Awesome 2-Day Itinerary in Yogyakarta

Quick Info about Yogyakarta

History & Culture

Yogyakarta is the capital city of the Special Region of Yogyakarta, a unique province-level region of Indonesia on the southern coast of Java. Due to the staunch support of the Sultan of Yogyakarta during the Indonesian National Revolution (1945-1949), Yogyakarta was given autonomy as a special district after independence. As a result, Yogyakarta is the only Indonesian city still headed by a monarchy. 

Today, Yogyakarta continues to preserve its traditions and rituals. It's also a well-known center for Javanese arts and culture. Whenever we told people in Jakarta that we'd be going to Yogya, they gushed about how much they love the city.

Pronunciation Tip: Yogyakarta is pronounced in English as "Joja-karta" and its nickname Yogya (also spelled Jogja) is pronounced like "Joja". Basically, the Y is pronounced like a hard J sound. 

Why Visit Yogyakarta?

Firstly, because Yogyakarta is the only Indonesian city still ruled by a sultan, it's fascinating to see how traditional life is still lived in the historic center of the city.

Another big reason to visit Yogyakarta, however, is its proximity to two of Java's most famous temples, Prambanan (Hindu) and Borobudur (Buddhist). Many people use Yogya as a base to visit these archaeological attractions.

Finally, Yogyakarta is also a great base for day trip adventures in Central Java, such as a Jeep Tour on Mount Merapi, a nearby active volcano.

When to Visit Yogyakarta

Typically, the best time to visit Yogyakarta is during the dry season from May to September. During dry season, you'll be more likely to have sunny skies and clear weather, but it will be hot. In July 2024, we had mostly sunny days, though evenings were often cloudy. 

The wet season, from October to April, brings heavy rain showers, sometimes occurring in short bursts, sometimes lasting several hours. 

Getting to Yogyakarta

Depending from where you're traveling, you can get to Yogyakarta a couple of different ways. 

Flying to Yogyakarta

If you're traveling to Yogyakarta from abroad or another island in Indonesia, flying is most likely how you'll get to Yogyakarta. Yogyakarta International Airport (airport code: YIA) is roughly 45 km (28 mi) outside of central Yogyakarta. Getting to the city from the airport takes ~40 minutes by airport train (arrives at Yogyakarta Station) or ~1.5 hours by car.

If you're traveling from Bali to Yogyakarta, flying is the quickest and easiest way to go. Use Skyscanner to get an idea of what flights are available during your dates.

Train to Yogyakarta

Traveling to Yogyakarta from somewhere else on Java, riding the train is a great alternative to flying. Java has an extensive railway system linking its major cities. Not only are the train stations centrally-located within the cities, but the trains themselves are clean, modern, and comfortable. 

We took the train from Jakarta to Yogyakarta and I'd highly recommend it. Read more about how to ride the train on Java in this post.

Pro Tip: I highly recommend booking train tickets in advance to reserve your seat. If you don't have an Indonesian credit card, you'll have to book through a 3rd party site, such as 12Go so you can pay with a foreign card. 

How to Get Around Yogyakarta

Although Yogyakarta does have a public bus system (Trans Jogja), in my opinion, the best way to get around the city is by taxi. Or, if you're not going far, tuk tuks or becaks (cycle rickshaws) are also great options.

In general, taxis are less expensive than tuk tuks since they're fixed price. If you're a foreigner, you can expect to pay more when negotiating for tuk tuks or becaks. But when you're talking about the difference of a few cents (USD), it feels wrong to haggle too hard. 

Pro Tip: Download the rideshare apps before you arrive in Indonesia. Grab and  Gojek are most popular, but Bluebird is another great taxi to use on Java. Bluebird taxis are quite nice and are also very affordable.

Where to Stay in Yogyakarta

Yogyakarta has a wide range of places to stay, from luxurious hotels to cheap budget accommodations. In general, I recommend staying in a central location, such as Malioboro Street, while you're exploring historic Yogya. Doing so allows you to walk to most attractions and spend less time sitting in traffic.

