BrianMinn

I have a morning flight from ICN and looking for an inexpensive hotel near there (walking distance?). Ideas?

Given enough time the day before, I might also visit central Seoul. Since it's my first trip to Korea (other than flight changes), can I really see much in, say, six hours in central Seoul? Recommendations?

mikesaidyes

What time does your flight land/arrive? That is ultimately the deciding factor for what you can do in Seoul with the time you have.

The cheapest place to stay would be the new capsule hotel in the giant train terminal building attached to the airport. It is cheaper than the transit hotel inside the airport. There is also a Grand Hyatt outside the airport (expensive) and several cheaper motels in the nearby area of the airport that offer shuttle service. You can also stay in the Korean sauna in the basement overnight.

If you are flying on a paid ticket Korean Air, they do offer a free stopover hotel (presuming that you have to stay overnight, there isn't an earlier flight you could've taken). They can provide this next to the airport or even one hotel in Seoul if you request it.

trooper

Id grab one of those hotels nearby that offers a shuttle.... I wish I could remember the name of the one I used several times....it was perfectly acceptable.....we were using it as a day room but that's really irrelevant...

BrianMinn

"What time does your flight land/arrive? That is ultimately the deciding factor for what you can do in Seoul with the time you have."

Could arrive as early as noon, and have a 10:15 departure next day.

mikesaidyes

If you have a whole day like that, definitely go into Seoul and get a hotel in the Jongno 3, Myeongdong or City Hall area. This area is home to all the major tourist sites, markets and is a very busy downtown area of Seoul. Can do a nice looooong day tour and see everythjng in one go. The airport doesn't have much around it to do with that much time.

Just know that mornings are verrrrrrrrrrry busy at ICN. Very crowded until new terminal opens in October. Korean Air and Asiana check in lines can be really long. I waited 40 minutes in the web check in line once to drop a bag. Security lines also long. Arrive early. If the lines for security seem like you will miss your flight, don't worry. You can show your boarding pass to one of the staffers working the line (blue jacket). They will let you use the crew lane with no wait around the scheduled boarding time on your pass.

eeflyer

+1 on those recommendations for where to stay! My last two stays were in Namdaemun and near Jonggak. They are really close to a lot of places that are nice to see such as Cheonggyecheon and Myeongdong. Those are all walking distance. You could also walk to Seoul Tower and take the cable car up, if that's your kind of thing. The public transport is also excellent and easy to use. Dongdaemun Design Plaza is nice at night as well.

glennaa11

OP doesn't mention class of service. But that could help somewhat with respect to lines. I flew out in the AM on KE but since it was a Saturday and I was in F check in was a breeze. It's a bit of a hike between the train station and the terminal though.

For sure it's worth going into town. I enjoyed my week there very much. Agree on DDP. I loved it. Got there a little while before sunset to see it in daylight and night. As always it depends on what sorts of things you like to do. But just walking around the City Hall area there are some things to see any time of day.

MSPeconomist

I've experienced long lines for exit passport control and security when leaving ICN on DL in business class (D1), which means SkyPriority.

HawaiiO

ICN airport doesnt have Business/First priority for immigration inbound and security checks outbound, right?
I never saw any.

tks!

BrianMinn

Thanks to all for the info for my eastbound trip.

On the earlier westbound trip, I fly in on DL and out on CZ 4˝ hours later. They are separate reservations, so I need to collect bags and check in again to CZ business class. (Why can't Delta recognize this connection on a partner airline and make it a single reservation?????)

I assume this requires going to the Main Terminal for bag collection and checkin, with both DL and CZ using the A terminal for arrival and departure. If I want to do some higher-end shopping on the way back in, I assume most of this is in the Main Terminal. Is all this correct?

mikesaidyes

Ask and see if they can check bags all the way through. They should do it as CZ is Skyteam as well. I just checked their wbesite and they have several ways they do it based on ticket type regardless of airline.

if you have to collect bags, yes go out of main terminal and then upstairs to departure level. All shopping and everything is in Main Building when you clear security and immigration. Stay there as long as possible before your CZ flight as it will go from the Concourse. You have to take a train and cannot return to Main Bldg. the concourse is very basic. Just duty free perfume cigarettes etc. All big brand shops are in main bldg.

BrianMinn

"Ask and see if they can check bags all the way through. They should do it as CZ is Skyteam as well. I just checked their wbesite and they have several ways they do it based on ticket type regardless of airline."

Yes, sounds logical. In fact, last year they sold me a similar ticket with both DL and CZ on the same itinerary. But this year, they insisted they couldn't find any CZ flight in their system for that route, and wanted me to change planes at PVG or PEK with too tight a connection for those airports late in the day. So I ended up buying the CZ flight from ctrip.

Anyway, this provides a way to see browse some shops rather than spending four hours in the wonderful Asian lounge.

QuesoDeCan

back in 2014 I stayed at the actual airport IN the hotel...transit hotel I believe it was called. yah, it was about USD$120 or so if I recall...but just outside the duty free shops - bed, desk, tv, limited internet...and it felt great to take a shower after my flight from MNL, en route to IAD via Korean Air.....

mikesaidyes

You can use free showers on the 4th floor rest and relax area. Toiletries provided. Just as nice as any lounger shower! There is also a new capsule hotel open in the train station there (landside, have to clear immigration).

eeflyer

The shower rooms are definitely decent. Just make sure you have your arrivals and departure boarding passes. Last time I went through there, they gave me a hard time over not having my arrivals BP anymore. I guess this is a way to limit it to transiting passengers only.