Private Car Service and Transports from Yogyakarta to Solo / Surakarta(Bus, Shuttle, Train)

Hi travelers, welcome to borobudursunrise.com. In this article, i would like to give you a guidance about how to go from Yogyakarta to Solo or also known as Surakarta City. For your information guys, Solo or Surakarta is a sister city of Yogyakarta. In the history, Yogyakarta and Solo were under the same Kingdom called Mataram Kingdom.

In 1755, this Mataram Kingdom splitted into 2 Kingdoms, one called Surakarta Sunanate and  the other is Yogyakarta Sultanate. By the time, both kingdoms grows their own unique tradition and culture. So, if you would like to see the other unique Javanese Culture outside Yogyakarta, visiting Solo City must be one of your trip plan. So before, I mention the ways to reach Surakarta (Solo) from Yogyakarta, I will explain a little bit about how this kingdom was splitted. This source of history I took from wikipedia article.

History of the splitting of Solo and Yogyakarta (Treaty of Gianti)

The (also known as the Treaty of Gianti Java, the Gianti Agreement, or the Giyanti Treaty) was signed and ratified on February 13, 1755 between Prince Mangkubumi, the Dutch East India Company, and Sunan Pakubuwono III along with his allies. The accord officially divided the Sultanate of Mataram between Mangkubumi and Pakubuwono. The name “Giyanti” was taken from the location of the signing of the agreement, namely in Giyanti Village (Dutch spelling) which is now located in Hamlet Kerten, Jantiharjo Village, southeast of Karanganyar, Central Java.

Background

The treaty was the main result of the Third Javanese War of Succession in 1749–57. Pakubuwono II, king of Mataram, had backed a Chinese rebellion against the Dutch. In 1743, in payment for his restoration to power, the King ceded the north coast of Java and Madura to the Dutch East India Company. Later, before his death in 1749, he ceded the remainder of the kingdom.

Pakubuwono III, who was supported by the company, became the new king, but he had to face a rival of his father, Raden Mas Said, who had occupied a region called Sukowati. In 1749 Mangkubumi, the brother of the late Pakubuwono II, dissatisfied with his inferior position, joined Raden Mas Said in the struggle against Pakubuwono III. The company sent troops to assist its vassal king, but the rebellion continued. Not until 1755 did Mangkubumi break away from Raden Mas Said and accept a peace offer at Gianti, by which Mataram was divided into two parts. Raden Mas Said signed a treaty with the company in 1757, which entitled him to have a part of eastern Mataram. He was thenceforth known as Mangkunegara I.

Location of the signing of the Giyanti Agreement in Karanganyar, Central Java.

According to the daily register documents of Nicolaas Hartingh, the then-Dutch East India Company Governor for North Java, he left Semarang to meet with Prince Mangkubumi on 10 September 1754. The actual meeting with Prince Mangkubumi was only held on September 22, 1754. The following day, closed-door negotiations were held which only a few people attended. Prince Mangkubumi was accompanied by Prince Natakusuma and Tumenggung Ronggo. Hartingh himself was accompanied by Hendrik Breton, Captain C. Donkel, and his secretary, Willem Fockens. The interpreter was Bastani.

In the first talks about the division of Mataram, Hartingh expressed reservations because he did not think there could not be two leaders in one empire. Mangkubumi responded by saying that there was more than one sultan in Cirebon. The negotiations did not go smoothly due to the suspicion between the parties. Finally, after vowing not to break each other’s promises, the negotiations picked up. Hartingh again suggested that Mangkubumi not use the sunan title and determined which areas would be controlled by him. Mangkubumi objected to giving up the title of sunan because the people had recognized him as sunan five years earlier. Prince Mangkubumi was appointed as Sunan who was in charge of the Sultanate of Mataram when Pakubuwana II died in Kabanaran, at the same time the Dutch East India Company installed Duke Anom as Pakubuwana III.

The negotiations had to be stopped but continued the next day. On September 23, 1754 a memorandum of understanding was finally reached, which concluded that Prince Mangkubumi would use the title of sultan and obtain half of the empire. The north coast of Javam or the coastal areas which had been surrendered to the Dutch East India Company remained in the hands of the Dutch East India Company and half of the compensation for the control would be given to Mangkubumi. In addition, Mangkubumi would also get half of the palace heirlooms. The memorandum of understanding was then submitted to Pakubuwana III. On 4 November 1754, Pakubuwana III delivered a letter to the Governor-General of the Dutch East India Company, Jacob Mossel, regarding his agreement on the outcome of negotiations between the Governor of North Java, Hartingh, and Prince Mangkubumi.

Based on the negotiations carried out on September 22–23, 1754 and the approval letter of Pakubuwana III, the Agreement on February 13, 1755 was signed in Giyanti.

After the signing of the treaty, Mangkubumi took the title of Sultan Hamengkubuwono and set up his court in Yogyakarta, not far from Kotagede, now a suburb of the city, where the tomb of Senopati, the founder of Mataram, is located.

Terms

Based on the terms of the agreement, the eastern half of the Sultanate of Mataram in central Java was given to Pakubuwono III with Surakarta as its capital, while the western half was given to Prince Mangkubumi with its capital in Yogyakarta. This treaty marked the division of the former territory of Mataram Sultanate between Surakarta Sunanate and Yogyakarta Sultanate.

