We engaged Gagat for our family's visit to Jogjakarta in early Mar. During the quotation stage, Gagat offered an itinerary which matched our requirements, unlike the other guides who responded with their cookie cutter itineraries. He was also flexible and responsive towards changes that we requested, and adjusted the fees accordingly. We felt assured that he was fair, reasonable and professional in his transaction with us. He was also fast in responding to us and confirming his acceptance of our offer to engage him as a guide.

During our visit, Gagat was always on time and on location. He also arranged access to the attractions and well before hand to ensure fuss-free access unless the fees could only be paid on location. The transport that he arranged was also above our expectation - larger vehicle, clean and comfortable, and the air conditioning worked well to cool us down. The driver was also an expert in navigating the streets and was a safe driver. According to Gagat, he typically partners the same driver when transportation is required.

Gagat was excellent in his English language skills and could hold meaningful conversations with us and responded to every question that we had. He was personal in his approach and mingled well with our two children.  He had a gentle, soft spoken (yet confident) disposition which set us at ease and gave us assurance that we were in good hands with nothing to worry about.

I would highly recommend Gagat to anyone who needs a guide when visiting Jogjakarta. Gagat has proven himself to be a credible, reliable, assuring and professional (yet personal in service) tour guide during our visit. We will not hesitate to engage him (and his expert driver partner) again when we return.

We just returned from Indonesia and visited Yogyakarta - we were fortunate to arrange a tour with Gagat Handoyo.  He helped design a wonderfully flexible and informative few days and it all began when he and his driver picked us up (there were 8 of us) at the airport.  the highlights were the Prambanan, the Ramayana Ballet and the Palace.  He selected wonderful restaurants and everything was so well planned.  He is informed, easy to speak to and listened when we wanted to change things.  We will definitley call him again when we return.  Please reach out to Gagat if you plan a trip to Java - Yogyakarta.  It made the entire experience very special and memorable.

A family group of ten members were going to Indonesia in May 2023, to attend a wedding in Bali, and a side trip to Central Java.  Aside from Yogyakarta and Surakarta (and the attractions of the Borobudur, Prambanan, and the Ramayana Ballet), one of the "must" stops was a visit to a tobacco plantation near Klaten where our grandfather managed it for a Dutch corporation, and the birthplace of our mother/grandmother.  I searched for a travel company that would be flexible in planning the trip.  I stumbled on the tourHQ site and sent in a request for bids.  I received ten, ranging from very affordable to pricey.  Not knowing how reliable the tourHQ site was nor the reputation of the guides that sent proposals, a major concern was the payment plan - either all up front, or 20% down, with the remainder in cash on arrival.  All sorts of alarm bells went off.  There were no reviews that I could see of the tourHQ site or the guides.   I asked tourHQ for references on three of the bidders, and received only Gagat Handoyo's.

After much discussion with family members, I took the plunge and selected Gagat Handoyo - not because he was the most affordable (his offer was second to the highest), but the references sent were excellent and full of praise.  I sent the 20 percent deposit, and immediately received a warning from my credit card company asking me if I trusted the transaction sited in Hong Kong.  That was very disturbing, but I went ahead with the transaction anyway.

I WhatsApp'd Gagat and notified him of my concern of carrying the remaining 80% of the bid in cash.  He responded that I could send the remainder via PayPal on my arrival.  Reassured, we finalized the plans for the visit.

When we arrived in Yogyakarta, Gagat met us at the airport and all my concerns were laid to rest immediately.  He struck me as very capable, knowledgeable, and above all flexible, considering the number of clients he had to deal with and our needs.  We stayed four full days in Central Java and Gagat (not counting arrival and departure days), and enjoyed our stay immensely.  Gagat adapted our tour plan on the fly to meet individual requests.  He was knowledgeable about the various site visits, and galleries/stores that offered the area's specialties (batiks, wayang puppets, art galleries, silver).  Throughout our visit he and his driver were excellent companions and guides.  It was an extremely enjoyable experience for all of us.  Gagat is a trustworthy individual, and recommend him highly and without reservation to anyone interested in visiting Yogyakarta and Surakarta.