Probolinggo Java Indonesia
24
Cruises availables
At departure or passage at this port
Emerald Waterways (9 Cruises)
Regent Seven Seas Cruises (8 Cruises)
Seven Seas Explorer
8 Cruises
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Ships anchor offshore and tenders run to the Tanjung Tembaga jetty, about 3 km from the centre. From there it is all road and altitude: Mount Bromo is what justifies the call.
An hour and a half to two hours each way, covering some 60 km to the southwest through rice fields, cane plantations and highland villages. The excursion takes up most of the day.
Past Cemoro Lawang, the last village clinging to the rim, the landscape switches: a grey sea of sand spreads across a ten-kilometre bowl, out of which rise the cones of Batok, ridged like a cake, and Bromo, whose crater smokes without pause.
Yes. Four-wheel-drive vehicles cross the ash plain to the foot of the volcano, then a staircase of about 250 steps leads to the crater rim, facing the low rumble and the sulphur plumes. Bring solid shoes and some breath in reserve.
Not in practice. The crowds climb Mount Penanjakan before dawn, which means a three-in-the-morning start and a night ashore. On a daytime call, the morning light carving the ridges is fair compensation.
A Hindu community that has kept its rites since the fall of the Majapahit empire. Their temple, set in the sea of sand at Bromo's foot, hosts the yearly Yadnya Kasada ceremony, when offerings are thrown into the crater. Their horsemen offer small ponies for crossing the plain.
A fall of nearly 200 metres dropping in successive curtains at the end of a narrow, moss-lined gorge, about an hour by road from the port. You reach it by walking up the stream bed, soaked and delighted. Bring water sandals and a dry bag; the visit depends on the weather.
Bring a warm layer: above 2,300 metres the air is a shock after the humid coast. A scarf or mask protects against wind-blown sand and sulphur fumes. And closed, sturdy shoes for the crater staircase.
A plain-spoken Javanese provincial town: the old harbour where wooden schooners load, a central market busy from early morning, an old Chinese temple recalling the merchant communities of the past, and becaks — cycle rickshaws — for a tour of the tamarind-shaded streets.
Yes. Four-wheel-drive logistics are hard to arrange on the spot from the jetty, and Javanese traffic has its moods. Keep a comfortable margin for the return: that is the precaution that matters most on this call.
