MitzEclipse

Planning a trip to Korea - what's best to hail a taxi? Is uber available? any local taxi hailing apps which work better in Seoul and Incheon? thanks

eccentricfusion

Kakao Taxi is the app I use the most in Korea. I believe Uber only works in Seoul, but Kakao T has always been faster and cheaper so I never bothered actually booking an Uber while in Seoul.

mikesaidyes

Uber does not exist in the "western sense" as private drivers doing ride share. When you open Uber, it will actually change the icon to UT - it works the exact same as your original Uber app, but it calls LICENSED TAXIS ONLY. Your foreign cards will work as you have them already saved in Uber app from your home country.

Also, download Kakao T. That is Korea's version of taxi hailing app ( no private ride share drives are allowed here). When you use Kakao T, when you see the "enter card details" swipe FAR LEFT you will see PAY TO DRIVER. It's hidden.

ElevatorEnthusiast

Pretty sure taxis take credit cards physically in Seoul. I just took one hailed by my hotel - looked like they used Kakao - and then paid via card at the end of the ride with an insert chip style US Visa.

mikesaidyes

This is correct -all taxis take credit cards.

david252

Yes, Kakao is the way to go. Taxi will take credit cards, but do watch out for taxi drive who scams tourist time to time. I guess if you are using Kakao taxi app you'll be safer

joejones

Kakao Taxi is a bad option for foreign visitors. It is a hassle to set up if you aren't already part of the Kakao ecosystem, and if you don't have a Korean bank account or credit card, you are limited to regular taxis (which you have to pay in vehicle), and the supply is limited. I had zero luck on multiple occasions trying to get a large vehicle for a group of 5.

TADA works with foreign cards and is much easier to set up. Uber is also an option in Seoul, but only offers sedan-type taxis (max capacity 4).

A more minor annoyance is that Kakao and TADA both suffer from incomplete English translation, and frequently spit out Korean-language messages even if your phone is set to English. As a non-Korean speaker, I would be tempted to stick with Uber in Seoul for that reason alone.

mikesaidyes

TADA does not have regular taxis, just expensive fully private drivers with their branded cars. Stick to Uber or Kakao.

joejones

For a large vehicle, fares are actually very close, if not cheaper with TADA. We took a jumbo taxi from GMP to the Grand Hyatt for about $45, and returned on a TADA for about $30. Crossing the river, jumbo taxi and TADA fares were almost the same (about $12). I can't speak to Kakao's fares because we could never get the app to actually dispatch a vehicle.

ElaineWChatman

Uber is available in Seoul. For the app, I use Kakao Taxi, it's reliable and cheap.