After the signing of the treaty, Prince Mangkubumi changed his title as prince and became known as Sultan Hamengkubuwono I. The accord, however, did not end hostilities in the area since Prince Sambernyawa (or Raden Mas Said) continued to fight against Pakubuwono III. The division of Java was recorded in a series of Javanese texts altogether known as the Babad Giyanti or Babad Mankubunièn with the best known Babad Giyanti possibly having been composed by Yasadipura the Elder in the early 19th century.

Location of Solo (Surakarta)

Surakarta (also called Solo) is a city in the south of Indonesia in Central Java in the province of Jawa Tengah on the river Bengawan Solo. It lies about 90 m above sea level. Solo is located around 60 KM from Yogyakarta to the north east direction. It will take around 1,5 hour by car. There is only one common road to take you from Yogyakarta to Solo, there is no such an alternative way to get faster to reach Solo from Yogyakarta.

So, if you are planning to go from Yogyakarta City to Surakarta (Solo), you are in the right article to get all detail informations “How to go from Yogyakarta to Surakarta”. I will explain all the transport possibility from the cheapest one till the fastest one that connecting both cities for around 60 KM.

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Transportation Options from Yogyakarta to Surakarta (Solo) City.

There are several transportation options from Yogyakarta to Surakarta/ I will let you know any possibilities. Hopefully you can choose which is the best for you.

1. Bus ( Economy and Executive Bus )
2. Shuttle Service ( Joglosemar and Day Trans )
3. Taxi (Gojek and Grab )
4. Private Car Service from Yogyakarta to Surakarta operated by Borobudursunrise.com
5. Train

Bus from Yogyakarta to Solo

Going from Yogyakarta to Solo by bus is the cheapest option compared with any other option like Private Car Service or Taxi. There are 2 kind of bus that can take you from Yogyakarta to Surakarta, economy and executive bus. You can catch both buses in Giwangan Bus Terminal. The economy bus will cost you around 20.000, for 2 hours journey and it will have no air conditioner. Also the bus will have a lot of stop. They will stop anywhere when somebody want to catch them. Personally I do not suggest this option. Even me as a local person, I will never take this option.

The second option will be an executive bus. It will go directly without a lot of stops on the way, because all the passenger must go to the bus terminal first before using this bus. It will cost you around IDR 30.000 and have AC on it. Once you reach Solo, you have to stop in Tirtonadi Bus Terminal. Then from there you can have a online taxi to take you to the final destination.

Shuttle Service to go from Yogyakarta to Surakarta (Solo) City, Joglosemar and Daytrans Shuttle

Shuttle will be another public transport option. I can recommend you 2 popular shuttle service that connecting Yogyakarta and Solo City. Those are Joglosemar and Day Trans. Both shuttle services will cost you around IDR 80.000. For me, I do prefer Joglosemar than Day Trans, it has more departure time, more easy to book either via website and application. But the choice is up to you guys, maybe you can check which one has closest departure point from your accommodation. You can check it in the maps : Joglosemar, Daytrans.

Both shuttle have a final destination in the city centre in Surakarta (Solo). It will be a good idea if you can ask the staff, which one has the closest drop off point to your accommodation in Surakarta.

Online Taxi from Yogyakarta to Surakarta (Gojek or Grab)

You can order taxi both online and regular taxi to take you from Yogyakarta to Surakarta (Solo) City. In my opinion, online taxi has more fair price. You can download Gojek or Grab Apps to check the price. If you want a regular taxi, you need to be expert on bargaining the price, there is no exact price if you will order a regular taxi Taxi will be much more expensive, compared by buses or shuttle service, but if you will go in a group more than 2 people or you have some luggage to bring, taxi will be worth it. It will give you a direct transport from your accommodation in Yogyakarta till your final destination in Solo. You will not need to change to several transport unlike if you choose public transports.

Book Your Private Car Transport from Yogyakarta To Surakarta on Borobudursunrise.com

So, I can recommend you a private transport service to take you from Yogyakarta to Semarang. Also you can plan all your journey by booking it in advance. This transport service is operated by Borobudursunrise.com. They will give you an exact price of IDR 750.000 (  50$ ) up to 5 person. It is more expensive compared with any other transportation option, but most of our team are able to speak in english well and having experiences to work in travel industry in Yogyakarta. So on your way to Surakarta (Solo), the driver also can give you an explanation about Yogyakarta, Surakarta or Javanese culture. The drivers are flexible. In case you would like to stop in a minimarket or also you can combine the trip with visiting Prambanan Temple, since the Prambanan Temple is in between Yogyakarta City Centre and Solo City.

If you need other tour packages in Yogyakarta City, it is also a good idea to contact Borobudursunrise.com. We are working hard to maintain our quality service. It can be proven  by our high rating of review in Trip Advisor and Viator. If you need our services, you can also contact us by whatsapp on +62 811 278 1115 or by email at : tntrans.id@gmail.com.

Train from Yogyakarta to Surakarta (Solo)

The last option to go to Surakarta (Solo) is by train. There are direct trains to connect Yogyakarta and Solo. The journey will take around 1 hour. Until the time I write this article, I could not book the train by the apps. It means, the ticket is only available by purchasing directly in the ticket counter. Also from the last information I got, the train is running every 3 hours. To be sure, you might check the train schedule one day before in the train station. The price for the train to go from Yogyakarta to Surakarta is quite cheap, it is only IDR 8.000 less than 10 cents. The facilities is simple, not a really fancy train. But for only one hour journey it will be okay.

So, that’s all the information about How to Go from Yogyakarta to Solo.

Enjoy your trip in Special Region of Yogyakarta…