Asiana Club - 14 Hour Layover at ICN - Just make sure I got the lounge procedure right

Flying into ICN for the first time. We are coming in from BKK on Thai Airways C class. We have a 14 hour layover at ICN and would like to go into town. The only issue is we get in at 5:25am. We would like to use the lounge for a few hours and then head into the city. I did a search and from my understanding, we need to take the tram to the main terminal. When we arrive, we need to head upstairs to the security area. There we can find the Asiana lounge in the main terminal. After spending a couple hours in the lounge we can then proceed back downstairs and leave for the city. I really do mess this up because I am looking forward in exploring Seoul. Last thing I want to do is spend 14 hours at the airport. We will have the connecting Asiana "C" tickets printed from BKK. Thanks!

I have not tried it myself, but did ask once when I had a long connection in ICN and was told that you can do what you described. I asked specifically about doing it in connection with a transit tour, with the transit tour desk being landside, so whether you're exiting to do a transit tour or tour on your own, it should be the same.

Just some more details. When you arrive and take the train to the main terminal, you will find the transfer point, go through security, then go up one level. When you go up, have a good look at where you came up because you'll need to find that point again when you backtrack. Not really a big deal if you don't remember because you can always ask at the information desk. Once you are up at that level, you'll need to go up one more level to the Asiana lounge.

When you're ready to exit, just backtrack down one level, then down one more level. Not sure if there's an escalator going down, or you might need to use the elevator if the escalator is only one-way. I presume you'll need to tell someone what you're doing. I personally would just tell them you want to go on a transit tour. Back on the arrival level, you will need to go through immigration/customs (be sure you get the immigration and the customs forms on your flight in and have them filled out). You are then free to go to Seoul or wherever you want.

On your way back, being you already have your boarding pass, just head straight to security/immigration at the rear of the departure hall, and then back up to the lounge if you have time before your flight.

If for some reason you cannot get your OZ boarding passes in BKK, just have a copy of your e-ticket to show to security at ICN, and the OZ transfer desk is on the same level as the OZ lounge, nearby the escalator.

Enjoy your trip. Don't worry too much about ICN, it's a very nice airport and easy to navigate.

Seoul is a big city so plan well ahead in terms of where you want to go.

If you have 14 hours you need:

2 hours in the lounge including security
2 hours to get into town by bus including wait time, buying ticket etc
2 hours to get back to the airport and arrive at least
90 minutes early

So the net time in town is about 6.5 hours. This is enough to do a lot but not enough to see "everything". So focus on some areas you would like to see.

Some comments on the time schedule.

Depending on what one wants to do/see in Seoul, arriving too early might not be a good idea. In Korea some places might not open until 10:00, so best to check opening times first in order to estimate what time you want to leave the airport. Immigration can take up to 45 minutes during peak times when I've seen it, but I've not gone through immigration in the morning past 07:00, so don't know if it'll get backed up or not. My guess though is that it won't be too bad. I'd probably figure on 15-30 minutes myself.

It depends on where you want to go in Seoul, but if downtown or nearby, I would take the Arex train. It's a fixed schedule vs. a bus which is dependent on traffic. Should only take 1 hour from ICN to Seoul Station, and from there take a taxi or maybe walk to the final destination(s). Add on the time to walk from arrivals to the station, buy a ticket, and exit the station in Seoul, and perhaps 1h 20m. If the location is not near central Seoul, then a limousine bus may or may not be the best choice, and could take an hour or less, or up to two hours, depending on the destination and traffic. If using Arex, no need to wait for an express train, being the commuter trains run much more frequently, and without luggage it should be fine even if it gets crowded, being you'll have a seat at ICN being it's the first station.

For the return, if using Arex, again 1h 20m should be sufficient.

With having boarding passes in hand, in my opinion 90 minutes is overkill. I would be quite comfortable with only 1 hour or even less, being you only have to pass through security/immigration. Sometimes the lines are a bit long, but it always goes fairly quickly. Shouldn't take more than 15 minutes unless you happened to hit it on a peak travel day, and even then shouldn't be much more than that. Add 5 - 10 minutes to walk to the gate. Of course if you wanted to use the lounge ahead of time, and eat dinner there or elsewhere at the airport, do some duty free shopping, etc., you might want more than an hour.

And if you're going to be walking around Seoul anytime between now and Spring, be sure you have appropriate clothing. The temperature this morning was below freezing, and by late December/January it can get quite cold with the wind and resulting wind chill.

Oh, and I just realized, you're flying in on TG and say you're arriving at 05:25. Are you sure of that arrival time? I've flown TG extensively on that route and have never ever arrived around that time. The earliest I think was 06:15.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I am glad I checked the itinerary again. The flight is actually 5 hours and 25 min and we indeed arrive at 6:25 am. I am thinking of going to Gyeongbokgung and Itaewon or Namdaemun. Eat some BBQ and head back to the airport. I was planning to take the airport express train. It is 92 F here is BKK and we are leaving tonight.....what a change of weather. It seems to be raining tomorrow.

If it rains tomorrow, it could very well be snow or a combination of snow/rain.

Gyeongbokgung opens at 09:00, or at least that was the opening time last I checked. Arriving at 06:25 though, you won't be there for the opening time if you hit the OZ lounge first. I personally would choose Namdaemun over Itaewon. Itaewon just seems to be a westernized market located in Korea to me, whereas Namdaemun is much more of an authentic Korean market. But I haven't been to either in many years so don't know how they might have changed recently. And of course everyone has their own opinions of things like that.

