Overall we had a very good time on our tour and would recommend using this company wholeheartedly. Arif was a lovely and extremely helpful driver, the hotels we stayed in were clean, in great locations, and had hot showers and decent restaurants, the activities on the tour were fun and the company made sure we had everything we needed i.e. headlamps/gas masks/water shoes. Half of our group was also ill on the tour but Arif allowed us to miss certain activities when necessary and would arrange to come back for us later, and even the unwell members had a good time. The local guides used throughout were extremely friendly, although they did have differing levels of English, but they kept everyone safe and took some great photos and videos if that’s what you’re after! Particularly the guide at Ijen, which was a stressful trek at times, but he really made sure everyone was ok. The main reasoning for not giving the tour 5 stars is because we felt a little unprepared for the activities we were going on. We were sent an itinerary beforehand, but this was very flexible and wake-up times and driving times were often changed. While this was a good thing in many respects as Arif made sure we were ahead of the crowds, which there could be a lot of, it did require some pretty early mornings. For Bromo, we left at 2am for the sunrise despite staying as close as you can get, meaning we were there 2 hours before sunrise and the other tourists didn’t necessarily respect the fact we had got there first on the pretty cold mountain. Also, the levels of difficulty and risk of the activities were slightly undersold, Ijen was more challenging than expected, we were told we did not need hiking boots, but as it was raining, which is obviously not in the companies control, it was pretty steep and slippy, so those in trainers found it quite difficult to remain stable which is not ideal on the edge of a volcano crater. Bromo is also advertised as a set of stairs, which it is but be aware that the altitude can make this harder than you expect, we are a group of relatively fit people in our early 20s, but there is not much time to adjust to the altitude due to the fast pace of the tour, so be prepared for a bit of a workout! Tumpak Sewu was beautiful but a little scary, the ladders down are quite precarious and you have to cross the river by wading through it holding onto a rope, again we still enjoyed and felt safe enough, but it would be good to know if you are scared of wobbly and slippy steps with quite a steep incline and decline. I also wouldn’t have worn trousers if I had known! Overall, none of these things took away from our enjoyment, but it would be good to be prepared. I do not expect the driver or guides to speak perfect english, but maybe a more specific packing list and itinerary could be sent before the trip to make sure everyone knows what’s going on. Also, if you get motion sickness, be prepared for the car journeys, while Arif was a very very good driver, Indonesian driving can be pretty intense compared to what we are used to, and the windy and bumpy mountain roads could be a little uncomfortable, especially as we had no seatbelts! The communication with the company was still good, for example they recommended we rearrange to avoid a public holiday and clearly had our best interests at heart, maybe we should’ve done a little more research so I can’t blame the tour entirely for unpreparedness and we often felt ahead of the game compared to other tour groups we saw. In terms of value and enjoyment we would definitely recommend this trip, East Java is a beautiful and exciting place and I’m sure you will have a great time if you book.
