We weren’t expecting to fall in love with Java. As the economic and geographic center of Indonesia and home to more than half of its population, we mistakenly thought that Java would be our least favorite Indonesia island. But in retrospect, we are happy to report that Java was truly unmissable and we both ended up really enjoying it. Our Java adventures kicked off as we flew into Yogyakarta and got a 1 month visa upon arrival. Our friends Kendra and George were already in Yogyakarta so it was a happy reunion as the 4 of us traveled the island together. Highlights of Yogyakarta included floating through Pindul Cave on the Oyo River, crossing the rickety suspension bridge to Timang Beach, visiting the quirky Chicken Church, joining a Mt Merapi Volcano Tour, checking out Plaosan Temple and the Yogyakarta Water Palace. From Yogyakarta, we made our way to Malang. Highlights of this area were the Jodipan colorful village and a full day trip to Taman Sari Waterfall. The waterfall with Mt Semeru in the background was spectacular! The last highlight in Java was Mt Bromo. What a fabulous place to watch sunrise and the hike up to the volcanic crater itself was worth the effort. Since we visited in rainy season, there were lots of things we had to skip so we’ll definitely be back to explore more of this amazing island.

Nitty gritty:

We booked our Yogyakarta day trips with Yogya Backpacker because of his super helpful website and unbeatable prices. Our driver (Isk) was fantastic and I’d highly recommend these guys: https://www.yogya-backpacker.com/

It was very difficult trying to buy train tickets from Yogyakarta to Malang and in the end, we used a private driver that we found on Google. Az was phenomenal and our trip to Java wouldn’t have been the same without him! Two huge thumbs up and we’d definitely use him again on a future trip. Az’s number on WhatsApp: +6281259204922