| |
 Traveller's Tales: Getting around in Seoul, South Korea
Know the most popular landmarks in Seoul, South Korea. You may read about best transportation, recommended travel itinerary, suggested routes and directions. Also, you might want to read our
Jeju city guide,
and Seoul city guide.
Pages (2 of 9):
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
| J Chiu |
30 December 2004 |
Stayed at Uljiro Co-Op Residence - Seoul, South Korea.
|
A little side note regarding shopping, shop around if you have the time (and only IF you have the time). Because as a tourist, i got ripped off couple times during my two weeks stay in Seoul. If you speak English they know you have no idea regarding the price range for a particular item. Try to negotiate with them, you might be able to bargain a good price. Well, at least not to be ripped off too much. The Seoul Tour Bus is an excellent way to see many major tourist attractions in a short time. The bus leave at Gwanghwamun (station number 533), the bus stop is just right oustide Donghwa Duty Free which is also close to the Sejong Arts Center. Two bus tours are available--the palace tour and the downtown city tour. The downtown tour leaves the bus station every 30 mins while the palace tour bus leaves every hour. The single ride ticket is 5000 won for adults and 3000 won for children. One day ticket, which I recommended, is 10000 won for adult and 8000 won for children. Go there early, the first bus starts at 9am so that it allows you to stop at many stops to look around and hop back on for the next bus. Also, many palaces close around 5 pm, so the earlier you go the better it is.
One more thing, remember to check out when the palaces are open. Some palaces close on Mondays or Tuesdays. If you are japanese you are at a slight advantage in Korea as to many korean can speak/understand japanese. If you are chinese who speak Mandarin, sometimes you would bump into one or two waitresses in the restaurant who can speak Mandarin to assist you on ordering food. In short, you would have a higher chance to bump into people who can speak Japanese and Chinese more than a person who can speak English.
|
| L Chee eng |
28 December 2004 |
Stayed at Fraser Suites Serviced Residences - Seoul, South Korea.
|
The area where Fraser Suites is situated is very convenient with restaurants and shops all around the area. You can have western or Korean foods. Everything is within walking distance. The free shuttle bus from apartment to various destination is very convenient, however it should be more frequent.
|
| L Leung |
27 December 2004 |
Stayed at Uljiro Co-Op Residence - Seoul, South Korea.
|
The downside about our Christmas trip was that it did not snow! We went to Yangi Pine Resort on our 2nd day (underground to Nambu station, then get off at Yongi, jumped into taxi for short ride to Resort) which our daughter (6) found most enjoyable. I did some skiing (man made snow), my daughter did sledging and my husband did snow boarding! On the 3rd day we went to Everland (underground to Gangnam station then change to shuttle bus direct to Everland) for X'mas day. We loved the Christmas show on Christmas night. On 4th day, we did the King Fook Palace (Korean too complicated!) and Insa Dong which I found both easy to get to and traditional. In the evening we visited Lotte World which my daughter loved again. Seoul was a good family holiday overall. You can forget the shopping as this was the first time I came back with almost nothing!
|
| S Tan |
09 December 2004 |
Stayed at Lees Seoul, Hotel - Seoul, South Korea.
|
To get around Seoul, we took the subway most of the time as it's very convenient and easy to get around with accompanying english instructions/signs (Jongno-5ga is the nearest stop from Lees). Jongno-3ga which is a couple of stops from Jongno-5ga is where you can change to other lines. The airport limousine stops are located near Jongno-3ga (airport-seoul) and Jongno-4ga (seoul-airport) which are probably 5-8min walk from Lees. For authentic Korean foods, pop over to Gwangjiang Market which is just a stone-throw away. There are many street-side stalls along the main street (jongno) selling fresh fruits. Dongdaemun is also within walking distance.
For the night-owls, the 24-hr market/shopping complexes are god-sent! For a quick tour around Seoul, the Seoul city bus (10,000won) is a good option as it brings you to most of the major tourist attractions in the comfort of an air-con bus (with heating during winter) as well as an audio tour in the form of audio player with earpiece (different languages - korean, chinese, english, french) in front of every seat.
|
| E Heironimus |
01 December 2004 |
Stayed at Coatel Chereville - Seoul, South Korea.
|
The Seoul subway is cheap (900-1000 won = $.90-$1 for many destinations) and easy to navigate--all signs are in English too. Lotte World, just a few stops away from this hotel, was cheap and a good outing for our toddler. It is mostly indoors, which makes it great year-round (we visited in late November).
|
| J Ruszkowski |
30 November 2004 |
Stayed at Hamilton Hotel - Seoul, South Korea.
|
Had more fun that I expected. My friend and Iwent to Seoul for a wedding and was not sure what to expect. Everyone in Itaewon spoke some english so we were able to communicate fairly well. Cab drivers were nice and the city was quite clean - they were dusting the ceiling in the subway one day! Took cutural tours of Hanock Villiage, palace, seoul tower and enjoyed them. Do not recommend Amethyst Cente r- I thought it was about the mining of stones and showing the process- not! Just a very over priced sales pitch- if you want to buy go haggle in Itaewon.
Fabulous shopping everywhere- just learn pricing before you buy to get the best deals.
|
| P Minett |
20 November 2004 |
Stayed at Kyungnam Tourist Hotel - Seoul, South Korea.
|
Korea was a great place to visit. The people were really friendly and helpful. I know no Korean but was able to get on fine using sign language and my Lonely Planet guide, and maps. Each time I needed help someone seemed to take it on themselves to make sure I got where or what I wanted. The food was great and inexpensive, I really like noodle shops, and places with pictures of the food so you can point to what you like. This was generally available. In Seoul I had 'cow-rice', which was what the amenable shop manager called the dish in the picture, and turned out to be rice and beef, with the interesting side dishes of kimchi which I later found are served with all meals.
|
| H Viikinniemi |
08 November 2004 |
Stayed at Savoy Hotel - Seoul, South Korea.
|
Seoul City Bus (hop-on hop-off) is a convenient way to make sightseeing. Recommendations: Picturesque views from Seoul Tower on Namsan Montain. Guided (English) walking tours in Changdoekkuk Palace at 1:30PM and 3:30PM, well preserved buildings, nice palace gardens & forest. Shopping at Itaewon District.
|
| A Clark |
07 November 2004 |
Stayed at Best Western Hotel Dongdaemun - Seoul, South Korea.
|
I traveled by subway exclusively. Airport bus was the best between airport and hotel (#602), and subway otherwise. Subway was cheap, fast, efficient; bus took nearly 2 hrs due to traffic. Koreans all seem to speak "a little english", so looking lost and giving the name of a place gets fingers pointing you in the right direction. Buy anything and everything on the sidewalks, eat whatever looks good or unusual.
|
| R Hsiung |
12 October 2004 |
Stayed at Sofitel Ambassador Seoul - Seoul, South Korea.
|
Seoul's a pretty and very clean city. Buildings not so new, thousands of shops, not many interesting historical sites to visit but very pleasant city overall. Itaewon and Nandaemun Market 'must see' shopping centres. Insadong should be interesting, too (highly recommended by staff of our hotel) but didn't have time to enjoy browsing its antique shops
or try out the tea-houses. The Seoul city bus tour should take at least once and to buy the 'whole day' ticket which costs 10,000 won a person and includes both the 'downtown' and 'palace' tours. Got around by taxis - not too expensive. If have a chance to visit South Korea again would try to see Nami and Chusan Islands. Heard they're beautiful.
|
|
Pages (2 of 9):
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Book a hotel in Seoul, South Korea
|
