South Korea itinerary, day by day

From Seoul and its palaces to seaside Busan, by way of the old royal city of Gyeongju, then across to the volcanic island of Jeju, by high-speed train: the map, what is worth booking, everything that costs nothing, and where to sleep at three budgets.

🗓️ 3, 7 or 14 days📍 3 stops☀️ Best time: April to May (cherry blossom) and September to October (maples)

Séoul · Photo SOO CHUL PARK / Pexels

Route map (numbers = order of the stops).

South Korea in 3 days

2 stops · 12 things to do · ≈ 325 km

1Seoul

Days 1-2

A megacity of nearly ten million where five Joseon palaces stand among the towers. Gyeongbokgung is the largest, a short walk from the wooden hanok houses of Bukchon.

🎟️ Worth booking

Gyeongbokgung Palace and the guard ceremony, guidedHalf day · from €15
The main palace of the Joseon dynasty, with the changing of the guard in period costume at its gate.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Bukchon Hanok Village and N Seoul TowerHalf day · from €12
The lanes of traditional tiled-roof houses, then the tower on Namsan hill for the view across the whole city.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Gwangjang Market · Hongdae · Cheonggyecheon stream · Myeongdong

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Insa Hostel (€20 a night) · Mid-range: L7 Myeongdong (€120 a night) · Luxury: Signiel Seoul (€320 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Hangong-Gan ↗ ★ 5 · 1164 reviews
Myeongdong Korean BBQ Mongvely ↗ ★ 4.9 · 4705 reviews
bogwangjung ↗ ★ 4.9 · 3122 reviews
Pig Restaurant 2 ↗ ★ 4.9 · 2034 reviews
Daol Charcoal Grilling (Korean BBQ Daol) ↗ ★ 4.8 · 930 reviews

Photo Fernando B M / Pexels

🚄 KTX · 2h40 · 325 km

2Busan

Day 3

Korea's second city and its busiest port, with Haeundae beach on one side and the painted hillside houses of Gamcheon on the other.

🎟️ Worth booking

Gamcheon Culture Village, guided2h · from €12
A settlement of refugees from the Korean War, its brightly painted houses stacked up a hillside and now full of murals and small galleries.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Haedong Yonggungsa Temple and the beachHalf day · from €15
A Buddhist temple built on the rocks right above the sea, rare in a country where most temples sit in the mountains.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Haeundae Beach · Jagalchi fish market · Taejongdae Park · Gwangan Bridge lit up at night

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Blue Backpackers Hostel (€20 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel 1 Haeundae (€110 a night) · Luxury: Park Hyatt Busan (€250 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Ribs of Legend haeundae ↗ ★ 4.9 · 2328 reviews
Korean casual dining dongnyeok ↗ ★ 4.9 · 1120 reviews
ROYAL INDIA HAEUNDAE ↗ ★ 4.9 · 679 reviews
Namaste Haeundae ↗ ★ 4.8 · 3172 reviews · €€
Hi asia Pakistani & Indian halal restaurant 펀자브 ↗ ★ 4.8 · 1753 reviews · €€

Photo Saksham Vikram / Pexels

South Korea in 7 days

3 stops · 18 things to do · ≈ 340 km

1Seoul

Days 1-3

A megacity of nearly ten million where five Joseon palaces stand among the towers. Gyeongbokgung is the largest, a short walk from the wooden hanok houses of Bukchon.

🎟️ Worth booking

Gyeongbokgung Palace and the guard ceremony, guidedHalf day · from €15
The main palace of the Joseon dynasty, with the changing of the guard in period costume at its gate.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Bukchon Hanok Village and N Seoul TowerHalf day · from €12
The lanes of traditional tiled-roof houses, then the tower on Namsan hill for the view across the whole city.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Gwangjang Market · Hongdae · Cheonggyecheon stream · Myeongdong

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Insa Hostel (€20 a night) · Mid-range: L7 Myeongdong (€120 a night) · Luxury: Signiel Seoul (€320 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Fernando B M / Pexels

🚄 KTX · 2h · 280 km

2Gyeongju

Day 4

Capital of the Silla kingdom for close to a thousand years, and known as the museum without walls. Royal burial mounds rise in the middle of town, and the Bulguksa temple and Seokguram grotto are UNESCO-listed.

