Before you take the plunge… South Korea vacation tips
I’ve put together a couple of things you may want to check and consider before going to South Korea. If you’re a DIY/Semi-DYI (with the emergence of travel apps) type of traveler, these South Korea vacation tips may be of great help. Our 4-day Seoul itinerary to follow next…
What you may want to know:
Seasons ☃️🌸🌞🍂 – Korea has a total of 4 seasons – Spring (March to May), Summer (June to August), Autumn (September to November) and Winter (December to February). When I think of these seasons, I remember their Endless Love series when I was in grade school. The most popular would be the Winter Sonata and Autumn in my Heart (I just have to add that LOL). If you’re undecided when to plan your trip, try watching those first or any Korean series and movies, :).
Flights – Flights to South Korea are not hard to find as it is a known travel destination. Some flights can be expensive though, Cathay Pacific flights from Hong Kong, for example, average to ~4,000.00 HKD. Anyhow, you don’t necessarily have to fly expensive as there are a few budget airlines that can get you there at half-a-price, some even lesser. You can find cheap flights in Tripadvisor and other flight scanners online. You just plug in the details of your desired trip. I can’t recommend buying on sites other than the airline websites though. I haven’t tried myself and, quite frankly, I have inhibitions.
Hotel – Of course, a place to stay is a must if you’re on vacation. The type depends on your preference, budget, and need. There are deals online for hotels at discounts like Agoda and Booking.com. You may also want to explore the world of Airbnb. There are a lot of pretty good choices at a reasonable price. If you plan to take day trip tours, consider checking around the Myeongdong area or somewhere close to Seoul Station. Those places can be quite busy but most tours pick-up and stop there.
Visa – I have a whole blog dedicated to visa application if you’re living in Hong Kong. The single entry visa is given with a validity of 3 months (at least for me) so you have to time your application with enough buffer for your travel and planning. These South Korea vacation tips I’ll be covering won’t matter if you can’t enter though. So if you need one, be sure to check. 🙂
Visa blog link: https://stillsonthemove.com/2019/01/18/korean-visa-application/
Pocket wifi – Klook and KKday have a variety of options in terms of pocket wifi. It’s also very convenient, especially if you’re doing DIY trips and need google maps to save your life. Pocket wifi prices range from $1 to $4 per day (prices are in USD for easier conversion). If your arrival time is late at night, check the pick-up schedule time in the deal, some are not operating 24/7. You can drop it off as well at the airport before you fly back.
Discover Seoul Pass – arguably needed. This did not work for us and I’m attributing it to the length of our stay and the activities we wanted to prioritize – to each their own. Before plunging into any activities, consider planning ahead and deciding first where you want to go and what you want to do – then start looking for deals and discounts. Most importantly, stick to the plan! We had struggles in planning our itinerary because we basically planned the trip less than a month before our flight schedule (we waited for all our visas to be approved).
Some may find the Discover Seoul Pass a steal though as it offers discounts to several attractions in Seoul. I suggest checking the Discover Seoul Pass website for a complete list of the discounted attractions. The pick-up location for the pass is also at the arrival hall of the airport.
Note: Using the Discover Seoul card as T-money will not affect the validity of the card. The card will only be activated when you start using it in any of the listed attractions.
T-Money – This can be bought in any convenience stores or the airport, there are even Vendo-machines for these and the prices start from 2,500.00 KRW, reloadable, and refundable in any (or most of) convenience store. As mentioned above, the Discover Seoul pass card may also be used as T-money (which was what we did). What is T-money?
“T–money is a rechargeable series of smart cards and other “smart” devices used for paying transportation fares in and around Seoul and other areas of South Korea. T–money can also be used in lieu of cash or credit cards in some convenience stores and other businesses.”
– Wikipedia
So it’s basically like the Octopus card of HK, EZ-link of SG, Rabbit card of BKK, Oyster card of London…and the likes.
Korean Won – You may either have your local money exchanged before traveling or withdraw in the airport upon landing – there’s a Woori Bank Global ATM in the arrival hall near one of the exits. Withdraw only what you think you need, you may have issues converting excess back to your local currency – KRW is a non-deliverable currency.
1 KRW is equivalent to ~ 0.007 HKD, 0.047 PHP, 0.0009USD, 0.0008 EUR, 0.0012 SGD, 0.098 JPY – you math the heck out of the rest, it’s pretty challenging and confusing LOL.
