How to budget for 7 days in Korea?

I would say you could make do with RM1,200 (~400,000 won) for ground arrangement - lodging, food, transportation in Seoul and admission tickets.

Warning: 
  1. This budget is without flight ticket and shopping budget. 
  2. Flight fare will depend on which airline and the date you choose to fly ; season or off season.
  3. This itinerary does not cover for places out of Seoul except for Nami Island. 
  4. For Busan, Gyeongju, Jeju Island and ski or snowboarding trip, you may need more expenses. 
  5. Price may change. 
7 days budget (for one person)

Day 1 -  Subway from Incheon Airport to Seoul = 4,800 won 
             (Optional: Limousine bus 14,000 won )
             Guest house stay 6 nights, dormitory style - 20,000 x 6 = 120,000
             T-Money for 7 days - 20,000 won + 3,000 won (deposit) = 23,000
             Jjimjilbang - 12,000 won
             Breakfast/lunch/dinner - 15,000 won
             Tips: You can get a fulfilling decent meal for 5,000 won and rest your 
             bones at jjimjilbang for a change. ^^

Day 2 -  Gyeongbok palace / Chandeok palace - 3,000 won
             Insadong
             Jongno
             Cheongye Stream
             Gwanghamun
             Breakfast/lunch/dinner - 15,000 won
             Tips: If you visit Chandeok palace, you can just walk to Insadong, 
             Jongno, Cheongye Stream and Gwanghamun

Day 3 -  Namdaemun
             Myeongdong
             Namsan Tower and Cable car - 15,000 won
             Breakfast/lunch/dinner - 15,000 won
             Tips: Visit Namdaemun first early morning and try to go in weekday, 
             then go to Myeongdong and after that walk up the hill to Namsan Cable 
             Car Station

Day 4 -  Everland / Lotte World - 35,000 won
             Breakfast/lunch/dinner - 15,000 won
             Tips: Lotte World is in Seoul while Everland is in Yongin. So, you have 
             to take a shuttle bus to Everland and prepare to go out early from 
             your guesthouse.

Day 5 -  Nami Island - 15,000 won
             Itaewon
             Dongdaemun
             Breakfast/lunch/dinner - 15,000 won
             Tips: Go early in the morning to Nami Island because you need to take 
             an hour and a half train to Gapyeong Station. You could visit Seoul 
             Mosque in Itaewon and after that go to Dongdaemun in late evening 
             because shopping in Dongdaemun preferably be done at night.

Day 6 -  DMZ - 50,000 - 70,000 won (depends on package)
             Yeoido park
             Hangang Cruise - 9,000 won / 63 Building (Sky Art, Sea World, IMAX 
             theater, Wax Museum)
             KBS/MBC tour (walking distance from Yeoido Park)
             Breakfast/lunch/dinner - 15,000 won
             Tips: DMZ is the border between South Korea and North Korea. 

Day 7 -  Final shopping day
             Breakfast/lunch/dinner - 15,000 won
             Subway from Seoul to Incheon Airport  = 4,800 won 
             (Optional: Limousine bus 14,000 won )

Estimated total: RM1,200 ~ 400,000 won
 (You can even lower your budget to less than RM1,000 if you exclude DMZ / 63 building)

Check out walking tour budget by KNTO here

Post a Comment

48 Comments

Mummy Moon said…
nice one! I like it!
fifi said…
lotte world ni best ker...klu tk gi will i miss something
Zarina BT2K said…
Thanks Mummy Moon.
Wishing you a happy trip in Korea! ^^
Zarina BT2K said…
Hi Fifi,
If you love Disney World, you don't really adore theme park, you don't have time to go as far as Yongin to try out Everland...hmmm..maybe Lotte World is a better option than Everland.

