Help juggling a one-week (9 days) itinerary in Seoul, Jeju and Gyeongju

I am taking red eye flights to South Korea (arriving October 22, Satuday, 8 AM; departing October 30, Sunday, 7:30 PM) and want to split my week between Seoul (4 days), Jeju (3 days) and Gyeongju (2 days). I want to take in both culture and nature and do not want to overdo seeing every magnificent ancient palace, temple and fortress out there. Can I get people's advice on how to arrange the trip, including transfers?

So far, I was thinking:

October 22 (Saturday) -23 - Land in Incheon Intl at 8 AM, two days in Seoul
October 24 (Monday) - Take a Jeju Air flight from Gimpo Intl in Seoul to Jeju
October 24-26 - In Jeju
October 26 (Wednesday) - Look for an evening flight from Jeju to Ulsan (any advice?), transfer to Gyeongju
October 27 (Thursday)-28 - Go around Gyeongju and Seokguram
October 29 (Saturday) - Look for a morning flight or train from Ulsan to Seoul
October 30 (Sunday) - Fly out of Seoul at 7:30 PM

What do you guys think, and can I get input in the transfers above to and from Ulsan?

If it helps, these are the places I was hoping to hit.

Seoul (4 days)

Seoul Palaces
- Changdeokgung, best palace?
- Gyeongbokgung, changing of guard

Bukchon Hanok, old homes

Cheong-gye-cheon riverside walk

Jongmyo/Changgyeonggung tranquil grounds

Namsan/Seoul Tower

Dongdaemun Park

Inwangsan / Seoul Fortress Wall

Leeum Samsung Museum

Natl Museum

Noryangjin Fish Market

Hongdae

Jeju (3 days)

Manjanggul lava tubes

Hallasan

Scooter around coast

Gyeongju (2 days)

Seokguram grotto

Gyeongju museum

for Seoul add the war memorial museum, best museum in Korea, Leeum Museum is so-so.

you can almost do the seoul itinerary in 2 full days since many of those sites are close and will take an hour or two at most, i'd also add myeong-dong and namdaemun market (they are walking distance from each other)

dont think there are any flights from Jeju-Ulsan easier route is Jeju-Busan and get a bus to Gyeongju from there, its not that far and there are buses direct from the airport to Gyeongju

itinerary from gyeongju sounds perfect

Personally I'm not a big fan of Seoul, and if I were you I'd spend a little less time in Seoul and more time in one of the national parks to take advantage of being here when the leaves are changing colour. If you're interested in getting out into the parks, here's a government website that has the predicted dates:

[http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/FU/FU_EN_15.jsp?cid=1391042]

For your time in Seoul, Changdeokgung and Gyeongbokgung are both worth checking out, and definitely stay for the changing of the guard at Gyeongbokgung as it's quite an interesting spectacle. If the weather's nice it might be worth a trip up Namsan for views over the city as well.

I've been to Jeju 3 times, and I would recommend going to Seongsan on the northeast coast (about an hour on the bus from Jeju City) and checking out the caldera and then taking a ferry to Udo Island (about 15 minutes) and renting a bicycle to cycle around the island. The bicycles are available as soon as you get off the ferry, and you can circle the island in a couple hours.
I also recommend taking one of the trails up Hallasan, but the weather doesn't always cooperate so it could get fairly cold up there if it's raining. I was underwhelmed by Manjanggul, but some people like it. It's really just a long underground tunnel, which I guess geologically is impressive, but to actually see it is not that interesting.
I'd also recommend staying in Seogwipo on the south coast rather than Jeju City as I think the south coast is more beautiful, and it's much quieter/relaxed than Jeju City.

Leaving Jeju, I second what the first poster suggested and fly to Busan. There are at least 10 flights a day between Jeju and Busan and your best bet pricewise is either Jeju Air or Air Busan. You can catch an express bus from the airport all the way to Gyeongju Bus Terminal for about 9,000 won and they leave every hour at about 35 minutes past the hour if I remember correctly.

You mention Ulsan a few times but I'm not sure why. Are you visiting someone there? I've never heard of any reason for a tourist to visit Ulsan. From Gyeongju you can go to SinGyeongju Train Station which is outside of the city but I'm not sure how far, and take the KTX (Korean bullet train) to Seoul Station. I think there's around one every hour.

If you have any other questions let me know,

Jason

Good advice from Jason. I'd cut 2 days from Seoul & spend 2 days in Seoraksan instead. There are frequent buses from Sokcho to the national park entrance and a cablecar up to the lookout. Access is from east Seoul bus station.

I've been to Ulsan & was pleasantly surprised. Stay a night at Baengojin for Ulgi Park. Ulsan is also much closer to Gyeongju, than Busan, & has direct flights from Jejudo. "(Gyeongju bus) departures from Ulsan Airport are at 8:20am 11:40 16:10 18:40pm."

