Booking choice: The 24-hour trip from Bali, from $55 per person. Check dates Tour details
Plenty of people do Ijen as a day trip from Bali, and plenty of them say it was worth it. They also say it was long. A typical trip picks you up in the late afternoon, crosses on the ferry at night, climbs at 2 a.m., and has you back at your hotel around 4 p.m. the next day.
There is a better way for most people: sleep in Banyuwangi the night before, or fold Ijen into a one-way route between Java and Bali. Here are the options, the ferry, and the do-it-yourself route.
The quick answer
A day trip from Bali takes about 22 hours, with pickups between 16:30 and 21:00 and the drop-off around 15:00 to 16:30 the next day. Ubud to the ferry at Gilimanuk is about 3.5 hours, the crossing is about an hour, and Ketapang to the Paltuding trailhead is another 1 to 2 hours. If you have a spare night, sleep in Banyuwangi instead: the climb is the same, and you get a 9-hour night instead of a 22-hour one.
Can you do Ijen as a day trip from Bali?
Yes, but it takes about 22 hours door to door, and only about 5 of them are on the volcano.
Here is the clock for the 24-hour trip from Bali, straight from its itinerary:
| Time | Where you are |
|---|---|
| 16:30 to 21:00 | Hotel pickup: 16:30 from Amed or Padang Bai, 17:00 from Kuta and Seminyak, 18:00 from Ubud and Canggu, up to 21:00 from Lovina |
| 21:30 to 22:00 | Gilimanuk port, ferry to Java (about 1 hour) |
| 00:00 | Health check and certificate |
| 01:00 to 02:00 | Paltuding trailhead, briefing, start walking |
| 03:00 to 06:00 | Crater rim, descent only if allowed, sunrise |
| 07:30 to 08:00 | Leave Paltuding for the ferry back |
| 15:00 to 16:30 | Back at your Bali hotel |
Guests are honest about it. Shelley, in July 2026: "Transport from Bali was time consuming but well arranged." You sleep in a car seat, if at all, and lose the next afternoon to recovery.
All in from Bali: pickup, ferry both ways, entry, guide, gas mask and food, back the next afternoon.
Check dates for the 24-hour trip from BaliShould you start in Bali or Banyuwangi?
Banyuwangi, if you can spare a night. Paltuding is about 1.5 to 2 hours from town, so the night shrinks to around 9 hours with a midnight pickup.
Same hike, very different night:
| From Bali | From Banyuwangi | |
|---|---|---|
| Door to door | About 22 hours | About 9 hours |
| Pickup | 16:30 to 21:00 | Around midnight |
| Sleep before the hike | In the car | A few hours in a bed |
| Ferry | Twice, included | None |
| Next day | Mostly gone | Free from mid-morning |
| From | $55 on the 24-hour trip | $15 on the all-inclusive hike |
Our view: skip the Bali day trip if you have a spare night. Take a bus or transfer to Banyuwangi in the afternoon, sleep, climb, and spend the afternoon after in Baluran or on the ferry back. The day trip makes sense when your Bali dates are fixed and you won't be in Java otherwise.
Sleep in Banyuwangi, get picked up at midnight, and be back at your hotel for a late breakfast.
Explore the all-inclusive Ijen hike Tour detailsHow does the ferry from Bali to Java work?
Ferries cross between Gilimanuk on Bali and Ketapang on Java around the clock. The crossing takes about 45 minutes to an hour, and tickets are sold online only, through Ferizy.
Boats leave roughly every 30 minutes, 24 hours a day (detikBali). In March 2026 the standard adult foot-passenger fare was Rp10,600 and a car was Rp213,400, before a Lebaran discount (Tirto). Tickets are bought on the Ferizy app or website and shown as a QR code at check-in.
On a tour this is all handled, including the Bali tax: the driver books it and you stay with the group. Queues build at peak times: in August 2026 ASDP put 40 ferries on the route to clear a jam at Gilimanuk.
How do you get from Bali to Ijen on your own?
Bus or car to Gilimanuk (about 3.5 hours from Ubud), the ferry to Ketapang, then a car to Paltuding, about 1 to 2 hours. There is no public transport to the trailhead.
Independent travel works if you sleep in Banyuwangi. The pieces:
- Park ticket: foreigners pay Rp150,000 a day (detikJatim), sold online only. The name must match your passport, and tickets can't be cancelled, moved or refunded.
- Health certificate: issued within three days of the visit. Get it from a clinic in Banyuwangi.
- Guide: not a published legal requirement for the rim, but strongly recommended by the conservation office, which tells hikers not to walk alone (Times Indonesia).
- Mask and headlamp: rent or bring a proper twin-filter mask.
- Transport to Paltuding: a hired car or a motorbike, at midnight, on a steep mountain road.
