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Hello fellow travellers! Planning on spending 2 weeks around the land of fashion and pop culture? We got you covered! This travel itinerary is one we created and recently followed so we know exactly what is worthwhile as well as the mistakes we made so you don't have to... you're welcome. Now without further ado let's dive in!
What kind of South Korea Itinerary is this?
This is a tried and tested itinerary by yours truly and covers the 3 main destinations of South Korea. These include the capital of Seoul, the cultural city of Busan, and the relaxation of Jeju Island. This itinerary is the baby bear itinerary, it's not too long, it's not too short, its juuuuuust right. It covers all the main highlights so you can get a taste of what South Korea is all about.
South Korea Travel Tips:
We would recommend you pick up a Tmoney card to use on public transport to make life easy. You can pick a basic design one up quite easily at the airport or at the 'Nice to CU' convenience store for only 500KRW (Technically, you pay 4,000KRW but get 3,500KRW loaded on the card for you to use). It will save you money in the long run and you don't have to line up to purchase tickets every time you use public transport.
Avoid the hassle of picking up a SIM Card when you arrive and get an eSIM instead. For every country we visited, we used the app 'Airalo' which offered various eSim's for many countries. Not only that it was super easy to use and made travelling that much easier so we could not recommend Airalo highly enough!
Download the Naver app. Since Google Maps does not work well in South Korea, you will need the Naver app to get more accurate information on navigating the country to make life easier.
Also, download the Seoul Subway App to help you navigate their train system.
Invest in city-specific passes to save money on activities. In this blog, we will talk about the ones we utilised in Busan and Seoul but be sure to do some research on any other cities in Korea that you may visit to see if they offer similar passes.
2 week itinerary overview
Day 1-4 Busan: Gamcheon Cultural Village, Skyline Luge, Spaland, BIFF Square and Yongdusan Park.
Day 4-9 Jeju Island: Seogwipo Olle Market, Udo Island, Nanta Comedy Cooking Show, Osulloc Tea Museum. Aewol Cafe Street
Day 9-14 Seoul: Gyeongbokgung Palace, Starfield Library, DMZ, Gwangjang Market,
N Seoul Tower, Alpaca World
Day 1-4 Busan
For us, our adventure started in Busan but if you are beginning in Seoul then simply reverse this route :)
Busan Travel Tips:
I want to start by mentioning that most of the activities we did in Busan were made affordable and accessible through the Busan Pass. The pass is available to all first-time tourists and can be obtained by visiting the tourist information desk at Busan Station. All you need to do is show proof of being a foreigner and then you can either purchase a physical pass or you can also simply download the app to buy it digitally. You can choose between a 24-hour pass for 49,000 KRW (36US$) or a 48-hour pass for 69,000 KRW (51US$), and the pass becomes active after the first activity is redeemed. Bree and I found it to be incredibly affordable, especially considering that it provides a comprehensive list of included activities and allows free access to public transportation through a simple tap of the card. We won't mention all the activities we did but we will talk about the main highlights that we believe are essential for anyone visiting South Korea.
Where to Stay in Busan:
Busan is divided into 4 main districts/areas, each offering its unique attractions and reasons to stay. In the East, staying near Hongdae Beach or Gwangalli Beach is highly recommended for a wonderful coastal experience. For a central location, consider the vibrant areas of Seomyeon or Nampo, offering easy access to city amenities and attractions. We personally opted to stay in the Seomyeon area due to its proximity to the city centre and the convenience of Busan's excellent bus and train network, making it easy to reach various activities.
During our trip, we stayed at a place known as 'Kimchee Busan Downtown Guesthouse'. One of the major advantages of this guesthouse is its fantastic location, just a 5-minute walk from the nearest train station. Furthermore, they offer a variety of room types, including private rooms with private or shared bathrooms, as well as hostel beds, catering to the needs of any type of traveler. Additionally, they have a downstairs communal area where you can enjoy socialising with other travelers if you're in the mood for it! The only drawback we noticed was the thin walls, which allowed sounds like doors closing or chatter in the hallways to be quite audible. However, apart from that, it was a great place to stay!
