South Korea October

[26inprogress]

Hiya

We ( ds 17, DH and I) have flights booked to South Korea for 2 weeks in October. Rough itinerary ( up for debate and welcome any thoughts!) is
4 nights in Seoul ( Myeondong or Gangnam areas?), including a DMZ visit

train to Busan for 3 nights including a visit to Gyeongju)
Fly to Jeju for 4 nights
Seoul 4 nights

Is this a good mix? Any recommendations on specific hotels or areas would be great. Is South Korea similar to Japan in that many hotels don’t start bookings until 6 months before? I am struggling to find places!!

thanks

South Korea is really interesting. For example, do you want to stay in a traditional home, wooden door, sleep on mats, experience that? Or a robot hotel?

Both are amazing, both are Korean, they are very different.

Thanks @MrsTerryPratchettwe’ve stayed in traditional ryokans in Japan so that may be great but not a necessity if that makes sense? We’ve also stayed in robot hotels but I am looking at the henna in Seoul as an option as they’re pretty good and good value. We’re keen adventurers and really want to experience the cultural side of SK.

Bumping this in case anyone has any thoughts. We’ve booked a hotel right by Seoul station for the first 4 nights in Seoul and a DMZ trip. Also booked a Hanok in Gyeongju, would love thoughts on places to stay in Busan, Jeju and back to Seoul and any must dos!

thank you!

Hi,

I think your itinerary is good and pretty similar to our first visit to Korea except we did not go to Gyeongju (but Seokcho and Jeonju). In Seoul, Myeongdong is a good place to stay as it keeps you nearby Geongbukgong Palace, Cheonggyecheon stream and Gwangjang market, Namsang Tower, the shopping in Myeongdong etc but also good tube links to Hongdae etc.

DS lives in Gangnam so we tend to stay in a hotel near him but staying in Gangnam gives access to the area, also Bonguensa Temple/Seolleung and Seongsu. On our first visit we stayed in Myeongdong for the first few days then after we travelled around a bit when we returned to Seoul we booked into a hotel near DS.

In Jeju I would think about hiring a car - we were living elsewhere when we first went after Korea opened up after Covid so did not have a International Driving Permit so had to use the buses in Jeju. It was ok but I think it is fair to saw we saw things that were on bus routes rather than our first choice but having said that we enjoyed everything we did there. As a result we stayed near the bus station but I cant remember the hotel name. Have a look to see if the things you want to see and do will let you ride the buses. As far as I remember naver maps in Jeju was great as you could track actual buses on their route.

We've had a couple of stays in Busan - the first time was central but the second time was down on Songdo beach which was relatively quiet and restful, but we wanted a 'down' weekend after being in Japan and half way through a 5 week trip. We used public transport again and your T Money cards will work here too.

I'm short of time just now but I will return with more info - I'll also look to see if I can lift my posts from the Japan Planning threads as I have posted a bit there too.

Thanks so much @Specialnameforanoutingthread. like Japan, we figured we needed to land on a few places rather than trying to do everything!! Seokcho and Jeonju look beautiful!
we’ve hired a car on Jeju as figured it’s quite big and we do want to explore.

Yes we thought about Myeongdong and Gangnam. Hotels seem quite expensive at the moment, not sure whether it’s like Japan where bookings aren’t open until 6 months before?

thanks so so much, really appreciate your help! We can’t wait to go.

I would recommend Seoraksan national park area, which is also near East sea resorts. October is good time to visit in terms of weather and going to mountains is good chance to see nice autumn leaves. You can get there from Busan by train along the East coast I think that trainline opened recently.

I’m having second thoughts on our itinerary, feel we have too much time in Seoul, and bringing back memories of our first trip to Japan where we had 3 days in Tokyo at the beginning and 4 at the end and it was too much. Now wondering about
arrive late afternoon and straight to Seokcho for 2 nights/ 2 days, 1 day and night in Seoul and the rest as planned. I think that will give us a different experience to the rest. Any thoughts v welcome. Our only fixed items are flights from Busan- Jeju- Seoul. Love the look of Seokcho NP, and really think we can do what we want to in Seoul in 4 days.

thanks

Actually I think that may be a bit much so instead thinking 2 nights and a full day in Seoul then Jeonju for 2 nights and pretty much 2 full days then keep rest of the trip as planned. Think that will give us more!