In Reply to: Is Yogyakarta appropriate fora day trip? posted by nyc_to_bali on Sunday, 26. June 2005 at 03:32 Bali Time:
Whereas one day in Kuta is more than enough. You have shops and discos at home. How many huge temple complexes do you have?
Yogya is awesome. Leaving there is probably the only time in your life you'll feel sad that you have to go back to Bali.
You could still see a fair bit on an overnighter if you arrive early one day, stay overnight, and spend the whole day in Yogya before flying back at night (still plenty of time for drinking when you get back).
I can give more details later if you like, but to fit as much as possible into two days, I would do it like this:
Take only a small bag -- just what you need overnight. Go straight to Prambanan from the airport (coz it closer from there than the city). You can leave your bag at the counter. It will be hard not to spend the whole day there, coz it's just awesome, but you might have enough discipline to leave with enough time to take a taxi straight to the Kraton to see the water palace and the bird market.
When it gets dark, get a hotel if you haven't already booked one. There are still plenty of places open if you want to shop, and there is also a night market near the Kraton, so you also have the option to check that out on your way to finding a hotel.
There's a few cozy pubs in Jalan Sosrowijayan. For wilder nights, you'll need to know a local. They hide all the best stuff.
The next day you can see Borobudor. It's 42km out of town and takes about 1 1/2 hours to get there. Stay all day, see the museum. Make sure you book a return flight that leaves late enough for you to get to the airport in time.
The whole trip should cost you well under the US$185 quoted in another post. Return flight should be around US$70. Plenty of hotels for $20-30. Some nice Homestays for under $10. Entry to the temples is $10 each. Transport costs vary, depending on how you do it. I can give more details later, or you can do a search for Yogya in the archives and you'll probably find a lot of what you need to know.
Definitely go, though. Even if only for a day. You'll definitely want to return.