See for yourself:

http://www.treklens.com/members/chrisJ/photos/Asia/South_Korea/South/Ulsan/

http://wikitravel.org/en/Ulsan#b

And I'd also agree with Jason on Jeju. Sungsan Ilchulbong was great, the lava tubes just so-so. But I've never been in any lava tubes before, even though there is one at Undara, in the far north of my home State of Qld in Australia. It was too dark to get a decent shot using a film camera (I now have a Nikon D90 Digital)

http://www.trekearth.com/members/ChrisJ/photos/Asia/South_Korea/South/Jejudo/

How do you book a flight from Jeju to Ulsan?

Found this in a quick google search:

Did You Know?

Korean has the most one stop flights between Ulsan, KR and Jeju, KR.
2 airlines operate between Ulsan, KR and Jeju, KR
Seoul, KR is the most popular connection for one stop flights between Ulsan, KR and Jeju, KR.
11,964 seats are available per day to fly out of Ulsan, KR connecting to Jeju, KR
Asiana has 5 one stop flights between Ulsan, KR and Jeju, KR.
The largest aircraft operated by Asiana flying between Ulsan, KR and Jeju, KR is a 737 with 150 seats.
7 flights per week fly out of Ulsan, KR connecting to Jeju, KR
The shortest flight between Ulsan, KR and Jeju, KR on Asiana is 476 miles.

"Which airlines fly from Ulsan to Jeju (USN to CJU)?The following airlines fly this route: Busan, Korean, Asiana."

http://www.farecompare.com/flights/Ulsan-USN/Jeju-CJU/market.html

http://www.koreanair.com/

http://flyasiana.com/english/

http://en.airbusan.com/AB/airbusan/english/main.jsp?loc=en (click 'domestic reservation' at left)

Would you still go up Seoraksan if you are planning to spend time in Hallasan?

How exactly would you fit traveling to and from Sokcho/Seokrasan into the itinerary above? Where would you squeeze it in?

Yes, Hallasan on Jeju doesn't have the spectacular jagged peaks of Seoraksan. Like I & others have said, you could cut 2 days in Seoul as most of the major attractions are easy to reach by subway & are close together.

http://www.trekearth.com/viewphotos.php?l=7&p=523710

http://www.trekearth.com/viewphotos.php?l=7&p=522294

http://www.trekearth.com/viewphotos.php?l=7&p=485240

I'm still a bit confused about how to get to and from Seoraksan without wasting an extra day just traveling. Does this itinerary work?

OCTOBER 22 (Saturday) - Land in Seoul in the morning, Go around Seoul (where do I leave my backpack?), Take night bus to Sokcho
OCTOBER 23 (Sunday) - Take bus from Sokcho to Seoraksan, Take beginner's hikes all day, Take night bus to Busan/Ulsan (?)
OCTOBER 24 (Monday) - Take bus to Gyeongju, Go around Gyeongju
OCTOBER 25 (Tuesday) - Go around Gyeongju, Take flight to Jeju
OCTOBER 26 (Wednesday) - Jeju
OCTOBER 27 (Thursday) - Jeju
OCTOBER 28 (Friday) - Jeju, Flight to Seoul
OCTOBER 29 (Saturday) - Seoul
OCTOBER 30 (Sunday) - Seoul

I thought pushing the bus trips to nighttime saves me a day. Any suggestions on where to leave a backpack on my first day and how to get from Sokcho to Gyeongju?

Is there some better way to juggle the schedule?

Going to Seoraksan on October 23 takes me there just after the peak of the foliage, and going to Hallasan in Jeju around October 27 takes me there just before the peak of the foliage.

"(where do I leave my backpack?),"

There are public lockers at Seoul Station but I'm not sure if you can leave stuff in them for a week or more? It's also about 4000 won ($3) a day so 9 days would be $27. I'd cut one day from Seoul & spend it hiking in Seoraksan, on the 24th October, & get a flight from Jeju to Seoul on Saturday October 29 th instead. If you're staying at a guesthouse in Seoul maybe you could drop in on Oct 22 nd & leave it there for the 9 days. They usually just ask you to fill out a name tag, sometimes in duplicate. You will have more chance of doing this if you've paid for the room upfront. Btw there's nothing much to see at Jeju City, & the bus terminal to get out is located about 1 km inland from the port. I started walking left along the road following the shoreline & only found a taxi rank & tourist info office. (Taxis in Korea are cheap, btw, unless you're traveling long distances, when it can add up to over 100k won) Seoul Airport to Seoul City is 80k won, about $70. Cheaper to get the airport train for 4k 'all stations', or 13k express. There's only 10 mins difference in the time between the 2 trains, so the all stations is fine. Just outside Seoul station is about the only place in Korea where you will see beggars. They can be a nuisance, but are harmless.

You should try to spend some time in Jeju. I would suggest staying in Seogwipo if you want to experience more of the nature side of Jeju. There are a lot of beautiful waterfalls and you should definitely try to go to Hallim beach. Very beautiful. There's a really great hostel called Backpacker's Home in Seogwipo that just opened up. I would suggest staying here if you want a cheap, but clean place to stay. Here's the info: http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/Backpacker-s-Home/Jeju-Island/55604

Thanks but what is the best way to go to and from Sokcho?

Is taking a night bus from Seoul the best option?

Is there a night bus from Sokcho that one can take to a city near Gyeongju, such as Ulsan or Busan?

For Sokcho, Dong Seoul (east Seoul) bus station:

http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=1113555

There's a subway (train station) adjacent to the Dong Seoul Bus terminal.

Local Sokcho bus 7 or 7-1 from the Sokcho long distance bus station to the national park entrance.

http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264211

Thanks, but is there in fact a night bus from Sokcho to near Gyeongju?

Thanks for all the input especially chrisj. I'm going with the schedule below. Would appreciate any input on the bus transfers, including to airports since I'll be chasing two domestic evening flights,

OCTOBER 22 (Saturday) - Land in Seoul in the morning, Go around Seoul
OCTOBER 23 (Sunday) – Seoul, Take night bus to Sokcho
OCTOBER 24 (Monday) – Take beginner's hikes at Seoraksan all day (October 21: peak of Seoraksan foliage), Take night bus to Pohang
OCTOBER 25 (Tuesday) – Take first bus to Gyeongju, Go around Gyeongju
OCTOBER 26 (Wednesday) - Go around Gyeongju, Take flight to Jeju (7:55 PM)
OCTOBER 27 (Thursday) - Jeju
OCTOBER 28 (Friday) – Jeju (peak of Hallasan foliage)
OCTOBER 29 (Saturday) - Jeju, Flight to Seoul (8:45 PM)
OCTOBER 30 (Sunday) – Seoul, fly out of Seoul in the evening

Also, how feasible is it to stay in Jimjilbangs some nights? Can you leave your luggage there in the morning, go sightsee, them come back in at night?

Should I look for accomodation in Sokcho or just get out of the bus and into a cheap motel beside the bus station for a couple of hours' sleep while waiting for the bus to Gyeongju?

The first time I went to Seoraksan I stayed in an expensive motel just inside the park for $100 a night. The next time I went I stayed at a small motel just before the park entrance, but about 2km past the YHA Youth Hostel. It was $30 but sleeping Korean style on the floor with 2 pillows & 2 matresses as I had the whole room to myself. There was a fast food place next door for burgers & chicken. There's a cablecar just inside the national park if you want to maximize your time in the park. It was around 8000 won return in 2006 ($8) but probably more now. (15k / $12?)

For only 1 day at Sokcho, I'd get a motel at Sokcho bus terminal & leave your luggage there, just taking a daypack, small bottle of water & a camera. I've stayed there one night & it was fine. Bus 7 or 7-1 goes to the national park. You might have to walk around the corner from the bus terminal for local bus 7 / 7-1.

Do you recommend booking at motels beside bus stops or literally just walk in late at night and get a room?

Just walk into any motel near the bus station, & ask to see the room (they will be spartan & not luxurious, but I usually just check that the hot water is connected & the room is clean) Often they will hand you a packet containing toothbrush, toothpaste, shaver etc.

Can I get input on how to arrange my itinerary within Seoul? It's a bit funny because I fly into Seoul Saturday morning (October 22), have one real night in Seoul, then catch an express bus to Sokcho after sunset on Sunday. I then return to Seoul late the next Saturday and fly out of the country at 7:30 PM on Sunday.

I think October 22 will be spent in Gwanghwamun, then in Hongdae later in the afternoon and Namsan in the evening. As I only have one real night in Seoul, I might book a relatively nice dinner at Korea House (unless you have a better recommendation for a nice dinner than Lonely Planet) then take a quick trip up Seoul Tower and walk around Namsan.

For Gwanghawmun and surrounds, I want to see Changdeokgung (hours now less strict), Jongmyo, Changgyeonggun, Bukchon Hanok, Gyeongbokgung, Cheong-gye-cheon and Deoksugung.

October 23 will be spent finishing off the sights in Gwahnghwamun and trying to see some of the other sights such as Inwangsan, Dongdaemun Park and one of the markets (do you recommend Namdaemun, Gwangjang or Noryangjin to see a a fun Seoul wet market)? Then I head to the Express Bus Station after sunset to catch a late bus to Sokcho.

October 29, I fly back into Seoul from Jeju and arrive late at night. I will probably decide between seeing a jimjilbang or seeing Hongdae at night.

October 30, I will see whatever I didn't get to see in Seoul plus see a little of the museums (Leeum Samsung, National and the War Museums).

My highlights for Seoul would be Gyeongbukgung Palace, Insadong, Namsan Tower, the War Museum (via Samgakchi Subway stn) & Namdaemun Market. All else is superfluous. If time, a USO trip to the DMZ (full day, departing 7 am). The fish market in Busan is often cited as a must see. I've never been to the one in Seoul or even the more famous fish market in Busan. You won't regret spending a day or 2 in Seoraksan instead of Seoul.

hi i read with interest with regards to this post and thought i can ask a few questions here.

thank you for advice.

i will be going to korea end of oct till beginning of nov this year. where is the best place to see the transition of leaves colour??