How to get from Jakarta to Yogyakarta

Why visit Yogyakarta?

Yogyakarta is Java’s cultural capital, the only region in Indonesia still ruled by a sultan. Commonly called Jogja, the city strongly values its age-old traditions and way of life. Quite impressive, given that it’s an urban area of over 3 million inhabitants.

The nearby ancient temples Borobudur and Prambanan are the main reasons why travellers visit Yogyakarta, but the city has much more to offer. Art lovers will enjoy its street art, boutique cafes, and iconic batik fabric. Head over to Malioboro Road and Kotagede for some amazing finds and jewellery. Explore Kraton Sultan Palace and Taman Sari for a glimpse of the city’s architecture and history.

There are 3 ways to travel the 560 kilometre (348 miles) distance from Jakarta to Yogyakarta. You can choose between the bus, train and flight. The journey takes 2 hours 50 minutes to 16 hours and the quickest way is by flight. If you're on a budget, the cheapest option is by bus with tickets starting at 175,000 IDR ($10.30).

Another direct way to travel from Jakarta to Yogyakarta is by train. For this route, you can choose between two seat classes: economy and executive.

Economy class seats start from 195,000 IDR ($11.50), while executive class seats, with more legroom, start from 425,000 IDR ($25).

The train journey from Jakarta to Yogyakarta takes 6 hours 10 minutes to 9 hours, depending on the station you’re departing from and arriving at.

Day or night train

Both day and night trains are available on this route. We recommend taking a day train so that you can enjoy the scenic journey through the countryside. If you prefer the night train, we suggest the 22:30 or 23:00 trip so that you’ll arrive at a reasonable time in Yogyakarta.

Departure and arrival station

There are two train stations that you can travel from in Jakarta city centre.

Both economy and executive class trains are available at Pasar Senen Station. When coming from Gambir Station, you can book only an executive class seat.

In Yogyakarta city centre, trains arrive at either Tugu Station or Lempuyangan Station, which are 2 km apart. See below a detailed schedule of trains operating from Jakarta to Yogyakarta.

Maarten's experience

I highly recommend booking your ticket in advance so you don’t have to wait in line to buy it, you can choose your seat and don’t risk them selling out. While economy seats are unlikely to sell out (they don’t really have a limit on how many people they pack in a car), executive tickets can sell quite quickly.

A direct way to travel from Jakarta to Yogyakarta is by bus. Bus tickets are cheaper than the train, starting from 175,000 IDR ($10.30), but it’s also by far the slowest option. The journey by bus takes between 10 hours 30 minutes to 16 hours.

Several bus companies operate on this route. This includes Agramas, Sinar Jaya, PO Santoso, and Sumber Alam with departures almost every hour from 05:30 to 18:45.

Departure and arrival station

You can choose from many bus departures on 12GoAsia with different departure and arrival stations.

In Jakarta, you can choose to depart from Jakarta city centre or from Kota Bekasi. You also have the option to be dropped off in Yogyakarta city centre, Prambanan, or Sleman.

The specific departure and arrival points will show up on your ticket.

Flying from Jakarta to Yogyakarta takes a little more than an hour. However, if you take a flight, you’ll also have to make the transfers to and from the airports. Including the transfers, overall travel time is around 3 hours when taking a flight.

Something important to keep in mind is that there are two airports in Jakarta. Halim Perdana Kusuma Airport is 15 km from the city centre, while Soekarno-Hatta Airport is about 30 km away on the northwest side.

When you want to fly to Yogyakarta, it’s best to fly from Soekarno-Hatta because more airlines operate from this airport with cheaper airfares.

Yogyakarta also has two airports, but almost all flights from Jakarta arrive at the new international airport, about 40km south of Yogyakarta city centre.

TIP: If you decide to travel by plane, please consider including a carbon compensation fee to reduce your impact on the environment.

The fastest and easiest way to travel from Jakarta city centre to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport is by train. You can take the Railink train from Manggarai Station to the airport. There are departures every hour from 05:07 to 19:37. Tickets start from 30,000 IDR ($1.80) for the train ride that takes 1 hour.

While it’s possible to take a bus or a taxi from the city centre to the airport, the journey can take up to 2.5 hours compared to the estimated 1-hour travel time. Damri buses depart from Gambir Train Station every 30 minutes from 03:00 to 21:00. You can get a seat for 70,000 IDR ($4.10).

Klook also offers private transfers at fixed prices. Rates start at 250,000 IDR ($14.80), depending on which area you’re staying at. We suggest booking your ride at least 5 hours before to ensure a driver.

With taxi-hailing apps like Grab or Gojek, you can also find transfers with cheaper fares. Grab rates start from 110,000 IDR ($6.50) from Central Jakarta to the airport, but it will still depend on the time you’re booking.

The flight from Jakarta to Yogyakarta International Airport takes 1h 10m.

Lion Air often offers the cheapest flights at 500,000 IDR ($29.50). But you can also travel with Citilink, Super Air Jet, Batik Air, and Garuda Indonesia. Check out the cheapest flights through the link below.

There are also flights from Halim Perdana Kusuma Airport to Adisucipto International Airport (JOG), but they are more expensive starting from 1,000,000 IDR ($59).

Yogyakarta International Airport, which now acts as the primary airport in Yogyakarta, is about 42 km away from the city centre.

You have three options when travelling from Yogyakarta Airport to the city centre:

• 40-minute train – 20,000 IDR ($1.20)
• 1.5 to 2-hour bus – 70,000 IDR ($4.10)
• 1.5-hour taxi – 205,000 IDR ($12.10)

With the train, you’ll get off at Tugu Station near Malioboro Street. On the other hand, the bus has several drop-off points within and outside Yogyakarta city centre. You can ask which bus has the closest drop-off point from your accommodation.

For more details, you can visit our page on Yogyakarta Airport.