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Indonesia & Java travel blog — routes, prices, real costs

Routes, costs, and mistakes described from first-hand journeys and sources used for changing details.

Tengger caldera at dawn: the Batok cone and the smoking Bromo crater above a sea of fog

Mount Bromo Without a Tour — Ticket, Jeep, Scams

Bromo park ticket: 254,000–255,000 IDR (~15.90 USD), shared jeep 150,000–250,000 IDR/person. How to see the Bromo sunrise without a tour and dodge the jeep scam.

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Sulphur miners carrying baskets near the Kawah Ijen crater before dawn

Ijen blue fire — cost, mask and the 2 am start

Ijen entry is 150,000 IDR — the same price on weekdays and weekends — plus a 45,000 mask and a mandatory health certificate. The blue fire dies at dawn, so you start at 2 am.

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Couple by an infinity pool surrounded by tropical jungle, East Bali

East Bali — the corner most tourists skip

The USAT Liberty wreck 40 m off a black beach, 2 dives for 800,000 IDR, Sidemen rice terraces 2 h from the airport. Three spots in East Bali worth the detour.

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Klaudia at the Sentra Gudeg Wijilan sign — the famous gudeg street in Yogyakarta

What to eat in Yogyakarta without overpaying

Gudeg at 15,000–25,000 IDR (1–1.60 USD), sate klatak 20,000–35,000, nasi goreng 10,000–20,000. Three dishes and one warung rule.

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A couple giving thumbs up at the viewpoint over the misty Tangkuban Perahu volcano crater in West Java

5 mistakes on Java that cost you money

The five mistakes that cost the most on Java: a 500,000 IDR hotel Borobudur sunrise tour, sleeping on Malioboro, booking trains too late, tap water, and haggling for batik. Each with the real price and the cheaper way.

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