Don't have any recommendations for BBQ in the area either, being I don't know it well. Itaewon though has lots and lots of international cuisine restaurants, so probably a more limited selection of Korean places than the Namdaemun area. There's probably others in this forum who could give you a good recommendation if you're looking for one.

If you're planning on being back at Seoul Station around 17:00, be prepared for potentially a lot of traffic if taking a taxi, especially if the weather turns bad. If traffic is heavy, the subway might be a better alternative. Don't try taking local city buses as they'll likely be too confusing to a first time visitor who doesn't read/speak Korean.

Based on personal experience, you need an escort to take you backwards thru security. But just walk up to the Asiana desk and tell them you would like to enter Korea, and they will escort you thru.

Thanks for all the help! The TG flight was early and we arrived before 6:00am. We proceeded through the security area at the transit line, went up the escalator to the main hall, then went up another escalator to Asiana lounge. We spend about 3 hours at the lounge. When we decided to go to Seoul, we went back to the escalator area in the main hall. There is an elevator that will take you back down to the security area of the transit area. Just let the security officer know that you want to "tour" Seoul and they will let you back in to the customs area. They did check the passport and boarding card.

To my surprise, there was nobody at the custom area......we were the only ones there. The custom officer suggested the bus to the city. We hopped on the bus and the ride was about 45 min (10,000 KRW) to Gyeongbokgung. We spent 2 hours at the palace and went to Namdaemun market. We had lunch there and walked around. There are these steam pork buns that are to die for. Since we had so much time left, we headed back to the airport by subway. It was inexpensive (~3600 KRW) but it took more than two hours. We made it back to ICN with 1.5 hours to go. Overall Seoul was fun! Thanks again!

Thanks for reporting back how it went.

I'm surprised it took you more than two hours to get back to the airport. But based on the price you quoted, I'm guessing you didn't take the AREX all the way. Probably you took the regular subway line, then changed to the AREX at Gimpo, which would take a long time, being there's a lot of stops on the regular subway line. From Seoul Station, The AREX travel time to ICN I believe is only 43 minutes via express train and 53 minutes by regular train.

When traffic isn't heavy, the buses are usually faster and more convenient than the train. But during heavy traffic, when you have to be someplace, I'd choose the train being it's a fixed time and you don't have to worry about missing a flight. Also for a first timer, I think I still recommend the train, especially for the return being there's less chance of getting lost or not knowing where to catch the bus for the return.

Glad your tour worked out for you.

Thanks for reporting back how it went.

I'm surprised it took you more than two hours to get back to the airport. But based on the price you quoted, I'm guessing you didn't take the AREX all the way. Probably you took the regular subway line, then changed to the AREX at Gimpo, which would take a long time, being there's a lot of stops on the regular subway line. From Seoul Station, The AREX travel time to ICN I believe is only 43 minutes via express train and 53 minutes by regular train.

When traffic isn't heavy, the buses are usually faster and more convenient than the train. But during heavy traffic, when you have to be someplace, I'd choose the train being it's a fixed time and you don't have to worry about missing a flight. Also for a first timer, I think I still recommend the train, especially for the return being there's less chance of getting lost or not knowing where to catch the bus for the return.

Glad your tour worked out for you.

I was surprised also, as the AREX starts at Seoul Station, and takes less than an hour on the all-stop train (significantly cheaper than the express and only ~11 minutes longer)

Though if he was looking at an old map, and seeing that the AREX starts only at Gimpo Airport, then I can see it taking an hour longer.

I find it problematic for tourists that if they Google 'Seoul subway map' most of the top results are maps that are at least 3 years old.

For an up to date english map, always consult this website
http://www.smrt.co.kr/program/cyberStation/main2.jsp?lang=e

Yes it was the local subway for the whole trip back. It was around 34 stops. Again we had plenty of time although we will never do it again. So we got on the subway at Hoehyeon (line 4), changed at Seoul Station (Line 1), changed at Bupyeong (Incheon line), transferred at Gyeyang (Airport Train), and had to transfer to another airport train at Geomam or Unseo b/c the original train did not go all the way to the airport. The whole trip took about 2 1/4 hours and I had to stand for a good 1.5 hour. We did not have any luggage as the Asiana lounge had lockable storage.

great thread! i have a small layover between 6:45am to 4:40pm and i fully plan on getting into town to eat, eat, eat! :)

great news that i can go to the lounge, drop off luggage, and go!

side question about *G... i'm UA with *G. what are chances/strategies of getting better seating a the counter? something like emergency exit? i purchased tix via a travel website, so not much opportunity to make seat selection. and then when i went to the asiana website, i couldn't make selections. thanks!

great thread! i have a small layover between 6:45am to 4:40pm and i fully plan on getting into town to eat, eat, eat! :)

great news that i can go to the lounge, drop off luggage, and go!

side question about *G... i'm UA with *G. what are chances/strategies of getting better seating a the counter? something like emergency exit? i purchased tix via a travel website, so not much opportunity to make seat selection. and then when i went to the asiana website, i couldn't make selections. thanks!

When you arrive and go up to the level for the OZ lounge, there is an OZ transit counter nearby. Assuming you don't have your boarding pass (and need one there anyways), or got your boarding pass but didn't get the seat you wanted, I would ask there for your preferred seat. Being you'll be checking in much earlier than most everyone else, you might get lucky and get the seat you want. I don't really know any other strategies to recommend, other than maybe calling OZ to try to get the seat you want. Often times when the website doesn't work or do what you want, you can call and get much better results.