tcook052

I have friends going over to Asia and encouraged them to stopover in ICN for 3 days and recommended they book a DMZ tour in advance. One tour they are looking at is offered by Seoul City Tour called "Third Tunnel/DMZ Full Day Tour with Insadong" which sees many sites including Dora observatory, Freedom Bridge, DMZ Theatre & Exhibition Hall but not Panmunjom and the famous armistice conference room. For those that have been would you say they should include the JSA & Panmunjom on a DMZ tour or for the casual tourist is the Third Tunnel tour enough of the DMZ experience?

Aventine

I would try to do the USO tour if possible. Includes access to the conference room, JSA and the tunnels. It's more special than all the others.

mikesaidyes

Without the JSA conference room and the view of North Korea from the line, honestly, the DMZ just looks like the rest of Korea - countryside and mountains.

rizayosia

In my personal opinion, visiting the JSA conference room is a must.

Aventine

You also get to goto Camp Bonifas and a USFK guide will give you a lot of the history.

PradoC

What's the price difference?

Pat Plus

Definitely go to the JSA. Everything else has pretty much turned into an amusement park imho.

zippy the pinhead

The USO tour, provided by Koridoor, includes Panmunjom, and all the other stuff, which can be quite forgettable, in my experience.

I finally got around to doing a DMZ tour, and based on the many recommendations one can find here on Flyertalk, I went with USO/Koridoor. Not cheap, but worth it. We saw the 3rd infiltration tunnel, Dora Observatory, Dorasan Station, and finally Panmunjom. The tour would have been worthless without Panmunjom; the infiltration tunnel is theoretically interesting, until you trudge down, turn around-- it was packed with other tourists when we went in-- and hike back out (quite a nice little workout). The weather was overcast when we visited, so Dora Observatory was basically a waste of time, as one could hardly see anything, and similarly, Dorasan Station didn't do much for me. But, when the Norks came down to see us at Panmunjom, that was worth the trip.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-H...0/SAM_0997.JPG

Aventine

^^Zippy got the money shot. Our NORKs just used binoculars through their window.

PradoC

I tried to look on Koridoor's website. Is it the one that's 96k won / USD $92?

Where did your start / end your trip?

Aventine

You start and end your trip at Camp Kim, Seoul.

mikesaidyes

Camp Kim is right at Samgakji Station, just a short taxi or bus from Myeongdong. And yes, that's the right tour.

zippy the pinhead

Yes, we paid $92 each. The trip started/ended at the USO facility at Camp Kim.

You can see there are tours on many dates; if you click on the individual tours, you can see they depart and return at various times. If your itinerary permits, I would suggest that you do not start too early, but instead try to avoid the morning rush hour.

The cafeteria lunch they provide is totally forgettable-- basically a wasted meal, in my view-- so if you are inclined, bring your own food.

If you have a telephoto lens, it would be good to bring, in case you get any opportunities to shoot distant Norks or whatever.

PradoC

Thanks!!
Didn't realize Camp Kim is in the city. When I Googled it, it was much more North!

sitrus

Does anyone know what/how koreans in general feel about the DMZ and visiting it? My Korean family was horrified when I mentioned I wanted to go to the DMZ, and I can't quite figure out if it is because they think its dangerous or because it would mean that I wouldn't be with them for a whole day of my short visit.