Yogyakarta and Bromo Guide: Travel Like a Pro on a Budget

Yogyakarta Bromo

Are you interested in historically rich places? Have you always wanted to see an active volcano? If yes, then you should definitely visit Yogyakarta and Bromo when planning a trip to Indonesia. While Bali is one of the most popular destinations, there is a lot you can see while backpacking in Java too. 

How to reach Yogyakarta and Bromo
How to reach Yogyakarta and Bromo

In this guide, we will help you plan your way through Yogyakarta and Bromo by answering all the transportation, food, stay, etc. related queries.

The first question in your mind would be that why should you visit Yogyakarta or Bromo? What is so special about it?

Yogyakarta

Trust me, this is one place you don’t want to miss out on and make sure that you spend at least 4-5 days here to truly discover this place. You can check out this Jogyakarta Itinerary to plan better your days here!

Mt. Bromo

While Mt. Bromo is not a city but basically an active volcano which resides in the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, this is one of the most amazing places that we have ever been to in our life till now. Cemoro Lawang is the mountain area where you can stay when planning to visit Bromo and from here, you will be able to see a lot of amazing mountain valleys and volcanoes.

This place is quite cold and offers one of the most magical views ever! Once you reach this place, you won’t even realize that you are in Indonesia anymore.

How to Reach

Check out tickets at Tiket.com

How to Reach Yogyakarta

Flight

India to Jakarta round trip: 18500 INR

If you are flying from your respective country to Java first and not really looking forward to spending some time in Jakarta, then you can skip that airport and take a direct flight to Yogyakarta. If you don’t see any direct flight to Yogyakarta, then take a flight to Kuala Lumpur and then book a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Yogyakarta. It would cost you similar to what a direct flight would have cost you and you save a lot of time and money by directly reaching Yogyakarta.


Train

Another common transport option for reach Yogyakarta from Jakarta or any other location is by taking a train. There are around 10-15 trains every day for Yogyakarta from most main cities like Jakarta, Surabaya, etc. A train ticket would cost you around 350,000 – 500,000 Rupiah (1700 – 2500 INR) and will take around 8 to reach from Jakarta. For more details on train timings and costs, you can check out tiket.com.

Bus

These buses cost around 300,000 – 450,000 Rupiah (1500 – 2200 INR) and take around 10 hours to reach from Jakarta. If you go for public buses, it would cost you a little less but not much. In our opinion, you should consider a bus only if you have a lot of time to spare. If you don’t then make sure you avoid taking buses.

Local Traveling in Yogyakarta and Bromo

Once you have reached your destination, you will need to figure out how to travel around cheaply and quickly. Here are some local travel options for you:

Traveling in Yogyakarta

This is a not a travel-friendly city really and is more of a residential city which will make it hard for you to find many transport options here. Cabs are the major transport option here or you could go for buses but buses don’t have a good connectivity inside Yogyakarta and unless you have an adequate amount of time, it would be difficult to figure out the bus stop and the next bus to your desired location.

Prambanan Temple
Prambanan Temple

The best transport option in Yogyakarta would be to book a Go-Jek cab or an Uber cab. Usually, these cabs are cost-friendly but if you hire a cab without these apps, chances are you would end up paying more. So, always make sure you book a car through one of these apps for a safe and cheaper ride.

We were lucky enough to find a Go-Jek cab whose driver agreed to take us on a tour around Yogyakarta for 470,000 Rupiah (2300 INR) and then dropped us at the airport too!

Local Traveling in Bromo

For touring around Bromo, you will find that there are a lot of shared jeeps available for hire or you can take motorbike rides from the villagers. A motorbike ride for two people will cost around 50,000 Rupiah (250 INR) to the foothill of Mt. Bromo.

Note: It gets really cold up in these mountains so if you take a motorbike up there, make sure you have a warm and cozy jacket to protect yourself from the cold.

Things to Do

Visit the Borobudur Complex in Yogyakarta

One of the most amazing and peaceful places to visit near Yogyakarta is the Borobudur temple, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is a Mahayana Buddhist temple that is located in Magelang. 

It is said that sunrises at Borobudur are extremely magical when it isn’t cloudy but even if you aren’t able to visit this place during the sunrise, it would still dazzle you with its architecture and charm throughout the day.

Witness the Sunset at the Prambanan Temple Complex

Another magnificent place to visit in Yogyakarta is the Prambanan Temple Complex, which is another UNESCO World Heritage Site that was built in the 10th century.

Sunset at Borobudur, Yogyakarta
Sunset at Borobudur, Yogyakarta

The entrance fee of this temple complex is 325,000 Rupiah (1500 INR). If you buy both Prambanan and Borobudur Temple’s entrance tickets together, then you have to pay just 520,000 Rupiah (2500 INR).

Hiking to Mt. Bromo’s Top

This is probably the most obvious thing to do when you are visiting Bromo Tengger Semeru National park and you will see that a lot of tourists and locals tend to hike to the Mt. Bromo’s top every day and spend some time looking at the desert-like landscape around you.

View Bromo from Mt. Penanjakan

Another popular activity that a lot of people tend to do in Bromo is to watch the sunrise near Mt. Bromo while sitting on the top of Mt. Penanjakan. Once you reach the top of Mount Penanjakan, you will see Bromo and surrounding volcanoes covered with cloud layers.


Witnessing the Sunset from Mt. Penanjakan

This mountain is also located in the Bromo Tengger National Park. You would need a motorbike or jeep to reach the top. It turns quite cold here in the evening so make sure that you wear warm clothes here.

Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park
Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park
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Gautham Baliga B
6 years ago

Awesome Write-up & Photographs. Perfect tour guide! Will try this one in coming years. Happy Blogging! 😊

nomllers
Admin
6 years ago

Hey Gautham, thanks for your kind words. We are really glad that you liked it and hope our post helps you out in your trip planning!
Keep traveling! 🙂