Mount Bromo From Surabaya

If you happen to be staying in Surabaya, you will probably want to discover the surroundings and enjoy the beauty of East-Java. You are lucky then because the city of Surabaya is a good starting point to discover the region. Indeed, the access to different tourist points is easy from Surabaya. Madura island is only a bridge away from the city since the new Suramadu bridge was received, in less than 2 hours in Bus, you can reach Malang and many other cities. But one of the highlight of East-Java is Mount Bromo.

Bromo Sunrise Experience

If you want to visit Mount Bromo you will have to search for a tour operator online that will provide guided visits. (if anyone unexperienced offers you to take you there, don’t listen to him, getting there is quite difficult and requires an experienced driver).

Personally I chose to take a 1-day sunrise tour. The package I chose included transportation from Malang, and guided visits to some spots in the area after the sunrise.
As the tour starts at midnight from Malang, I didn’t take a hotel since I did not plan to stay in the city after the Bromo trip. So I set the pickup point in a shisha restaurant.
The trip to the top of the mountain took around 3 hours. At the top of the mountain, it is VERY COLD so don’t dress light. I suggest you take some gloves and a warm cap. You should definitely take a mask to get there as it gets very dusty on top of it (it’s actually ashes from the volcano); a simple face mask found in convenience stores is enough.

As we got there with the group, we were pretty much left by ourselves with a meeting deadline. The conventional viewing point for the sunrise is pretty disappointing and crowded, but luckily we found a local guide in a shop, who took us to the interesting observation points for the sunrise (and photo spots). The view will leave you speechless, this experience is definitely worth the efforts and will stay in my memory for ever. The other visits were okay, but if you can, try to take a tour that includes a visit of the surrounding waterfalls.

How to get to Mount Bromo from Surabaya ?

You have 2 access points to Mount Bromo, one from the city of Malang and the other from Probolinggo. From Surabaya, the easiest way is to get to Malang.
To do that, you will only have to take a bus, from Terminal Bungurasih in the south of Surabaya. Keep in mind that there is no real schedule for those buses, depending on your luck you will wait between 10 minutes to 40 minutes.
When you arrive at the bus station, you will see a horde of ticket seller you should ignore. Head to one of the official security guards and ask them for the direction to “Malang bus”. They will show you the way to the gate 7 where the bus to Malang departs.

The price for the ride is quite cheap, you will pay 30.000 IDR during your ride inside the bus (no ticket before going inside). But it can get crowded during national holydays or week-ends so don’t be afraid to push your way inside the bus (because other people won’t).

Depending on the traffic, it won’t take you more than 2 hours to get to Malang, and you will see people going out of the bus before reaching the Arjosari bus station, you should probably follow them. The reason is that Gojek/Grab are not allowed inside the bus station, so people stop at convenience stores like Indomaret/Alfamart. You will have to do that to be able to get yourself a driver to reach the meeting point with your tour operator.

After making new friends and experiencing an unforgettable moment, your driver will get you back to your pickup point. You only have to do the journey in the other way. Remember to pay attention only to official security personnel and not ticket vendors.

Indonesia has so much to offer, the most immersive way to experience its culture is to get an internship there !