Ramayana Ballet tickets: which seat

Four seat classes, one show

On the open-air stage the operator sells four seat classes. VIP and Special are numbered seats: VIP comes with a soft drink and traditional snacks, Special with a soft drink. Class I and Class II are unnumbered, so you sit anywhere within your section. Every class watches the same performance, with the same dancers, the same live gamelan orchestra and the same lit temples behind the stage. What you pay more for is a closer view, a seat with your number on it and the small extras.

• VIP: numbered seat, soft drink and traditional snacks
• Special: numbered seat and a soft drink
• Class I and Class II: unnumbered sections, Class I with the better view

How to choose your class

Start with what you want to see. Javanese dance lives in small things: the angle of a hand, a glance, the detail of a costume. A closer seat in Special or VIP rewards that, and it helps with photos. If the big picture is the point, the fire scenes, the crowded battles and the temples lit up behind, Class I and Class II still give you all of it. Then think about arrival. The operator recommends arriving 30 to 45 minutes before the start, and in an unnumbered section that early arrival also decides where you sit.

What each booking option includes

The booking on this site is run by a local provider, Janayu Tour, and comes in three shapes. Ticket-only options cover Class II, Class I or Special: you meet the provider's guide next to the Ramayana Ballet sign at the theatre, and the guide handles your ticket, so you don't queue at the ticket counter. Transfer options add a private car from your hotel in Yogyakarta and back, in any class from Class II up to VIP. The third shape is an afternoon tour: a guided visit to Prambanan Temple, then the ballet in Class II, with hotel transfers both ways.

• Every option: show ticket, English-speaking guide, free cancellation up to 24 hours before
• Your meeting or pickup time is in the booking calendar and your confirmation
• Groups are limited to 10 participants

Ticket only or with a transfer?

This is the real decision, and it's about the trip home, not the seat. The operator puts the theatre about 17.6 km from Yogyakarta city, and the show ends after Trans Jogja's city buses have stopped for the night. If you already have a driver for the day, or you're staying near Prambanan, ticket only is all you need. If you're staying in central Yogyakarta without your own transport, a transfer option means your ride back is booked before you leave, instead of being sorted out in the dark alongside everyone else leaving the theatre.

Read next: Ramayana Ballet night: getting there

The temple and ballet tour

If you haven't seen Prambanan Temple yet, the afternoon tour combines both: a mid-afternoon hotel pickup, a guided visit of about two hours around the temples, then the ballet in Class II, and back to your hotel in the evening. One detail catches people out. The temple entry ticket isn't included in this option; you pay it on site or add it during booking. The ballet ticket and the temple ticket are separate admissions, so a ballet-only booking doesn't get you into the temple compound by day, and a temple ticket doesn't get you into the show.

Booking direct with the operator

The theatre's operator, InJourney Destination Management, sells the Ramayana on its official ticket site in all four classes, including VIP without a car. Booking direct suits you if you want to pick your exact class, have your own transport and are happy to find the entrance and validate your ticket yourself. What you don't get is a guide at the theatre, a car home or the free cancellation described above; the operator's own terms apply instead. Whichever way you book, the operator advises arriving 30 to 45 minutes early and warns that late arrivals may have limited access.

Indoor season: what changes

From November to April the Ramayana moves to the covered Trimurti theatre nearby. The dancers and the live gamelan stay; the temple backdrop doesn't. The operator lists one class for the indoor theatre, Special, with numbered seats and a soft drink, while this booking still offers Class I and Class II on indoor-season dates. If your date falls in those months, ask the provider after booking how your seat is allocated indoors. From January to April the operator also adds an earlier, shorter Saturday show outdoors on the Amphi Theatre, danced to recorded music rather than live gamelan.

Rain, cancellation and refunds

Two sets of rules apply. This booking can be cancelled for a full refund up to 24 hours before, and you can reserve now and pay later. On the night, the operator's weather rule takes over. If it rains before the start, an open-air show moves to the indoor Trimurti theatre and goes ahead there. If rain stops the show after it has run for 45 minutes or more, the operator counts the performance as completed and issues no refund. Booking a date in the dry months lowers the odds of rain, but nobody can promise a dry night.

Which night, and what not to mix up

The Ramayana runs on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, starting at 19:30, and the operator's schedule gives it about 90 minutes. Fix your Ramayana night first and plan the rest of your Yogyakarta days around it. On Fridays the operator stages a different and shorter dance-drama in the Trimurti theatre: Roro Jonggrang, the legend tied to Prambanan's temples. It's a perfectly good evening, but it isn't the Ramayana, so check the show name before you pay on any site. The operator notes that its schedule can change without notice, so your confirmation has the final word.

Who this isn't for

If your days in Yogyakarta don't include a Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday, this show won't fit; the Ramayana is also staged as wayang wong at Purawisata in central Yogyakarta, on many more nights. This booking isn't suitable for people with heart problems. If you want VIP but don't need a car, book VIP direct with the operator instead. And if the floodlit temples behind the dancers are the whole reason you're going, a date between November and April will disappoint you, however good the indoor show is.