7 Days In Central & East Java
Java is an Indonesian island surrounded by Bali to the East, and Sumatra to the West. It is the world’s most populated island, and also where you can find the country’s capital: Jakarta. It is divided into 4 main provinces (East Java, Central Java, West Java & Banten) as well as 2 autonomous regions (Jakarta & Yogyakarta).
During my 5-week journey across South East Asia, I decided I wanted to start with some epic nature adventures, and Java seemed like the perfect place to do just that as it’s filled with waterfalls and volcanoes. However, the island is so big that if you’re limited in time, you’ll have to make compromises and only select a few places to visit. I believe you would need at least 3 to 4 weeks to explore the full island. In this article, I’ll be sharing my 7-day itinerary.
To begin with, you can get to the island of Java by boat or by plane. There are several airports including one in Yogyakarta and one in Surabaya. You could also come from Bali (which is what I did) by bus/car and take the ferry that crosses many times a day. If you’re choosing to get there by bus, there’s one leaving every hour from Mengwi station (approx. 1 hour North of Denpasar airport in Bali). Ask any taxi driver to take you there, and let them know you’re looking to get to Java.
Java Island
A 7-Day Itinerary
This travel itinerary includes:
1. Menjangan Island
If you’re coming from Bali, I believe a good first stop would be the town of Banyuwangi. It is very close to where the ferry will drop you off, and is a good base if you’re planning to visit Kawah Ijen and West Bali National Park. If you’re travelling solo just like I was, I believe the best thing to do is booking a homestay accommodation. I definitely don’t recommend booking any activity before you get there, as sometimes there are online scams and people making you pay much more than you should. Instead, feel free to ask the staff at your hotel if they can arrange your day trips. Menjangan Island is situated in West Bali National Park and was my first activity when I got there. It’s actually not located in Java, but in Bali. It isn’t very well known yet, therefore chances are you’ll have the place to yourself. It is heaven on earth if you like snorkeling. PS: if you can’t find Nemo by yourself, ask your guide for a little help ;)
Cost: 550,000IDR + National Park fee (230,000 weekday 330,000 weekend/holiday)
Duration: 9AM-5PM
2. Kawah Ijen Volcano
A must-do while in Java is visiting Kawah Ijen volcano, which is also one of the most unique sulfure mines in the world, and home to the world’s largest acidic crater lake (do not touch the water!) If you’re booking a tour there, you’ll have to choose from two options: the blue fire tour or the sunrise tour. In order to see the blue fire, a phenomenon only visible at night, you’ll have to start your excursion around midnight. Otherwise, the sunrise tour departs at 2am. I chose to book the blue fire tour, as I had never witnessed such a phenomenon before. Let’s just say that this didn’t help with the jet lag 😜but it was totally worth it. The hike up to the volcano is very steep and takes about two hours. Then you’ll have to walk down to the crater which takes an additional 45 minutes to see the blue fire. There are signs saying it is forbidden to go down there, but everyone goes anyway because it is the only way to see the fire. It’s your decision whether or not you want to go, but please know that you’re doing it at your own risk. I definitely recommend wearing your gaz mask and appropriate clothes. The blue fire is a really unique thing that I enjoyed watching, but I couldn’t stay very close to it as smoke kept coming into my eyes and I couldn’t handle it. Once the sun rises, the flames disappear and slowly reveal a splendid view over the crater lake.
Cost: 300,000IDR
Duration: 12AM-10AM
3. Bromo Volcano
Another very famous active volcano to visit is Mount Bromo. The best way to get there if you don’t have your own mean of transport would be to take the train from Banyuwangi to Probolinggo. You can book directly through Tiket.com, it’s a very convenient and reliable website. Ask your hotel in Banyuwangi to arrange your Bromo tour, and a driver will pick you up at Probolinggo train station to take you to your hotel in Mount Bromo (the tour price includes a basic hotel room in the National Park). For this activity, the idea is also to get there before sunrise, so you’ll likely depart around 3:00AM. There is no hike there, your driver will take you all the way to the observation point, and you’ll just have to walk a bit to find the most quiet spot to admire an epic sunrise. It gets very crowded so I advise you to arrive early and climb up the mountain as much as you can. Once the sun is out, you’ll return to your car and drive to the crater. When I visited the volcano was erupting, so we weren’t able to climb up the crater, but that’s definitely something I would recommend doing if you’re travelling there under good conditions.
