Need advice for 8 days Korea family trip

No need to fly between Seoul and Busan. A fast train takes about two hours.

I'd have the spare day in Seoul, in case you find you can't fit in all you plan there.

For a family day, maybe a trip to Everland, in reserve.

Hi,
Your itinerary looks great! I moved to Seoul 5 months ago and have gotten a chance to see many of the places on your list. Feel free to check out pictures and my experiences about each on my blog.

Suwon Fortress is fantastic but I think you'll probably only need 1 day for it and the folk village. There is a lot of walking IF you want to go all around the fort. The only drawback with Suwon is that its gonna be about an hour on the subway from the center of Seoul.

Namsan Tower is great! Go at dusk so you can get a good view & see the city full of lights at night. Its beautiful. Eat before you get to the top because it is very expensive. With kids you'll have to decide if you want to hike it or take the cable car. Plan to wait an hour for the cable car or an hour for the hike up (its a very well laid path of stairs).

Namdaemun is lots of fun too . Be ready to haggle a little for the prices but they are good even if you don't haggle. I suggest trying the corn-dog like things that I think are actually wrapped with fishcake. Go for the squid and pick up your souvenirs here!

Myeongdong is fun, don't have any write up about it but its very popular for shopping just like insadong.

Changdeokgung is awesome and get secret garden tickets ahead of time. They were sold out when I went :(

Deoksugung is smaller and you can do it in an hour or two. I saw it at night and love the way the city glowed around it.

Gyeongbukgung is huge and has a great museum near it. Are you doing the palace tours with a group or just on your own? It is very easy to do by yourself but it might be nice to have an expert guide giving you the history as you walk around.

If you are into hiking I highly recommend Bukhansan National Park. It really is a great park and depending on where you are in Seoul is only 30-60 minutes on the subway. I've been 3 times and will certainly go again. and plan on going back again. I haven't checked out any of the theme parks but Everland an Lotteworld are great family friendly options!

Hi Violets,

Which train should I book to go to Seoul from Busan?

Thanks,
jl88hl

Hi LiveLearnTravelTeach,

Thanks for your reply.

Great photos you had in your blog. But it seems you walked pretty much in your trip, since my group are with 2 old people, we might need to take shuttle bus. Is taxi available at that area? Or do you have contacts for car rental for 1 day with driver?

For Changdeokgun and other palaces, we intended to get tour guide. The Integrated Pass for Access to Five Royal Sites already includes tour guide? I saw in the website that they have schedule for different language tour but I don't see the pricing.

Please advice.

Thanks,
jl88hl

There are lots of trains every day but you would want to get a fast one. The station is huge, like an airport, but easy to get to on the very good Busan subway. Be sure to visit the fish market in Busan.