RMLD80

Hi all,

My friend and I are planning a 2-week trip to Korea around Easter and would rely on your collective wisdom on destinations and length of stay in each city. Here goes:

Day 1: Land in Incheon, get to Seoul, recover from jetlag (flying in from Europe)

Day 2: Take KTX to Gyeonju. Stay for three nights.

Day 5: Take bus to Busan. Stay for two nights.

Day 7: Fly to Jeju. Stay for three nights

Day 10: Fly to Seoul. Stay for four nights until departure.

Advice on any aspects of this itinerary is welcome, but I have the following questions:

Are we getting the balance right - 4 days in Seoul, 3 in Gyeonju and Jeju, 2 in Busan? Or should we cut either Gyeonju or Jeju and spend more time in Seoul? We're interested in temples and museums (art + history), as well as nice architecture. Not so much in beaches (I assume it'd be too cold anyway) or nightlife. We'd like to allocate enough time to see the major sights in the cities we'll visit, but won't be rushed and are not the types to cram 4 museums into one day.

Any must-see cities we're missing?

We won't have access to a car, but are thinking of renting a taxi for one or more days in Jeju. Does renting a taxi to get around make sense (i.e. is it necessary) and is it reasonably priced (I read on forums that 8 hours should cost around 100k won, which seems fine if accurate)?

Which one is quicker: bus from Gyeonju to Busan or taking a taxi to Singyeongju and then taking the train?

Any restaurant recommendations also most welcome.

Thanks!

kja

I can't answer any of your questions, but I'll be watching this thread carefully, as I am also planning a trip to South Korea. If you want to keep an eye on what I learn, here's the link:
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...outh-korea.cfm

JC98

If you're not into beaches, skip Busan and Jeju. There are many interesting places to see on the mainland itself. Try to go to Heinsa and do an overnight temple stay -- it's a UNESCO World Heritage site. Magical place to stay for the night in a temple in the mountains. In 2011 when I went, the price per person was only $50 USD and included dinner and breakfast, lodging, meditation/chanting if you want to participate.

Another interesting place is Andong -- traditional Korean village and there's an old Confucian academy there worth visiting.

Seoraksan Mountain in the north was nice for hiking.

We went everywhere by bus, and it was very convenient and cheap and safe. Check the official Korean website with a lot of useful info. They even offered a # to call for live English/Korean translation. We were taking a long distance bus and wanted to be dropped off closer to our hotel instead of at the bus station. We called that # and the person translated it to the bus driver by phone, and he graciously let us off early.