Yogyakarta Accommodations Map

To get an idea of what hotels are available in Yogya, input your travel dates in the map below and begin searching. During our visit to Yogyakarta, we stayed at The Phoenix Hotel Yogyakarta and I've included a brief review below.

The Phoenix Hotel Yogyakarta

The Phoenix Hotel Yogyakarta is a heritage hotel with colonial charm and historic details throughout the space. The property is lovely, including the swimming pool. Despite being kept up rather well, you can still feel its age, which kind of adds to the historical ambiance. 

Our room at The Phoenix was spacious with a beautiful decor and a balcony overlooking the swimming pool. At night, being on the interior courtyard meant it was quiet and we couldn't hear any traffic noise from the road.

One of the things I really liked about The Phoenix was its open-air courtyard restaurant. Sitting there for breakfast in the mornings was a great way to start the day. The breakfast buffet had plenty of options, though the Indonesian dishes looked better than the western ones. Their croissants were the best I've had in a while!

Overall, the Phoenix Hotel is a great value and I'd recommend it for a stay in Yogya. A vlogger I watched before our trip referred to The Phoenix as a "5-star hotel with a 4-star price". Personally, I thought it felt like a 4-star hotel too. That's not necessarily a bad thing. But it's good to modify expectations as it fell a bit short of what I've come to expect from 5-star hotels. 

2-Day Yogyakarta Itinerary

Our 2-day Yogyakarta itinerary is actually a combination of two half-days and one full day due to how we scheduled our trip. If you have two full days, you might structure your itinerary a bit differently.

Itinerary Note: In our itinerary, you'll notice that we only visited one - Prambanan - of the two must-see temples in Yogyakarta. This is because we spent 2 days in the town of Borobudur after Yogyakarta. We visited Borobudur Temple during this time. I've written a separate post about our Borobudur experience.

Arriving in Yogyakarta

Arrival at Yogyakarta Station from Jakarta

After taking the train from Jakarta, we arrived at Yogyakarta Station in the late afternoon. The station is relatively small so it seemed a bit overwhelmed with the number of people exiting our train.

Although we considered getting a taxi to our hotel, the traffic outside seemed quite congested. Our hotel was relatively close (~1km) to the station, so we decided to walk. By the time we got to our hotel and checked in, it was already evening. 

Evening in Yogyakarta

To get a feel for Yogyakarta at night, we walked back towards Yogyakarta Station, then beyond it to Malioboro Street - a major shopping street. It is the place to be in the evening. With streets closed to regular traffic, you can take a horse carriage ride down the road. Or, just stroll along the sidewalks, stopping in souvenir and batik shops. 

To help get fully acquainted with this lively city, I'd recommend a Night Walking and Food Tour.

Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling the greatest that night so we returned to our hotel for an early dinner and skipped the street food.

Exploring Yogyakarta

On our full day in Yogyakarta, we began by exploring the historic center in the morning. Then, in the afternoon, we drove out to Prambanan Temple, one of the famous temple compounds close to the city.

Breakfast and Coffee

We started our day with a breakfast buffet in the lovely courtyard at The Phoenix Hotel. Since Yogya has so many coffee shops, we decided that we should check one out for our second cup of coffee.

To get to the coffee shop we picked, we walked behind our hotel in the small neighborhood alleyways. Along the way we checked out the street art and said 'hi' to some kids playing soccer.

Our destination: saikikopi pop! - a small coffee shop in a different hotel's lobby. The coffee was tasty but it took a while as there was only one person working.

Yogyakarta Monument

As we walked back from the coffee shop, we admired the Yogyakarta Monument (Tugu Yogyakarta) and watched the traffic flow around the circle. Originally built in 1755 by the first sultan of Yogyakarta, Sultan Hamengku Buwono I, it's an important historical landmark in the city.

The original monument collapsed in 1867 during an earthquake, but the Dutch colonial government renovated it and rebuilt it in 1889.