Incheon Airport transfers – There are a number of ways to get you to Seoul from the Incheon Airport.
AREX is short for Airport Railroad Express. It offers 2 types of journeys – an Express journey that leaves straight for Seoul and the All-stops journey which stops at all the stations on the way to Seoul, the ticket price is around 9,000.00 won and can be bought in the airport.
Airport Buses and Limousines are also an option to travel to Seoul. There are deluxe and standard buses that range from 9,000.00 to 16,000.00 won.
Our arrival time was super late so we opted to book a van service to pick us up from the airport to our hotel instead. We didn’t want to wander around late at night with our heavy luggages to get to the hotel. For that extra convenience, we paid around 70,000.00 Won for 3 people. It seems expensive compared to the normal airport transfers but still cheaper than getting a cab. It was a van also with plenty of legroom, and since there are 3 of us, we paid ~23,000.00 won each. I don’t know why I sound so defensive (lol), it all comes down to preference really. There are heaps of deals in Klook and KKday offering door-to-door transport from the airport to your hotel of choice if you prefer this.
Transportation system – South Korea is not lacking in the transportation game, what it’s lacking though is escalators in their subway stations. If you’re not a fan of walking, you may want to try their buses instead which are also very decent. There are bus stops in most of the key locations and the stops are also announced in English so it shouldn’t be a worry. If you’re too scared to miss your stop, you can open google maps and track your location and your destination.
Subways are easy means of transportation in Seoul ( and in South Korea in general) with lines 1 to 9. The base fare for adults with t-money is 1,250 KRW with an additional 100 won for every 5km for the first 50km and 100 won for every 8km for distances over 50km. Single trip fares generally cost a bit higher.
Buses in South Korea have color schemes from blue, green, yellow, and red. These are nice alternatives to subways, plus you are also offered a view of the city on your way to wherever you’re going. If you’re mainly traveling within Seoul, you’ll probably take the blue and green colored buses more. You may research the routes online or download apps to help you roam around.
Taxis, when all else fail :). Uber is also an option, but of course, like in any other places, you have to pay more for that extra comfort (~3,000.00 won is the base fare). If you’re afraid you may not be understood, just (again) google maps your way and show it to the driver, if it still doesn’t work, google translate it! lol, – resourcefulness is the key.
What you need to bring: Winter essentials
If you plan to travel to South Korea, or any other locations, in wintertime (December to February), you must be ready for the cold weather. During our stay, the temperature ranged from -6 to 6 degrees Celsius and it wasn’t even full force winter yet. To some who had experienced worse, it may not be an issue. For those who are used to the tropics, however, you need to LAYER, LAYER, LAYER.
Innerwear – this is a lifesaver, especially if you want to save space on your luggage. Uniqlo offers really good heat-tech clothes from long sleeves, leggings, tights, and a bunch of others. Mind you, they work! If you don’t want to spend much though, you may still find good thermal alternatives at cheaper stores. Turtlenecks are also very useful.
Gloves, beanies, scarves, and earmuffs – these are also must-haves. Barehands in freezing weather is a no-no. If you’re reluctant to buy gloves because you want to use your phone, there are tech-friendly gloves that are designed in a way that you don’t have to remove them when using your phone. Beanies and earmuffs cover and protect your head and ears from the cold. You don’t want to brain-freeze from the outside while on vacation. Lastly, scarves to give extra warmth on your neck.
Coats and jackets – Of course you have to have at least 1 on your trip but if you live for pictures and OOTDs, you can bring as many as your baggage allowance can take. These, I think also, are the priciest you have to splurge on in terms of the essential clothing. If you are someone who lives in a place where winter is only in wonderland, it would be a pity to just store the coat until your next winter encounter. There are a bunch of winter sales during “BER” months though. If you’re reluctant to spend too much, you may want to try the thrift/surplus shops – just clean it thoroughly first.
Hong Kong has a dry winter season, so I used it as an excuse to buy more coats and jackets. lol
Boots – These may either be unnecessary or important, depending on your time of visit. Snow can be slippery so it’s a must to wear something with a good grip on the ground. These are also a big help in terms of keeping your feet warm.
Moisture enhancers – Lotion, hand cream, lip balm and facial moisturizer. These are absolutely important in battling dry skin and chopped lips during winter.
Most Importantly:
Enjoy, relax and make your best memories yet! I hope these South Korea vacation tips help in deciding and planning your next one. 🙂
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