In April, with the planner's pick for each leg; you can switch any leg in the plan.
Delhi → YogyakartaFlight via Jakarta · 21h · One stop via Kuala Lumpur or Singapore (AirAsia X / Air India / Singapore Airlines) (one stop) to Jakarta, then train
Yogyakarta → Mount BromoTrain · 10h · KAI Logawa / Sri Tanjung to Probolinggo + minivan to Cemoro Lawang
Mount Bromo → Ijen (Banyuwangi)Train · 7h 30m · Minivan to Probolinggo + KAI Probowangi / Mutiara Timur to Banyuwangi
Ijen (Banyuwangi) → UbudBus · 5h 48m
Ubud → DelhiFlight via Kuta · 15h · Bus to Kuta, then Air India (non-stop) · IndiGo (via Bhubaneswar to 30 Dec 2026, non-stop from 1 Jan 2027)
About this circuit
Yogyakarta for Borobudur and Prambanan, the train east to Probolinggo and up to the Bromo caldera for sunrise over the Sea of Sand, on to Banyuwangi for the night climb to Ijen's blue fire and acid lake, then across to Bali on the Ketapang ferry to finish in Ubud.
Why it matters
Borobudur is the world's largest Buddhist monument, and Prambanan the 9th-century Hindu temple to Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma, with the Ramayana carved on its walls and danced on an open-air stage. Ijen's crater holds the world's largest acid lake.
Stop by stop
How the 8 days split across the 4 stops, and what each one costs on the ground for two.
Java's cultural capital and the base for its two great temples: Borobudur, the world's largest Buddhist monument, and Prambanan, the 9th-century Hindu temple to Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma with Ramayana ballet on an open-air stage. The Sultan's palace (Kraton), batik and silver workshops and Malioboro street fill the rest. Indian travellers will find the Ramayana carved on Prambanan's walls. Vegetarian food is easy at the gudeg and tempeh stalls; there are a couple of Indian restaurants in the city.
Don't miss: Borobudur at sunrise · Prambanan temples.
How long: 3 days, which is the recommended stay.
Yogyakarta International Airport (YIA), 45 km
3 days for two from ₹15,506 · ₹30,114 mid-range — stay, food, local travel and entry; the journey here is extra
The steaming cone of Bromo in the Tengger caldera, watched at sunrise from Penanjakan with Semeru erupting behind, then a jeep across the Sea of Sand and the steps to the crater rim. Most stay a night at Cemoro Lawang on the rim and start at 3 a.m. It is cold (near freezing at dawn in July-August), so bring warm layers. Bromo has been at alert level II (Waspada) through 2026: the crater rim is open, but keep out of the 1 km zone round the vent.
Don't miss: Sunrise from Penanjakan · Jeep across the Sea of Sand.
How long: 1 day, which is the recommended stay.
Juanda International Airport, Surabaya (SUB), 110 km
1 day for two from ₹4,422 · ₹7,394 mid-range — stay, food, local travel and entry; the journey here is extra
The Ijen crater at Java's eastern tip, reached from Banyuwangi: a 1 a.m. start and a two-hour climb to see the blue flames of burning sulphur, sunrise over the world's largest acid lake, and the miners carrying sulphur out by hand. A gas mask is essential and is lent by guides. Banyuwangi is an hour from Bali by the Ketapang ferry, so Ijen often opens or closes a Bali trip. The park shut in September 2026 for forest fires and reopened on 28 September; it also closes in bad weather.
Don't miss: Blue fire before dawn · Sunrise over the turquoise acid lake.
How long: 1 day, which is the recommended stay.
Banyuwangi Airport (BWX), 20 km
1 day for two from ₹3,682 · ₹6,654 mid-range — stay, food, local travel and entry; the journey here is extra
The hill town most people picture as Bali: the Tegallalang rice terraces, the Sacred Monkey Forest, the royal palace and its nightly dances, water temples like Tirta Empul, yoga retreats, swings over the jungle and the waterfalls around. Inland, so no beach, and the traffic in town is slow. The easiest place in Bali for Indian and vegetarian food: Queens of India opposite the palace, pure-vegetarian Mumbai Station for dosas, Sitara with Jain dishes on request.
3 days for two from ₹14,238 · ₹36,333 mid-range — stay, food, local travel and entry; the journey here is extra
What it costs
from ₹59,597 a person
The whole 8-day trip as the planner prices it in April, for two sharing at budget stays: flights from India and back, travel between the stops, stays, food, getting around, entry fees and the planner's buffer.
The visa for an Indian passport, about ₹2,650 a person, is on top.
When to go
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April to October is the dry season; Bromo has been at alert level II through 2026 (no entry within 1 km of the vent), and the Ijen trail closes at short notice for gas, weather and fires, so check both the day before
Entry rules
Visa on arrival for up to 30 days, about ₹2,650
Before you fly, buy the e-VOA (visa on arrival) at evisa.imigrasi.go.id: IDR 500,000, about ₹2,700, valid for 30 days. You can also pay at the visa-on-arrival counter in Bali or Jakarta, but the queue is long.
Checked 2026-10; confirm with the embassy before you fly.
Make it yours
Opens in the planner with all 4 stops, suggested days and your home city pre-filled, in April. Swap anything.
·Bromo's sunrise jeeps leave Cemoro Lawang at about 03:30 and Ijen treks start at about 01:00; both are near freezing at dawn, so bring a down jacket, hat and gloves
·Ijen's sulphur fumes are dangerous for anyone with asthma or heart problems; they can watch the sunrise from the rim without going down
·Yogyakarta to Probolinggo is a KAI train of about 10 hours, with a minivan up to Cemoro Lawang; book on the Access by KAI app or 12Go with your passport number
·Go to Borobudur at opening, before the heat and the school groups, and check what your ticket covers: going up onto the temple has its own limited tickets
·Idul Fitri (10-11 March 2027) sells out Java's trains and flights weeks ahead, and Java is one hour behind Bali