Not that a theme park is a must though..^^ You can always choose not to.
Unknown said…
very helpful. but can u specified for me where and what you eat when u re there so that i can have the same meal as u ( coz da pic look delicious)when i'm going there next year. most of halal restaurant listed from middle east. i want to try korean food also.
Zarina BT2K said…
Hi Jaja,
It's very hard to list out all the places I went for meal.
I hardly remember the places except for a few.

Kimbap Nara/Jonguk - it's a chain restaurant and you could find it everywhere

I went to some of the back alley restaurants in Insadong - ordered dwenjang jjigae with barley rice;tteokpokki,bibimbap..

Hongik Bab - bibimbap..

I'm afraid I can't really remember the way to go there..sorry..
You could always read my entries on Korean food ^^
Zarina BT2K said…
Hi Fifi,
thanks for dropping by.
Lotte world is not a must.
Tak pergi pun tak apa, if you don't really like theme park, you can always exclude it from the itinerary
maybe you could just give info on korean food that doesn't contain meat for reference... bibimbap contain meat rite? I just had one at Garden Midvalley during lunch...

as for convenience store, could you suggest what can I choose that doesn't contain meat? I don't think that every lunch/dinner I need to go to Itaewon area..
Zarina BT2K said…
ayaharif,
I will try to come up with an entry about the food that we can choose or opt out the meat part. ^^
Arigato Zarina....kamsamhamnida? ami rite...trying to learn basic Korean with Hangul..
Zarina BT2K said…
ayaharif,

kam sa hamnida - 감시합니다

Try this youtube video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe0Y0wnsVgA&feature=fvw
Zarina,
Cukup ker T-Money sebanyak 20000 won utk guna selama 6 hari tu?
Zarina BT2K said…
Ayaharif,
Tak sume transportation boleh guna T-money. Tapi subway kat seoul, taxi and nak beli barang dekat 7-Eleven/convenient shop boleh gune T-money.

So, 20,000 won tu mebi tak cukup kalau nak gune untuk sume tu.

My suggestion, top up the amount once you need to.

Normally, I can only go up to 3 places maximum in a day. One ride, normally charged at 900 won.
Mummy Moon said…
Hi Zarina,

15000 won for Nami Island is included all the return transportation and ferry? Which one is better, Everland or Lotte World , mean for kids?
Mummy Moon said…
Is Gyeongbok/ Chandeok palace and Insandong near to each other? Do we need to take subway from one place to another? You think it is conveniece for us to bring along a stroller to Korea?? You didnt include Nanta show in your plan?
Zarina BT2K said…
Hi Mummy Moon,
Is 15,000 won inclusive of transportation from Seoul?

When I went to Nami Island
Train from Cheongyanni Station to Gapyeong Station - 3,400 won/per head
Taxi from Gapyeong Station to jetty - 4000 won/per taxi
Return Ferry for Nami Island - 8,000 won.

In total is somewhat more than 15,000 won.

Everland is bigger than Lotte World and it has safari which maybe kids like. The only downturn is that it is in Yongin around 1 hour from Seoul but Lotte Word is just in Seoul (Jamsil Station).
Zarina BT2K said…
You can walk to Insadong after you visit Chandeok palace near Anguk Station.

Although Gyeongbok palace is just one subway station away from Anguk, but it is not advisable to walk from Anguk to Gyeongbok palace.

If you want to visit Gyeongbok palace, take the subway and then if you have time, visit Gwanghamun which is just next to it. ^^

