The journey from Yogyakarta to the island of Bali is something undertaken by many tourists every day. Van loads of them. A common itinerary for this journey includes a stop at Mount Bromo for a sunrise view and a hike up to the crater rim to peer into the mouth of a steaming volcano.
The advantage of booking this tour is that the logistics are taken care of and it can be a bit cheaper and faster than a diy itinerary. The disadvantage is that you get very much stuck in the tourist bubble. In a van with other travelers all day. Hiking up trails with the same tourists. You recognize tourists from other vans that you see over and over again at lunch stops. And then when all the vans are in the same spot (like say for the sunrise viewing) it is a giant mess of tourists that is really just awful to be around. But oh well...the goal is to experience the bubble as little as possible and make use of the tours when you must and when it makes sense.
The sunrise today was very crowded, but pleasant. While everyone was focused on the sunrise to the east the real show was too the south where the volcanoes were. It was a pretty awesome sight to see as a first image of daylight.
After a hike up to the crater rim of Mount Bromo (through volcanic ash/sand that was miserable to hike through) it was back in the car to drive to the next stop on the tour.
Tomorrow 'morning' I get up at 1 am to see the blue fires of the ijen crater and then the sulfur miners. Should be a fun one!
Pics below of the morning view and the bromo crater.
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