise, jeep ride in the sea of sand, optional horse ride, crater hike at the volcano, and you can also add the Madakaripura waterfall as a bonus to the itinerary.
If you’re wanting to do a multi-day trip, Klook has overland tours to Bromo and Ijen from Bali with guides, accommodation, and other expenses included. You can even add on a visit to the Tumpak Sewu waterfall.
We’ve used Klook for lots of tours and activities around the world, and they’re great. Highly recommended!
Another drone pic
Looking down into a smoking volcano
Where To Stay
In East Java you have the option of basing yourself in Surabaya, Malang, Probolinggo, or Mount Bromo itself (Cemoro Lawang village).
Surabaya has the most comfy hotels since it’s a major city in Indonesia, and Malang has some great options too. Probolinggo is smaller, but also has a few good hotel options.
Surabaya Hotels
JW Marriott
Sheraton Tower
Royal Singosari
Four Points Hotel
Staying At Bromo
If you want to stay really close to the action, there are some hotels at Cemoro Lawang village right by Bromo, but they tend to be pretty basic and overpriced for what you get.
Cemoro Lawang is generally not a fun place to stay because it’s very undeveloped and hasn’t caught up to the mass tourism at Bromo yet. That may change someday, but for now, most of the budget friendly hotel options at Cemoro Lawang are really rough.
Our top recommendations there would be Cahyo Homestay Bromo, Good Karma Guesthouse, or Guesthouse Gunung Bromo. Again, don’t expect luxury.
You can see the highlights of the volcano in one full day tour, so it’s not really necessary to stay there longer unless you’re a serious photographer or just want more time exploring the area.
Best Things To Do At Mount Bromo
• Mount Bromo Sunrise
First things first — witness the famous sunrise at Mount Bromo!
Before you start exploring the mountain up close, you have to see the sunrise from the top of the caldera. Every tour package starts like this, and for good reason.
• Mount Bromo Volcanoes Viewpoint
The viewpoints on the north side of the caldera are where you can get those iconic pics of the volcano cluster.
To be honest, there is very little difference between these viewpoints and the only reason so many of them exist is to help space out the crowds at Bromo, which can be pretty crazy (especially on weekends).
In other words, don’t worry about which viewpoint you go to — they’re all amazing, so just enjoy the epic scenery! Photography here in the early morning is ideal because you’ll get nice shadows and atmospheric fog around the base of the caldera.
• Sea of Sand
After sunrise, the next stop is the ‘sea of sand’ at the bottom of the caldera. The locals call it Lautan Pasir, which means the same thing in Bahasa Indonesia.
It’s a perfect photo spot with the steep ridges of the Mount Widodaren volcano in the background.
Mount Bromo Jeep Tour
• Mount Bromo Crater Hike
Possibly the most amazing thing to do at the Bromo mountain complex is the hike to the top of the smoking volcano crater.
The full hike to the top of the crater, starting from the sea of sand, takes about 1 hour, although you can speed it up if you ride a horse partway.
The last part of the hike has to be done on foot, and it’s a short but steep climb up a concrete stairway to the top of the crater. It’s not too hard for non-hikers, and even kids can do it.
Be careful at the top because there’s not much of a safety railing, and on a windy day it has nasty sulfur fumes that are hard to breathe. Generally you can’t see red lava here, but you can peek right into the smoking crater of the active volcano!
Mount Bromo is generally safe to visit, but it’s a good idea to check the current status before you make plans, otherwise you may not get the full experience if part of the park is closed.
Nowadays, the area is closely monitored and they have earthquake detectors underground to anticipate any major volcanic activity.
No one has been hurt by the volcano in almost 20 years, and it gets close to 1 million visitors per year, so overall the safety record is pretty good.
Entrance Fee
- Weekdays: 220k IDR (~$15 USD) / person / day
- Weekends: 320k IDR (~$21 USD) / person / day
It’s a bit pricey by Indonesian standards, and I wish they would at least make the tickets last longer (like 3 days) so you could get more bang for your buck.
Weather / Climate — How Cold Is It?
Even though this is Indonesia, it can be pretty chilly before sunrise since you’re 2,329 meters (7,641 ft) above sea level, and the sunrise viewpoints are even higher!
The elevation at the Penanjakan viewpoint is a whopping 2,770 meters (9,088 ft). For Indonesia, that’s unusually high.
Temperatures can drop below 7 Celsius (45 F), and that doesn’t even factor in wind chill. It can get incredibly windy on the mountain peaks, and dry season is cooler than rainy season.
However, you’ll only be chilly before sunrise. After that, it warms up pretty quick, and the sun at this elevation is plenty strong.
If you’re too cold at Mt.Bromo while waiting for sunrise, you can also rent a jacket at your hotel, or rent a jacket from one of the many small local shops near the sunrise viewpoints.
Mount Batok is an extinct volcano in the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park
Inside the caldera
Volcano X-ing
What To Bring
- Jacket: This is essential for sunrise because it can be very chilly. After sunrise, you’ll want to shed the jacket.
- Footwear: Regular shoes are fine, but sturdy hiking shoes are better for the Mount Bromo hike. If you go to the crater, you’ll be walking on slippery gravel and steep inclines or declines at times.
- Sunglasses: Can be good to protect your eyes from sandstorms in the sea of sand.
- Poncho: If you visit Bromo during the rainy season in Indonesia (especially December to February), you might want to bring a rain jacket just in case.
- Snacks: Even though most tours include free breakfast, it’s skimpy and you’ll probably be wanting energy snacks to go with it.
- Headlight: This is useful for hiking before sunrise, especially if you plan to do the crater hike without a guide.
- Camera: Mandatory! A small tripod could be handy too since it’ll be dark before the sunrise.
- Drone: So far, there aren’t any rules against flying a drone at the Mount Bromo volcano, although I wouldn’t recommend doing it at the sunrise point since it’s so crowded. Once you go down to the Sea of Sand, there’s a lot of wide open space to fly without bothering people.
The stubby peak of Mount Batok
Is Mount Bromo Open / Closed?
Yes, Mount Bromo is currently open for tourists as of 2025! I’ll update this travel guide if anything changes.
The mountain is rarely closed to the public, and that would only happen temporarily if there’s some kind of special ceremony, or if there’s unusual volcanic activity or other safety concerns.
Mount Bromo will be briefly closed for Wulan Kapitu (January 9-10, 2024), Silent Day (March 11-12, 2024), and Yadnya Kasada (July 6-7, 2024), and again for Wulan Kapitu (December dates TBA, 2024).
Happy travels!