Coming from Surabaya instead? The Probowangi train runs from Surabaya Gubeng to Ketapang in about 6 hours 40 minutes (Wikipedia). Add it all up and a $15 tour with everything included is hard to beat.
Entry, guide, mask, headlamp and the certificate in one booking, from a Banyuwangi hotel.
Check dates for the all-inclusive Ijen hikeWhich Ijen tour from Bali should you book?
The 24-hour all-inclusive trip for an easy, fully organised night; the Ubud start or the midnight tour if you want to compare prices.
Four tours on this site run from Bali. Two of them, the all-inclusive hike and the 24-hour trip, come from the same operator, Java Expedition.
| Tour | From | Bali pickup | Includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24-hour trip from Bali | $55 | Most of Bali, 16:30 to 21:00 | Ferry, entry, guide, mask, health certificate, food, tips |
| All-inclusive hike, Bali option | From $15 (Banyuwangi price) | Bali hotels | Same operator; the Bali option adds the ferry |
| Banyuwangi or Ubud tour | $38 | Ubud | Guide, entry, pole, mask, breakfast, ferry |
| Midnight group tour | $19 | Bali option | Shared group of 15 to 20, or a driver only |
Read the option you are booking. The low from-prices are for Banyuwangi starts or driver-only options; the Bali version costs more. The midnight tour's listing warns that pickups are not always on time.
Can you visit Ijen one way between Java and Bali?
Yes, and it is the smartest plan if you are travelling through Java. Several 2 and 3 day tours start in Surabaya or Malang and finish in Bali.
Travelling east across Java, you can do Bromo, then Ijen, then take the ferry to Bali with your luggage in the car. The 3-day route adds the Tumpak Sewu waterfall and drops you in Bali; the 2-day tour sleeps in a hotel in Bondowoso; the budget 2-day trip uses a homestay and drops you in Ubud, Canggu, Denpasar or Kuta. Starting in Bali and heading west, the private 3-day tour ends with a flight from Surabaya or a train to Yogyakarta.
The budget trip's itinerary puts the last leg at about 1 hour on the ferry and 3.5 hours by road to Ubud. Expect to reach Bali in the afternoon.
Java to Bali in three days: Tumpak Sewu, the Bromo sunrise and the Ijen hike, with a Bali drop-off.
Explore the 3-day Bromo and Ijen route Tour detailsWhat if Ijen is closed on your date?
Check the closure calendar before you book. The park shuts every first Friday of the month and at short notice for fire, gas or weather.
The 2026 clean-up Fridays left are 6 November and 4 December (park portal). In September 2026 a forest fire closed the park from the 4th until it reopened on the 28th, with campfires now banned (JawaPos). Guests on a Bromo and Ijen trip that month wrote: "Due to the fires, we were unable to complete the second day or go down to the crater."
Book a tour, not a stand-alone park ticket, if your plans might move. The online park ticket is non-refundable; every tour here cancels free up to 24 hours before. The full list is in the closure days post.
What can you do the day after Ijen?
Sleep, then go to Baluran. From Banyuwangi you are back at your hotel by mid-morning, with the afternoon free for a jeep trip through the savanna.
Baluran National Park is north of Banyuwangi, on the way back to the ferry: open grassland under an old volcano, deer, monkeys and a coastal sunset. The Baluran jeep safari runs about 7 hours from $32, and the group option leaves the park fee to pay at the gate.
If you came on a day trip from Bali, skip it. You will be in a car until mid-afternoon.
Frequently asked questions
How far is Ijen from Bali?
From Ubud it is about 3.5 hours to the ferry at Gilimanuk, about an hour across, and 1 to 2 hours from Ketapang to the Paltuding trailhead: roughly 6 hours each way.
Is the Ijen day trip from Bali worth it?
If you have no spare night, yes: the crater and sunrise are worth a long day. If you can sleep one night in Banyuwangi, do that instead.
Do Bali tours include the ferry?
The 24-hour trip, the Bali option of the all-inclusive hike and the Ubud tour all include ferry tickets. Check the option you book on the midnight tour.
Can I sleep on the way from Bali?
A little, in the car and on the ferry. Most guests arrive at the trailhead tired; bring a neck pillow and eat before pickup.
Ready to book
Choose your night
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before on every option. Prices are from-prices in USD and move with the season.
From Bali: 24-Hour Ijen Hike
- Bali hotel pickup and drop-off
- Ferry tickets both ways and the Bali tax
- Park entry, guide, gas mask and headlamp
Ijen Sunrise Hike, All Inclusive
- Park entry ticket, guide and gas mask
- Headlamp and the required health certificate
- Pickup in Banyuwangi, or Bali with the ferry
Tumpak Sewu, Bromo & Ijen in 3 Days
- Tumpak Sewu, Bromo and Ijen entry fees
- Jeep at Bromo, local guides at each stop
- Two nights: guesthouse and 3-star hotel (or hostel)
