We'd planned to take a 'normal' Merapi tour until we tripped over Ignatius' Instagram (dwikoen_sastro) a couple of days before we arrived in Yogyakarta, and saw the amazing night time images. We had been completely unaware that Merapi was still putting on this nightly show after the earlier eruption. No-one at our hotel had even heard of the overnight tour and we wondered if it was legitimate, but it certainly was. There are a maximum of three people per night, which explains why so few people know about it. We were picked up from our hotel by Ignatius' driver at around 9.30pm and taken to spend the night watching Merapi, with snacks and drinks provided. The incandescent lava flows more than lived up to the pictures we'd seen and this was the most memorable part of our entire trip to Indonesia. As we had no idea we would be going on this trip, we only had a compact camera with us, but would definitely take a high quality camera and tripod if going again. But both Ignatius and the other person on our tour generously sent us photos, so we didn't miss out. It was a long night out that would usually have had me falling asleep at some point, but the amazing sights meant I was wide awake. Take lots of layers of whatever warm clothing you have with you, as it gets pretty cold. After the sun is up, you are taken back to your hotel in time for breakfast, with a slight 'did that really happen' feeling about the whole experience.

Mount Merapi is one of the volcanoes surrounding Yogyakarta. We went there as part of a tour to visit Borobudur and Prambanan. Nature can be unpredictable, and on the day we went, there was a lot of fog, and we could barely distinguish the volcano. However, it's definitely worth taking the tour of the area and visiting the museum or various viewpoints. We did the tour with Pro Warriors, and our driver was Blondo, a very friendly and pleasant guy.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. You won't regate it. Book the tour with @dwikoen_sastro (instagram). He is a tour Guide and is actually the only person who has Access to Mt Merapi. He offers an exclusive trip to Merapi. which is unique. They pick you up at Jogjakarta at 9pm and you drive 1 hour and a Half. You spend the whole Night only 4 km away from the volcano, seeing the amazing lava, hearing it, taking photos and having a good Conversation while drinking hoy chocolate by a campfire. The whole experience is unique and Beautiful. Thank you Dwi for everything once again, I'll never Forget this experience!

Did a one night tour with @dwikoen_sastro (instagram). What a wonderful experience! Probably one of my best moments of my travel. He will bring you to the Merapi National park which is restricted for tourists normally. Since he is a research photographer, he has a permit to enter this area. It took a while before we saw the eruptions, but it was beautiful. You could even hear the lava rolling down. This tour is not like any other commercial tour, and even contributes to the safety of local people living around the volcano.

there are several circuits for the jeep tour around merapi volcano: short, short plus, medium, long etc. we took the short tour which includes museum sisa hartaku, alien rock, and kaliadem bunker. the sites give you a good overview of the aftermath after the mt merapi eruption in year 2010 the volcano is erupting on the day we visited but the local residents appear blase about it (and we visitors none the wiser). in any case, most if not all volcanos in java island are active.

Ended up going with Ignatius Dwi K Lava Merapi Tour (Contact/find him on Instagram account dwikoen_sastro). Very reasonably priced, spent the whole night hearing the active volcano, and when the lava finally cleared, saw the lava running down the mountain. Dwi was very generous with his time, gave lots of help in planning the rest of my trip, and took some great photos of me and the volanco. Highly recommend booking a tour with him. The mountain from afar was beautiful to see.

I have been to Yogyakarta twice and took the same guide each time. what a great team, they did everything to make the best of it. Everything was comfortable and they were very flexible if we wanted to see more along the way. I definitely recommend the combo package from Ijen, Bromo & Merapi. Thank you

Skip the standard tours, there is nothing to see, its mass tourist processing. There is one wonderful guy who has been living at the foot of the volcano all of his life, is a volcano photographer and has special access to Merapi areas closer..I had a wonderful with him alone. Picked ne up later in the evening..on the way to the volcano we dropped by at the local chiefs house in the last village of the volcano, we got a tea, a welcome and some dragon fruits from the garden, picked up some firewood, arrived at the volcano foot before midnight, pulled out camping chairs to cherish the view on the mountain, the incredible sky (i could see the full milky way!!). Red lava erupted several times during the night, pouring down the slopes and the two of us could enjoy it next to a bonfire with hot coffee, cocoa and snacks. And Ignatius made terrific Photos of me and the volcano erupting and the night sky with several pieces of professional equipment. Not to mention how knowledgable, lovely and interesting Ignatius is. I very much recommend this experience with him. Its not bookable anywhere and sometimed he photographs other volcano, but I think that most of the year he is right there. his contact for whatsapp: +6281236374267 you can also see his Pictures on his account dwikoen_sastro or Ignatius DK on instagram (one of the two). One of the best experience of my life!

One of the best experiences of my life, its hard to explain how breathtaking merapi is at night. The tour started with us being picked up at 9pm, and we arrived at the closest village to merapi at around 10:30pm. We had tea, snake fruit and rice treats provided by the village chief, before we made our way to the viewpoint. Be aware that the roads bumpy! From the viewpoint, you have the most amazing view of Merapi, and we were lucky enough to not only get some huge eruptions, but also a gorgeous view of the milky way. We were provided hot drinks, snacks including pizza and corn, and also chairs and sleeping bags. Our host took pictures all night of us in front of Merapi, making sure we had the best shots. Just before dawn, we had a 10 minute hike to get closer to the volcano, to see the most beautiful sunrise. The trip was well worth it, especially as there was no one else there. It was so private and just an amazing experience. Would 100% recommend in a heart beat

I did the Merapi Lava watching tour on the night of 28/29. august 2024. it was a really unique experience, seeing the volcano erupt from so close, with dozens of eruptions during the night we went. Ignatius was an amazing tour guide for this. He drove carefully over the very rocky road to the volcano, was well prepared with hot drinks and blankets for the cold night, and was super well educated. It was a real pleasure to learn from him about the backgrounds of the volcano and the yogya area. He brought his camera and took amazing photos of the participants with the floating lava in the background. Also, he ensured everything was on time and that people would catch their flights in time the next morning. Would definitely recommend!