Trip to Seoul - South Korea

LKingNgope on 01/08/2016 - 14:37

Hi Ozbargainers,

Reaching out to the community for a few things re my trip to Korea at the end of August. I have my flights booked, travel insurance with CBA gold card and accommodation to confirm depending if I'm doing day trips to rural cities.

Firstly for financials, is everyone still using the Citibank and 28 degrees combo for their cards (no fees and good rates)? Will be bringing cash as well but wanted to confirm this.

Itinerary needs heaps of help - suggestions/blogs/recommended sites even a copy of your previous itinerary would be helpful.
I have visited South Korea before and have gone to busan and Jeju. So day trips outside of Seoul will be great. This time I've got the DMZ in my sights for a day tripper.

Looking forward to your suggestions Ozbargainers!!

Travel

Comments

  • dissin on 01/08/2016 - 15:17

    90mins outta Seoul is Vivaldi Park. Summertime = OceanWorld and Winter = skiing / boarding

    :-)

    Awesome accommodation & facilities

    DMZ is worth going at least once. Walk in the underground tunnels etc.

  • retiredfeline on 01/08/2016 - 15:21

    OP how did you find Jeju? It sounds tacky from the description but if there are good nature experiences I might be willing to include it in my itinerary.

    • dissin on 01/08/2016 - 17:11
      +1

      My 1st trip to Jeju in '97 was great

      Went there couple years ago and didn't like it as much due to commercialisation

      But again worth going at least once. Volcanic island, huge lava tubes you can walk for couple kms! etc. Famous mandarins on the island and of course seafood. Dormant volcano you can climb to its crater etc.

    • KingNgope on 01/08/2016 - 21:14
      +1

      Hey I loved Jeju very much probably the best part about my trip before.
      Went to all major tourist attractions there. If you love natural wonders this is a must visit. Spent 3 full days there and that is suffice to cover the whole island. I hired a driver for 3 days think it was something like 400,000 won for 3 days. Best decision ever as you don't have to worry about transport. Went with the missus so we saw the value in it.

      • Jugg.Judy on 17/03/2017 - 23:48

        hi there, how did you get from Seoul to Jeju? is air transport the only solution to get there?

        • retiredfeline on 17/03/2017 - 23:58

          Pretty much everyone takes a flight. There are ferries from the south coast in summer, but flights are very cheap.

  • kimyongjeon on 01/08/2016 - 15:55

    check eat your kimchi channel on youtube :)

    • garffi on 01/08/2016 - 17:40

      They've changed their channel name to Simon and Martina.

  • rgr on 01/08/2016 - 18:08
    -1

    you shouldn't really use 28 degrees anymore…it's either bankwest platinum zero or something similar with a back up for the citibank like ING orange everyday.

    • retiredfeline on 01/08/2016 - 18:12

      Not even as a CC?

      • rgr on 01/08/2016 - 18:47

        they charge you for using bpay to pay off the loan. what's happened is now they're back tracking on a lot of the perks because they realised that this product is costing them money.

        • retiredfeline on 01/08/2016 - 18:51

          But I don't pay with BPay. And isn't that only if you use their online service centre?

        • rgr on 01/08/2016 - 18:51

          @greenpossum: well it's up to you

  • purplelady on 10/10/2016 - 11:33

    Hi OP, I'm going to South Korea soon, did you have any trouble using 28 degree and Citibank there? Thanks!

  • retiredfeline on 18/10/2016 - 20:40

    OK this is in reply to purplelady but others might find it useful.

    ATM withdrawals: First of all, foreign cards will only work if the machine says Global or it has the Visa/MC logos. Most machines on the street or in convenience stores are for Korean cards only. At the airport you will find Global machines. Probably at banks too. I got charged 3600Won (about $4.50) access fee at a Wooribank ATM (probably all banks except Citibank will charge this) at the airport but I had no choice, no Citibank ATMs there. Next day I withdrew 500kWon from a Citibank ATM and I got 3% better rate. So it's up to you whether you want spend time to track down Citibank ATMs. Their app might be useful for this. 1AUD ~ 800Won.

    When using the ATM you should choose English and follow the screen instructions for a few steps before you are asked to insert your card. Don't insert the card first thing or you'll end up in a Korean maze of menus and have to cancel.

    28degrees CC: You should have no problems using this where plastic is accepted. However cash or tap cards are the usual means the locals pay with for small transactions. I've used cash so far.

    Hope this helps.

    • purplelady on 19/10/2016 - 09:17

      Thanks greenpossum! Especially to get english when using ATM :)

      Are there lots of Citibank ATMs there? Which cities are you visiting?

      • retiredfeline on 19/10/2016 - 10:40

        Do a search for Citibank ATMs Korea and you get a locator webpage. Probably a dozen around Seoul, fewer in Busan and hardly any in the sticks.

        • purplelady on 19/10/2016 - 10:40

          I see… thank you :)

      • retiredfeline on 19/10/2016 - 21:52

        One thing I forgot to mention is the ATM will let you choose the mix of 50k and 10k notes. The 10k note is the most useful but the 50k note is good for paying large bills like a hotel stay or a splurge meal. So you might want some so you don't end up with a stack of 50 10k notes for example.

        • purplelady on 20/10/2016 - 12:46

          Got it. Thank you :)

  • ols108 on 20/03/2017 - 00:20

    Heading over in 3 weeks, is there anything I should be looking to buy that's much cheaper than back here?

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