A simpler way of life with charming home stays and slow mornings meandering down the delta

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Mekong Delta

The best street food ever, buzzing energy, hill tribes, and views that make your pictures look photoshopped

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Vietnam

11 Long Weekend Getaways from Singapore (in Under 3 Hours) that's not Bintan

Where history and adrenaline meets. Explore UNESCO temples, master batik art, and delve into hidden caves. 

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Yogyakarta

An explorer's treasure chest, with wild Orangutans, epic dive sites and history's deadliest volcano

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Indonesia

Yogyakarta: Top Things to Do & Hidden Gems [2026]

A sleepy town that's home to one of Indonesia's most epic volcano. 

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Banyuwangi

Mt Bromo: Everything You Need to Know + Avoid the Crowds 

UNESCO Borobudur Temple is Yogya’s star attraction and it is very photogenic. It gets crowded, so take a guide to uncover hidden viewpoints (Punthuk Setumbu Hill!) & get deeper insights

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Borobudur: World's Largest Buddhist Temple

Most people will do Borobudur in a day with Prambanan, a UNESCO temple complex with Ramayana sculptures. Tip: Cycle around for a relaxed visit, and don’t miss the nighttime ballet here

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Prambanan: 9th Century Hindu Temple

Indonesia has 130 volcanoes & Mt Merapi is the most active of them all! Explore the foothills of Merapi by jeep & visit the Eruption Museum. You can also pair Merapi with the temples!

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Mount Merapi, Indonesia's Most Active Volcano

Many don't know that Yogya is the birthplace of Batik, the beautiful fabric worn by Southeast Asians for special occasions. Learn to make Batik from local artists in a charming village!

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Learn Batik from local artists

This is a fave for adventurers and photographers. Rappel 60m into Jomblang Cave and trek through muddy tunnels to see the magical sunlight streaming through the cave’s ceiling.

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Explore Jomblang Cave like Indiana Jones

Our fave day out in Yogya is spending learning to cook from Granny in a local village. It's super heartfelt, supports regenerative tourism and the food was the best we had in Yogya!

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Learn Granny's cooking in Local Village

We love this tubing trip—float on turquoise water surrounded by caves and jungle. It’s both thrilling and peaceful! Pair it with Jomblang Cave for a full day of adventure!

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Float in gorgeous 
Kalisuci River

This is touristy, but it's also random enough to be fun. The locals converted an old fisherman cart into a gondola to take travellers across the sea. Do it for the pics and laughs!

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Take a Old Fisherman Cart Across the Sea

Great experience, very friendly, would highly recommend.

A Day of Batik & Culinary Magic in a Local Village

Great experience, very friendly, would highly recommend. 

We booked the „ Borobudur Climb to Top &amp; Prambanan | Private Trip + Entrance Tickets“ with Ayla Tour and it was just perfect!

Our driver Adit contacted us beforehand, picked us up in the middle from put hotel, prepared drinks and made sure we could sleep a little during the drive! He was exceptionally friendly, his english skills were really good and we felt really safe in the car with him! He even sang in the car, it was so much fun to be with him!

At the borobudur temple he went to the entrance with us, made sure we got our tickets, waited till the Tour started and was sitting outside waiting for us when we came back. 
 During the drive to prambanan temple he asked if we wanted lunch or drinks and even offered to stop to show us a coffee plantage! 
 At the pranbanam tenple he walked us inside, introduced us to our guide and waited for us again outside before driving to the hotel! He really made sure everything went as planned!

The tours itself were also amazing, we were everywhere perfect in time. It was really well organized and the tours itself are also very nice! Musst see when in yogyakarta and highly recommend to book with ayla travel!

Thank you Adith and Ayla Travel for this amazing experience! I hope many more people can enjoy the fun and lively character that adit has to offer!

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Borobudur Climb to Top & Prambanan | Private Trip + Entrance Tickets

We booked the „ Borobudur Climb to Top &amp; Prambanan | Private Trip + Entrance Tickets“ with Ayla Tour and it was just perfect!

Our driver Adit contacted us beforehand, picked us up in the middle from put hotel, prepared drinks and made sure we could sleep a little during the drive! He was exceptionally friendly, his english skills were really good and we felt really safe in the car with him! He even sang in the car, it was so much fun to be with him!

