I have always wanted to travel to Yogyakarta (Jogja) since a couple of years back when I studied the ancient sites of Borobudur and Prambanan. With more in depth research into the place. Yogyakarta has more to offer such as trekking, exploration of caves, water rafting and even more unknown temples.
Budget
Air Ticket:
My travelling period was during the peak Chinese New Year period. Ticket prices were quite high during that period. But by booking months in advanced and playing around with the dates, I managed to book my flights through skyscanner.com flying with Silkair at 260SGD. They are return tickets between Singapore and Yogyakarta.
This flight departs from Singapore at 8am in the morning and arrives at 9am Indonesian time. It is a 2 hours flight but depending on the weather, it can be longer. It is recommended that you take this 8am flight from Singapore. Because you can go straight to attractions upon landing and not waste anytime. Going to the city then back to the attractions is not a good decision because of the jams and the small roads in Jogja.
Cash Expenses:
The tours and entrances to different attractions will be the bulk of your expenses. They are on the pricier side. Food is on the lower end of the spectrum in price. Shopping for souvenirs here is also on the lower end of the spectrum in price. Do note that the pricing is an estimate for one person for 7 days in Yogyakarta. There were cheaper options for the tours and hotel. But I wanted to have a smooth and comfortable trip.
Food: SGD 23.75
Other Expenses: SGD 80
SIM Card: TSEL 4G sim card that has 2GB for social media / whatsapp / streaming
Air tickets: SGD 259.80
Accommodation: SGD 242.50
Tours: SGD 300
Transport: 17 SGD
Total Per Person (estimate): 923 SGD
Accommodation:
By booking months in advanced, I managed to get my 6 nights accommodation through hotelscombined.com at The Phoenix Hotel. The cost for 6 nights here is 482SGD. For 2 person this hotel was very worth it for a 5 stars hotel.
The hotel is set in an old colonial building built in 1948. It’s kind of like the Raffles Hotel in Singapore just that it is Yogyakarta. Lots of heritage and history in this hotel. The bathroom is not those contemporary hotels that people expect. The room interior is in a colonial style. You could imagine how the former occupants used to stay here.
The service here is top notched. The staff are super friendly. Buffet breakfast has a great spread, quality food and my favourite egg station. There is also a fruit juice station and a traditional Javanese food at another corner.
PS: The complimentary tea bags and traditional Javanese drink satchels that the hotel offers is so good. The ginger sweets they offer at the reception is also super awesome. Grab more of it every time you go past the reception.
Tours / Getting Around:
For places within the city, you can either use Grab / Uber / Taxi. But for places further out such as Borobudur, Prambanan, it will be better to get a tour guide or a driver to send you to these places. Some of the grab/uber drivers are not from the region and they will get lost driving there following the GPS. Having a local driver / guide will be better as they known the roads around and will get you to the destination faster using smaller roads.
For tours I engaged Mr Teguh (https://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/Attraction_Review-g294230-d8734205-Reviews-TW_Driver_Jogja-Yogyakarta_Java.html) for his services. He has profound knowledge of Yogyakarta and the attractions around the area. He will advice you whether to go to a particular attraction depending on the weather and time. Mr Teguh also took good care of my mum an me during the trip. He lent my mum his boots because my mum was not comfortable walking in the muddy padi fields and he also made sure the paths were safe before leading us across the padi fields during one of the tours. I highly recommend him. It can be slightly pricier but compared to others he is very good and it is worth it!
Food:
There are generally many food places around Yogyakarta, many street food cuts and side road food stalls. Food can be spicy and their cuisine mainly consists offered chicken, curries, mutton, meat balls and noodle soups.
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