kfhowell

Hi! My husband and I are planning a 3 week “pre-adoption babymoon” to Asia in mid-October. We’re flying from Vancouver into Seoul for a friend’s wedding and plan to stay about 4 days in the city. I also have family in Taiwan that we’d like to visit and we have friends living in Singapore that we’re debating about meeting up with or visiting. Which itinerary option seems like it would be best?

Option 1

• Seoul—4 days
• Jeju Island—2-3 days
• Taipei (friends from Singapore could meet us there)—3 days
• Hualien, Taiwan (where my family lives)—3 days
• Tokyo (to break up the trip home)—2-3 days

Option 2

• Seoul—4 days
• Singapore—4 days
• Hualien, Taiwan (by train from Taipei)—3 days
• Taipei—2 days
• Tokyo—2-3 days

(Note: yes we know it’s a lot, but we will likely not get to Asia again for a very long time once we have a baby so we want to do what we can now!)

thank you!

kja

That's much more rapidly paced than anything I would want to do, but you are aware of it and apparently seem comfortable with it.

t seems that the choice is whether to include Jeju-Do or Singapore? While there are things I enjoyed about Jeju-Do, I was not enamored of it. I enjoyed my time in Singapore much more. You can read about my time in Jeju-Do (and Seoul) here:
4 wonderful solo weeks in South Korea
And my time in Singapore here:
A Memorable Solo Month in Singapore, Java, and Bali

Hope that helps!

crellston

I haven’t been to Jeju-do but would much prefer anywhere in South Korea to time in Singapore (just could not get to like te place!) and would therefore go with option 1. We spent a week in Taiwan 4 in Taipei and 3 in Hualien. In Hualien, we visited Taraoko Gorge and took a drive down the east coast. 3 days was about right. 4 days in Taipei wasn’t enough as there is a huge amount to see. We blogged about our time there @ https://accidentalnomads.com/category/taiwan/

We spent about the same amount of time in Seoul (same blog, just click on the destination tab for South Korea). Again, loads to see but we felt that Taipei had the edge.

If travelling by train to/from Hualien, do book as soon as tickets become available as they get sold out really quickly.

kja

IMO, Jeju-Do is really quite unlike anything else in South Korea. As a volcanic island, it has types of scenery and geologic formations not usually encountered elsewhere in South Korea. It is also quite a tourist destination, particularly for young couples from South Korea and China (among other places), with a tourism industry heavily slanted to young romance. There are, IMO, some things well worth seeing -- but there are also some downsides to the experience.

I don't know what crellston expected when he went to Singapore, but I think anyone expecting a more or less "Oriental" city would likely be disappointed. At this time, it is decidedly Western, with some ethnic neighborhoods and traces of ethnic heritage (perhaps most particularly in its food) that I found quite enjoyable. In addition, it has some wonderful gardens (indoor and out) and excellent museums -- hard to say that about Jeju-Do, although Jeju surely markets a lot of museums!

crellston

"I don't know what crellston expected when he went to Singapore" I was expecting anything in particular on any of the occasions I have visited. I just find it a sterile and very expensive city. Wouldn’t life be boring if we all liked the same things .

ZaytoonZucchini

There's so much more to South Korea than just Seoul, visit the rest of the country too as you won't be disappointed - it's fascinating!

Kathie

I think you are trying to cover way too much in your short time in Asia. And you don't have as many days in each place as you think you do. It takes 5 nights in a place to get 4 days. And each time you change location will take up much of a day.. Also, there is no reason to stop i9n Tokyo "to break up the trip home." Your flight from Taiwan is about the same length as a flight from Tokyo. A couple of days in Tokyo won't give you much sense of the place - it is so huge! If you cut Tokyo, you'd have a little more time to devote to other places on your list.

The flight to Singapore from Taiwan is a long one, so I'd only do it if you could devote 4 full days to it. Be aware that Singapore is the most expensive destination in Asia in terms of hotel prices.