🎟️ Worth booking

Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa TempleHalf day · from €15
An eighth-century temple and, higher up the mountain, a granite Buddha in its man-made cave, both UNESCO-listed since 1995.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Royal tombs and the observatory, guided2h · from €10
The grassy Silla burial mounds and Cheomseongdae, a seventh-century stone tower thought to be the oldest surviving observatory in East Asia.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Daereungwon royal tombs · Wolji Pond (Anapji) at night · Gyeongju National Museum · Gyerim forest

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Doobaki Hostel (€22 a night) · Mid-range: The K Hotel Gyeongju (€70 a night) · Luxury: Hilton Gyeongju (€150 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

GANG DONG MIEN ↗ ★ 4.9 · 177 reviews
With Gusto ↗ ★ 4.5 · 312 reviews
Hongsi Hanjeongsik ↗ ★ 4.3 · 694 reviews · €€
Venzamas ↗ ★ 4.2 · 2280 reviews · €€€
Hyanghwajeong ↗ ★ 4.2 · 840 reviews · €€

Photo Nezaket / Pexels

🚄 KTX · 30 min · 60 km

3Busan

Days 5-7

Korea's second city and its busiest port, with Haeundae beach on one side and the painted hillside houses of Gamcheon on the other.

🎟️ Worth booking

Gamcheon Culture Village, guided2h · from €12
A settlement of refugees from the Korean War, its brightly painted houses stacked up a hillside and now full of murals and small galleries.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Haedong Yonggungsa Temple and the beachHalf day · from €15
A Buddhist temple built on the rocks right above the sea, rare in a country where most temples sit in the mountains.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Haeundae Beach · Jagalchi fish market · Taejongdae Park · Gwangan Bridge lit up at night

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Blue Backpackers Hostel (€20 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel 1 Haeundae (€110 a night) · Luxury: Park Hyatt Busan (€250 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Saksham Vikram / Pexels

South Korea in 14 days

5 stops · 30 things to do · train & flight

1Seoul

Days 1-4

A megacity of nearly ten million where five Joseon palaces stand among the towers. Gyeongbokgung is the largest, a short walk from the wooden hanok houses of Bukchon.

🎟️ Worth booking

Gyeongbokgung Palace and the guard ceremony, guidedHalf day · from €15
The main palace of the Joseon dynasty, with the changing of the guard in period costume at its gate.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Bukchon Hanok Village and N Seoul TowerHalf day · from €12
The lanes of traditional tiled-roof houses, then the tower on Namsan hill for the view across the whole city.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Gwangjang Market · Hongdae · Cheonggyecheon stream · Myeongdong

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Insa Hostel (€20 a night) · Mid-range: L7 Myeongdong (€120 a night) · Luxury: Signiel Seoul (€320 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Fernando B M / Pexels

🚄 KTX · 2h · 280 km

2Gyeongju

Days 5-6

🎟️ Worth booking

Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa TempleHalf day · from €15
An eighth-century temple and, higher up the mountain, a granite Buddha in its man-made cave, both UNESCO-listed since 1995.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Royal tombs and the observatory, guided2h · from €10
The grassy Silla burial mounds and Cheomseongdae, a seventh-century stone tower thought to be the oldest surviving observatory in East Asia.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Daereungwon royal tombs · Wolji Pond (Anapji) at night · Gyeongju National Museum · Gyerim forest

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Doobaki Hostel (€22 a night) · Mid-range: The K Hotel Gyeongju (€70 a night) · Luxury: Hilton Gyeongju (€150 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Nezaket / Pexels

🚄 KTX · 30 min · 60 km

3Busan

Days 7-9

Korea's second city and its busiest port, with Haeundae beach on one side and the painted hillside houses of Gamcheon on the other.

🎟️ Worth booking

Gamcheon Culture Village, guided2h · from €12
A settlement of refugees from the Korean War, its brightly painted houses stacked up a hillside and now full of murals and small galleries.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Haedong Yonggungsa Temple and the beachHalf day · from €15
A Buddhist temple built on the rocks right above the sea, rare in a country where most temples sit in the mountains.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Haeundae Beach · Jagalchi fish market · Taejongdae Park · Gwangan Bridge lit up at night

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Blue Backpackers Hostel (€20 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel 1 Haeundae (€110 a night) · Luxury: Park Hyatt Busan (€250 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Saksham Vikram / Pexels

✈️ Flight · 1h · to the island

4Jeju Island

Days 10-13

A volcanic island off the south coast, crowned by Mount Hallasan (1,947 m), the highest peak in South Korea. Craters, waterfalls, and the haenyeo, women who dive for shellfish without breathing gear.

🎟️ Worth booking

Sunrise at Seongsan IlchulbongMorning · from €5
A short, steep climb up a crater rising straight from the sea, for the sunrise its name promises ('Sunrise Peak'). UNESCO-listed.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Mount Hallasan or the lava tubesFull day · from €15
Either a long day hike to the summit of Hallasan (the two summit trails need a free booking online), or the Manjanggul lava tube, a UNESCO-listed tunnel carved by flowing lava.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Hyeopjae Beach · Cheonjeyeon Falls · Seasonal flower fields · Haenyeo villages, home of the women divers

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Ganse Guesthouse (€30 a night) · Mid-range: Lotte City Hotel Jeju (€100 a night) · Luxury: Grand Hyatt Jeju (€220 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Apis Jeju ↗ ★ 5 · 154 reviews
Royal India jeju ↗ ★ 4.9 · 185 reviews
Island Kitchen ↗ ★ 4.9 · 120 reviews
Boreumsup ↗ ★ 4.8 · 454 reviews
2F Cucina ↗ ★ 4.8 · 162 reviews

Photo Kyaw Thuwai / Pexels

✈️ Flight · 1h10 · return

5Seoul

Day 14 · return

A megacity of nearly ten million where five Joseon palaces stand among the towers. Gyeongbokgung is the largest, a short walk from the wooden hanok houses of Bukchon.

🎟️ Worth booking

Gyeongbokgung Palace and the guard ceremony, guidedHalf day · from €15
The main palace of the Joseon dynasty, with the changing of the guard in period costume at its gate.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Bukchon Hanok Village and N Seoul TowerHalf day · from €12
The lanes of traditional tiled-roof houses, then the tower on Namsan hill for the view across the whole city.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Gwangjang Market · Hongdae · Cheonggyecheon stream · Myeongdong

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Insa Hostel (€20 a night) · Mid-range: L7 Myeongdong (€120 a night) · Luxury: Signiel Seoul (€320 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Fernando B M / Pexels

Hotel prices are per room per night, activity prices per person, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide): we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

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Good to know before you go

🍽️ What to eat

Bibimbap: rice in a bowl with vegetables, an egg and a spoonful of gochujang chilli paste, mixed at the table.
Korean barbecue: meat grilled at your table and wrapped in lettuce leaves.
Kimchi: fermented cabbage with chilli, served with every meal.
Tteokbokki: chewy rice cakes in a sweet, fiery sauce, the classic street snack.
Jeju black pork: the island's own breed, grilled thick over charcoal.
Soju and Korean beer, often drunk together, with the street food of Myeongdong.

⚠️ What to avoid

Google Maps barely works for directions here: install Naver Map or KakaoMap, and get a T-money card for transport.
Mind the etiquette: pour and receive drinks with both hands, and let the eldest start eating first.
Never stand your chopsticks upright in rice.
Bukchon is a lived-in neighbourhood: its central lanes are closed to visitors in the evening, and quiet is expected.
Book early for the cherry blossom in April and the autumn leaves in late October.

Plan this trip

📒 The free printable South Korea guide→ 🗓️ Best time to visit South Korea, month by month→ 🎟️ What to book before you go→

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