If you have kids, you better bring stroller. It's very fun to walk in Seoul but sometimes you need to hike to some places like Itaewon.
farah liana said…
akak!! baiknye bg info..suke2..harap2 de rezeki nk g sane..
Zarina BT2K said…
Hi farah,
My pleasure! ^^
InsyaAllah, one day it will come your way.
Nadya said…
Kakak, bila kakak pergi korea lagi? Tahun depan g tak?
Zarina BT2K said…
Hi Nadya,
tak pasti lagi.
Hopefully by November this year I will return to Korea ^^
lea said…
hello zarina.. ada twitter tak? i am going to korea coming april for 10 days.. agak pening nak cari tempat tggl + makan halal.. maybe u can help.. your blog is so far the best for me.. Thanks
Zarina BT2K said…
hi lea,
I don't have twitter.
I suggest that you spend some time to read my posts under label accommodation and korean food to plan your trip. ^^
Ainee said…
Hi, it's me again, bugging you for tips to Korea. After reading this post, we're planning to take the subway from Incheon Int Airport to Seoul, cause it's so much cheaper than the shuttle bus. How should we use it to get to Jongno-3-ga subway station, which is near our hotel? How long will it estimated to take? There's very little info on this in KNTO and Incheon website. We're going to bring one backpack and a luggage, so I wonder if the subway stations are luggage-friendly? FYI, our arrival time at Incheon is 9.30pm. Thank you so much.
Zarina BT2K said…
Hi Fraulein,

If you arrive as scheduled, after immigration, custom and pick up your luggage, I'd say you will need a buffer for about 1 hour.

So, let's say you start from Incheon Airport at 10.30pm.

Take Arex to straight to Seoul Station and then transit to Line 1 for Jongno-3(sam)ga station.

The cost is about 3,800 won and the duration is about 1hr 15 minutes.
Zarina BT2K said…
Hi Fraulein,

If you arrive as scheduled, after immigration, custom and pick up your luggage, I'd say you will need a buffer for about 1 hour.

So, let's say you start from Incheon Airport at 10.30pm.

Take Arex to straight to Seoul Station and then transit to Line 1 for Jongno-3(sam)ga station.

The cost is about 3,800 won and the duration is about 1hr 15 minutes.
anakmatnawi said…
Salam Zarina,

I planning nk pegi south korea this coming October. Skarang tgh giat blajar hangeul. haha. I stumbled across this blog ms tgh nk cari itenararies to south korea..nice blog btw!!

Kitorg planning nk pegi Mt.Sorak. You tau tk brapa estimate kos utk ke sana? And trail Mt.Sorak tu kira easy or difficult?

thanks!
Zarina BT2K said…
w'salam anakmatnawi,
saya tak pernah pegi mt seorak lagi..nak pegi sana kena pegi area seokcho dulu dlm 3 jam dr seoul.
u boleh cek website knto about mt seorak at
https://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264211&nearBy=site&
Siti said…
Salam Zarina,

i am planning to go there around July & i am happy to stumble across ur blog~ ^__^ many info i get frm here & i hope can learn more from you~
Zarina BT2K said…
W'salam siti,
my pleasure, you can browse through the blog ^^.
CIKU said…
salam awak,
ciku lagi ni,ciku nak g sana korea 18/7 sampai 25/7..tgh nak cari yg bajet tp nak g jeju island gak..bagus la info info kat sini.
gu-miho said…
Hi zarina,

Come accross ur website masa nak cari info to seoul. will go there in 2012 spring, still a year to go but pretty excited. tq so much for d blog, byk info n really helpful.

just wondering, selain seoul, ape nearby city yg nice and can consider to go? since i'll be there for 10 days n ur suggested intenary only for 7 days.

n shoppin wise, is it worth it? heard prescribed sunglasses quite cheap. have u bought any?

appreciate ur response. tq
Suet Yee said…
Hi Zarina,

I'm actually planning to go korea next year 2012 end of may. I would like to ask if there's any cheap hostel that u know over der?
Zarina BT2K said…
Hi Suet Yee,
You can check the guesthouse list under posts with label 'accommodation' on the left side of the blog.
eKa said…
akak, nak tanya pendapat ni...kalu naik city bus tour untung tak utk ittinery di ats
Zarina BT2K said…
Eka,
actually tak untung sangat
sebab dalam satu hari max tempat boleh pegi dlm 3-4 tempat. sebab akak akan stay kat satu2 tempat tu dlm 2-3 jam. tanak rush2

biasanya subway fare, one way dlm 900 won, kadang2 tempat tu just next to each other so jalan kaki je..