For all our accommodation bookings we used either agoda, booking.com or hostelworld which all offer a wide range of accommodations to help ensure you find the best one for you!
Day 1 - Arrival and Exploration
Depending on your arrival time into Busan, you have the option to either settle in or head out to explore the city. If you're in the mood for something relaxing, you might enjoy grabbing a coffee at the trendy Jeonpo Café Street or taking a leisurely stroll on the scenic Igidae Coastal Trail. For a more lively experience, consider visiting the Running Man Thematic Experience at Samjung Tower. This immersive attraction offers a variety of mini-games where you can earn points within the span of an hour. These games include a mixture of physical and mental challenges like a long jump, a mirror maze, memory puzzles, a ball pit and more among. Bree and I had a fantastic time collecting points and trying out all the games, so we highly recommend this experience!
Day 2 - Lotte World and Skyline Luge
Are you ready for a day of fun? Well, you're in for a treat with these two exciting activities! First, head over to South Korea's renowned amusement park, Lotte World. You can spend your day enjoying exhilarating rollercoaster rides and eating all the cotton candy you can muster. If that isn't enough excitement for you, then take a quick stroll to the nearby Skyline Luge. There, you can experience the thrill of speeding down different tracks on a small looking go kart!
Note: both activities are included in the Busan Pass :)
Day 3 - Gamcheon Cultural Village and Nampo
Morning: Just a 30 minute train ride from Busan Station is the picturesque Gamcheon Village. When you visit, you'll notice the charming old-style architecture, colorful buildings, and many people wearing the traditional South Korean Hanbok clothing. As part of the Busan pass, there's an activity that offers a 1-hour rental for wearing a Hanbok while strolling around the village. We highly recommend this activity as it was provided a truly unique experience. Additionally, the village is home to plenty of souvenir shops, coffee shops, and food stores, so make sure to take some time to explore and enjoy them!
Afternoon: After enjoying the morning exploring Gamcheon Cultural Village, you should definitely make your way over to the Nampo area and visit the iconic Busan Tower. The tower not only offers a fantastic viewpoint, but it also features a fun mini-game that you can participate in using your smartphone for a chance to win a prize. While you're in the area, be sure to stop by BIFF Square and indulge in some delicious Korean street food. One particular favorite is the Korean Sweet Pancake (Hotteok) was our favourite and is something we still drool over to this day!
Day 4 - Haeundae Beach and Spaland
Morning: It's time for a day of relaxation! First head over to Busan's famous Haeundae beach and soak in some Vitamin D! Or perhaps you'd prefer either riding the nearby beach tram or sky capsule while viewing the coastline. To find out more click here!
Midday: Does sipping on a coffee with an amazing view of the city sound good to you? Then why not head over or should I say up, to the tallest Starbucks in the world at Busan X The Sky. Once you pay your admission fee, take the super speedy lift to the 100th floor and drop down a level to where you will find the world's tallest Starbucks on the 99th floor.
Afternoon: If that was not enough relaxation then head nearby to Spaland (also apart of the Busan Pass) located in the Centum City shopping mall. You may of heard of the naked onsens in Japan, well this place in South Korea is a similar experience. It offers a gender split naked spa and locker area which was quite the exhilarating experience for us. Also note that this is not like a Japanese Onsen where tattooed guest are prohibited to enter so my tattooed friends you wont need to worry about that :)
BUSAN PASS TIP: I would use this as your last activity, before your time limit expires as you can spend up to 4 hours here after you redeem it!
If getting naked around strangers in a shared spa doesn't sound like your cup of tea then don't worry there are other things you can do at SpaLand. The place offers multiple
foot hot springs, sauna's and steam rooms ranging from different degrees and types such as salt, charcoal and ice to name a few. If that wasn't enough, they even have an entertainment floor, including a relax room with recliner seats and TV, misuse services, massage chairs, a restaurant and a café to allow yourself to totally unwind from the stresses of life.
Extra: If you can move out from your relaxing massage chair and want to do one more activity. Then head over to the nearby Gwangalli beach where there is a spectacular drone show on at 8pm and 10pm but only on Saturday's.
