10 days in South Korea?
 

Hi there! My husband and I will be able to travel around South Korea for about 10 days at the beginning of May.

Can I please ask everyone's advice on our itinerary? We'd like to explore cities (especially fun places to eat or shop), get some beach time and see some historical sites and temples.

This is what I have so far:

Day 1: Arrive in Seoul early afternoon, de-jetlag or explore.
Days 2 + 3: Seoul
Day 4: DMZ tour
Day 5: Suwon day trip
Day 6: Travel, 3/4 day in Busan
Day 7: Busan
Day 8: Day trip to Gyeongju
Day 9: Leave Busan, 3/4 day in Seoul (or maybe we can leave later and have 3/4 day in Busan).
Day 10: Leave Seoul in early afternoon.

Is this a good spread, too much or too little time in each place?

Also, does anyone have a good hotel recommendation for Busan?

Thank you! :)

Forgot to mention that if Busan/Gyeongju aren't good fits for what you think we'd like I'm also open to other cities, thank you! :)

Have you seen my trip report? I spent a month in South Korea last May and visited each of these places except the DMZ. Just click on my name to find it.

The only time I spent on the beach was just for a quick stroll. I don't know if it will be warm enough for you to enjoy beach time comfortably at that time of year.

If you want to see Bulguksa and Seokguram along with other sites in / around Gyeongju in one day trip, it could make for a VERY long day. IMO, they are worth it!

My son lives in Busan. When I was there in October I stayed at the Sea Cloud Hotel (Kunoh part) there are two different hotels in the Sea Cloud. I was on an upper floor with a beautiful view of Haeundae beach. My room was huge with a kitchen. I loved the location. It's close to markets and in a fun area. There is a wonderful trail around Haeundae beach.

I have also stayed at the Westin Chosun on previous visits. It's a very nice hotel with a wonderful walking trail right out the door. It's also on the beach. But it was a little pricey.

I love Busan and prefer it over Seoul. My son has also lived in Seoul.

We are just on our last day of 13 in Korea and followed a broadly similar itinerary. 3 days in Seoul inc the DMZ tour (v, interesting ) we then got the KTX train to Busan for 4 days before getting the bus up to Gyeongju. We planned on 3 days in Gyeongju but stayed for 6 - partly because we loved it but also because my wife was not feeling too good. I would add another day at least to Gyeogju as there is a lot to see in the area. You can get the KTX train directly back to Incheon airport from the KTX station 10kms outside of Gyeongju. No need to go back to Busan.

We ended up staying at a couple of "love motels" entirely by accident as I booked last minute. It was our wedding anniversary on one of those nights - my wife may well forgive me one day ��

Highly recommend the Ibis in Insadong - not large rooms but very comfortable, great value and great location.
You need to book your DMZ tour well in advance.

Hi! I am currently living in Seoul. I've been to Busan twice but don't know it well. For Busan I can only say to not miss the Temple by the Sea and to go to their main Park. As you see I don't even know the names, but a quick search on Google should suffice.

I can recommend a lot about Seoul though.

I'd spend one good day visiting 1 or 2 of the palaces (all, if you really are into that) plus the Bukcheon village that is nearby. On that same day, if you're interested, I'd go to a traditional tea house in Insadong. All of these are next to each other, walkable distance.

On a different day I'd visit the mountain namsan, shop/eat in Myeongdong in the evening. I'd also visit Hongdae, the university area for some cool cafe like the Sheep cafe. [I am new to this site so I havent published any itinerary, but I write a blog about Korea mainly, and I have written about the Sheep cafe and some cat cafe, among other things. You can check my blog on http://whereismimiyu.wordpress.com and make a quick search for whatever you're intersted in]

Find some time (maybe on the first, second, or a day with a day trip) to go to Sinsa/Apgujeong in Gangnam area. They have many fancy places to eat, drink, or have a dessert. And it's a very fashionable district. This cafe, banana tree, is one of the cutest ive ever been to: https://whereismimiyu.wordpress.com/...6/banana-tree/

I live in Suwon, and the thing that you cannot miss here is the Suwon Fortress. If you like beef, SUwon is quite famous for the Galbi (beef ribs). There's a toilet museum but I havent been there and heard it's so small it's not worth it. And then there's the Korean Folk village.

Regarding food, read my post about typical things you can find in Korea: https://whereismimiyu.wordpress.com/...od-quickguide/

If you have specific questions, feel free to ask here or on my blog~ I answer!