Need advice for 8 days Korea family trip

Day 1 (Sunday): Busan to Seoul: Night Market
Flight to Gimhae Int Airport (reach Busan at 4pm) - transit to Seoul & check in hotel
Dinner at Market
Hanok Hotel: Hanok Guesthouse 201

Day 2 (Monday, 9th June): Seoul
Suwon Fortress & Korean Folk Village
Bukchon Hanok Village
Hanok Hotel: Hanok Guesthouse 201

Day 3 (Tuesday, 10th June): Suwon Fortress & Korean Folk Village
3D Trick Eye Museum & Ice Museum
Myeongdong shopping
Namsam Park & N Tower
Namdaemun Market
Hanok Hotel: Hanok Guesthouse 201

Day 4 (Wednesday, 11th June): Palace Tour
Changdeokgung Palaces (including Huwon, Secret Garden), Changgyeonggung Palace, Deoksugung Palace, Gyeongbokgung Palace & National Folk Museum)
Insadong (Alive Museum)
Cheonggyecheon Stream
Dongdaemun Market
Hanok Hotel: Hanok Guesthouse 201

Day 5 (Thursday, 12th June): Where?
Free and Easy

Day 6 (Friday, 13th June): Busan
Morning transit back to Busan. Beomeosa, Hot Spring Spa & Shopping (Heosimcheong Spa/Spa Land at Centrum City/Vesta Spa and Jjimjilbang/ Dalmaji/Songdo Haesoopia Spa & Jjimjilbang)
Ggangtong Shijang(wet market), Gukje Shijang(largest and oldest market in Busan), Jagalchi Shijang(South Korea’s largest seafood market), Busan Museum of Art. Kukje market.

Day 7 (Saturday, 14th June): Extra Time in Busan
Haedong Yonggunsa(temple), and Seomyeon (food hunt).
Enjoy dinner overlooking the bridge from one of the cafes on Gwangalli Beachor take a nighttime stroll in Haeundae.

Day 8 (Sunday, 15th June): Lasy Day in Korea (Busan)
"Free and easy.
Flight 4.45pm-10.35pm"

Questions:
1. We will reach at 4pm at Busan Airport. Then take train to Seoul and check in Hanok Guesthouse 201, will we make it if we go Namsam Park and N Tower this day?
2. Our Day 5 is free, is there any attraction places that we must go in Korea, maybe Busan? We will leave Seoul on this day. Kindly suggest if there is any places we must/could go.
3. Which hot spring spa and market that are popular in Busan? I put a few places because I not sure which one to choose.

Kindly advice if my itinerary is too pack or if there is anything I can add.

Thank you very much~

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.