tp kalau naik bus ni, kena byr dlm 10,000 -12,000 won
so, dia sesuai untuk org yg tk cukup masa macam kalau stay 2-3 hari je kat Seoul, ok la.
eKa said…
ooo gitu...akak ada fb tak.byk benda pulak nak tanya ni ha....

kalu camtu saya ikut ittinery akak ni je la...yg day 2 tu kan...gyeongbok n chandeok palace adalah palace yg sama atau lain...

seoul city pass sama tak dgn T money, boleh ke derang ni digunakan cara sharing.maksudnya...2 org 1 kad...dlm entry mana tah saya ada baca akak ckp sblm turun dari subway kene sentuh sensor dia kan...sensor dia kat luar atau dlm subway

kalau pegi awal dec perlu ke pakai winter jacket , boot semua tu...sbb setahu saya awal dec baru nak masuk winter kan...ada juga check suhu kat internet, tp derang hanya dpt predict suhu dlm jarak terdekat...disebabkan akak salu g korea kan, so saya nak tanya la...sejuk tak time tu.1st time saya g negara 4 musim ni...sori la kalu soalan saya ni cam bdk darjah 1 :)
Zarina BT2K said…
eKa,
akak jarang FB, so kalau ada apa2 curiousity boleh email akak
zemoneko[at)gmail[dot]com

gyeongbok and chandeok palace tak sama

T-money and seoul city pass tak sama
kalau naik bus boleh ckp kat ahjussi driver tu untuk charge dua org..cume subway payah sket, camne nak suh charge dua kali kan...^^

awal dec, sblm pegi cek weather dulu..tp normally dh sejuk..better bwk winter jacket sbb org Asia biasa tak tahan sejuk
Anonymous said…
hye
nak tanya ade x package utk bulan 4 2012?
syikin_hepygurl@yahoo.com.my
Anonymous said…
Salam akak....
Kami planning nk p Korea pd 20/01/12 - 26/01/12 seramai 15 - 20 org.. Lebih krg cam family day la.. So, akak boleh jd tour guide tak? Price cam mana per pax - budged punya. kalau dpt apartment utk stay, bgs jugak.
Plz advise..
Nizar.
My email : sky_3803@yahoo.com
Anonymous said…
Salam akak..
1. Kami planning nak p Korea pd 20/01/12 - 26/01/12
2. 15-20 pax.
3. berapa budged per pax.
4. Akak boleh jadi tour guide x? Budged?
5. Boleh dpt budged apartment
Minta tlg advise boleh? Lg cpt lg bgs.. Hehehe

My email : sky_3803@yahoo.com

Atie
Zarina BT2K said…
Salam Atie/Nizar,

please liasie with the tourist guide at http://budgettravel2korea.blogspot.com/p/tourist-guide.html
linda said…
ble akak nak gi korea agy?
nk ikut bley?hehehe
Zarina BT2K said…
Salam Linda,
Akak memang dah ada kat Korea sekarang. study kat sogang universiti. ^^
nur_rena said…
Salam Kak,

suke sgt blog akk very informative..sy and adik akan lawat s.korea this coming april 10 days trip 31/03 - 10/04...kak sy nak best ker Busan? i came across the free shuttle to got there tp Busan accommodation (guesthouse) quite expensive. Worth it ker pi sane?...ape yg special kat Busan?
Farah said…
salam and hello ^.^. saya berminat dgn pakej yg ni. if nk guna pakej ni and nk akak as tourist guide spnjang kitorng kat sana boleh? any changes in terms of cost? saya dh email akak hari ni. email erika. thats me. huhu thanks..
cleng said…
this is really helpful!!!! i like it!! i want to visit korea too budget travel only!! thank you for this! ^^
Anonymous said…
hye sis nak tanya kalu bajet ke korea utk march 2013..blh tak?