When planning my day in Yogyakarta during my “Golden Week 2017” trip, I considered a number of options for hiring a guide and arranging transportation. In the end, I decided to go with Java Bali Trips which seemed like a reputable provider. And I certainly wasn’t disappointed.
Booking the Tour with Java Bali Trips
I inquired about the tour through the company’s website about a month in advance. In less than three hours, I received a reply that they would be happy to organize it.
The price was 500,000 IDR (about 40 USD) for the whole day. Of course, it excluded meals, entrance fees, and so on; but it included the car, driver, and water.
The preliminary itinerary that was sent to me was as follows:
07:00 am Flight arrival
Drive directly to Merapi volcano, Jeep’s ride visiting the damage village caused by volcanic eruption 2010, stop at some nice spots, then we drive to Borobudur Temple, Pawon-Mendut temples, coffee home industry, and stop for having lunch. Afterwards we visit prambanan temple & other temples nearby till 05.00 pm and drive to the airport to catch your flight
08:00 pm Departure
Once I received that and confirmed that I could pay in cash on the day of the tour, I received a booking confirmation. I signed it, sent it back via WhatsApp, and started looking forward to the actual tour.
Meeting the Guide at Yogyakarta Airport
When I stepped into the arrivals hall of Yogyakarta airport, my guide was already waiting there. After meeting up, we walked straight to the car – a new Toyota. Inside the car, there were quite a few bottles of water ready to be drunk.
It was just the beginning of the tour, but judging by the friendly guide, I knew I would have an enjoyable rest of the day.
While talking with the guide, it also turned out that the owner of the company was his brother in law. And also that the owner is the former Chief Concierge of Amanjiwo – one of the hotels in one of the most exclusive hotel networks in the world. No wonder that they know how to provide great service!
A Day in Yogyakarta
Now that I’ve given you the background info about the tour, let’s take a look at what the actual day looked like. I will not go too deep into each of the sights as this is not a destination blog, but the below should still give you a solid idea of what can be done in a day in Yogyakarta.
Prambanan
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The first point of call was Prambanan – one of the largest Hindu temple complexes in Southeast Asia. If you decide to go there, get the Prambanan and Borobudur combined ticket for 520,000 IRD (about 40 USD) which will save you a couple of bucks compared to getting two separate tickets.
Out of the places that I visited during the day, perhaps, this one was my favorite. It was incredible seeing both the scale of the temple, but also the amazing level of detail in the reliefs.
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Mount Merapi
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After Prambanan, it was time to drive for a bit towards Mount Merapi pictured above. It is the most active volcano in Indonesia. And yes, that “cloud” on the photo above is actually smoke coming out of the volcano.
The guide arranged a “Jeep” (it was a Toyota) ride around the area which seem to be quite popular among tourists – both domestic and international. There were cars going in and out of the basecamp every couple of minutes.
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The ride took me through a variety of spots in the volcano area including a museum which displayed the objects that were damaged in one of the volcano’s eruptions.
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Lunch Break
After meeting my guide again at the “Jeep” ride departure spot, we headed towards Borobudur.
The first stop we made along the way was at a restaurant where I had a quick lunch – the meal of my choice was nasi goreng – Indonesian fried rice.
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Kopi Luwak
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The next stop on the tour was a small coffee shop on the way to Borobudur. This is the only part of the tour which I was not 100% happy with. It was interesting to learn about kopi luwak – what I later found out to be quite controversial type of coffee.
However, it felt similar to being taken to a carpet shop in Iran. On one hand, it was interesting to learn about the thing, but on the other hand the whole thing felt like (and basically was) a sales pitch.
As such, if you decide to take this tour, unless this is something that really interests you, I would probably skip it.
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Borobudur
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The last sight that we drove to was Borobudur. It is the world’s largest Buddhist temple, and similarly to Prambanan, it is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
As for the temple itself, it is hard to describe in words. Just like with Prambanan and other similar places, the scale and the attention to detail is amazing.
From far away, the temple is one large building that makes one wonder how people hundreds of years ago managed to put it together. From closer, it is equally stunning, and makes one wonder how many people put in how many thousands of hours to finish all the reliefs.
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Finally, before heading back to the car to get driven back to the airport, I stopped by to watch a little local performance in the park next to the temple.
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Java Bali Trips Yogyakarta Day Tour Summary
Overall, I can only recommend visiting Yogyakarta – I will definitely be back sometime in the future to see more of the sights the area seems to offer.
As for choosing a guide, there are several companies offering drivers and guides. While I am sure many of them provide good service, I highly recommend Java Bali Trips. The guide (officially driver, but that would be an understatement) was friendly and very knowledgeable.
Even though he did not enter the temples with me, before he sent me off to each of them, he carefully explained where he would be waiting, and also gave me a brief overview of the place I was about to enter.
…and on the way back to the airport, as we were talking about me being an aviation enthusiast, he said that next time he would take me to an aviation museum!
