Need help with Directions and Itinerary planning

Hi!

First of all, we plan on going to YongPyong resort straight from the airport. What is the easiest, safest and not so expensive way to travel-- by bus or taxi or is there a shuttle van that we can hire for that? Any idea on how much it will cost us roughly? Will it be difficult that we don鈥檛 speak Korean? We plan to stay at YP resort for 2 nights, is this advisable? Are there other interesting sights near the resort that we can go to? If not, we will make it just an overnight stay and might stay at Incheon on the second night instead.

We are open to suggestions. We prefer scenic landscape sights that are either famous landmarks or shooting places of tv series, some of us not much into museums and temples or religious sites.

Secondly, we plan on going to Sub-Zero Ice bar after checking in at Ramada Songdo hotel at Incheon and we plan on going to Seoul tower after COEX mall. Are these places close to each other? Or should we do it the other way around? We badly need help with directions as we don鈥檛 really know where these places are located.

Hoping that someone can help us.

Thank you so much in advance!

Need help with Directions and Itinerary planning

Ooops sorry! Forgot to mention that we will be arriving at Incheon airport.

Need help with Directions and Itinerary planning

I really need some more specifics on your plans like what time you arrive at ICN and how many days total you plan on being here. Remember that Incheon and Youngpyoung are on opposite ends of the peninsula -- Incheon west coast and Youngpyoung east. That being said, the best way for you to get to Youngpyong from the airport is by bus -- roughly 14,000 won to the express bus terminal in southern Seoul then another bus to Youngpyoung or Hwaengae. I don%26#39;t know how many buses run each day. Hwaegae is a small town at the base of the resort area. You might even have to go all the way to Kangnung on the coast then back track to Youngpyong. Still, you are looking at a 3 hour bus ride from Seoul to that area. I%26#39;m not sure about the exact cost but I would imagine 20,000 won or so...

Understand that Ramada Songdo is in Incheon city while COEX is in Seoul. Not close. At least an hour, probably a bit more by public transportation. Also understand that the airport is well north of Incheon city, another 40 minutes or so by bus.

Again, if you give me more specifics on how long you will be here I can probably be of more help with your questions concerning film locations and scenic areas such as Soraksan which is quite close to Youngpyoung and could be a possibility for you.

Hi seasmoke, thank you so much for the reply. We intend to stay 7 days. Tentatively there might be 4 of us in our group. I have listed down our itinerary below. Days 3-7 have been prepared for us by the travel agency since we will be booking a group tour package with them hence we can not make major changes, except to insert some places that we can go during our free time.

DAY 1

Arrival at Incheon 5am

Check in at Best Western at Incheon. Though we prefer to stay overnight at Lotte World hotel. Our accommodation will depend on where we can go or what we can do in the nearby areas.

DAY 2

Check out of hotel and proceed to YoungPyoung resort for check in, overnight stay.

Go to nearby areas in Young Pyoung

%26gt;we will consider going to Soraksan, as you mentioned. How far is it from the resort and is it accessible by bus or public transport? Any other suggestions on where to go?

%26gt;when does the ski season end? Is there still snow in March? We do not ski but would like to snow sled.

%26gt;%26gt;We still have to iron out days 1 and 2. Is it better to proceed to YP straight from the airport? We are a little time constraint and don鈥檛 want to be running around back and forth.

DAY 3

Group tour starts at Incheon, we will have free time until dinner. So suggestions for DAY 1 or DAY 2 may be done here.

%26gt;we would like to go to the Sub-zero Ice bar after dinner. I understand that it is located at Hongik University%26#39;s, is this anywhere near Incheon?

DAY 4

Everland Theme Park, Strawberry farm, then check in at Mt Seorak

%26gt;could we actually just go to YP resort here instead?? I am guessing it might be night time when we actually check-in for our accommodation at Mt Seorak and therefore would only have a few hours if we went to YP. Are there other ski resorts nearby other than YP?

