I went to Seoul & Busan back in 2012 for 12 days, South Korea has been a popular travel destination in recent years and there is a demand for free & easy travel itinerary so I’ve decided to share my itinerary and some important tips while travelling in South Korea.
How I planned my travel itinerary always start with flight and accommodation, first, you need to get your air ticket before you planning your travel itinerary because you’ll only know how many days you’ll have while visiting the country and also how many weekdays or weekend you have so that you can avoid the local crowds or closing date for some tourist attractions.
Flight: Air Asia X (Bought during Air Asia Free Seats Sale, approx. RM700 roundtrip)
Accommodation: Seoul – 9 Nights/ Busan – 2 Nights
This is a guesthouse located in Hongdae, which is one of the most happening places for college or university students. You can easily walk to Hongdae from the guesthouse. The usual price for 1 night in guesthouse dorm is approx. 18,000 – 22,000 krw (RM60 – RM80) for 1 bed.
INDYHOUSE located in Haeundae which is the popular beach area, the price is almost the same as the guesthouse in Seoul, another location option for Busan is to stay near SeoMyeon, SeoMyeon has a very popular food street where you get to eat all of the delicious local foods and some of the foods can be found only in Busan!
How to get to Busan from Seoul:
The best way to get to Busan from Seoul is by flight (1 hour), you can book the domestic flight through Air Busan which costs about 75,100krw (approx. RM240) for one way.
Another option is by Korea Train Express (KTX) (2.5 hours), you can book the ticket through their website as well and it cost about 53,300 krw (approx. RM180) for one way.
Day 1:
Reached Incheon Airport, take airport bus to Hongdae, and checked in Seoulwise Guesthouse. Explore Hongdae area and get more travel advises from guesthouse owner.
Day 2:
Shopping and Explore Myeongdong street also not to forget the Lotte Duty Free Departmental Store located at Myeongdong.
Day 3:
Explore the beautiful Samcheongdong with a lot of boutique shops and lovely buildings. You can also visit Bukchon Hanok Village! Just adding in that Gyeongbokgung Palace is nearby that area.
Day 4:
Leave Seoul and heading to Busan in the morning, reached Busan at noon 12pm, checked in guesthouse and as usual get more travel information from guesthouse owner. Explore Busan Tower (Yongdusan Park) and shopping at Nampo-dong (PIFF Plaza), it’s a huge shopping district.
Day 5:
Visit Jagalchi Fish Market and Gukje Market, the two areas are very close to each other. You can have all the street foods around Gukje Market just like how you see it in Korean Drama! Afternoon, a must visit for Busan is Gamcheon Cultural Village the so called ‘Busan’s Santorini’!
Day 6:
Leave Busan and heading back to Seoul in the afternoon, reached Seoul and checked in back into Seoulwise Guesthouse. Leisure time around Hongdae, since it’s one of the most happening place in Seoul, why not check out the pubs and bars or clubs in the area!!
Day 7:
Explore Han River, if you want to know more about the details, I’ve written the details here. Spend your day explore the area around Han River, also you can catch the beautiful night scenery!!
Day 8:
Explore Insadong and Itaewon (must visit Smokey Saloon Burger restaurant recommended by TAEYANG!).
Day 9:
Explore Apgujeong where all the luxury brands shop are here, and also the shopping district Sinsadong Garosu-gil road!
Day 10:
Visit Nami Island where the famous drama ‘Winter Sonata’ was filmed here and it is also make popular by this Korean drama. Note that Nami Island is quite far away from the city so you might have to spend one day here. But at night you can visit the popular KwangJang Market for dinner!!
Day 11:
Since I’m a Kpop fans and particularly YG fans, so I visited YG office in Hapjeong and also went to SBS Building for SBS Inkigayo as that time BIGBANG were still promoting their new album, but problem is that we don’t get to enter the place because we don’t have tickets (tickets have to apply online on SBS website and the winner will be on lottery draw, will do a post about that as well if it’s neccessary :D).
Day 12:
Checked out guesthouse, leave luggage for store and have the final breakfast around Hongdae area and wander around.
That’s the rough 12 days itinerary for your reference, if you have anything to ask you may comment, I’m more than happy to help 🙂
Wander Baz 