Borobudur, Ubud’s rice fields and the Gili Islands

Yogyakarta’s kraton, the Buddhist Borobudur about 40 km away and the Hindu Prambanan about 17 km away, with the open-air Ramayana ballet; Ubud, in the heart of Bali, with the Campuhan ridge walk, the palace and the craft villages; and Lombok, with its southern beaches and the three car-free Gili Islands.

Day by day Open the itinerary in the app

Yogyakarta → Ubud (Bali) → Lombok · 10–13 days

The route on the map, in the itinerary’s order.

IndonesiaYogyakarta
Days
3–4
When
Jun–Sep
Per person/day
Average 1,060,000 IDRMid-range · per person/day
Cost scope
Per person per day: accommodation, meals, urban transport, visits and a small allowance for extras. Flights excluded; larger purchases vary. Editorial estimate, not a quote.
IndonesiaUbud (Bali)
Days
3–4
When
Apr–May · Sep–Oct
Per person/day
Average 600,000–1,800,000 RpMid-range · per person/day
Cost scope
Per person per day: accommodation, meals, urban transport, visits and a small allowance for extras. Flights excluded; larger purchases vary. Editorial estimate, not a quote.
IndonesiaLombok
Days
4–5
When
May–Sep
Per person/day
Average 986,000 IDRMid-range · per person/day
Cost scope
Per person per day: accommodation, meals, urban transport, visits and a small allowance for extras. Flights excluded; larger purchases vary. Editorial estimate, not a quote.

Who it is for

For travellers who know Bali by name and want to see Indonesia beyond it: Java’s two greatest temple complexes first and a quieter island afterwards.

Not for anyone who wants a single base: these are three islands and three bases, linked by flight or speedboat, and Lombok means changing hotels by region, because the airport is in the south and the Gili harbour in the north-west.

The strategy

Yogyakarta comes first, with three days: the kraton, Taman Sari and Malioboro; the climb up Borobudur in the morning, with Mendut and Pawon; and Prambanan, Plaosan and Ratu Boko, ending with the Ramayana ballet if the day is a Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday. From YIA airport, the express train reaches Tugu station in about 35 minutes. From Yogyakarta, fly to Bali’s airport, 35 to 40 km from Ubud, one hour fifteen to two hours by road. Ubud gets three days: Campuhan, the palace and the monkey forest; the Pakerisan valley with a driver; and the craft villages. There are two ways to Lombok: the flight of about 40 minutes, which lands in the south, near Kuta; or the fast boats from Padang Bai, Serangan and Amed that go straight to the Gilis in an hour and a half to two and a half hours, in which case the island is done in reverse, from the Gilis south; do not board if the sea or the boat looks bad. Lombok gets four or five days, with Kuta in the south, Senggigi after Mataram, two nights on the Gilis and, with a fifth day, Senaru on the slopes of Rinjani. The way home leaves from the southern airport, with flights to Bali, Jakarta, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. September suits all three: the end of the dry season in Yogyakarta and Lombok, and in Bali one of the settled months with fewer people than July and August. Indonesia uses the All Indonesia electronic arrival declaration; visa rules depend on your passport.

What you will see

Candi Borobudur, Yogyakarta. The largest Buddhist monument in Java, built by the Sailendra dynasty between the 8th and 9th centuries, about 40 km northwest of the city, in Magelang.
Puri Saren Agung, Ubud (Bali). Home of the princely family since the 18th century, rebuilt after the 1917 earthquake with gates and reliefs attributed to the sculptor I Gusti Nyoman Lempad.
Gili Trawangan, Lombok. The largest of the three Gilis and the busiest.

Day by day