Yogya or Ubud...gotta lose a day and need help picking
 

So as some of you know, we've had to move our trip back up to April (from May) and I'm in the maddening process of rearranging/finalizing all of our plans within the week (so I can get back to work!)

Our new itinerary has us losing a day, due to our new flights--not a big deal in the scope of things--but it does present one issue: where to cut that extra day out of our original itinerary. It's either take 1 day out of our Yogyakarta time (currently at 2 nights in Borobudur proper then 2 nights in Yogya city) ore take 1 night out of Ubud (currently at 7 nights.)

My instinct is cut Yogya by a day, but then I start to think that 7 nights in one place--even if we're touring around the island--might be a lot.

What do you guys think?

My first instinct was the same, but then I also think 7 nights in Ubud might be a little much. In the end, I think I'd cut the Ubud time.

i agree with MB

Cut the Ubud time. It is a great town, but 7 days is more than enough..

My opinion: cut back both. Take one day from Ubud and one day from Yogya (town) and spend two days at the beach.

Knowing that we're using Ubud as our base and planning to tour around the island (with Putu) for 3-4 of the 7 days, would you still recommend dropping Ubud from 7 to 6 nights?

I guess where I get stuck is I feel like we'll cover Borobudur and Prambanan in our 2 days @ Borobudur then we'll cover all the major sites (Kraton, shops, Water Palace) in 1 day in Yogya city. There's been so much mixed feeling about Yogya in general on these boards that I can't help but wonder.

If you decide to do the extra day in Yogya, you might want to spend the day taking the ride up to the Dieng Plateau. It is very scenic. Putu will likely take you to the scenic rice fields of Jatiluwih in Bali, but the views up at the top of the Dieng Plateau were even better IMO.

I'm not sure why you would include Prambanan in a "Borobudur Day" (unless it's enroute to or from the airport). Prambanan is closer to the town of Yogya.

marmot, it's on the way back to Yogya town from our 2nd (and last) night in Borobudur.

that said, I am uber-curious to get your take.

sorry for the rush--i need to rebook our tickets tonight.

as of right now, i'm actually leaning towards the 7 nights in ubud since our 2nd hotel in ubud is just so dang nice.

Even though 7 nights is a luxurious amount of time in Ubud, the area lends itself to endless wanderings, village visits, having 3 hour lunches overlooking rice fields, hiking. Fred and I especially enjoyed our visit to Putu's family compound, meeting his relatives and watching the women prepare offerings in the kitchen; I'm sure he'll be glad to take you there.
I'm one of those who was underwhelmed by Yogi. The sights can be seen in a day or so. For me, nothing in the town was so special that I would have been sorry to have missed it. That is definitely not true of time in Borobudor and throughout Bali.

I'm with Robbie, not a fan of Yoyga proper.

7 nights in Ubud would be too much for me, but then I really like the ocean, the beach, the sky, the South Bali vibe. There's no question, though, that you'll be able to fill up 7 days with activities using Ubud as your base.

Done deal. Yogya city for 1 night only.

As for Bali, we've already got 2 nights @ the ocean on our arrival.

I'm sure we'll be able to--between yoga classes, hiking, biking, eating, touring with Putu and just taking in the magnificent scenery--find plenty to keep us busy.

Thanks, guys, as always!

Putu is stuck with you and David for 3-4 days? Hopefully, he will have time to recover before Bob and I visit.

We're going to make a North Carolina fan out of him by the time you get there, Andy. Just watch,

Unlikely. NC is so bad this year that, Chapel Hill will be cast out of the state. Putu is way too smart to back total losers like the Tarheels.