The Ins And Outs Of A First Trip To South Korea

[one baht]

Travelling to South Korea in February for the first time ,Arriving at Incheon Airport 3pm ,want to stay 3 days in Seoul and then travel to Gwangju .Would appreciate some advice regarding resonable accommodation in Seoul , best way to travel from airport, day tour excursions ,markets , etc. and then want to travel to Gwangju , Should i change Baht to KRW in Thailand or Korea , Thank you for any help .

[chicowoodduck]

Was spent 3 weeks there last year....downtown Seoul...was Airport Bus transport on the cheap right to the front door of my hotel.....good transportation system for getting around....clean city, nice people who can party into the we hours of the morning and still make it to work....not a cheap place, people live good and have the good life for the most part....sorry I cannot recall the name of my hotel, but just do a Bookings.com search and all should be good.?

[Dukgae]

Went there quite a few times on business, so only stayed in top hotels - if budget allows, the Westin and the Shilla are both nice, I'm sure there are nice cheaper places too. Agree about the airport bus, well signposted just outside arrivals, the buses say which hotels they stop at and very comfortable (they call it a limousine!). For things to do, the street / area called Insadong has interesting little shops, a bit touristy but worth a wander along. For food, try bibimbap (rice bowl with veggies and chilli sauce) and bulgogi (a kind of stirfried beef and onions). In February, bring warm clothes, hat and gloves, it can be freezing there, especially if there's a wind off the river.  Never been to Gwanju, can't help with that, sorry.

[peterb17]

I stayed at the Royal for two weeks - Myeondong - nice hotel - maybe 4000-5000 a night ?

They have their own airport shuttle bus -very useful as the airport is a quite a long way out of town. 

 

Its an expensive town ( apart from the underground system ) ,but interesting, historical, fun bars , quite a lot to see and do.Went skiing 

 

I presume you will have invested in some serious winter clothes, it was -14 when I was there. You need good shoes, hats gloves etc etc .Ear muffs - very useful. Convenience stores sell hand warming packs - essential. 

 

Myengdong is a lively shopping /fashion/ restaurant area. Do some research on the city - it is huge- you don’t want to be stuck in a cheap hotel in the rather drab suburbs .

 

Hope you like spicy food and kimchi , it’s a bit of a challenging cuisine and I did not find many western restaurants- but silly to go to Seoul and eat burgers! 

 

Enjoy 

 

[MadMuhammad]

Unless it’s a large amount I found the exchange rate of little difference, 30 vs 32.

The KRX train into Seoul Station is great and cheap, 4000won (130thb). From Seoul station it’s very easy to use the subway to where you need to go (it’s colour coded and signed in English) or taxi & Uber is available (very expensive).

We stayed at Hotel Rian in central Seoul, 2Kthb a night (not sure of your budget). It’s a great location right next to Jongro Sam 3 subway station. Some great street food as well and nice restaurants on the river. Some very cool bars as well!

Some things to do: 

DMZ tour - extremely interesting. Bus tour with a guide.

N Tower Seoul - highest point in Seoul, great views.

Temples & Palaces - quite a few to choose all centrally located.

Museums - same above 

 

As mentioned not a cheap place to visit, average restaurant meal with beers approx 1500thb but some street snacks are well priced. 

Edited January 8, 2018 by MadMuhammad

[mike324]

Tourist areas in downtown seoul have the best exchanges, places like myeongdong, gangnam. Reasonable accommodation really depends on your budget, there is cheap to expensive - hotels to love motels. Get a pocket wifi at the airport so you can look things up on the go.

 

Take the public bus at the airport, many will drop you off either in front of big hotels, or near your hotel. Alternatively you can be drop off near a subway station and take a subway from there. The city is connected and very convenient to get around.

 

Top things to do - visit the  Gyeongbokgung Palace, Insadong (craft / antique street), Seoul Tower (at night or during sunset).

 

Highly recommend the DMZ/JSA Tour which has to be book in advance and gets full often during high season. You visit the border of North and South Korea.

