South Korea - Help with 2 week intinerary desperately needed.
 

Could really do with some help of putting together and itinerary for 2 weeks in South Korea. For a variety of reasons, I have not been able to put as much research time as I would have liked. We leave on 31 March so time really is running out!

Based on the research I have been able to do, I have come up with the following tentative itinerary.
3/4 nights Seoul ( inc DMZ)
1 Seoraksan
2 Donghae/ Sancheok
2/3 Gyeongju
2 Busan
2 Jeju do

We are looking for a mixture of culture, natural scenery, temples, food etc. i.e. The usual stuff!

Is this a realistic itinerary in time available?
Anything that should be added or omitted?
Any suggestions for getting around - fly, trains, buses, etc.

Any help would really be appreciated.

Depending on your interests, you might want a bit more time in Seoul and Busan.

You could get a taste of Jeju-do in just 2 days, but I think you might need to give up some time somewhere else to get there and back. And if you do go and give it just 2 nights, you probably won't be able to see much, as it is NOT a small island, and getting to anywhere from anywhere can take a while.

Your options for getting to Jeju-do are air or ferry. Everything else can be done by train or bus. If you don't read Hongul, buses could be a challenge unless you have the names of your destinations written out in advance. And note that some cities have several stations, so it would be to your advantage to know which you want or to be prepared for some confusion (and delays and possibly additional buses or taxis) once you arrive.

Many of South Korea's most magnificent temples are some distance outside of the cities and can easily take a long half-day (or longer) to visit. Given your tentative itinerary, you might want to give special consideration to Seokguram and Bulguksa outside of Gyeongju and Tongdosa outside of Busan (try to time your visit to include the evening drums plus).

Hope that helps!

You are stretched too thin. Two nights in Busan is nothing. Basically, you will only have one day. That's enough to go the fortress, and you will miss everything else. Busan is like the San Francisco of Korea, where the mountains plunge right into the sea. Too much to see in such a short time, and it is a place you can feel like you are out in the countryside as there is so much nature right there. Check out this blog:

http://busan.for91days.com

I woukd skip Jeju in such a short time. You will be doing too much running around.

We rented a car for a week, So that is my suggestion. My favorite place to visit was Maisan Provincial Park. I also adored the Daehan Dawon Tea plantation, and the nearby Nagan stone village. By car, you can get so much accomplished in a week.

Sorry to overload you, but you asked....

Are those days? If so, two days/three nights is fine for Gyeongju. I got around mostly on buses, which were fine. Better than the one train ride, in fact. Click on my name for my East Asia TR - you might want to read kja's SK one as well.

To each his/her own! I love taking local transportation whenever possible in the Orient -- IME, it offers a much richer exposure to local people than traveling around in a personal bubble. JMO. That said, if you do consider renting a car, pay careful attention to insurance requirements, given the very high rate of accidents in South Korea.

I enjoyed the Daehan Dawon Tea Planation, but not enough that I would try to fit it into your itinerary. YMMV.

@ shelemm -- Sorry to disagree with you! But I do agree about the itinerary -- the OP would do well consider adding time to Busan and skipping Jeju-do.

@ thursdaysd -- I agree about Gyeongju. And thanks for recommending my TR! :-)

Oh -- and do NOT tip in South Korea!

'Personal bubble' is highly pejorative, kja. Anyway, we did this for a week and went via public transportation for a week, so I experienced both worlds. Just like I was suggesting to the OP.

I do have to say that with car travel, I got to have some personal interactions and experiences that would have been highly unlikely without a car, so I am not sure if I accept your 'bubble' analogy. SInce I did both, I feel confidant in saying that the advantage of car travel was similar to that in Italy. If you see no advantage to car travel there, you will see no advantage to car travel in Korea. Except for this one caveat: Korean cities and small towns are not beautiful.

To the OP: I was not necessarily suggesting adding to the itinerary. You might want to revise the itinerary. I am suggesting places you may not have heard of, so I hope that is helpful.

@ shelemm -- my sincere apologies! I did not mean to offend. I was merely speaking to how car travel feels to me.

Many thanks for the information provided so far. I had already read kja's TR which, in part, was what prompted this diversion to Korea. I am part way through your TR Thursdaysd, both are providing me with copious amounts of information. My problem is filtering it all to decide what to include!

Upon reflection, it does seem that I have included too much in the time we have available (that will teach me not to use a guidebooks sample itinerary as a base ��)

We have decided that Jeju do was a step too far and have removed that. Thanks for the link to the Busan blog shelemm - will have a good look at that to determine whether or not to include that or maybe increase the time spent there.

Currently on our way back to Bangkok to meet family who will be bring out the Korean Tourist Board Guides we ordered so that should make things a little easier (haven't been able to find Korean Guide books anywhere in SEa so far ( which makes the in put from you guys all the more valuable.

I am happy driving in foreign places and may consider renting a car for part of the trip ( maybe Gyeongju for a few days?) on the other hand we do use public transport wherever we can. I guess in both case, the signage may be a challenge.
I will come back with a revised itinerary for comment but in the meantime, any other "don't miss" places or sights?
Thanks once again for your input.

If you are headed to BKK you should be able to find a Lonely Planet South Korea. KSR if nowhere else, Or maybe here: http://www.dasabookcafe.com

If you haven't found a good guidebook for South Korea before you reach Seoul, then head to the Seoul Selection bookshop at 105-2 Sagan-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea, by the southeast corner of Gyeongbokgung. The Seoul Selection guidebook to South Korea was BY FAR the best of the half-dozen books I used when planning my time in the country. But a warning: It is HEAVY. :-(

Again, my apologies for putting my foot in my mouth about rental cars earlier -- shelemm's trip report provides some wonderful examples of the use of a car to see and experience things that would have been very difficult (if not impossible) without a car. I regret that I wasn't clearer in saying that I was referring how a rental car sometimes makes ME feel.

"I had already read kja's TR which, in part, was what prompted this diversion to Korea." Wow! Thanks for letting me know, crellston! I hope your experience is not inconsistent with mine. :-)