Efata Homestay

Had an amazing stay at Efata. It’s a lovely place with such warm hosts, Ika and Yani. Yani made some amazing breakfast, the best I had in Indonesia. Ika was very kind to lend us bikes and took us around to the Punthuk Setumbu and shared suggestions for places around. The place is very neatly maintained as well.

The host Ika has created a very peaceful garden for his homestay with a lot of greens and pretty flowers. It’s 5-7 minute walk to the Borobudur temple. And eateries and fruit stall nearby. The hot water shower is great. We could boil spring water for our own use. Ika booked tickets for us, fetched us to the Borobudur temple and brought us into the temple. This saved us a lot of time. His wife Yani made us a delicious breakfast, including a selection of fruits and kueh mueh! We strongly recommend this homestay! 😊😊

Efata was a worthwhile find. A true homestay, Ika and Yani makes Borobudur memory a very special one :) big thanks to them for hosting me and making it so blissful. Highly highly recommended. This is the place to be when in Borobudur.

Nice, quiet homestay close to the temple. Ika and Yani are great hosts. I really enjoyed talking to Ika and Yani prepared a wonderful breakfast. Probably the best homestay I visited on Java. Many thanks to Ika for warning me that the temple would be closed on Monday.

Ika and his wife are very welcoming hosts. They do everything they can to make you feel home and will try to fulfill all your needs. Ika took us on a short bike ride to explore the surroundings. Very close to Borobudur. Rooms and breakfast are basic but ok.

Efata Homestay is just less than 5 mins walk from Borobudur temple entrance with all the necessary conveniences and lots of restaurants (and street food stalls) a stroll away. My air-conditioned room was clean and comfortable with a private porch overlooking their beautifully maintained garden. Just by reading through all their guest reviews on both Tripadvisor and Airbnb would give you an idea of how awesome and fantastic Ika and Yani are as the hosts. From the moment I contacted Ika via whatsapp to enquire about possibility of staying at their place to the end of my stay, my experience has been nothing short of professionalism yet with genuine warmth of heart. Ika, Yani and their son Karel greeted me with such a warm welcome and made me feel very comfortable. Through our chat over a cup of tea, Ika tried to find out my itinerary and/or activities that I had planned or had in mind for my stay in Borobudur. I didn’t plan much apart from visiting Borobudur temple and I was more than appreciative that he provided me all the information regarding the local attractions around Borobudur, without any hint or attempt to sell any of the services he could offer. I mentioned a couple of places that I might be interested in and said that I would leave it to him. I am glad I did! As I was by myself and it was a nice (cloudy) weather, with his motorbike he brought me to visit the local coconut sugar making place, pottery village (you can get your hands dirty and try to make one), local tofu factory and one of his friend’s community free training centre for local village kids - places that one wouldn’t get to experience from those mainstream tourist packages. Of course along the way, with many opportunities to take pictures of real local life and breathtaking scenery of Menoreh hills and paddy fields. Not much further need mentioning as one can read all the fantastic reviews of Efata Homestay on the web. One thing is certain - Ika is extremely passionate about ensuring that their guests have the best of time during their stay in Borobodur. They do not just offer a room to sleep, but most importantly, a genuine local experience and hospitality.. I am really grateful for their open hearts sharing a part of their life (and the local community) with me while I was staying with them.