Days 5-9 Jeju Island
Jeju Travel Tips:
Jeju is quite a large island to explore and makes it difficult to do so with the lack of transport options. With no trains, you will have to rely on buses as your main form of public transport which are still a great way to get around and it is what we used for our time on the island. However, probably the best way to see the island would be to rent your own car. As we did find that the buses don't run super frequently so you do spend a bit of time waiting for them. So if you have the money and required license to rent a car I would recommend you do so for convenience alone. However if your like us and want to save a few P's then buses work fine just plan out your route the day before :)
Where to stay:
There are essentially two main areas in which you can stay on Jeju Island. The first one being Jeju city which is where you will fly into and I would recommend just staying here if you decided to rent a car or are simply on the island to relax. However if you are more of a wanderer like us and don't want to rent a car, then I would recommend splitting up your time and staying in Seogwipo as well which is the city south of Jeju. That way you'll have more time exploring the island and won't need to catch as many buses to get around.
For reference the accommodation we stayed at in Seogwip was 'EINS Hotel'. and the one in Jeju city was 'Golden Park Hotel'. Both were in a great location and offered private hotel rooms at an affordable price and we could not fault either one!
How to get from Jeju city to Seogwipo:
As mentioned before, your only modes of transport to get around the island is by having your own rented car or by bus (taxi is an option if you have the money for that). For us we headed straight from Jeju Airport to Seogwipo, so we got on bus 181 that departed from the airport. Depending on your situation though, your best bet would be to use the Naver app (koreas version of google maps) and catch the required bus or buses to your accommodation in Seogwipo.
Day 5 - Exploration and Nanta Comedy Cooking Show
Depending what time you arrive, you can either spend the day exploring some of Jeju cities touristy spots such as the Yongduam rock or shop around at Dongmun Traditional Market. Something you can't miss however is the very entertaining Nanta Comedy Cooking Show. This was Bree and I's favourite activity in Jeju and the best part is that the show is performed through expressions and not words. Therefore non native speakers can still enjoy the show!
Day 6 - Day trip to Udo Island
Udo Island (also known as peanut island) is just off the eastern coast of Jeju island and as long as you aren't staying on the western side, then this is a perfect day trip! To get to Udo Island you will need to get a ferry from one of two ports. We caught the one from Seongsan Port but you can also catch the ferry from Jongdal Port. You will either arrive at Haumokdong Port or Cheonjin Port on Udo Island.
TIP: When you arrive at the port, make sure to take a photo of the return times so you don't miss the return trip!
There are a few ways in which you can best see the island. First thing to note is that you can not rent a car on Udo Island, however you can rent an electric scooter type car. You will notice a lot of these as soon as you arrive and although they look cool to drive around it, it is such a hassle for foreigners to rent. Basically all the rental places will be unwilling to rent to a foreigner even if you have an international license. You can definitely try and see if you can persuade them but I wouldn't recommend that you bother for that fact alone and it also being the priciest option to get around.
The next option is to catch the shuttle bus that takes you to many stops around the island, refer to the picture below:
Its a great option if you want to avoid the heat or don't want to ride a bike/ walk around the island. To get tickets you will want to visit to the nearest Udo bus ticket office which will be near where you arrived. The shuttle bus stops at all the major sites around the island and you can hop on and off as necessary. The buses come around every 15 minutes so let that guide how long you stay at each place. It is the option we chose and we found it quite easy and the buses did run on time however don't be surprised if you can't find a seat as it gets quite packed :)
Some of the highlights we enjoyed was trying their famous peanut ice cream. We stopped at a place called "Jimmy's Natural Ice Cream" and it was amazing, I would highly recommend you try it!
Day 7 - Aewol Café Street, Mini Land and Osulloc Tea Museum
Morning: Are you excited for a day filled with coffee and tea? Then we got you covered! First, make your way to Aewol Café Street located northwest of Jeju Island (about an hour drive from the city). The street is located along a beautiful coastline with countless cafes and even some cute souvenir stores as well. It's definitely a great place to relax and enjoy the ocean breeze.
Midday: If you'd like an activity to do to fill in some time between each destination then head to the Jeju Mini Land. It is a park filled with replicas of the world's most famous landmarks in a smaller scale and it was honestly a great place to explore and take cool photos so we would highly recommend!
