How to Spend 72 Hours in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Kuta, Seminyak, and Canggu are popular places to visit in Bali. We enjoyed them years ago, but the atmosphere feels different now. The crowds grow each season, and new construction rises quickly. Bali no longer feels like the quiet escape it once was, and the calm we remember has faded. We love Indonesia, so that shift encouraged us to spend 72 Hours in Yogyakarta, a city that offers culture, history, and a quieter pace without losing its sense of place.

That change pushed us to look elsewhere on our last trip. We chose Yogyakarta, on the island of Java, west of Bali. The city is well known, but it sits slightly outside the usual Bali trail. Daily direct flights from Bali to Yogyakarta make it easy to reach, yet it’s far enough from the tourist flow to feel more like the Indonesia we first fell in love with.