The Kraton (Historic Yogyakarta)

Next, we headed to Yogyakarta's walled city (the kraton) which is where most of the historical landmarks and tourist sights are located. Not only is the sultan's palace within these walls, but around 25,000 people live there as well.

This complex maze of houses, shops, markets, schools, and mosques is fascinating to wander. If you have time, spend some time winding your way around these streets and getting lost.

Kraton Palace

Our first stop was the Kraton Palace (also spelled keraton or karaton) or the Palace of Yogyakarta, which is the residence of the sultan of Yogyakarta. Although the neighborhood is called the kraton, the palace has a separate entrance with a small fee to enter.

Pro Tip: If you're taking a Grab to the palace, get dropped off near the Rotowijayan Mosque. We chose a different drop off and someone tried to tell us that the palace was closed. Not sure what his end game was. He was hyping a batik school, so if we'd gone, we probably would have been pushed into buying something there. We did not and found the correct palace entrance eventually.

Construction on the palace began during 1755-1756 during the reign of Sultan Hamengku Buwono I but has been expanded by his successors. You can even see some Dutch influences in the stained glass which was added in the 1920s.

The palace is not only the sultan's home, but is also used for important ceremonies and cultural functions of the Yogyakarta court. Thus, it's an important historical landmark, but also is the political and cultural heart of Yogyakarta.

Taman Sari (Water Palace)

Another beautiful sight to check out in the walled city is the Water Palace (Taman Sari). Grab a tuk tuk (~30,000 IDR / 2 USD) from the palace to avoid walking in the heat.

Also built in the mid-1700s, Taman Sari is a former royal garden of the Sultanate of Yogyakarta. The park is a series of pools, palaces, baths, and waterways that was the perfect escape for the sultan and his entourage. Although it used to be larger, the central bathing area is all that remains from the original garden.

Lunch and Coffee

Our morning activities took longer than anticipated and we were running out of time to get back to our hotel to meet the driver who would take us out to Prambanan Temple. So, we grabbed a quick bite on the street for lunch. 

Then, we caught a taxi back up to our hotel. However, we made time to get a coffee from Tanamera Coffee Yogyakarta. The V60 coffee (pour over) from Tanamera was one of my favorites and we bought a couple bags of beans to take home. 

Visiting Prambanan Temple 

For the afternoon, we headed to one of Indonesia's most famous sights - Prambanan Temple (Candi Prambanan). Located about an hour drive outside of Yogya, it's best to arrange a tour or at least a driver for this excursion. If you're feeling adventurous, you could also get there on the public bus.

Pro Tip: Prambanan Temple Archaeological Park is comprised of not only Prambanan Temple, but also the Sewu Temple complex. Allow at least 2-3 hours at the park to give yourself enough time to explore the entire compound.

Scheduling Note: Many people take a long day trip to Prambanan and Borobudur temples from Yogya on the same day. Given the traffic and how massive the temples are, that seemed like a bit much to me. Some tours even include a volcano visit along with the temples. Personally, I'm glad we spaced it out. But if you're short on time, one of these tours is the best way to make sure you see it all.

Booking Tours and Tickets for Prambanan

Booking Tickets for Prambanan

We arranged an afternoon sunset visit to Prambanan Temple. Unfortunately it was too cloudy to get much of a sunset, but it was a good time to go since it was cooler. 

Pro Tip: Some tours include the ticket for Prambanan in the price of the tour, others do not. Be sure to check out whether it's included when booking so you don't double-pay or alternatively, find out that you don't have a ticket at all. You can purchase your own ticket for Prambanan up to a week in advance on their website. 

Ramayana Ballet at Prambanan

Although we were hoping to combine our sunset visit with the nighttime Ramayana Ballet at Prambanan, tickets were already sold out by the time we arranged it. As a result, I recommend booking the ballet at least a week in advance of your trip. Also, the Ramayana Ballet is not performed every night. In 2024, it was available on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

This tour from Borobudur Sunrise offers the entire visit - sunset at Prambanan, plus dinner and the ballet. It's a bit pricier than arranging on your own but everything is included. 

Exploring Prambanan Temple

Built in the 9th century, Prambanan Temple is the largest Hindu temple complex in Indonesia and was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991.

Although construction began in the 9th century, it continued for over two centuries. Due to various earthquakes, the temples have been reconstructed or restored several times throughout history. The complex contains the remains of roughly 244 temples. 

Despite some of the temples being rebuilt, you can still see ruins around the ground from other stupas which have not been reconstructed. 

The central compound consisting of eight main and eight minor temples is the focal point of the temple complex. The Shiva Temple (Candi Shiva Mahadeva) is the largest and most intricate of the temples. 

Each temple is carved with stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata - important epics in the Hindu religion. Another reason to book a tour of Prambanan with a guide is so that they can tell you about these stories and explain more about the carvings.

If your legs are up to it, climb the steep stairs of each temple to see statues of the various Hindu deities inside. 

Exploring Prambanan Temple Compounds

After admiring the main site of Prambanan, we set out to see some of the other temples in the Prambanan Temple Compounds. Although we walked, you could take the small tram around the grounds for a fee.

Lumbung Temple (Candi Lumbung)

Lumbung Temple is the first small temple we came to as we walked north along the path away from Prambanan. It's a 9th-century Buddhist temple consisting of a single central temple surrounded by 16 smaller temples, called Perwaras temples. 

Bubrah Temple (Candi Bubrah)

Continuing north, we reached Bubrah Temple, another 9th-century Buddhist temple, which was most likely built as part of the greater Sewu Temple complex. 

Sewu Temple (Candi Sewu)

About 800 meters (half a mile) from the main Prambanan Temple, we reached Sewu Temple, which is a Mahayana Buddhist temple constructed in the 8th century.

Candi Sewu is the second-largest Buddhist temple in Indonesia (Borobudur is the largest). It predates the main Prambanan Temple complex by around 70 years and is comprised of 249 temples. 

Once we finished seeing Sewu Temple, we walked back to the Prambanan parking lot to find our driver. At the exit, we passed many souvenir shops and places to eat. 

Dinner at Raminten's Kitchen

Since we weren't able to stay for the Ramayana Ballet, we enjoyed a lovely dinner at Raminten's Kitchen instead. The spicy coconut soup I had was delicious and the whole place had a great vibe. 

Morning Shopping in Yogya

Our second morning in Yogyakarta, we set out to find some local handicrafts for souvenirs before traveling to Borobudur in the early afternoon.

Malioboro Street

The best place to find a variety of handicrafts and souvenirs, as well as all the batik you could ever want, is on Malioboro Street (Jalan Malioboro). This street runs through the heart of Yogyakarta and is always bustling with activity.

Not only is it a great place for shopping, but you can find Dutch colonial architecture, street food, and even take a horse carriage ride. 

Shopping for Handicrafts

Our first stop was Beringharjo Market (Pasar Beringharjo) - Yogyakarta's largest and oldest market. People have been trading here continuously since 1758. Inside, you can find a variety of clothing, souvenirs, fast food, and of course, batik.  

Across from Beringharjo Market, we found a wider range of souvenirs in another marketplace - Teras Malioboro. This shopping center houses a lot of the vendors who previously used to sell on the streets. 

Street Food - Chicken Satay

In the alleyway beside Beringharjo Market, we found some tasty chicken satay. Although it was pretty hot standing beside the hot grill, the skewers were worth the wait and the sweating. Whatever sauce she poured on them was delicious too.

Fort Vredeburg Museum

If you have time, the Fort Vredeburg Museum is another interesting place to visit in historic Yogyakarta. Built in the mid-1700s, this former colonial fortress is now a museum. Its displays include colonial era relics as well as historical exhibits showcasing Indonesia's struggle for independence.

Onward to Borobudur

Once we finished shopping, we returned to The Phoenix Hotel to re-pack our suitcases and called a Bluebird taxi to take us to our next hotel in Borobudur.