Cost: 650,000IDR (includes hotel)
Duration: 3AM-9AM
4. Malang
I chose Malang as a base because I absolutely wanted to go visit Tumpak Sewu waterfall (next in this list). Malang is a city that is conveniently located after you leave Bromo. You can easily reach it by bus and it costs approximately 75,000IDR to get there. If you’ve read about Malang before, it was likely about the Rainbow Village. This village was originally a slum, but in order to make it more attractive and boost tourism in the area, a group has decided to paint the whole town with all sorts of colours and add Insta-worthy decorations. If you go to Malang, I recommend staying at Griyo Sultan Agung hotel, the staff is amazing and they’ll help you as much as they can. The hotel is a 10-min walk from the Rainbow Village, and right next to the train station where you can take the Malioboro Train to Yogyakarta for your next stop.
5. Tumpak Sewu Waterfall
This one has got to be the most epic waterfall I’ve seen in my entire life. When I first came across photos of it on social media, I actually thought it was entirely photoshopped, but it turns out it’s REAL guys! 😍It is quite thorough to get there, especially if you’d like to go to the bottom of the waterfall, but it’s not impossible, and it’s 100% worth it. First of all, at the time I wrote this article, there was no group tour to visit Tumpak Sewu, which I think is amazing because it means it’s still brand new, and there are no organized day trips. To get there (about 2 hours from Malang), you’ll either need to hire a scooter, a car, or a private driver. I went with the latter and it cost me 600,000IDR to hire a driver for 10 hours. My number 1 tip is to get there before sunrise, so you’ll have to leave Malang around 3AM. There are two reasons for that. 1) You want to get there before everybody else (although, I only saw 2 people during the entire day). 2) You want to get to the bottom of the waterfall before the sun is too high in the sky, otherwise your pictures will look very bright, and you’ll have a really hard time climbing back up because of the heat. The hike down the waterfall is VERY challenging and EXTREMELY slippery. You will have to walk barefoot, cross rivers with strong currents knees/thighs deep, and hike in the waterfall with a rope at some point. The hike is definitely doable, but I don’t recommend going there by yourself. On your way back, I suggest taking a different path and go check out Goa Tetes, another really beautiful waterfall with a red/orange colour and a grotto. Note that there is a small entry fee that you'll have to pay (approx. 30,000IDR) at some point during your hike.
6. Borobudur Temple
I left Malang to go to Yogyakarta on the Malioboro Express, which you can also book on Tiket.com. Once I got there, I found a very central hostel called the Cozy Nest Hostel, which I highly recommend. Like most hotels/hostels they offer a variety of excursions, so I arranged a day-trip to explore Borobudur and Prambanan temples, the most famous ones in the area. My day started off with sunrise at Borobudur, a Buddhist temple. I chose to watch the sunrise at the temple itself (not from the hill) which cost a little bit more money, but was worth every penny. The cost for the driver to go to the two temples is between 200k and 300k (I can’t remember the exact number), but then you’ll have to pay an entry fee of $25 USD per temple. That’s because these are two UNESCO World Heritage sites.
7. Prambanan Temple
If you decide to take a combined trip to Borobudur + Prambanan, shortly after your breakfast in Borobudur, you’ll drive to Prambanan, a hindu temple. The drive is about an hour, and by the time you’ll get there, it will be hot and crowded, so bring some water, sunscreen and a hat. If I would have had more time, I think I would have done these two temples separately, and I would have visited Prambanan at sunset.
When in Yogyakarta, you can take a few days to explore the city, or take a day trip to Karimunjawa Island. You can also continue your journey to Jakarta, or fly to the destination of your choice in South East Asia from their airport. I chose to go to Kuala Lumpur, and I’ll share my itinerary in the next blog post xx
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