I will be going with another two friends. They will arrive a day ahead of me while I will be travelling to Korea the next day. The goal is to explore places that I have not been before, however one of them is a first timer to Korea so I have to include those MUST visit places in the itinerary.
A sample itinerary
Day 1
9.45pm - arrived at Incheon Airport by Air Asia
10.30pm - ride AREX + subway to Seoul
11.30pm - check in guesthouse, explore Myeongdong by foot
Day 2
7.00am - breakfast, check out guesthouse, leave the luggage at guesthouse
8.00am - Namdaemun
10.30am - Chandeok palace
12.30pm - Insadong and lunch
2.00pm - Cheongyecheon stream
4.00pm - Namsan tower, teddy bear museum
7.00pm - Myeongdong , dinner
10.00pm - my friends will go to Incheon Airport or they can opt for another night stay at the guesthouse and leave early morning the next day to Gimpo Airport but I will stay at Incheon Airport and take the earliest train to Gimpo Airport the next day.
Day 3
8.30am - flight to Jeju Island from Gimpo Airport *susceptible to the weather and flight delay*
10.00am -arrived at Jeju Island -tour the airport, breakfast
11.00am -check in Guesthouse
11.30am -rent scooter and check out Jeju Island until night
Day 4
7.00am -checkout guesthouse
9.00am - 6.00pm -tour Jeju Island
8.00pm -fly to Busan
9.00pm -arrived at Busan and check out the city
11.00pm -check in jjimjilbang at Gwangalli/Haeundae
Day 5
7.00am -breakfast, checkout from jjimjilbang
8.00am - Yonggungsa
11.00am -Busan Mosque - lunch at Busan Mosque -Busan Tower -Jagalchi Market -40 Gyedan -Gwangalli Beach
4.00pm - if decide to take free shuttle bus from Busan to Seoul; free bus from Paradise Hotel, Haeundae Beach 16.00hrs arrived at Seoul 20:00 hours
12.00pm -if decide to take midnight train to Seoul
Day 6
6.00am -arrive at Seoul Station, leave the luggage at the station
8.00am - Nami Island by subway and train
2.00pm -check in guesthouse, ewha,sinchon,hongdae, shopping
6.00pm -Sindangdong tteokpokki and Dongdaemun
Day 7
7.00am -Itaewon -Itaewon Mosque-Namsangol Hanok Village
12.00 noon -DMZ
6.00pm -Yeoido Park,63 building, shopping at Myeongdong
Day 8
5.30am - take the first subway to Incheon Airport ; checkout Seoul subway schedule here.
8.25am - fly back to Malaysia
Estimated budget ~ RM1,800 / 600,000 won excluding flight ticket and shopping
Note:
- Total actual days in Korea are 6 days
- This itinerary might not be suitable for those with children or elders.
- Time may not be accurate and just for estimation.
- Jjimjilbang is optional; the cheapest stay for about 12,000 won per night but may not be the most comfortable.
- Always have Plan B if your flight or scheduled get delayed or changed.
- Bring muscle pain reliever as the schedule is harsh, definitely if you're traveling with me. Hehehe.
Anyone has better ideas to reduce the budget and any unbeaten paths to explore with this kinda time limit?
40 Comments
I chanced upon your blog @buhaykorea.com and since then i've been reading your entries about south korea. Like you, im also very interested with this country and its culture. Im from the Philippines and currently working on my tourist visa for SK. I appreciate your effort and the keen details you shared in this blog. This is such a big help! hopefully i can be there by november and meet you!
Godbless
shey =)
I will be going early November by AirAsia but have not booked a return ticket yet as I will be studying in Sogang University and I'm not sure when I will return. My plan is to study for a year.
for guesthouse, i thing u can search via Korean tourism website. there hv a lot of guesthouse to choose from. maybe u i can try namsan guesthouse bcoz i did stayed there a month ago. it is located almost in the center of Seoul. it is also near to myeong-dong market, near to subway (myeong-dong station) n namsan tower. the guesthouse get a "Good Stay" certificate by Korean tourism. for your info, please request namsan 2 bcoz it is new building. for more info and to make a reservation go to this website: http://www.namsanguesthouse.com/
from my experience, it is a nice guesthouse. good service (before the stay i.e. during reservation and during stayed)
PS: make a reservation early because it is a famous guesthouse among the foreigners and do booked maybe 3-4 month before. u may used credit card for payment.
toddles~
U mentioned in your itinerary that you r going to Sindangdong for tteokpokki. Can you send me some info about this place? I plan to bring my mum there but i dunno realli know how to go there...
n nk tny, boleh x suggest guesthouse yg okay n budget murah skit? sy travel berdua dgn kakak sy..
tq
I suggest that you bring a coat. If you looked back for my posts in Nov 2009, I didn't bring one but on the second day I was in Seoul, the temperature dipped to -2 celcius and we rushed to Myeongdong to get one.
Korea has better quality, prettier and cheaper coats :)
Kena bawak coat. Cube book Namsan guesthouse, sebab location dia plg bagus. Kalau tak boleh cube dekat guesthouse lain dlm posts under label accommodation - Jung-gu or Jongno-gu area.
