Korea - 8 Hour Connection in ICN?

Looking for some information.

I have 2 friends that are flying Asiana to the US from China and they have an 8 hour connection at ICN on the way out. Flying Y.

On the last trip thru ICN i noticed that there were transit tours or something to that effect - i guess similar to what is offered in SIN.

Does anyone know are these open to all passport holder - i.e. a visa is not required, and is it charged or complimentary?

Failing these, any other suggestions for an 8 hour transit at ICN - Lounges, Hotels etc. - would be highly appreciated.

Thank You.

I had a 0500 to 1700 layover at ICN recently.. and looked at the same sort of stuff.... IIRC there is a city tour that leaves from the airport - for a pretty nominal fee... (I googled "Seoul airport" or "ICN" to get to the airport website I think..)

I ended up booking a day room instead as it was after a few days of travel and a short "overnight" flight...

For 65000won (USD$65 give or take- conveneient eh?) I got a room with a computer (old) and Internet (decently quick).. a comfortable bed, good light excluding shutters, massage type shower and spa bath...and pick up/drop off included....

It was JUST the right choice given how whacked I was when I got there!:D

It wasn't a fancy place BUT it was the only one offering access prior to 0900...

This was most definitely OFF airport.. I had checked in advance that I could (as an Aussie) visit without a Visa.... I'd make sure of that first as no doubt it varies depending on citizenship...

Depending on what time your friends get into Seoul they will have two options IMO...
-There is the choice of doing one of the tours and there are certainly a lot of options there that can range from 2-5 hours which should be reasonable and allow for sufficient time at the airport.
-Depending on when they get in they can take on of the limousine buses downtown for about $8 which is about a 50 minute ride. These buses start running around 6:00 AM and there are multiple bus companies running these less than every 30 minutes apart, probably less. With this they would hae something like 4.5 hours to spend in the down town area where if they take a bus to the city hall they can walk and see the Namdaemun (south gate) and see Deoksu-gung (a palace) which are both less than .25 miles from where the bus drops them off. Follow that up with lunch at some genuine korean barbecue place while they walk towards Gyeongbok-gung (former grand palace) and this should be doable in about 4 hours if they are quick. They can then catch a ride on the subway to Gimpo which is about 45 minutes and take a 30 minute bus ride to Seoul and they should be fine in terms of timing. Also, for getting back they can take a bus from downtown to ICN, but I didn't have any luck figuring out where to find one in the City Hall area, but I know it's possible to find one there.

one other thing that I had luck with when I flew Asiana form ORD-ICN-HKG was simply calling the airline and asking for a longer connection in Seoul to take a city tour. They did this for free when I called with no problems whatsoever.

[QUOTE=bschaff1;9966845] They can then catch a ride on the subway to Gimpo which is about 45 minutes and take a 30 minute bus ride to Seoul and they should be fine in terms of timing. QUOTE]

If one is leaving the city itself, would it be feasible to take the subway to Gimpo, then hop on the A'REX connecting it to ICN? Would that be faster/easier/more reliable than messing with a taxi or limo bus?
I get into ICN at 0505 on Nov 19, and don't head out until 2000 that night. Leaving earlier was a possibility, but I thought it might be nice to get out and see the sights (and get on an OZ 777 instead of a 747, which I've heard is the way to go).
Thanks in advance.

If one is leaving the city itself, would it be feasible to take the subway to Gimpo, then hop on the A'REX connecting it to ICN? Would that be faster/easier/more reliable than messing with a taxi or limo bus?
Cheaper, yes; more reliable, possibly (and only at rush hour, as other than that the buses run like clockwork); but faster, easier or more comfortable, I doubt it. It would take a minimum of 90 minutes to get out to Gimpo on the subway, change trains, and go to ICN, and the first half of that would be on an ordinary packed subway that may not even have seating room.

Until they finish the train extension into central Seoul sometime in 2010, the limousine bus (or taxi if you're feeling loaded) is going to continue to be the way to go.

Thanks for the info.

Be warned, you cannot count on that transit tour. Last time I tried, nobody was at the desk, the provided phone only provided an answer of "we no car today, no tours!" I would suggest any alternate. Even the information desks seem confused as to the existance of those transit tours. One information clerk actually didn't know what I was asking about, and she was inches away from a sign promoting the tours ("ask us here about transit tours").

If your friends just want to rest or chill out, there is the Air Garden transit hotel at ICN, only available to tranist passengers, and rooms are available by the hour. There is no immigration to clear, and therefore no worries about visa's etc.

There is a service counter (for transit tours) just before the immigration area/counters, and one can ask for infos if one needs a visa to enter and if there is available tours for that day. i arrived one time before 6AM and there was a lady on that desk. the tour usually start around 8AM hence you have enough time to have breakfast. most tours last 4-5 hr with lunch included.
take the city tour which will give you aan idea of seoul city. there is also a tour of ICN (shorter). transit tour brochures are availabe in the service counter or the INFORMATION AREA inside the airport.

Bumping an old thread as I think my plans have changed. I still arrive at ICN at 0450, but I'm looking at changing my flight to get me out to NRT @ 1800 that day. From what I've rea, most of the DMZ tour companies, even the USO, are subject to changes/ cancellations at the last minute and I'd hate to stay longer just for something that might not pan out. I can do a DMZ tour on a longer trip I guess.
This being the case, I'm thinking I'll skip a tour and just go into town, but based on the numbers in this thread it looks like I'd only have 9 hours to walk around in the morning. I've never been and would like to eat and take some pictures, but does it seem worth it or should I try something else closer to the airport? I don't want to sit in the airport all day if it can be helped. I'll be in business so I'm guessing check-in won't be much of an issue.
Thanks
Edited