Borobudur Temple by Bus

Borobudur Temple is the largest Buddhist temple complex in the world! It’s also an UNESCO World Heritage site as well as one of the best things to do in Indonesia! Many people visit Yogyakarta just to be able to visit this temple in person.

With many tours to Borobudur Temple being expensive, I wanted to visit Borobudur Temple on my own the cheapest way possible. I didn’t even know if I could use public transportation to get there……but you can! I went to Borobudur on the public bus by myself. It wasn’t the most straightforward way, but it’s possible. Then when I came back I found the best public transportation from Yogyakarta to Borobudur Temple! Read on to find out how.

Public Bus from Yogyakarta to Borobudur

This is the way that I found described on many blogs. It is NOT the way I recommend, but I’ll let you know my experience incase you also want an adventure! However, below I will tell you an easier and cheaper way.

To take the public bus from Yogyakarta to Borobudur, first you must get to Terminal Jombor in the north of Yogyakarta. This is possible using a public city bus, however I didn’t have much time so I took a Grab/taxi. The Grab cost me 40,000 Rp ($2.64 USD) from the center of Yogyakarta to Terminal Jombor.

Once I arrived at Terminal Jombor, it wasn’t very busy. The people there were extremely helpful! They pointed me to the correct bus and told me it should take an hour and cost 25,000 Rp ($1.65 USD) which I would pay on the bus, NOT before. The bus wasn’t the most comfortable, but it seemed to run frequently.

What I wasn’t prepared for was being told to get off the bus on the side of the main road after driving for an hour! Luckily the bus driver knew that I was going to Borobudur (as well as another foreigner on the bus) so they made sure we got off when we were supposed to. They told us to walk around the corner and wait for another little bus the remaining 15 minutes to the temple.

A little angkot (public mini bus) drove by right away – they run very frequently! We were able to flag him down and jump on. It should have been 5,000 Rp ($0.33 USD) from the corner where we got off the big bus to Borobudur town. However the driver said if we each paid 15,000 Rp ($1 USD), he would drop us off at the entrance to the temple.

TOTAL COST: 1 Grab/Taxi + 1 Big Bus + 1 Angkot (Mini Bus) = 80,000 Rp ($5.28 USD)

As you can see, it wasn’t very expensive, but it wasn’t the cheapest option. It was also not the most convenient as you had to change buses. It seems like it would be difficult to take this option from Borobudur Temple back to Yogyakarta as you’d have to wait for the big bus on the side of the road.

Damri Van from Borobudur Temple to Yogyakarta

When I left Borobudur Temple and wanted to head back to Yogyakarta I was unsure how to do it. As I said, on the way to Borobudur the big bus left us at the side of the road so it seemed confusing to go the same way.

I walked from Borobudur Temple to Borobudur Terminal. It’s a 20 minute walk through Borobudur town. I was walking alone as a solo foreign female and I felt completely safe the whole time!

When I arrived at Borobudur Bus Terminal, a couple people did approach me right away and try to get me to pay them to take me.. I politely declined and continued walking to the bus platform where there was a desk with someone working. I asked about how to get to Yogyakarta and they pointed to the Damri Mini Bus/Vans that were there. I was AMAZED when they said it would go directly to Yogyakarta for only 20,000 Rp ($1.32 USD).

I immediately said yes and got my name on the list for the next bus. The one negative is that these Damri buses don’t seem to run too frequently. However, it was SO convenient and SO cheap!!! The Damri bus left Borobudur exactly on time. They driver was so nice and dropped us off at a couple different places along Malioboro street so it was very convenient for everyone!

TOTAL COST: 1 Direct Mini Van = 20,000 Rp ($1.32 USD).

This is the best way to use public transportation between Yogyakarta and Borobudur Temple! They also seem to have Damri Buses from Yogyakarta to the beach which would be nice!

Check google maps for ‘Shuttle Damri Wisata’. You should be able to buy tickets and check bus times here. It is located right in the center of Yogyakarta close to the Titik Nol Zero Kilometer stop.

You can also see times listed on their Instagram page, @damriindonesia, however it is all in Indonesian. But you can still see the times listed or use google translate to translate the pictures.

Tour to Borobudur Temple

There is another option to take a tour to Borobudur Temple. Many of the tours I found where quite expensive, however there are some good ones on Klook that aren’t too expensive! There are also many sunrise tours which are a bucket list experience for many people. The tours are even better if you’re a group of 2-5 people. Check out these ones below:

Klook.com

Watch Our YouTube Video of the Experience Here: