pmv

All ... appreciate your inputs:

Arriving at ICN from DTW at 430pm (yup...one last shot upstairs on the 747!)...

How long should I expect it to take clear customs/immigration?

Recommendations for a taxi/car service into central Seoul (JW Marriott)? One of many stops on a long trip so no interest in dragging bags to/from bus or train.

thanks!

MSPeconomist

Check the schedule. IIRC the DTW nonstop arrives into ICN around 6:30 pm.

Taxi or car service will be very expensive and might take longer if traffic is bad. (There are some bus lanes in Seoul.) IMO the best option, even with luggage, is to take an airport bus that has door to door service to your hotel, perhaps with several additional stops. I don't know about the JW, but some of the larger hotels have bus service about every twenty minutes. Also, some of these are luxury buses with airline FC type seats in a 2-1 configuration.

Recently it took me about a half hour for immigration with a USA passport. It also took about ten minutes to walk and take the underground train from the satellite terminal to the main terminal. After that, checked bags arrived quickly and one could just walk through customs, IIRC with a red/green lane system.

pmv

schedule currently showing 430pm arrival (end of oct) so schedule may have changed.

bus a possibility, but not keen on it....


anyone else?

In2ishn

ICN is fairly efficient. The longest I've ever waited was about 25 minutes and that was when a bank of flights arrived during the holiday season. Bags come out quickly. Do know that some gates are a bit of a walk from the train which will take you to the main terminal. Give yourself at least 30 minutes total.

The JW Marriott offers a frequent airport shuttle. You should contact them for details. You are arriving during rush hour(S!) so don't expect a quick ride.

The Situation

Customs can be very quick, very long or somewhere in the middle. In the few times I have been, shortest wait was 5 minutes, longest was nearly an hour. I know people that have had it take over two hours. Realistic expectation should be a half hour, but be prepared for longer. I would highly recommend the buses - never been on the Marriott bus, but the Korean Airlines bus is very nice and very reasonably priced.

Gquie

Flew to Seoul last month and my customs experience was pretty good. Arrived on a Saturday. As mentioned above, about 10-15 mins walking to the terminal train and then to customs. No premium passenger line, everyone stands in the same.

Would have been a lot longer but an airport worker opened up another line for foreign passport holders and then I only ended up waiting about 10 minutes to get my fingerprints scanned and then I was able to walk through to baggage claim.

So 15-25 mins seems about right.

anon2k2

I've flown DL 199 SEA-ICN three times so far this year, and I've waited as short as 5 minutes and as long as about 15 minutes at Immigration. Not that bad.

I have no idea what the time is for car service since I took the subway into town. My experience there is that the "express" and the "all-stop" take about the same amount of overall time since there are more stops for the regular, but the express is less frequent, so you just spend an equal amount of time waiting for the express at the start of the journey.

TTT

I would second the bus. Specifically, the KAL Limousine service.
https://www.kallimousine.com/eng/schedule_en.asp

motytrah

JW Marriott can arrange a limo. Contact concierge for arrangements.

koreanair720

You could also take the train to Seoul Station (avoid traffic) and grab a cab there. Of course, that doesn't really solve your lugging bags problem

Peregrine415

As soon as you exit customs, find KAL Airport Limousine Bus counter. They run hotel shuttles. Might involve several stops before reaching your hotel but at least you're in a comfortable and smooth bus and courteous driver (and passengers). Added advantage is there is a hotel representative where you board the airport bus and check in at the hotel will be speedy.

Productivity

I really wouldn't use a car. You can have bags on a luggage cart all the way to the bus cargo hatch if you're worried about bags. It's a much quicker and better alternative.

warrenw

Seoul-ite checking in.

As others have said ICN is very expeditious so chances are your bags will be out before you are. No need to worry about that.
Depending on when you arrive, immigration can be between 1 minute to 20 minutes. Early afternoon is better, later in the afternoon is worse in my experience. Your flight will drop you off at the satellite terminal, so with the shuttle train to the main terminal + walking you'll probably be curbside within 30 minutes.
If you are really wanting a car, arrange with JW. Are you staying in Gangnam or Dongdaemun? If Dongdaemun it's super easy to just take the train to Seoul Station, if Gangnam bus is your best bet.
You can also take a taxi and it will be about 80,000W into central Seoul but expect rush hour traffic. If you take the bus/train it's actually faster because busses use the bus lane and trains, well trains don't experience traffic. If taking a taxi black taxis are "premium" and cost more.
I will say this at least, busses are super easy to use. Since the JW is so popular you can just tell them the JW and they'll give you the appropriate bus ticket. Popular locations have busses every 10 minutes or so.

Hope that helps!

corbomite

If it's the Gangnam JW Marriott, and if you're arriving on the weekend, you really might want to think again about traveling over ground. The hotel is right next to one of the most, if not the most congested junction in the whole of South Korea. Taking over 30 minutes to pass the single block the JW Marriott is in isn't unheard of.

hiima

As others have said, do not take a car or taxi service. Buses are super easy to use and they're not janky buses like in the states. It's not worth the time wasted to get a car to the JW. From the JW, you can get a taxi. Also there are no carpool lanes, there are bus lanes.