Driving in Jeju?
 

I am not normally the sort of person that rents a car when abroad, but during a trip to Korea I am wondering about hiring a rental car in Jeju as it seems to be the most straightforward option to see all the things I'd like to see (having read about unreliable or infrequent buses, and rates of ~ $180+ per day for a driver (thinking 4-5 days so that would add up). Has anyone driven in Jeju and could share their experiences? I understand that with Hertz, GPS is included, and so is LDW (although if anyone could clarify exactly what this means it would be great: "Loss Damage Waiver (LDW) LDW is included in your rate.For rentals on Jeju Island only, the renter has no responsibility with non-waivable excess in the event of accident. But for the imported car, the renter is still responsible for non-waiverable excess of 300,000 Korean won." Does that mean if I rent on the island, there is no excess, but if I bring a car from the mainland I pay excess?)

I have driven in a number of places, but never Asia. I am used to driving on the right and automatics, so it is more how the traffic / other drivers are, how difficult the roads are, etc.

Would appreciate your advice, thanks!

I can't speak to the rental car rules BUT Jeju is an easy place to drive. Wide open roads and not much stop and go city traffic. Many Koreans are also in your situation haha - they never drive in Seoul or the city but you just need a car for Jeju!

It is almost a must to have a car in Jeju due to the spreadout locations.

it is very easy to drive although there are tons of speed humps n the speed limit is really low.
never seen so many speed humps in a place before...
the locals ignore the limit though.

Jeju is a very easy place to drive in! Just keep in mind the speed cameras that are all over Korea, but if you grab a Korean navigation app (Naver, Kakao) they'll tell you where all of them are.

Were you saying US$180 per day? I've rented for as low as $10-15 per day. I'm a Korean resident, so that may factor into some of the cheaper deals I got, but I've definitely seen deals for about $20-25.

The $180 is the sort of rate I have seen quoted for hiring a car and driver for the day, not a rental car. I looked on Hertz and that was quoting around C$330 / 5 days for a basic model, including insurance and GPS with no discount etc. applied. I heard that Lotte give good rates if you become a member but haven't done that yet.

So, expect the suspension to be a bit rubbish then I guess!!! I am not a speed demon, so hope the cameras won't be an issue.

Great, like the sound of open roads, not so much a ton of other drivers not knowing what they are doing! At least I drive daily, if not on the same roads!

​​​​​​​Got you, missed that detail

Driving in Jeju city is as bad as any Korean city. Once you are outside of Jeju city, however, it is a simple and quite pleasant affair. Koreans tend to be much poorer drivers than they think they are, but this would really only be an issue in and around the city center. Jeju is really pretty, although very kitschy. Enjoy.

Kitschy is a good word - I was just reading about 'Venice' where you can ride a gondola! I think I will plan not to be around the city much, most things seem to be outside of that area.

Driving in Jeju is better than large city like Seoul, NY, Tokyo. So, Don't worry!

I'm trying to book a rental car in Jeju for June 4-7 trip but it seems that there are no cars available even up to July dates I've tried through Car rental sites including RentalCars.com. Am I missing something or Jeju really is out of rental cars even up to 2 months out? Would appreciate any insight. Thanks.