organised trip with guide/driver or do it just by yourself??

Eindhoven, The...
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organised trip with guide/driver or do it just by yourself??
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Hi,

I am new on this Java forum, am mostly on Bali/Thailand forum.

Sorry if I post a question already asked several times before.

In Bali/Thailand we always arrange everything ourselves, like booking hotels directly and renting a car, or sometimes hiring a car with driver.

In Holland a company is offering a tour Jakarta/Yogya with driver (not English speaking), or with driver AND English speaking guide, guide, which makes it all pretty expensive.

When we book ONLY the hotels (from Jakarta, Bogor, Bandung, Garut, Parandaran to Yogya) through this company or maybe by ourselves,

IS IT EASY TO FIND A RELIABLE ENGLISH SPEAKING DRIVER, WHO CAN ALSO BE A BIT OF A GUIDE??

And what will be the approx. daily rate, if we have a trip of around 10/11 days??

Thanks and kind regards,

Sylvia

Jakarta, Indonesia
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1. Re: organised trip with guide/driver or do it just by yourself??
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Where is this journey going to start and end?

If you're accustomed to Blue Bird Group, they have wide presence throughout Java. Local travel agents can also arrange your transportation + guide needs. The tariff is relative, depending on your itinerary. But I would say, since you are going to take train trip (from Bandung to Yogya); you can split the car rental:

1. From Jakarta up to Bandung: Blue Bird Group or Cipaganti www.cipaganti.co.id For the latter, they have wide presence in Bandung area, but enquire with them of the availability of English speaking driver. For the former, it's affirm they have English speaking driver and are available for charter, but the rates are on the expensive side.

2. For your stay in Yogyakarta: Blue Bird Group or local travel agent. Some hotel do offer car rental + driver service too.

Some example of local travel agents:

Rebecca Tours (based in Yogya) http://www.rebecca-tours.com

Java Sol Tour http://www.javasoltour.com/jakarta_transport.htm

Pusaka Indonesia (based in Yogya) http://pusaka-indonesia.com/our-vehicles/

Eindhoven, The...
Level Contributor
1,337 posts
251 reviews
295 helpful votes
2. Re: organised trip with guide/driver or do it just by yourself??
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Hi,

Thanks for your reply.

Our itinerary is now Jakarta-Bogor-Bandung-Garut-Pangandaran-Yogya.

Travel agent will give their offer tomorrow, one with only hotels on this route, and a second one with hotels + car with driver, not speaking English.

If we have to add an English speaking guide, there will be an additional fee per day, which will make it all very expensive for about 11 days.

So, I hope the find a driver/guide, Englishspeaking, so I can compare the different offers.

I will check the sites you gave me, thanks.

kind regards,

Sylvia

Vancouver
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116 posts
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62 helpful votes
3. Re: organised trip with guide/driver or do it just by yourself??
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Hello,

I did a similar overland trip back in 2008. I did everything almost all by myself. I book all the hotels online (Bogor: Hotel Salak, Yogyakarta: The Pheonix, Borobudur: Manohara). I checked Indonesian tour agents on the web and did not like the price. So I just got ticket, and went, then arrange a driver who speaks reasonable English to guide me thru Puncak Pass (very scenic) and stay in Cibodas Botanical Garden (not to be missed), and then onto Bandung, then took the train to Yogyakarta and off the train tour guides just popped up and I played it cool and got a good deal for Merapi sunrise and Prambanan for $35 tour. I am not good at bargaining, so only stressed that the tours need to be safe. I had a great time. A driver with vehicle for a day including gas should be around $50, I booked him thru the travel agent at Bogor hotel, so commission for the agent is $30. But I only booked him for 1 day from Bogor to Cibodas, and sent him home for 3 days rest while I was in the botanical garden and then he picked me up to go to Bandung for 1 more day. So my trip is very cheap for less than $700 for 10 days Java instead of the one the agent quaoted me which was a crazy $1700.

Here is my story:

www.thingsasian.com/stories-photos/37341

Mucuna

4. Re: organised trip with guide/driver or do it just by yourself??

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