Excursion from Seoul - Busan or Jeju?

Hi

Going to Seoul in Apr for a week mainly for a shopping trip.

Looks like Myeung Dong, Dongdaemun are great places for all the trendy ladies stuff. Are Honggik and Er-Hwa Uni district worth a visit?

Would also like to travel out of Seoul for 2d/1n either to Jeju or Busan...but very undecided where.

Busan seems easy to get to via train...and the beach looks nice. what other attractions r there? Is Paradise hotel the best choice?

Jeju - air tickets are quite expensive....would it be easier/cheaper to book from a package from an agency while in seoul?

thanks

Excursion from Seoul - Busan or Jeju?

Sorry to say that for 1 night, I%26#39;d recommend neither. Busan is not very exciting, and Jeju is just too far for 1 night.

I%26#39;d consider Gyeongju if you want sights and Korean experience (and history).

O/wise stay in Seoul and do day trips.

Excursion from Seoul - Busan or Jeju?

If you are a woman in 20s~30s, you%26#39;ll like HongIk and Ewha University district (or Shin-chon) very well. There are lots of shops and bars, and they are the places where many young Koreans likes to go.

And I recommend you to visit Insadong. That%26#39;s where you can buy things that sell only in Korea.

As recommended, it%26#39;s not a very good idea to visit Busan or Jeju for just one day, even less when you%26#39;re here mainly for shopping.

Think instead about going to Yongin (folk village or Everland...) or somewhere near Seoul.

Have a nice time in Korea!

Hi,

thanks for the advice : )

i have about 7 days in Seoul, so i thought it might be too long just to stay in one place.

But prob 2 days to jeju or busan is too rush.

Yes Insadong is on the list! Looks like a cool place.

I will be looking out for flea markets too.

Anyone knows if the Seoul Flea Market at Sinseoldong offers a great variety?

How about the Korean Folk Village and Nami Island?

Worth a visit there?

many thanks.

7 days just in Seoul might be too long... but you can plan many places to visit within 1~2 hours%26#39; reach from Seoul.

Well, I haven%26#39;t been to the Flea Market in Shinseoldong, but it could be interesting to foreigners.

Korean Folk Village and Nami Island is both good, only you can%26#39;t visit both in a day. One day for each of them would do, I think.

You%26#39;d better plan your travel looking carefully at the map, because Korea is quite bigger than Singapore~! ;)

April is too cool for beach visit. Besides Gyeongju, folk village in Yongin, and Nami Island, you can make day trip to DMZ.

I also like to visit CO-EX mall, at Samsung station and Rodeo street at Apgujung dong area for mainly window shopping.

I am not sure that you have finished planing your trip or not. If you want to go to Busan, two days enough. Take KTX early in the morning at first day, then take KTX back to Seoul at night at second day.

At Busan there are a few beaches in the city. But most famous ones are Haeundae and Gangalli. And there are a big fishery market and hot springs.

There are many good hotels at Haeundae area.

I%26#39;d like to say, you can try Busan in two days.

Here are some good homepages about Busan itself and hotels in Busan.

http://etour.busan.go.kr/

http://www.haeundae.go.kr/eng/e/e0200.html

Thanks guys

i figured there would be a lot of walking involved.

just wanna plan something not too rush, involves shopping %26amp; sightseeing.

The beaches at Busan looks rather nice,a diff view away from the city. I guess no swimming and stuff, is the temp around 15c in Apr? I am keen on the hot spring...

what do u think?

1- Changduk gung Palace, Sam cheng dong Insadong, night - Dongdamum

2 - Youido (flowers in bloom?), Museums, Nandaemum

3 - Suwon Folk Village...- Honggik, Erhwa

4 - Namsan, Seoul Tower, more shopping

5 - Nami Island, flea markets...Nanta show...

6 - Coex, Aquarium,Apujong, Gangnam, Sinsadong, cafes...

maybe i can put in busan in the middle. do less shopping....

last time i went to seoul was just for 2 days, bout 9 yrs back.... just everland, lotte world, main palace.....so i guess it should be even more vibrant now. have no idea how it has changed.

I think the forecast for cherry blossom in Seoul, is from April 3 through 10th, so do enjoy blossoms at Yeoido or Namsan park. I would avoid going there on weekend since many locals also like to go there to see blossoms.

thanks for the cherry blossom dates.

really looking forward!

oh yes, can anyone recommend a good place for the traditional Korean table meal?

I think your schedule is ambitious but doable. I%26#39;ve travelled to Korea many times and have done a trip in two weeks. One week should be fine. I say go to Busan only if you are a seafood lover. The beach is crazy so if you%26#39;re thinking of laying out on the sand and relaxing, you%26#39;re going to be completely dissapointed. You barely have room to walk around. My opinion is that Busan is only for seafood lovers. Jeju is very nice but if you can get an island-resort type experience elsewhere in your country (like Hawaii for me), I wouldn%26#39;t bother. It sounds like you are going to shop anyways. Just to answer your question though, trips booked from Korea tend to be cheaper than booking from abroad. You should contact a Korean travel agent before leaving to see. Lastly, I think you must check out the shinchon (ehwa uni / yonsei uni) area. Great atmosphere, lots of things going on, and great food. The area around ewha is especially nice for female shoppers (I was dragged around by an ex-gf and although I was bored, she was having a blast shopping for hairpins, outfits, etc ... all the girly stuff).