We are very happy with the trip, the communication with the travel agency was excellent from the very beginning. Our driver was amazing – very helpful and he shared lots of interesting facts about Indonesia. The whole trip fully met our expectations, and on top of that, the guide at Mount Ijen was fantastic! We highly recommend it – we couldn’t be more satisfied :)
We were a group of 7 friends that did the 3D2N trip, and it was a great experience. However, it's physically very demanding, because we didn't sleep much during those days (we had the wake up at 23 and 00 to take the transport each day), and because of the hikes. Tumpak Sewu and Bromo are not that hard, but Ijen is, because one needs to be fast if you want to see the blue fire. Overall, the experience was great, and it's a great way to see a different part of Indonesia, more wild and full of nature.
Now, going into some details:
- Tumpak Sewu waterfalls were great. They took us from Malang to the place, where we met our guide, Aril. He was an awesome guide, taking us around the waterfall, the cave and the natural pools. Good vibes and taking great pictures. This was an easy hike, as we were not in a rush and we could take our time to take photos, swim and enjoy
- Bromo was also great. We slept near Malang and a Jeep came to pick us up at midnight. We didn't know there was a 2 hour drive to get there. It was not the most comfortable trip, but it was an amazing experience too. We say the sunrise from the viewpoint and we went to the crater later. The hike is not super demanding because it's short and one can stop everywhere. In this case, our guide was Hamdan. He was also an amazing guy, again very good vibes, and made us enjoy the trip and the stops we did along the way to take photos of the jeeps, the black sand and the valley. For drone lovers, I could fly the drone in the sunrise viewpoint, but there was no problem flying it in the crater
- Ijen was good, but it was "the worse" of all 3 experiences. We had to take another 2 hour drive to get to the starting point from the hotel. Physically, this was with a huge difference the most demanding activity. The way up is very steep, and it's not short, but not super long either. You have to keep up a good pace if you want to get to the top fast and see the blue fire. The blue fire is interesting, but might not be worth it for some people. Down in the crater it can be uncomfortable to stay with all the sulfure smoke (for the eyes and breathing). For me it was great, but I understand it's not for everyone. In this case, our guide was not as good as the previous days. He was a charming guy, but he didn't act as a guide because he didn't tell us any kind of interesting facts or similar things. He sometimes disappeared in the way up or down. Also, he charged us an extra "donation" of 25k IDR/pax to go down to the blue fire. Complete unnecessary, as we could have followed the people. In any case, the experience was nice, but not the best
A couple of extra points. As we were a big group, the company sent us a driver for us for the 3 days. Mr. Bonny has done a terrific job. Always super punctual, serving and caring. Amazing, great guy until the end, showing us the way in the Ketapang harbour, and giving us breakfast for the last day after the Ijen hikes. Super thankful for him!
The final point is the accomodation and the lunch. The first homestay was nothing special, but they gave us good food. The second hotel was great but good was not included. Overall, good. Just keep in mind that the places are not close to the final points, so trips of 4-6 hours are expected daily. This is very demanding too.
In general, this has been a very good experience! Great job organising everything for us!!