From Dandong or Dalian to Incheon by Boat

from Dalian on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 18:00
from Dandong on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday at 15:00

Thanks, Jake! I guess you got that 18:00 departure time from the Korean-language Da-In website?

I ended up taking the ferry from Dandong to Incheon, and the trip went quite well. I traveled from Beijing to Dandong via overnight train, arrived in Dandong early in the morning, left my bag at the station, and did a little sightseeing. I went to the riverfront and walked along the half-destroyed bridge to look across the river at North Korea, and then visited the war museum (which I found quite interesting), and didn't have time for any more sightseeing because I was worried about getting a ticket for the ferry (though I could have easily stayed longer in Dandong).

I retrieved my bag from the train station and took a bus to Donggang (where the seaport is located), and then hired a taxi to get to the ferry office at Dadong. I was able to buy a ticket without difficulty (much to my relief), and we started boarding the boat around 2:30 PM, and the boat actually departed around 5 PM.

I splurged on a bed in a 4-person room, which had 2 sets of bunks with small privacy curtains and a sink. I peeked into a 2-person suite as I was leaving the ship, and it looked very nice, with 2 small beds, a private bathroom, a table with 2 chairs, and a big TV -- but I wouldn't have wanted to pay so much money for it. The big common rooms, which were enormous, with row after row of beds, looked like a lot of fun, with groups of people eating picnic dinners and drinking beer together.

Only Korean money was accepted on the ship, so I exchanged 100 RMB for 15000 won (a pretty bad exchange rate, actually). The dinner (for 5000 won) was surprisingly tasty. The boat arrived at Incheon around 9 AM, and the process of entering Korea was really fast and efficient.

I'm looking to do the same trip - sounds great - thanks for posting. How much did the Dandong to Incheon ferry cost? Glad that it was available for purchase at the ferry itself.

Sorry -- I don't remember now how much I paid for the ticket, but I think it was a little over $100. At the time, I was just worried about getting out of China before Golden Week (during which my 90-day entry period would expire) -- and I was also sleep-deprived, having sat in a packed hard-seat train compartment the previous night.

As I recall, there was a discount for buying a return ticket (instead of a one-way ticket) -- but I already had plans to head from SK to Qingdao later.