glennaa11

I am in the process of planning a trip for the autumn (mid-OCtober). Arrive at ICN on 10/13 from IAD. My current plan is to overnight somewhere in Seoul (probably HIX Hongdae right by the Arex station) and then take a train down to Busan the next day.

From looking at the map of Busan it appears there are two main clusters. Sort of downtown-ish where the Lotte hotel is or out by Haeundae. I will be there are a tourist to sightsee for about 3.5 days and I typically get around by walking and public transit. Thoughts on where it makes sense for me to stay?

gpy

We stayed at the Park Hyatt Busan and it was really lovely. It was a treat going back to the hotel every night and enjoying a breezy walk along the water. The sightseeing bus stops right outside so we did took that all over the city one day and took super cheap cabs everywhere the rest of the time. After spendng time downtown and in Seoul I was so thankful we chose the PH. Also we spent an afternoon at the spa at the nearby shinsegae mall and it was awesome after so much sightseeing.

nme7

The Westin Chosun hotel at Haeundae is also a good choice. It is the hotel of choice when US Presidents visit Busan. The park right next to it is a great walk. Novotel hotel is nearby, approximately in the middle of Haeundae beach. Novotel will be a bit closer to Haeundae subway station. If arriving at Busan train station, you can get to either the Westin or Novotel by subway (approx 1 hr, need to transfer at Seomyeon), bus (line 1003, approx 40 minutes, no transfer), or taxi.

Seomyeon is also a popular area. Place can get a bit crazy at night, but otherwise, it seems like just like many other urban areas in Korea.

The Park Hyatt has a fantastic afternoon tea set. Went there late once and was able to watch the city come alive as the sun went down. Great view from up there. Also the Starbucks located at Gwangalli beach has a very nice view of the beach from the second floor. Not a bad place to have coffee.

mikesaidyes

IMO Seomyeon is the best area for Busan. That's because it's right in the middle of everything. Busan is very spread out. So Seomyeon to Haeundae is 45 mins-one hour one way by subway or so. Seomyeon to Nampo-dong is like 15 minutes and easy.

But Haeundae is VERY far east, so you'd be traveling a lot back and forth if you go many places in Busan. So Seomyeon IMO makes sense as it's central to everywhere and balances the travel times overall.

susiesan

I will also be visiting Busan for 2 days in October. I decided to stay in Seomyeon area based on recommendations on many different travel web sites. I chose the Arban Hotel for it's central location and easy access to a subway stop. Hopefully I made a good choice.

glennaa11

That place does look nice. And it seems to get pretty good reviews. I had been thinking Lotte Hotel, but now I'm leaning toward AirBnB.

susiesan

Glenna, if you find a decent airbnb let me know. I may switch to that from a hotel.

glennaa11

This is the place I booked
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/22219174

susiesan

Looks nice. Unfortunately, already booked for the dates I would need., Oct. 9 & 10.

glennaa11

There seem to be several in that general part of town. I had it narrowed down to a few places before I picked that one.

PaulKo

Near Haeundae will be best place to stay! But, hotels at that place is a little more expensive than others.

JordanWalker

Any particular reason why over Seomyeon?

Solivagant

I stayed in Busan for a few days. There are two main beaches and downtown. Each is unique. Gwangalli beach is chill, popular but not as popular and big as Haeundae beach. To stay at Haeundae is also a bit more expensive. It's a 15 minute taxi or metro ride between the two plus some walking. Haeundae also has more restaurants, bars, hotels and a night market. Downtown has less for sightseeing but is better for nightlife especially on the weekends.

glennaa11

In the end my choice to stay in Seomyeon worked out pretty well. The Airbnb wasn't as nice as it claimed to be but it was fine for a couple of days. Getting around by subway was easy and I walked a good bit too.

I did a night time tour booked through Airbnb which was quite good. The guide picked us up at one of the subway exits and drove us to several good viewpoints including a nice mountain view over the whole city.

Definitely didn't have time to see everything but it was a nice intro to the place.

mirhans

The Lotte Hotel is great! recommend it!