[su_note]Last Minute Booking: If you are ordering the Merapi Trekking for tonight and it is after 3 pm we can’t help. Please make other travel arrangements! I’m sure you will find someone to take you.[/su_note]
Sorry to scare you like that…
That message was just for people booking last minute 🙂 What I meant to say is, thanks for ordering through Discover Your Indonesia. Your email is flying through cyberspace and will arrive in our inbox shortly. We’ve sent you an automated response about the Merapi Trekking. By the time you’ve finished reading this it will be in your inbox.
Sometimes the automated email we send you will look a bit funny. If that happened to you we’re sorry. It’s an issue with the auto-responder. Our computer technician explained the problem, but our eyes glazed over. Then he told us it was the electronic fairies. This makes sense. We’re working on removing them from our computers.
Here’s what’s going to happen next:
Within the next 12 hours (our average response time on weekdays is within 2 hours) one of our team will send you an email confirming the tour. To do this we need these three things, which we already asked from you:
- The name of your hotel.
- Your travel date.
- The number of participants.
If you haven’t given us this information already it’s ok.
You can send us a follow up email with the missing details by just clicking on the link here. We have some hotel suggestions further down if you want them.
If everything is correct we’ll forward your order, with you cc’d, to our local agent on the ground who runs the Merapi trekking. My first travel partnership was with this company and even after all this time I’m still friends with the owner. He’s like a brother to me. The company is reliable and they offer a good service to some of Yogya’s tourist highlights for a competitive price.
When they reply they will update you on the pickup time, where you will be picked up and everything else you need to know. Before I get into some of the most frequently asked questions (did you know FAQ stands for Foire Aux Questions in French. Now you do) I’d like to share some useful resources with you.
[su_box title=”Important Things You’ll Want to Know”]Best Part Of the city: The South without a doubt. This is where the nice cafes, delicious restaurants and art scene is. I’d recommend it over every other part of the city.
Best Hotels: To help you choose where to stay I shortlisted my three favourite hotels in Yogya. For budget travel try Kampoeng Djawa. If you like a bit of luxury try Greenhost Boutique Hotel. And finally for luxury travel I recommend The Phoenix Hotel. I’ll give you the link again later, so stick with me until the end.
Best Restaurants: There’s a lot of great places in Yogya for food. If you want Indonesian food try the street stalls. Try Gudeg Pawon (horrible queues, but delicious food), Gudeg Permata and Warung Handayani (Alkid). For European food visit Mediterranea and Nanamia Pizzeria. All these places are around the South.[/su_box]
Ok. That’s the friendly advice sorted. So let’s cover the Foire Aux Questions quickly 😉 I’m going to highlight this section in yellow. These are the most common questions we receive.
Frequently Asked Questions
[su_note]I’m a solo traveller, can I still do this: That’s fine. People join this tour every day so you can probably join a group. If there are no other travellers on the date and you still want to hike you can pay the price of two people. That’s Rp 900,000.[/su_note]
[su_note]How do I pay for the tour: You pay the driver on the day of the tour after you’ve been picked up. Payment should be made in cash in Rupiah. The cost is Rp 450,000 per person.[/su_note]
[su_note]What should I bring: You’re climbing at night. We provide you with a headlamp and a walking stick. We recommend you bring some good walking shoes or trainers, a warm coat and some snacks (anything with a lot of sugar is good as you’ll want some instant energy).[/su_note]
[su_note]How hard is this going to be: This is a hard trek. Even if you’re fit you will find the climb tiring. It’s 4-6 hours of hiking up a hill and the same time back down. Here’s a review of the trek written by a previous hiker who used our service complete with laugh out loud memes so you know what to expect. You can find another article from a fellow traveller here.[/su_note]
[su_note]So it’s going to be tough: Yeahp. We recommend you exercise regularly leading up to the trek. You don’t need to do a Rocky style exercise routine, but you’ll get a lot of respect from us if you create a preparation montage.[/su_note]
[su_note]But there’s a path right: Kind of. It’s more like a dirt track up the volcano that twists and turns and sometimes vanishes. That’s why you’ll be trekking with a guide. It’s dangerous doing this by yourself.[/su_note]
[su_note]What If I’m too slow: That’s ok. The guide will hike at the pace of the slowest person in the group. Keep in mind there is a time limit to get to the top. Most people make it to the peak. Others to the plateau before the summit. You’ll get a great view either way.[/su_note]
[su_note]And if I just need to stop: If you’re really tired you can stop climbing. Sit down by the side of the path and enjoy the view. The group will meet you again on the trek down. This rarely happened. Well, just once so far…[/su_note]
[su_note]Is it dangerous: You’re climbing an active volcano. Some of your friends will think you’re crazy. Maybe you are, but it’s not dangerous 😉 We monitor the activity level of the volcano and update you if it’s getting active. Your guide will have a first aid kit, or if it’s a larger group 1 in 3 of the guides will have the kit. On a local simcard you can get phone signal all the way to the top.[/su_note]
[su_note]You mentioned a pick Up area: We have a pickup area for the shared tours. The pickup area covers most hotels within the Yogyakarta ring road. We don’t really cover hotels in the North of Yogyakarta or hotels close to the airport. We will let you know if your hotel is outside of the pickup area.[/su_note]
[su_note]Give me some examples of hotels outside the pickup area: If your hotel is near Eastparc or Sheraton it is probably outside of the pickup zone. We’ll update you about the nearest pickup point.[/su_note]
[su_note]Oh. I’m staying outside the pickup area: If you’re hotel is outside of the pickup area you will need to take a taxi or walk to the nearest pickup point. This is going to be a hassle. We get it, but because this is a shared tour we need some rules about where we can pick people up otherwise everyone will miss the sunrise.[/su_note]
[su_note]And what will the weather be like: From October to January it’s raining season. In the wet season it normally rains in the morning and is dry in the afternoon. If you want to know the weather for your travel date we suggest you Google “Weather+Yogya+Your Travel Date”. That’s what we always do.[/su_note]
[su_note]But what happens if it’s raining: We hope it’s a nice day for your tour, but we can’t control the weather (we tried, but it started raining heavily in Brazil and so now we’re banned). If you want to cancel due to the weather, please contact us before 5pm at the latest on the day of the tour.[/su_note]
That’s it. I hope we’ve managed to answer your questions about the Merapi Trekking. We’ll be sending you that confirmation email soon so keep an eye out for it in your inbox.
[su_box title=”My 3 Favorite Hotels In Yogya Just as Promised ;)”]
Best Hotels: If you haven’t booked your hotel yet I recommend you check out my three favourite hotels in Yogya (I think you’ll like them). For budget travel try Kampoeng Djawa. If you want a good mid-range hotel try Greenhost Boutique Hotel. And finally for luxury travel I recommend The Phoenix Hotel. Hope that helps :)[/su_box]
If you’d like to book any additional tours in Yogya you can use the button below to jump straight to the tour page.
