As promised, I’m sharing our itinerary for 5 days/4 nights in Seoul.
Just want to tell you in advance that I went to Seoul with my husband and our family. We’re 12 in the group with 5 people just around my age and 7 senior citizens. Had I traveled with my husband alone (we will definitely go back there on our own), our itinerary would have been a more taxing one but definitely budget-friendly. Overall though, given our group demographics and physical considerations, I would have to say that we pretty much covered a good number of tourist attractions but just so you know, the itinerary I’m sharing might not reflect the cheapest way to go around town.
Airfare and Accommodation
We got our plane tickets from Cebu Pacific during a seat sale. For me and hubby, we got two round-trip tickets from Manila to Incheon for only P14,600. You may also want to check Jeju Air for cheap tickets. If you want to fly comfortably with plane food and entertainment, you can go for Philippine Airlines, Asiana, or Korean Air. Anyways, in addition to the airfare which we paid directly to Cebu Pacific, we also paid Philippine Travel Tax of P1,620 and Terminal Fee of P550 at the airport.
We stayed at 126 Mansion (such a lovely guesthouse and I am highly recommending this place but my post about it will come later) and our booking was for 100,000KRW per room per night for two people. That rate includes breakfast (choice of American or Korean) and when converted to Philippine pesos, that would amount to P4,000 a night. For our 5days/4nights stay, we paid P16,000 for two, more or less.
Itinerary (costs/expenses will be discussed in separate posts)
DAY 1
- Arrival at the Incheon International Airport
- Transfer from the Airport to Seoul
- Check-in and breakfast at 126 Mansion
- Explore Samcheongdong and Bukchon
- Visit Gyeongbokgung Palace and Gwanghwamun area
- Witness changing of the guards
- Wear hanbok
DAY 2
- Breakfast at 126 Mansion
- Visit Nami Island (filming location for Winter Sonata)
- Myeongdong shopping
- Went around Samcheongdong and had Korean bbq dinner near Yonsei University
DAY 3
- Breakfast at 126 Mansion
- COEX Mall – COEX Aquarium and Kimchi Museum
- Dongdaemun – Doota!
- Cheonggyecheon Stream
DAY 4
- Breakfast at 126 Mansion
- Insadong / Nakwon Music Complex
- N Seoul Tower
- Nanta Show
DAY 5
- Breakfast at 126 Mansion
- Bukchon Hanok Village
- Samcheongdong
- Jogyesa Temple
I will share photos of our experiences in Seoul. If you need suggestions on where to go or if you want a confirmation whether the itinerary you made is doable, feel free to drop a comment or send me an email 
Til my next post, annyeong!
Thanks for the wonderful info about seoul, just wondering why is it you didn’t go to busan for 5 days? don’t you think its not enough? i will go to korea this march and one of my itinerary is to go to busan to see jeju island, do you think 5 days is enough? thanks a lot for the places you’ve been with. i will definitely go there.
Hi there, Jeju Island and Busan are two separate places and would need more than 5 days if you want to include them in your itinerary. For Busan, include at least two days and one night at the minimum. For Jeju Island, include at least three days and two nights at the minimum. That will give you ample time to explore the beauty of those places. I would suggest that if you really want to see Seoul and Busan and Jeju, allocate at least 9-10days for your trip
hope this helps.
Hi there. do u have the contact details of the private coach as we are interested to get its service at that cost next month. Thanks -Joe
Hi, I have the number of the airport van (6-seats) service that picked us up and brought us back to the airport but not the private coach/mini-bus (12-15 seats) that brought us to Nami Island. Here it is: 011 9913 1276. They may have a coach or hook you up with someone they know. They’re not just very fluent in English (my Korean friend arranged things for us) but I’m sure, with a little patience, they’ll be able to help.
hi Jan, i am planning to go with my family ( kids age 12- 19) in late Mar. How many days should i go. Is it easy to get muslim food?
if you’re traveling with kids, they might be interested to go to theme parks like Everland or Lotte World which will need one whole day off your itinerary. it’s up to you on how many places you want to see but the typical number of days would be 5 days or more. about muslim food, i’m sorry i wasn’t able to ask around back then but this website from the Korea Tourism Office might help: http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/ena/CU/CU_EN_8_1_6.jsp
Hello. Thanks for sharing those information. My friends & I will go to Seoul on May 18-23, 2012. How did you go to Nami island? Thank you.
oh hi leila, sorry i didn’t get to respond to you sooner. by now, you’re probably in seoul already. we went to nami island via a private coach which we hired for our group of 12 persons.
Pingback: Seoul Series: Why I Love 126 Mansion | I Love. Therefore, I Cook.
How wonderful…somewhere I have always wanted to visit
Sounds like an amazing trip!