Prambanan at Sunset and the Ramayana Ballet: Which Evening to Book
4 min read
Two ballets, not one
Yogyakarta has two places where the Ramayana Ballet is sold to visitors. One is the open stage at Prambanan, with the temple in the background. The other is the Purawisata Amphitheatre in the city, near Malioboro, which its booking page says has staged the ballet since 1976. Check which venue your ticket is for before you pick a night.
The booking pages give the days. The Prambanan tour Ramayana Ballet Prambanan lists Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, 7:30 to 9:30 pm. The city show, Ramayana Ballet Purawisata, lists Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 7:30 to 9:00 pm, in an open-air amphitheatre. Schedules can change, so confirm the date when you select it. Two of the Prambanan tour pages add that from November to April the performances are held indoors because of the rainy season, so in those months the temple does not stand behind the stage. They also say that on Sundays Purawisata stages a different story, the Legend of Roro Jonggrang, indoors.
The Prambanan options
The ticket-only tour costs €18.29 per person, has 4.7 stars from 155 reviews, and says you meet the team at the ballet sign between 7:00 and 7:15 pm so you skip the ticket counter. A guided temple visit and hotel pickup are options. The temple entry ticket is listed as a separate item.
Sunset at Prambanan & Ramayana Ballet (Ticket Guaranteed) is €17.52 per person for 2 to 8 hours. The itinerary has a guided sunset visit to the temple, optional dinner and the show, and marks the temple visit and the dinner as extra fee. The page lists several ballet seat classes, so check which one your option buys.
Sunset at Prambanan & Ramayana Ballet Show Ticket is €51.27 and takes 8 hours. It names a first-class ballet ticket among the inclusions and a guide at the temple for groups of up to ten. Its page marks the Prambanan visit and dinner as extra fee as well. A reviewer says waiting for hours to photograph the temple between two columns was not worth it, and that the rest of the temple gives plenty of photo spots.
What to plan around
Temple entry is the item most likely to be extra. Two of these pages give the Prambanan ticket as IDR 400,000 per person and the ticket-only page as USD 25, so add it to the comparison; the cheap headline fare then tells you less.
The booking pages for the day tours say Prambanan has a restricted area on Mondays, or that one temple is closed. If you want a full visit, avoid Monday. The Purawisata show is outdoors in the evening, and its page recommends breathable clothing for warm, humid weather.
Photography is usually allowed at Purawisata, without flash. The Prambanan ticket-only page excludes people with heart problems.
| Tour | Price per person | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Ramayana Ballet Prambanan | €18.29 | 2 hours to 1 day |
| Sunset at Prambanan & Ramayana Ballet (Ticket Guaranteed) | €17.52 | 2–8 hours |
| Sunset at Prambanan & Ramayana Ballet Show Ticket | €51.27 | 8 hours |
| Ramayana Ballet Purawisata | €18.03 | 1.5 hours |
| Ramayana Ballet Performance with Optional Dinner | €23.19 | 2–3 hours |
Which to book
If the temple glow matters to you, book the sunset-plus-ballet tour and keep the evening free: the ticket-only page says that its sunset option has pickup around 2:30 pm, with a return between 9:00 and 10:00 pm. If you only want the show and are already in the city, the Purawisata ballet is the shorter evening, and Ramayana Ballet Performance with Optional Dinner costs €23.19 and has a buffet dinner as an option. For the daytime temples see Borobudur and Prambanan in One Day and the temple tours.
For most visitors who want both the temple and the dance, Sunset at Prambanan & Ramayana Ballet (Ticket Guaranteed) is the straightforward pick.
