The main attraction near Jogja has got to be the massive Buddhist temple called Borobudur. It’s about an hour+ outside of the city so getting there will take some time. Also, you could take a public bus but NOT if you want to get there for the sunrise. You’ll have to decide if it’s worth it.
I again paid a driver to take and back. All told, it took about 6 hours since we stopped at a couple other places and I paid 800K rupiah (about $55 – $60 USD). thought that was a steal but you’ll have to do the math on your own. If you’re travelling with a group though, I can easily see this being the way to go.
So the main question you’ll have to ask yourself is whether or not going to sunrise at Borobudur is worth it. I didn’t bother going. It’s always been my experience that people tend to go and it’s usually a mass of humanity all trying to get the same shot all pushing and shoving to get into the “perfect” spot that hardly, if ever, works out. That said, if you really want the shot, I’d just say go for sunset and tell people it’s a sunrise. No one is going to know.
Another thing to keep in mind is that most people who get up early will be staying in the area and more than likely go back to their rooms to sleep after going for sunrise. I arrived at 7am and although there were people there, the sunrise had already occurred so many people had dispersed and I was able to walk and take photos relatively unobstructed.
The temple itself is also in a fairly small park so it really won’t take that long to walk around the entire complex. If you really want to take your time, you might want to allot 2 hours but I think an hour is more than enough for most people. Once you’re ready to leave, you’ll have to navigate the maze of stalls all selling the normal junk. If you get turned around through the stalls, just keep walking downhill and eventually it’ll spit you out in the parking lot.
Since you’re already there, I’d also recommend checking out this small Buddhist monastery and a small temple adjacent to it. The monastery is free and the temple next to it was less than 5K rupiah. But the monastery is absolutely beautiful and worth the stop since you’re already there. Also, you can stop at a little coffee shop where they sell the world’s most expensive coffee. Yes it’s from the animal that eats and coffee beans and poops them out. For 25K, you can try a small cup as well. I tried it for the novelty but I’m not that big of a coffee drinker so I honestly didn’t notice a difference in taste. I certainly wouldn’t go out of my way to buy this.
Overall, if you’re in the area, Borobudur is a must see. You may even want to do a quick stop from Jarkarta for a couple days on your way to Bali if you’re interested.