Hi Everyone,
Travelling to South korea in May 2020 for 8 days and just wanted to get a few suggestions on what are good places to visit? Is it worth making a trip to Busan or any other recommended places? Is Citibank plus card good to use everywhere, should I be carrying cash to exchange? Any recommendations on certain areas to stay in? Has anyone been to Nami island and is it worth goin to?
Thanks
I would spend a little bit of time at Jamsil. There is are malls, a theme park and a nice lake to walk around. The traditional stuff is around Insa-dong. The only thing you need cash for is buying stuff on the street or if you go to rural areas. Get a mobile SIM at the airport. I wouldn't go to Busan for the beach coming from Australia. One thing a lot of Korean people do is go to pensions. Which is basically a villa out in the country somewhere that has some nature feature nearby (rock pools, hiking spot etc) and have a big bbq for dinner. Language could be an issue though as smaller places. If you are picking somewhere to stay, I would say pick something near the green train line near places you want to go. Being near a green line makes getting around a lot easier because it is the main loop.
Went last year at a similar time of year for about a month total. Started in Seoul, then to Jeju, then to Busan and then finally Daegu.
Can't say I recommend Jeju, was well too touristy for my liking. Busan was nice even though our beaches in Australia are likely better, it's more of a party city and if your looking for nightlife this is probably the place to go. Seoul and Daegu were definitely my favourite though, the food and the culture, hiking and mixing it up with the locals - these are the places to go. If you get the chance do Bukhansan, you'll meet some cool locals and you get a good view of Seoul.
I'd highly recommend an ING or Citibank card but be careful as I recall having trouble finding an ATM that actually accepted international cards (even though they had VISA on them). I ended up spending half a day walking around in 30+ muggy heat on Jeju trying to find an ATM that worked - perhaps why my stay there wasn't so pleasant ;).
Spend some time at Bukcheon Hanok Village in Seoul for some good photos.
https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Attraction_Review-g294197-d13…
And also Google map is not available, so plan ahead, do your research for alternative navigation map/s
This. We ended up having to use some metro map instead which took some time getting used to!
Anyone recommended a google map equivalent, especially for walking?
Naver map or Kakao map. Although I found them harder to use than Google map.
Do your research before you go, map your to go spot in the app, and ask people on your way (not everyone speak English, but they are mostly willing to help)
I didn't know about those last time. I assume they have english options right?
@H E B: They do. But I found them somehow not on par with Google map and asking people on the street somehow helped me to get to where I want (this was 2 years ago so the apps maybe heaps better now :))
I'm always intrigued by posts "Going to <insert country/city> in <insert month>…what should I do there?"
Why do people book trips without apparently doing any research into that place?
Cheap tickets, buy first, check with boss (if working), research later through the same platform that they're getting their cheap tickets from (Ozb) XD
As people have mentioned, Yes definitely download Naver Map or Kakao Map. Google maps does not work properly. Cash is just needed for street markets, basically everywhere else accepts cards.
Also download papago. It is a translator which works better than google translate. You can take pictures of menus and translate them which helps too.
Make sure you buy a T-money card for local bus and metro transport. It can be used in every city.
You can check and book fast train tickets here: http://www.letskorail.com/ebizbf/EbizBfTicketSearch.do
Intercity bus tickets can be checked and booked here: https://www.bustago.or.kr/newweb/en/index.do
If you want food delivered: https://www.yogiyo.co.kr/mobile/#/
If you are in seoul i would recommend visiting Lotte World Tower. The view from the top is amazing and they take you through a little museum thing before you go up to the observation platform.
DMZ Tours are also very popular. I have not done it but it has been recommended to me by other people and they have said its very interesting.
If you want a authentic Korean experience visit a Jjimjilbang. Its a korean bathhouse.
Also a noraebang which are private karaoke rooms.
There are many things to do, just depends if you prefer to have a quieter time relaxing, or prefer to go site seeing or hiking etc.
How's the air pollution over there? I never knew Seoul's air quality was so bad?
did u make it?
Why South Korea? North Korea is best Korea