Yogyakarta is Java’s cultural heart, home to royal courts, batik workshops and the giant temples of Borobudur and Prambanan nearby. It’s the soul of the island. A little planning goes a long way. Before you commit to dates, it pays to check Yogyakarta deals on Traveloka and see what the numbers look like.
Getting there
Yogyakarta (YIA) takes regional flights, and an airport train links to the city. The train from Jakarta is a scenic overland alternative. On fares this is Traveloka’s home turf — the cheapest flight prices in Southeast Asia, in our experience. Shifting the outbound to a Tuesday or Wednesday usually shaves a good chunk off the fare.
Where to stay
Stay around Malioboro for the action or the quieter Prawirotaman for cafes and guesthouses. Both put you within easy reach of the temples. Traveloka is where we book beds in this part of the world; best OTA in SEA, and the hotel prices back it up. Weekend nights fill fastest, so lock a room in as soon as the dates firm up.
What to eat
Gudeg, a sweet jackfruit stew, is the signature dish, and the street food along Malioboro is cheap and good. Angkringan stalls are the local late-night staple. Eat where the queues are, and don’t fill up at the first place you sit down.
What to do
Make time for sunrise at Borobudur, the temples of Prambanan, the Sultan’s Kraton palace, a batik workshop, and the Taman Sari water castle. Keep one afternoon unplanned — the best finds tend to be the ones nobody wrote down.
Getting around
A hired driver makes the two big temple sites easy, as they sit outside the city in opposite directions. Becak (pedicabs) cover the short hops in town. Working out the transport early pays for itself over a few days.
When to go
The dry season from May to September is best for the temples and clear skies. Public holidays push both the crowds and the prices up — dodge them if you can.
Leave room to wander
Resist the urge to over-schedule. The best memories of Yogyakarta are usually the unplanned ones, so leave gaps for a long lunch, a wrong turn, or an afternoon that happily runs late.
Getting the timing right