 

Things to eat - korean pancake (hamul pajun), street food, spicy soups if you like spicy, if not try the non spicy beef broth soups (very hearty). Korean mix rice with veggies and meat (bibimbap). Lots and lots of korean bbq. 

[one baht]

Thanks everyone for the great information ,cant wait to get there ,thanks again

[alex8912]

Just my two cents. Please do not consume a handful of viagra before landing at Incheon Airport!! 

[MadMuhammad]

46 minutes ago, mike324 said:

Tourist areas in downtown seoul have the best exchanges, places like myeongdong, gangnam. Reasonable accommodation really depends on your budget, there is cheap to expensive - hotels to love motels. Get a pocket wifi at the airport so you can look things up on the go.

 

Take the public bus at the airport, many will drop you off either in front of big hotels, or near your hotel. Alternatively you can be drop off near a subway station and take a subway from there. The city is connected and very convenient to get around.

 

Top things to do - visit the  Gyeongbokgung Palace, Insadong (craft / antique street), Seoul Tower (at night or during sunset).

 

Highly recommend the DMZ/JSA Tour which has to be book in advance and gets full often during high season. You visit the border of North and South Korea.

 

Things to eat - korean pancake (hamul pajun), street food, spicy soups if you like spicy, if not try the non spicy beef broth soups (very hearty). Korean mix rice with veggies and meat (bibimbap). Lots and lots of korean bbq. 

And Korean Fried Chicken! The best 

[mike324]

2 minutes ago, MadMuhammad said:

And Korean Fried Chicken! The best 

Yes I forgot that one, always eat it when I visit and together with beer!

[Thaidream]

I have been to Korea many times- mostly Seoul and the DMZ.   Another nightlife area is Itaewon  with street food and lively bars catering to foreigners. I have actually seen some Thai business men on the prowl there.  Good Korean Beer and a White Rice Wine called -Makli- served in a kettle.  First time I drank a kettle- thought I felt nothing and when I got up- fell back in the chair- ordered another kettle.  Local Korean drinks are not expensive.

  However, as other posters mentioned hotels and food more expensive than Thailand.   Itaewon also has many shops that sell leather goods such as leather coats for men and women as well as leather belts and purses. Very good prices on these items- beautiful quality.

Enjoy !!

[atyclb]

had a few hours in transit between flights so took the airport train to seoul. a few lovely korean gals came on the train with acoustic guitars in cases. i gave them one of my three sided, 3 thickness german guitar picks then got invited to jam with them. no time because i wanted to walk around the city. very clean, organized and efficient.  

 

if i had more time the seafood market would be nice to visit.

[honu]

It's been coming up on three years now that I last visited Seoul (in April of 2015), so I can pass on some thoughts.  As I recall our first trip there was also in the spring, and a second was in the winter, in January, and it was bitter cold there.  Since your timeline is already set no need to criticize that but it would be good to prepare for it.

 

I can mention the place we stayed at, which was nice, and near a subway station, just a bit rough edged (maybe 3 stars using the Thai rating system, or maybe not, but ok as covering the basics goes).  There were decent food options around there but as I remember that describes all of Seoul. 

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g294197-d1149370-Reviews-Benikea_Kaya_Tourist_Hotel-Seoul.html

 

I liked the Insadong area for old-style appearance and shopping for tea (which I'm into), and it definitely wouldn't be worth a trip for most people but the Gyeongdong Market for traditional spices and herbs was interesting.  I have two kids so we tend to focus on events for them, so other reviews I did based on that trip are about amusement parks, which probably wouldn't be of interest.  Oddly we did visit one there in the dead of winter once, still open even though it was an outdoor park, but I'd not recommend that. 

[elgenon]

On 1/8/2018 at 11:00 AM, alex8912 said:

Just my two cents. Please do not consume a handful of viagra before landing at Incheon Airport!! 

This means?

[elgenon]

When is high season?

[one baht]

I dont know about the high season time of the year , but the Winter Olympics are on in February and March , which we didnt know about when planning our trip ! .The viagra bit is about a Korean man landing at Suvarnabhumi Airport running around 

naked very erect , he told the police he didnt realise the effect the handful of pills would have on him.