DAY 5

Shinheungsa temple and Gwongeumseong Fortress then transfer to Nami island. Back to Seoul for check in

%26gt;we would like to explore the city and experience the street food stalls here

DAY 6

Daejanggeum Theme Park, some souvenir shops, COEX aquarium

%26gt;we would like to go to Seoul Tower after dinner or around 8pm. How far is the tower from COEX?

%26gt;may also go to dongdaemun market if time permits. I understand that this is a night market and is open until the wee hours?

DAY 7

Kyungbok Palace, Myeongdong street, more souvenir shops. Our flight departure will be around 8pm

Ok then, I think these are all the questions, for now. Sorry that they are so many!

Is our itinerary doable? Any suggestions and recommendations are most welcome. Many thanks.

Hi!

I%26#39;m not very good at planning itineraries myself, so I%26#39;ll just skip about that.

But I think I have some comments.

1. Hongik University is in Mapo-gu(district), Seoul, so nowhere near Incheon. You%26#39;d better plan to visit there when you%26#39;re staying at Seoul.

For your information, Hongik university area is a famous district for bars.

2. From COEX to Seoul Tower, it%26#39;s not far - it takes less than 30 minutes by taxi.

3. Dongdaemun market generally closes around 4~7 am, so you don%26#39;t have to worry if time permits after dinner.

I hope this helps.

Have a wonderful time in Korea!

Wow. Okay. Well, my biggest concern is Yongpyong. Like I said before, Yongpyong is on the near the east coast of Korea while Incheon is on the west coast -- a good three hours away by bus at the least. If you go direct once you get here, then you%26#39;ll have to come all the way back to Incheon to begin your tour. Also, included in your tour is Mt. Sorak, correct? If so, then you would be traversing the peninsula for a 3rd time. That adds up to a lot of travel time in a short period of stay here. Allow me to ask why you are so intent on Yongpyoung if you guys don%26#39;t really ski anyways. If you are just looking for a little sledding and snow, go somewhere closer to Seoul like Yangi Pine Resort, about an hour outside of Seoul. That way, you won%26#39;t be racing all over the place.

Let%26#39;s see... COEX and Namsan are close enough to one another in Seoul. 20 minute by taxi max. No problem there. Dongdaemun is thriving at all hours like Namdaemun which I prefer -- outdoor and indoor market. Hongdae is in western Seoul, about an hour by Subway, perhaps less, by subway or bus from Incheon.

Again, I would re-think the Youngpyoung situation. Let me know if you have any other questions...

Seasmoke, thanks for your advice.

It鈥檚 not that we鈥檙e intent on going to YP, it鈥檚 just that we have heard it鈥檚 top-rated and popular. We are really just after the snow and of course, the beautiful scenery as well. What I am worried about is whether there will still be snow in March since it is the start of Spring already! As I have gathered, temperature will still be quite cold for us, coming from a tropical country. But there won鈥檛 be any more snow, right?

I see that there is a Korean folk village in YongIn and also hot springs in Ichon, how far are these from Yangji resort and are they worth going?

From Korea, thank you for your comments.

We will revise our itin accordingly.

I was skiing at Yangji late February last year. Depending on the weather, I do think some resorts will be open in early March as they have artificial snow machines. Try checking their websites, I know Yangji Pine has one in English...

As far as Ichon and the Suwon folk village, yes, they are relatively close to Yangji. I haven%26#39;t been to Ichon, and I consider the folk village to be a bit touristy for my taste, though it offers a glimpse into traditional Korean culture and many visitors enjoy their time there. The village and Yangji are perhaps 30 minutes apart, maybe less.

Just keep up with the weather reports and remember that March can be as cold as Jan., snow too, in South Korea...

You can enjoy skiing or snowboarding in the ski resorts in Gangwon province such as YoungPyong, High1, and Pheonix park in March, but you%26#39;d be better try there before mid of march when the snow gets slush.

All the premier resorts have hitech snow when needed. No worries on that one. Upper elevations will enrich your white dust fancy, don%26#39;t worry about that one...