Thanks nme7 and mikesaidyes for the detailled answer!
Originally Posted by
nme7
This hotel is located south of the river. If you take the AREX to Seoul station, then from there it will be either a long taxi ride (and possibly expensive) or a good adventure on the subway to get to your hotel. Not fun with luggage.
I suggest taking the Airport Limo bus
#6009 to Nonhyeon station. Hotel Foreheal is located just a few blocks east of exit #8 of Nonhyeon station.
Originally Posted by
mikesaidyes
I second nme on the bus. It's EXTREMELY close to the hotel and the bus is waaay cheaper. The Foreheal is actually fairly new and looks fancy haha.
OK, the bus it is!
But the "haha" scared me a bit, is there anything else to be expected? (I slept in a "fancy" Hello Kitty Hotel once and am still haunted by the images)
Originally Posted by
nme7
Some other places to see in Seoul. There is
Seoul Bamdokkaebi Night Market going on Friday and Saturday evenings until Oct.
Also, for something cultural and food other than korean bbq, try
Sancheon in Insadong area. I recommend the dinner course because they also have a live Korean traditional performance during the dinner. The place is located a few steps back from the main street of Insadong. Google maps can help here.
As far as DMZ Tours, the consensus is Koridoor Tours done through the USO. Whichever tour provider you pick, you will want to make sure to visit the JSA.
Originally Posted by
mikesaidyes
Yes, I second Kooridoor Tour, but be sure you choose one that goes to the JSA (the price is always the 90,000W).
Thanks for the ideas - we will check it out and I already got in contact with Kooridoor Tour.
Originally Posted by
nme7
From Busan station to Incheon Airport, I believe KTX #134 (12:00 - 15:37) would be appropriate for your 6pm departure to NRT. But, you might also consider using the
Airport Check in service at Seoul station instead.
Pros:
- Do not have to haul your luggage all the way from the train platform all the way to Asiana counter. It is a long walk.
- Bypass the normal security line at ICN. You can enter the crew/staff entrance.
- Immigration is done at Seoul station so when you arrive at ICN, just head to the expedited lane (after security) and you are through.
Cons:
- Need to arrive at Seoul station 3 hours before departure time. If you come with less than 3 hours before departure, they will not let you check in. Not a problem if you take KTX #134 and get out at Seoul station.
- Cost. I do not believe Korail pass covers the AREX non-stop trip from Seoul station to ICN airport. If you do try this, just remember you need to purchase the airport express non-stop ticket before walking up to the check-in counter. If you do not, the lady will not check you in.
I read about that idea in another post here. We will see, what will be possible since reservations for the trains are not available yet. We will keep that in mind (not only because of the quicker immigration process at ICN).
Question: Does anyone knows of there are problems to be expected when getting on KTX without a seat reservation? Does these seats sell out quick? How complicated is it for a non-native English speaker to get tickets / reservations?
Originally Posted by
nme7
In regards to the Korail pass, you can purchase both a 7 and 3 day pass at the same time. Just activate the 3 day pass later when you need it. But I am wondering if you need it. I see your schedule has a train ride from 1) Seoul to Gwangju, 2) Gwangju to Jinju, 3) Busan to Incheon. It might be cheaper to purchase separately.
Korail pass:
7-day - 195,000
3-day - 113,000
Total: 308,000
Separate tickets:
Yongsan to Gwangju Songjung station - 46,800
Gwangju to Jinju -??? bus? train?
Busan to Incheon Airport - 72,100
Total: 118,900 plus the cost of Gwangju to Jinju.
Or am I missing the day trips?
We like trains and when we are in a country, we tend to travel a lot by train for joy and to see the "normal" life.
Gwangju - Jinju - Busan will also be done by train (Mugungwha-Train, but that does not scare us).
And the trip to Suwon might also be done be Korail-Trains.
And we are 2 persons, so the ticket price according to korail.kr is 102,000 and 176,000.
Until now we also prefered the Korail-Pass because booking all tickets by ourselfes seemed complicated to us.
Question: How complicated is it to buy tickets at the train stations (not only in Seoul but in other cities as well)?
Originally Posted by
mikesaidyes
What's the festival in Suwon? The Hwaseong Festival? To be perfectly honest, that might be interesting for all of five minutes. Otherwise, Suwon is just another Korean city.
Also, two nights in Jinju you might be TERRIBLY bored. I've had many friends go for the lantern festival and said that, other than that, there was nothing to do. The same goes for Gwangju and Mokpo.
Do you or your girlfriend speak Korean? I know that I sound terribly negative against going to these places, but the fact is that a lot of the things that Koreans can do (find certain popular foods or restaurants, go to unique places), foreigners can't because they don't speak Korean/use Korean guides. Of course, you can point at stuff and guess what you're going to get. You can also just go to the busy place and see what happens, BUT I know some people don't like to do all that.
Thanks for the heads up - we will see, if we change the Jinju part of the trip to one night.
Concerning the Korean language barrier: We do not speak Korean (except a few phrases and words) but that (not speaking the local language) was no problem in Japan or China as well and it worked out for a few days, although not the whole journey and for every situation. But ordering strange food just be pointing towards it is something, we are used to.
Originally Posted by
mikesaidyes
If you're going to Everland, there's a red Seoul city bus (white on the bottom, red on top) that takes you to Everland in 20 minutes. It's #5002. And it's just 2,4000W. The way there takes maybe 30-40 minutes (stops a few times), but on the way back it's barely 25. Tip: On the way back, if there's many people waiting in line, you can stand in the aisle. When the bus looks full (빈자 counter on the front reads 0), just pass the line of waiting people. Otherwise, you'll have to wait roughly 20 minutes for the next bus and that can be annoying if you're tired. The subway takes WAY too long and the Everland bus times aren't as convenient and it's like 12,000W. This red bus runs every 20 minutes.
Good idae.
Although we fly to Scotland at least twice a year, so Queuing is what we are used to. (Our trips to China did not changed that, although we learned some lessons there) ... ;-)
Originally Posted by
mikesaidyes
Did you already book your Japan tickets yet? I was going to suggest look into flying from Busan and saving time and some cash. If you're in Seoul, you can have your hotel use Hanshin Express or similar company to mail your luggage to Busan for literally 20 for two giant bags.
The tickets from ICN were about 120 Euros cheaper than from PUS. And, as mentioned before, we like trains.
Plus: When we arrive in Tokyo, we will just go to an airport hotel and sleep, so no need to expend that time slot ...
Question: Is it possible to mail our luggage when checking our in Seoul and when we arrive in Gwangju we can expect our bags in our hotel room?
Originally Posted by
mikesaidyes
Damyang is a great day trip. Gyeongju, I might suggest staying one night there. That's because getting from bus/train all the way to the temple and grotto can take some time. Like an hour each way. Then with the time there walking around and getting back that's a large portion of your day, even if you start super early. Then, the next day, you can do the museum, downtown attractions and a bike ride at a leisurely pace.
We will see, if we can move the day from Jinju to Gyeongju.
Question: But what to do with the luggage? Is is possible to leave much of the bags in Busan in a locker and just do the trip with everything for one night?
How hard is it to get from Busan to Gyeongju by bus with at least 2 large suitcases?
Thanks again for the good input and ideas!!!^^^