At the borobudur temple he went to the entrance with us, made sure we got our tickets, waited till the Tour started and was sitting outside waiting for us when we came back. 
During the drive to prambanan temple he asked if we wanted lunch or drinks and even offered to stop to show us a coffee plantage! 
At the pranbanam tenple he walked us inside, introduced us to our guide and waited for us again outside before driving to the hotel! He really made sure everything went as planned!

The tours itself were also amazing, we were everywhere perfect in time. It was really well organized and the tours itself are also very nice! Musst see when in yogyakarta and highly recommend to book with ayla travel!

Thank you Adith and Ayla Travel for this amazing experience! I hope many more people can enjoy the fun and lively character that adit has to offer!

Such a beautiful activity! We had so much fun making our batik art! It was just thec3 of us there. I decided to draw something and then do the batik process. This takes longer, but we were not in a rush. My husband and 12 year old daughter decided to choose a pre drawn piece to do their batik process.
 The artists there are so helpful and kind. A must do activity. Very therauputic and relaxing. You take your art work home too!
 Thank you so much, for an unforgettable experience.

Craft Batik Art in a Javanese Village | Support Artist Collective

Such a beautiful activity!  We had so much fun making our batik art!  It was just thec3 of us there.   I decided to draw something and then do the batik process.  This takes longer, but we were not in a rush.  My husband and 12 year old daughter decided to choose a pre drawn piece to do their batik process.
The artists there are so helpful and kind.  A must do activity.  Very therauputic and relaxing.  You take your art work home too!
Thank you so much, for an unforgettable experience. 

Absolutely loved the experience!!! Highly recommend to anyone looking to spend a day really immersed in the local culture. I’m walking away with a whole new appreciation of batik and with a full stomach after cooking and eating local food.

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Absolutely loved the experience!!! Highly recommend to anyone looking to spend a day really immersed in the local culture. I’m walking away with a whole new appreciation of batik and with a full stomach after cooking and eating local food.  

Great experience all round. We were lucky with the weather and our guides really made it so much fun. We had the opportunity to experience the countryside, the friendly town people, the rice making process, batik art close up and the morning market. We had support crossing bigger roads and navigating any bicycle challenges and it was a great family trip with teens.

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Scenic Backroads & Rice Fields | Cycle through the real Yogyakarta

Great experience all round. We were lucky with the weather and our guides really made it so much fun. We had the opportunity to experience the countryside, the friendly town people, the rice making process, batik art close up and the morning market. We had support crossing bigger roads and navigating any bicycle challenges and it was a great family trip with teens.

We had a delightful experience with this cooking class. Hanung did an excellent job touring us around the village, giving us a great understanding of its history as well as the local flora. Our cooking class was excellent, everything was delicious, and we feel like we could easily replicate the recipes thanks to their great instructions. We also loved that they shared the recipes at the end of the class. Highly recommend this experience!

Farm-to-Table Cooking at Tembi Village | Cook + Feast 

We had a delightful experience with this cooking class. Hanung did an excellent job touring us around the village, giving us a great understanding of its history as well as the local flora. Our cooking class was excellent, everything was delicious, and we feel like we could easily replicate the recipes thanks to their great instructions. We also loved that they shared the recipes at the end of the class. Highly recommend this experience!

i enjoyed the tour around the village learning more about their sustainability practices and history. the cooking class was fun and tasty, would definitely recommend the experience for anyone who wants to learn how to cook indonesian food. thank you hanung for your hospitality!!

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i enjoyed the tour around the village learning more about their sustainability practices and history. the cooking class was fun and tasty, would definitely recommend the experience for anyone who wants to learn how to cook indonesian food. thank you hanung for your hospitality!!

We both had a wonderful time, walking around the village and learning about the culture and history was a pleasant experience. Our guide was so personable and friendly it was like taking a walk with an old friend. The cooking class was lots of fun including being able to catch a fish and learning about the dishes we were cooking. We also had an amazing aunty who felt like watching a MasterChef as she guided us through the steps. The food of course was delicious and something you wouldn't find in a typical restaurant. Would recommend anyone to give a try !

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We both had a wonderful time, walking around the village and learning about the culture and history was a pleasant experience. Our guide was so personable and friendly it was like taking a walk with an old friend. The cooking class was lots of fun including being able to catch a fish and learning about the dishes we were cooking. We also had an amazing aunty who felt like watching a MasterChef as she guided us through the steps. The food of course was delicious and something you wouldn't find in a typical restaurant. Would recommend anyone to give a try !

Yogyakarta

Yogyakarta

All Yogyakarta Adventures

Field Notes