Afternoon: Next, head to the Osulloc Tea Museum which offers exhibits about green tea, an observatory with countryside views & a popular gift shop & cafe. The best word to describe this place is aesthetic, from the beautiful natural scenery, amazing architecture and well presented food. It's a great place to just relax so we would highly recommend you check it out.
Day 8 - Waterfalls and Olle Market
Now unfortunately for us we had bad weather for most of our time in Jeju so we were unable to explore the amazing waterfalls that the island had to offer. But rather then talk about how we watched movies all day instead, I am still going to mention the waterfalls we were wanting to visit so you can research more about them yourself. Both waterfalls I am going to mention are around the city of Seogwipo, the first being Cheonjiyeon Waterfall and the second being Jeongbang Waterfall. Both look extremely pretty and a great place to swim so I would say it wouldn't hurt to check them out!
Afterwards, head over to Olle Market for some delicious street food. We loved the vibe and the wide selection of food they had here so we would definitely recommend you check it out. Our favourites included the marshmallow covered ice-cream and the selection of savoury buns.
Days 9-14 Seoul
Seoul travel tips:
I would recommend looking into the "Discover Seoul pass" which is exactly like the Busan Pass where it includes a bunch of activities you can do for free within a time period. It's such a great way to explore the city and do activities you may not have heard about but not only that, the pass also includes shopping discounts and free transport on certain train lines. Click here to learn more about the pass!
Where to stay:
For us we stayed in Myeongdong which was such a great location. Our accommodation was called K Stay Guesthouse and although it is quite a small room it made up in so many other ways. For one, it was close to plenty of restaurants and the popular Myeongdong Night Markets (literally right on the same street) and is only a 5 minute walk to the nearest bus and train stations!
Day 9 - Arrival and Myeongdong Market
When arriving in Seoul, if you only have time for an afternoon activity then you can not look past a visit to the Myeongdong Market! This was one of our favourite street food stalls in all of Asia. Everything we tried was delicious, we went there every night for dinner which may or may not also be due to the fact we were staying 1 minute away. My recommendations on the food would be to try the Egg Bread (‘Gyeran-ppang’), Korean Fried Chicken, Okonomiyaki, Chocolate Oreo Churros and of course our go to, the Korean Sweet Pancake (Hotteok)!
For a little activity around the area you can head to a place called 'Sunoa' where you can make your own custom keychains. It is a little bit pricey for what it is but it was still a really fun experience and we were able to create a unique souvenir to take home which we found a lot more special then having bought one.
We didn't have much time on our first day but if you do, then we would recommend you check out this very cute cafe called ' Nuldam Space'. Here you can write a letter, place it in an envelope, stamp it with wax seal and send it yourself 1 year into the future. The entire experience amounts to only KRW4,000 and each set comes with two postcards, an envelope, and a wax seal stamp.
Day 10 - DMZ tour
I don't know about you but we have always wanted to learn more about the history of Korea and why the country has been split into two. In Seoul, the DMZ tour is one of the most popular ones to do and from our experience we can definitely see why. Not only was it very informative but also well structured and planned to allow sufficient time at each area. Make sure you bring your passport with you as soldiers come onto the bus to check them when you pass the border of the demilitarized zone. The highlights of the tour for us was the viewpoint where you can use binoculars to see into North Korea and even see locals living their everyday lives. The 'Third Tunnel' was also a cool experience, it is one of the 4 discovered tunnels built by North Korea in there attempt to invade. It is 73m deep and is 1,600m long. You journey down the tunnel until you reach the end which puts you at being only 170 meters away from the North Korean border. Finally at the end of the tour you visit a shop that is inside the DMZ which sells various unique products such as chocolate coated soybeans and soybean flavoured ice cream which had an interesting flavour to say the least. It's definitely a worthwhile tour and we would highly recommend it for when you are in Seoul!
