I visited DPRK last year on a tour. It's the only tour I have ever taken, but independent travel there is not possible. It was extremely fascinating and I hope to go back.

The trip to the DMZ was far better and more relaxed form the north than from the south.

A few months later I visited Sudan... US customs was very interested in what I had been doing in Sudan, but didn't ask me at all about DPRK.

I hope to be in Iran in a few months - we'll see how they treat me after that one. :-)

Mrs Mud an I flew to the USA six months after being in Iran and we both did not get any questions about this trip.
We will soon fly again to the USA, keeping my fingers crossed...:rolleyes:

Those two Cdn guys from Departures went to DPRK. I never thought DPRK would be so beautiful. I might consider it as a future destination..

http://www.oln.ca/?bclid=34540927001
scroll down to North korea on the left hand side.

They used Koryo tours also i think - i saw it in the credits on TV last night. The 2nd episode aired last night. And it was titled musical and showed the mass games also.

The guide they met in Beijing, English guy called Nick is on the Koryo website http://www.koryogroup.com/about_staff.php and they also had two local Korean guides with them at all times..

Back again from the US, no one ever mentionned my Iranian visa.

About two years we (one US, one German) did a tour to North Korea. Flying in from Shenyang, back to Beijing. It was absolutely fascinating and very different from what we where expecting. We had 2 tour guides and a driver with us all the time. We used Koryo in Beijing. Took about 6 month to get the visa for the US passport.
Even after being to 90+ countries this was one of the most interesting experiences ever. Approaching the border from the 'other side' and waving at the tourist in South Korea watching us from the south alone is something you will remember for a long time.

Simply my most memorable trip ever, for better and worse. (I have a trip report lurking elsewhere on FT).

FYI, Air Koryo commenced flights from Shanghai to Pyongyang to "promote tourism" (Chinese tourists, I assume). Convenient option for those considering and living in/touring the Shanghai and South.

There are over half a dozen companies offering tours to the DPRK.

Koryo Tours is well known, there is also Regent Holidays which is UK based (and claims to have been running tours since 1985), as well as German, Swedish and Chinese firms operating tours of differing lengths, standards and range. The Chinese ones are cheap, some run from Dandong (the Chinese side of the main border crossing with the DPRK). I believe some Chinese see it as a trip to "this is what it was like in China in Mao's day". The contrast between Dandong in China, and Sinuiju in the DPRK on the other side of the Yalu River is stark.

You must be on an organised tour, or have an invite from the DPRK government to enter. The only approved entry points are:
- Flights with Air China (the only way to get FFPs from going to the DPRK!) and Air Koryo.
- Daily train from Beijing, and weekly from Moscow (carriages on the Trans-Manchurian that get diverted to Pyongyang).

There is a second train (carriages on Trans Siberian) from Moscow via Tumangan only available to Russian and DPRK nationals I believe (so is a trade/diplomatic route).

The ferry from Japan has been suspended for some time, as have been tours across the DMZ from South Korea for ROK nationals.

Given that Kim Jong Il is not as healthy as he would like, and that the succession of Kim Jong Il is somewhat uncertain, it may be fair to predict change is not that far away - although that was predicted when Kim Il Sung died in 1994.

Hey guys, this is a very interesting thread here. I have been thinking of going to the DPRK for a very long time now. I know that the Koryo group runs tours from Beijing. I'm thinking of putting this into action. According to the Koryo Group's website, it appears that the tour cost doesn't include airfare. Is this true? Is there a surcharge on top of the tour fees? I think I read somewhere that they generally fly with Air Koryo, but I have never heard of this airline and I'm not sure if they're safe to fly. I know Air China flies there from Beijing and is this an option? Would there be extra costs to fly with Air China instead of Air Koryo? What about on the way back? The tour package mentions that airfare is from Beijing to Pyongyang and going back is from Pyongyang to Beijing by train. True? Which of the tour packages is the "best" to do? I'm not exactly sure when is the best time of the year to go to the DPRK.

Hey there

NK is on my list as well, will be trying to get that next year when I'm in China for 4 weeks (just before that trip).

My biggest worry was a stamp in the passport, looks like you folks did not encounter too much problems ...
however I had a 2hs waiting/interview session at Dulles airport, when travelled to US week after coming back from ... Saudi Arabia. (Polish citizen).

Thanks for a good thread, will definitely plan for it nx year.

mf

Isn't it e-visa these days? Or it is still normal visa for US nationals?

The only way you're getting into NK (without risking imprisonment) is as part of an arranged tour. An arranged tour will not show you the real North Korea. You will be ushered through sets from the movie "North Korea - Communist utopia".

So you have seen the real North Korea to decide what is real and what is fake utopia? Tell us....

The entire point was that no non-NK is allowed to witness the full depths of the country's poverty.

I'm not aware of North Korea having taken tourists hostage either, but they have a rather notorious record of kidnapping.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_K...ns_of_Japanese

Now you're making me feel guilty about visiting the us :(