Check out my post
http://budgettravel2korea.blogspot.com/2009/11/sindang-dong-tteokpokki.html
if u decide to go to jjimjilbang, you must pay first to enter. thecrate depends on the time you enter. if you plan to sleep over it is a bit more expensive.
after u pay, they will give you a set of clothes. men and women normally has different colors. then, go to the changing rooms. if you have big luggages, they will put it in anither room for storage. the chabging room and the bath area are separated by genders.
if u r so shy to bath naked, then skip that and go straight to the sauna room. in my case, the bath rooms are at level 1 and the saunas are at level 2 and 3. I went there midnight, so I just mandi hehe..cause very few people.
you coulc choose many sauna rooms with varying temperatures but seriously, i think Malaysia is hotter than these saunas hehe. i love the ice and crystal rooms.
there are separates room for sleeping but the rooms are unisex and some are open and some are inside a hole. either way, i couldn't sleep well. i should have brought my ear plug!
in the morning i had my breakfast in the jjimjilbang
I haven't been to DMZ yet, only Imjingak with my friend Min Young. This coming November, most probably I will opt for the tour. ^^
Ni tgh nak carik good deal for ground arrangement & tour guide...travel date Feb'12...the students tgh cuti kan masa tuh ^_^ tlg carikan kalo ada yg nak bawak ktrg...5pax confirmed...kalo bole nak gi jeju skali...
you have to overnight there if not gonna go really early from Seoul as the journey is about 3 hours one way.
There are 2 types of sellers, wholesale or retail. You can find the retail shops open during the day but the crowds are more between 6pm-2am after that the wholesale shop will open.
I can't really predict the weather but a week before you go, just check the weather forecast to be sure.
If the forecast for the whole week is between 20 to 25 celcius on average, just bring a light jacket.
September is not particularly cold.
You will arrive at 2145 South Korea time.
InsyaAllah, you will manage to ride the subway/train as the last train will be about 11.30pm to Seoul
InsyaAllah selamat. Kite kena aware dengan surrounding la and berhati2.
Nov masih autumn tp cuaca dia biasa dh sejuk macam winter.
Winter pon besh jugak..tp on personal preference akak tak suke sbb terlalu sejuk, asyik nk makan and susah nk keluar sebab tak tahan sejuk.
Hari siang pon pendek, pukul 5 je dah gelap.
can u tell me other places which have great view when spring?
what kind of clothes shall I wear at that time?
I'm going to go Busan,Nami Island, everland, and explore Seoul.
which is better Everland / lotte world for the theme park?
Sorry If I ask to much. Thanks
Tapi saya cuma boleh pegi time cuti sekolah je..
No direct train from Busan to Seokcho. I wish there is too :(
Autumn runs from north to south due to the temperature differences.
Obviously Seorak Mt will experience it first and it goes down to South. Don't worry. As you travel down South you will still enjoy autumn foliage ^^
Just wana know. How much do you spend on return flight tickets to korea and from where(departure)? Is it best for me to book 1 month earlier or 2,3 months?
Hope to hear u soon ;)!
Return tickets are pretty much depending on the dates. If you buy during promotional period, you definitely gonna get a cheaper price regardless.
Try booking at least 2 months ahead or keep yourself updated with the airlines promos.
nak tanya kalo kat sauna tue, kalo pakai tudung macam mane ye? thanks
-ran
pakai tudung je masa masuk common room (lelaki and perempuan lepak2 lepas mandi).
mmg diorang akan tengok weird, and akak pakai long pants akak nye sendiri + tshirt yg dia bagi + tudung akak
I want to find out more about the jjimjilbang experience in korea!
I am very scared of getting naked in front of others. Can I ask if there is a place for us to change to the given shirt and shorts without others's view in an isolated room or something? Can we really change into their shirt without bathing??
You can change the shirts given at the toilet before going into the jacuzzi or shower room.
You can skip the shower and just go to the next level where the sauna rooms are.
You can reach these places by subway conveniently - Namdaemun is at Hyohyeon station, Line 5. Dongdaemun is Dongdaemun station line 1/4, Namsan Tower is by bus number 05 from Myeongdeong Station, exit 2.
Check here http://asiaenglish.visitkorea.or.kr/ena/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=626406
for further details
Just nak tahu semua nama hostel yang Kakak book please? :D
I tak pernah tahu pasal Jjimjilbang, until tengok cerita Coffee Prince. Haha! Excited!!! Thank you for your help!!!!
Hi kak.
Saya akan travel ke Korea on this Feb... nak tau kalau saya bawa duit poket RM1500 (fyi, saya ikut travek agent) adakah mencukupi untuk beli souvenir and just in case kat sana ada perbelanjaan yang xtermasuk dalam pakej travel agent?
agak2 cukup x duit poket saya sebab saya xnak overspend and xnak jugak bila nanti bila nak enjoy kat sane xcukup plak duit.hehe.
please advise.TQ.