Bromo's 250 Steps and Ijen with Guides Who Were Miners: Three Days from Bali

Three days, two volcanoes on Java, starting from Bali and ending back there. Pick-up is at 5:45 from Seminyak or 7:00 from Ubud, and also from Munduk, Pemuteran or Gilimanuk. Anyone already on Java joins at Probolinggo station at 15:30. The crossing is by ferry over the Bali Strait, with lunch on the far side, and the first night is at Cemoro Lawang, at 2,300 m, in a simple guesthouse. Day two starts at 3:30. A 4x4 takes you up Bromo, then a narrow path and 250 steps reach the rim, with the crater smoking below at first light. Batok stands next to it, extinct, at 2,400 m, and behind them Semeru, active and 3,677 m, the highest volcano on Java. After sunrise the jeep crosses the Sea of Sand, the ash plain, and stops at the Seruni viewpoint over the Tengger massif. The rest of the day drives east through villages and plantations to a guesthouse near Ijen. The third day starts at 1:00 a.m. at base camp, 1,900 m: safety briefing, lamps and masks, then an hour and a half up under the stars to the rim at 2,300 m. The descent into the crater is where the blue flames are, and the guides on that stretch are former miners. At sunrise the acid lake below turns out to be the largest in the world, with the sulphur carriers working it. Breakfast and a shower at the guesthouse, then the ferry back, with drop-offs at Pemuteran, Munduk, Ubud or Seminyak in the late afternoon. Transport, two nights, meals, park fees, guides and equipment are included. Cancel at least 24 hours before departure for a full refund.