Day 11 - Hongdae Street
I would be confident in saying that this was our favourite place in Seoul! There was so much to do in this area that you can literally spend a whole day here! We would highly recommend you first go to an animal café called 'Meerkat Friends'. This two story building features a lot of animals that you can see and pet such as Wallabies, Foxes, Dogs and Racoons. They get rotated out of their rooms every so often so the animals do not get overwhelmed with all the human contact which we thought was a really good system. Of course the meerkats are what most people come for, the staff will make an announcement to call for people who want to pet the meerkats. You will get in line and go through some safety instructions before sitting down in one of the 3 meerkat rooms, You get 10 minutes with these adorable creatures and it an experience we would highly recommend!
Now if your big Harry Potter fans then you will be happy to note that there is a 4 story café decked with all the Harry Potter theming you can think of. Even though the food looks incredible, the best part is, you don't have to purchase anything to wander through the various levels of magic and take as many amazing photos as you want! There's even a large broom right outside the café where you can take a cool photo of you riding it. For reference the place is called '943 King's Cross'.
Afterwards we spent some time walking down Hongdae's famous shopping and food streets which doesn't need much explaining on what we did there. However, we did participate in one of their popular photo booths which are literally everywhere in Korea. It is a very fun experience dressing up and wearing some cute props while doing some silly poses so I would recommend not only for the experience but to also take a cute souvenir back home as well.
Finally we finished off the day at the Coconut Box which can be best described as an underground chill play area. Here there is two massive ball pits, VR Games and a Bar. Its a great place to have some chilled fun and relax while sipping on a coconut or two.
Extra: Hongdae is also know for their nightlife so definitely check out some of their cool bars and clubs!
Day 12 - Markets, Temples, Palaces and More!
A day exploring the rich history of Seoul is a must! First make your way to Gyeongbokgung Palace which is the largest out of the 5 Grand Palaces built by the Joseon Dynasty. You can walk around the front courtyard area and even see the changing of the guard for free but will need to pay an entrance fee to see more of the palace. Next, explore the cultural Bukchon Hanok Village and walk by hundreds of traditional houses called Hanok's. Then, finish off the morning in Insadong Street and the surrounding area which is known for its historical sites and artistic decorations. Here you can do some shopping, go to a traditional teahouse or admire the Jogyesa Buddhist Temple.
Extra: Near Insadong Street is a really awesome looking rainforest like café called Cheongsudang. If you want to snap a cool photo and chill in a peaceful setting while sipping on a coffee then this place is for you!
Now, does tasting some of Koreas delicious Street food sound like the perfect way to end the day? If so then first you will want to make your way too Gwangjang Market which is one of the largest and oldest traditional markets in South Korea. Not only can you taste some traditional foods such as a Bindaetteok (Mung Bean Pancakes) and Kimbap (bite-size dried seaweed rolls) but the market is also famous for its beautiful selection of fabrics. In fact, there are places here where you rent and wear traditional Hanboks.
Day 13 - City exploring
Morning: Start your day off by visiting one of the staples of the city in the N Seoul Tower. We didn't have time to go up there ourselves but if you want a great view of the city this seems to be one of the best!
Midday: Afterwards head over to the DDP (Dongdaemun Design Plaza) which is basically a really cool architectural building. You can snap many cool photos here while enjoying the amazing architecture and even attend an exhibition if you want to.
Afternooon: Finally head over to Starfield Coex Mall and visit the Starfield Library. Again another instagrammable spot with an open two story library in the middle of a shopping mall. If you wanting to go there to snap a cool photo and do some shopping then its worth the trip, otherwise your not missing out on much if you don't go.
Day 14 - Alpaca World
Visiting the Alpaca World was unfortunately another activity we were unable to do but we thought we would still mention it incase it was something you were interested in. The place itself is about 84km away from Seoul so I would recommend that you book a tour that includes transport to and from alpaca world to avoid the hassle of trying to get there yourself. Feel free to click here to see all the available tours on Klook and find which one interests you the most!
Thanks for reading our South Korea 2 week itinerary!
All in all South Korea was a beautiful, rich and vibrant city. We hope our experience and advice on what to do and where to go has inspired you to start planning your South Korean adventure!
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If you have any questions at all or want more information, please fill free to leave us a comment below or contact us via email.
Aiden & Bree :)
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