lizcdn2

Hi - my husband and I will be travelling to Seoul, South Korea this fall for the first time, to visit our daughter who is teaching English for a year there. We arrive in Seoul on FridaySeptember 29 and have rented a traditional Korean hanok house for the weekend up near the Palace in Jongno-go. We'll then stay with our daughter for 2 nights in Gwangjin-ju as she has to work on Monday and then we are free for a week to travel around South Korea, before returning to Seoul on Monday October 9. We've rented an apartment in Gangnam for our last 3 nights before returning to Canada on Thursday, October 12.

Unfortunately, I have just realized that Chuseok means trouble for travelling so I am trying to decide whether we should just travel straight down to Busan and stay put for the week, maybe doing day trips from Busan over the weekend, or whether to meander down and back, spending a couple of days here and there along the way. I understand the highways are good - should we rent a car or take the train everywhere? I like the flexibility of having a car, but if the trafiic is going to be miserable, maybe taking the train would be best and we can rent a car for the week in Busan. Will it be warm enough to spend time at the beach at that time of the year? As Canadians, we're accustomed to being the only people at the beach during off-seasons wherever we go and a sunny 15-20 is plenty warm for us...

I am just starting my research, but am wondering if there are any can't miss sights or things to do along the way that we should plan our trip around. We love temples, cultural events, Unesco heritage sites, and food.

Any restaurant recommendations in Seould would be greatly appreciated as well.

Thanks very much!

kja

You have MANY options! I would recommend that you get the Seoul Select guidebook to South Korea. And you might want to consult my trip report:
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...outh-korea.cfm
Feel free to add any questions or comments you have!

Personally, I would not recommend a car rental for your trip -- the accident rate in South Korea is so high that all of my Korean friends recommended against it, and with so little time, it could make good sense to limit yourselves to places you can reach by public transportation, which I found to be very convenient. At least one other Fodorite did travel in South Korea with a car, so my experience might not be representative. But I can assure you that getting around Seoul and Busan, and visiting interesting locations outside of those two cities, can be done easily and conveniently without a car.

Hope that helps!

29FEB

Liz, give very careful thought to any train travel close to the Chuseok 3 day holiday.

Your daughter will view this as a great time to visit as it's a fun celebration and she'll have time off to spend with you, but travel can/will be a nightmare.

Have her ask Koreans at her school for advice and book any KTX travel as far ahead as possible. Chuseok is a holiday where almost every Korean returns to their home town to visit family so you can imagine the congestion.

But it is a wonderful, fun time and if you can avoid the worst travel days, you're in for a great visit. Good luck!

ellisbell12

Traffic around Chuseok is a nightmare. So trains would be better, but you definitely need to book as far ahead as possible.
If you stay in the Busan area, I definitely recommend seeing the culture village there! It is quite beautiful. Also, it should be warm (ish) still, so head to Haeundae beach. There are always street performers too, and at night people tend to set off fireworks there. Another thing to keep in mind is the Busan International Film Festival. It is usually in October, so accommodation might book quickly. If you are there, definitely look at the schedule and catch a few films!
As for trips in the area, you might have problems with traffic. If you can, though, Gyeongju is a beautiful city with many historical treasures.