Borobudur, Merapi's Alien Stone and Prambanan by Private Car

A private car with an English-speaking driver, air conditioned, on a route you can rearrange, with help getting the entry and jeep tickets. One rule to plan around: to see the sunrise from inside Borobudur, the ticket has to be booked on the official website at least two days ahead. Without it, the sunrise is watched from the hill instead, which puts Borobudur and Merapi in the same frame. Borobudur is the largest Buddhist temple in the world, built in the 9th century from grey andesite: nine stacked platforms, six square and three circular, under a central dome. It carries 2,672 relief panels, 1,460 of them narrative, and originally held 504 statues of the Buddha. Merapi is the optional half, by jeep. The local museum keeps what the 2010 eruption left, the largest since 1872, and out on the ground there is the boulder the eruption shaped into something like a human face, which everyone here calls the alien stone. Prambanan is the tallest Hindu temple in the country, and the site holds Lumbung, Bubrah and Sewu as well. The flexible option runs up to 12 hours and can be booked up to a day before, starting at any hour, including before dawn. Cancel at least 24 hours before departure for a full refund.