Ijen Adventure Inn

The hotel has a great idea behind it: they rotate between houses and spread the income around. The organizer said the program helps miners learn English by working as guides or drivers and gives them a way out of the mines. If that’s true, it’s fantastic, though I’m not sure how much I trust what he told us. Our own experience had some problems, especially with the charges. Two other couples using this outfit paid 300k per person for transport and the entrance fee, while we were charged 450k each. We were also told on the way to the ferry that transport from the train station to the ferry was 100k per trip. That seemed somewhat reasonable since ride shares are hard to find there. Gojek quoted 75k, but the steep hills made getting to our place difficult. The guide hurried up the mountain and left us behind, then waited by our vehicle expecting a tip. I didn’t tip him. Other guides we saw were really informative and helpful. One even cooked sausages over a fire at sunset point. Looking at the other reviews, it seems like we had an unlucky experience. I tried to reach the person who charged us extra by email, phone, and text, but got no reply. Take our experience into account, and have a wonderful trip to beautiful Mt Ijen and a stay among the locals. Safe travels.