Edgerfly

I have an 18hr layover in ICN arriving at 6am and not departing to Istanbul until 11:59pm. I'm in J the whole way on OZ and TK. I'm just wondering what the best Star Alliance lounge is to get some rest since I'll probably want to nap when I arrive in ICN. After that, is getting to the city and seeing some sights quickly before off to IST feasible?

flighteye

I know the airport arranges free, short, city tours.

fassy

The Asiana lounge I visited last August didn't impress me much. Definitly not a good place to take a nap.

Anyway, if you manage to find a place to sleep visiting Seoul for the rest of the day is not a problem. You have plenty of time.

The train takes ~50 minutes from Seoul Central to ICN.

IluvSQ

When you arrive, you will not have access to any lounge unless you pass through
transit security and exit to the arrivals level. At that point you will not be able
to pass immigration for your exit to the city.

I would suggest sleeping on your inbound flight, then going into the city on your arrival.
If you want a nap on arrival, check out the ICN hotels for a day room.

Edgerfly

So checking out the SQ lounge on arrival is not possible?

Santander

ICN is more like HKG/NRT than like FRA/AMS in that the arrivals floor is separate from the departures floor where the lounges are. Once you go through transit security, there is no way to leave the sterile area because there are no immigration facilities on the departures floor. None of the *A C lounges at ICN are worth writing home about, (although the OZ F lounge is nice) so either a transit tour or a train ride into the city would probably be the best options for you. The transit tours are convenient, but they may take some time to attract sufficient interest at your time of arrival so you might end up waiting a long time. If you don't want to go all the way into Seoul, you may want to just visit Incheon for the day. There's also a casino at the airport Hyatt to kill a bit of time at if that's what you're into.

malmostoso

At ICN there is also a small hotel airside where you can take a good sleep and a shower. I had a similar layover and enjoyed a small but clean room and a solid nap.

Kacee

I'm going to disagree slightly on the OZ J lounge at ICN, I found it quite comfortable and a pleasant place to spend three or four hours (but not 18!). There are various seating areas, including some semi-private spaces with armchairs along the back wall that are not bad for napping. The food choices are pretty limited though. For a longer layover, I would definitely consider one of the airport hotels or heading into the city.

sbm12

I've done it before. You have to go back downstairs and through immigration but it can be done.

Edgerfly

Can you elaborate? Does this just mean I'll have to go through customs twice, which I don't really mind.

Also someone mentioned tours you can pick up from the airport. Anyone have a link?

What are transportation options getting from ICN to the city, and what are some interesting things to see/do?

Santander

Tour information:
http://www.airport.kr/iiacms/pageWor...de=C1202020600

The airport train is the fastest and most convenient option, imo. There's an express non-stop train and a commuter train, but the express train is only 10 minutes faster and costs twice as much. With that being said, even the express train is cheap by American standards. Regular cabs are cheap, and if you're willing to pay a premium, there are "international taxis" with English/Chinese/Japanese speaking drivers. The KAL Limousine bus will also take you into town but is only more convenient than the train if you have lots of bags imo or have a specific destination in mind. (e.g. Gangnam)

Gyeongbokgung Palace is probably considered the essential thing to do in Seoul from a cultural standpoint. Myeongdong is popular for shopping. I'm not sure when the sun will set when you're in SEL, but going up Namsan/Seoul Tower in the evening is probably something I'd do before you head to the airport. All three are easily accessible from Seoul Station.

MSPeconomist

IIRC the Hyatt has a day spa, including an indoor pool. This is the arrivals lounge for KE/SkyTeam at ICN. You can see it and walk through the airport parking lot or there's a shuttle about every twenty minutes from both sides of the ground level curb.

As people have said, the choices are either Inchon or Seoul, especially since there's now a subway between the airport and the city. Traffic if you use a bus or subway can be bad and is highly variable so allow lots of time.

I'd probably do palace (try to be there for the changing of the guard), shopping street, and tower. The Grand Hyatt might be a good place for a drink with a view, halfway up the hill roughly between the palace and Seoul National University.

Edgerfly

Is it easy for an English speaking white guy to get around Korea (e.g. signs in english, people speak English)?

Also where is the best place to change USD to KRW that I will need for the day? I suspect the airport currency exchange will be the worst. Is the dollar a currency people will generally accept or should I get ready to change to KRW?

Santander

Almost every subway sign has English on it, including ticket machines, etc. Most people in central Seoul under 30 should speak at least some English and the main tourist sites will have English-speaking staff on hand and English signage. Cab drivers usually won't speak English, but it shouldn't be too much of a challenge to get around.

USD will not get you far in Korea. I usually just get cash from the ATM. Credit cards are widely accepted, (probably even more than the US) so you might actually end up not needing any cash at all.

Edgerfly

Thanks for that information. Thanks for the suggestion, that's a very good idea. My bank does not charge me a fee for ATM withdrawals, and in fact reimburses for any fee the ATM charges me.

Do taxi's accept credit cards? And do you have to be alert for cab drivers ripping you off in Korea like they do in lots of other places around the world?