The Best Of Yogyakarta – Visit Yogyakarta – Budget Travel In Indonesia

Visit Yogyakarta to experience the ‘soul’ of Indonesia. In stark contrast to the grime and industry of Jakarta, Yogyakarta proudly displays Indonesia’s rich art and culture at every turn.

Yogyakarta is Indonesia’s second most popular tourist destination after Bali. The city welcomes all kinds of traveller and there are many cheap hostels offering incredibly affordable accommodation. Yogyakarta celebrates Indonesia’s art and culture more than any other city.

After our pretty disastrous time in Jakarta, we were ready for Indonesia to ‘wow’ us. We had heard good things about Yogyakarta and we were hoping it would live up to its reputation.

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CLICK HERE FOR THE BEST HOSTELS IN YOGYAKARTA!

Things To Do In Yogyakarta

Yogyakarta is probably best known for the two temples located just outside the city: Borobudur Temple and Prambanan Temple. I write about those in separate posts. There are many other Yogyakarta sightseeing options to justify a longer stay. These are the tourist attractions in Yogyakarta we visited.

Borobudur Temple

See ‘Borodubur Temple‘ post.

Malioboro

Malioboro is at the heart of Yogyakarta and is a very busy shopping area where you can buy traditional Indonesian goods. At night time, it remains lively with many bars in the surrounding streets. There are monuments to remember those that lost their life fighting for Indonesian independence and an old Dutch fort (map) is now a museum focusing on Indonesia’s struggles.

Prambanan Temple

See ‘Prambanan Temple‘ post.

Street Art Of Yogyakarta

Yogyakarta is literally covered with street art. In addition to the main streets, take a wander around the maze of small side-streets to see even more amazing street art. There are some seriously talented artists in this city!

Taman Sari Water Castle

This 18th century former royal garden of the Sultanate of Yogyakarta is a must visit.

Upon entry, a young guide introduced himself and offered his services for free. He spoke only broken English so he was unable to give too much information about the history. Even so, it was interesting enough to just wander around the area. The former lake is now filled with houses. It was bizarre to see houses had been built inside a historical site! Don’t miss the ‘underground’ mosque on your visit. Map.

Taman Sari Water Castle Opening Times: 9 am – 3 pm, every day.
Taman Sari Water Castle Entrance Fee: 15,000 IDR.

Food And Drink In Yogyakarta

Our hostel was located just a minute walk from Prawirotaman Street which has many bars and restaurants. The irony of being located close to so many bars, after being in Sandakan where there were none, and not needing to go to them because the hostel was more social was not lost on me. However, if your hostel is not as social as ‘Yez Yez Yez’, this is the street you need to head to if you are in the south. Map.

Asmara Art & Coffee Shop

We came here for some live music. The beer was reasonably priced and the music was decent; an acoustic two-piece playing standard covers. The food was not great. Come for the music and beer, eat elsewhere. Map.

Christine’s Garden

We visited here twice for breakfast. The first time, we tried the speciality coffee which was average. On our second visit, we went for the standard americano and it was much better. The food here is cheap and they make a good breakfast. Friendly staff, as is the norm in Indonesia. Map.

Depot Veggie

100% vegan, so says the menu, but you wouldn’t think so. The food is so convincing; the fried chicken was delicious and just like the real thing. The staff were so friendly too; they were genuinely grateful for your custom. It is very cheap, around 20 IDR for a meal, but the portions are not huge so best to treat yourself and order two meals! Map.

Kedai Bon

A small coffee shop located near the Hotel Metro (map). A friendly host and the coffee was great. We also had toasties which were nice but very small and did not keep us full for long!

Masalla Asian Cuisine

The reviews on Google tell you to ignore the fact that this place is always empty. I would take that as a sign, to be honest. The place was completely empty when we visited which is always a little depressing. The food was average and the reviews on Google are way over the top. There are better places to eat in this area. Map.

Mediterranea Restaurant By Kamil

Mediterranea By Kamil is a very popular restaurant (it is the only time on our trip so far that we had to wait to be seated). The food is of a high standard but the prices, whilst high by Indonesian standards, are low enough to cater for backpackers. We had olives and feta, a large pizza, focaccia with smoked ham, wedges and drinks and it came to just over £10. It was all very good. I wanted to return for the lamb shank but it was not to be. Map.

Rumah Makan Putra Minang

Small cafe selling traditional Indonesian food just outside Prambanan Temple. It seemed a little pricey for what it was, probably because of its location, but the food was good. A good place to refuel after visiting the temple. Map.

Via Via Restaurant

Via Via is a very relaxed, modern restaurant. I ordered a vegetarian meal of fried tofu, tempeh and long beans with rice and krupuk. It was very nice and reasonably priced. There was live music too; an acoustic duo playing the usual covers. Map.

Is Yogyakarta Worth Visiting?

I had a feeling I would enjoy this city but it still exceeded my expectations. The people are so friendly and the city itself is very beautiful; I loved wandering around the labyrinth of tiny alleys. There are plenty of good restaurants and coffee shops and the hostel we stayed in was fantastic. There are many interesting places to visit in Yogyakarta to justify a few days here. After 5 days, we still didn’t want to move on.

Make sure you don’t just head to Bali when visiting the island of Java. Yogyakarta has so much to offer and there are plenty of backpackers to meet. A truly amazing city.