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South Korea tour

South Korea Itineraries

South Korea in 7-10 days

South Korea in 1 Week 

One week on a South Korea tour will give you enough time to visit the DMZ, stay in a temple, and visit the two largest cities in the country, Seoul and Busan. You may not have time to take a trip to the countryside or the tropical Jeju island, but you can still get a great taste of the traditional and modern culture this country has to offer.

Day 1, Seoul: Free time to explore the city - go shopping or relax. Meet with your tour guide and group for dinner.

Day 2, Seoul: Visit the Gyeongbokgung Palace, the largest of the Five Grand Palaces. Next, stop by the Bukchon Hanok Village, a traditional village where locals reside up to this day. Go for lunch at the Gwangjang Market and feast on bibimbap - a bowl of rice with fresh vegetables mixed with gochujang (spicy sauce. End the day by taking a stroll around Insadong, where traditional artisanal crafts are sold.

Day 3, DMZ: We will take a bus up to the border between South and North Korea, known as the Demilitarized Zone. Learn about fascinating and disheartening history about the two countries, travel through one of their underground tunnels, and use binoculars to take a peek into the country. Stay the night in an ondol: where the guesthouses use floor heating and sleep on mats close to the ground.

Day 4, Temple Stay: Stay overnight in a temple where monks reside. Learn how to make your own meditation beads, have an open-ended discussion with a monk over tea, and eat their delicious temple food. If you’d like, wake up at 4am to experience chanting with the monks and watch as they perform their daily morning rituals.

Day 5, Busan: We will visit the largest fish market of the country, Jagalchi Fish Market. Here, you can find a wide selection of seafood and have your try at bargaining. Bring your food upstairs to have it cooked any way you’d like, or pick from their menu if you’d prefer not to pick out your own seafood. After lunch, we will go to Haeundae Beach, the most popular beach in the country. Spend the day relaxing, swimming, or exploring the area.

Day 6, Busan: Take a stroll through the picturesque oceanside temple, Haedong Yonggungsa. You will be guided through the short hike to get to the temple. Afterwards we will stop by a traditional Korean tea house where we partake in a tea ceremony while sampling Korean snacks.

Day 7, Drive Back to Seoul: Drive back to Seoul in the morning, say farewell to your tour guide and group.

South Korea in 2 Weeks 

If you want to see everything South Korea has to offer, two weeks will give you time to go to the countryside, tea fields, mountains, and heritage sites on top of all the major tourist spots.

Day 1, Airport Meet Up: Take a private charter bus to Seoul.

Day 2, Seoul: Take the time to explore the city by yourself today.

Day 3, Seoul: Gyeongbokgung Palace, Bukchon Hanok Village, Gwangjang Market, Insadong Market.

Day 4, DMZ: The demilitarized zone, sleep in an ondol.

Day 5, Suwon: Visit to Suwon Hwaseong Fortress, south of Seoul. Explore the fortress where the royal family retreated to during the way.

Day 6, Seoraksan: Visit Mount Seoraksan, where you can find a breathtaking view from the top of the mountains overlooking the clouds.

Day 7, Pyeongchang: Visit the site of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, where international athletes united for the love of sports just recently.

Day 8, Temple Stay: Stay overnight in a temple where monks reside. 

Day 9, Busan: Jagalchi Fish Market, Haeundae Beach

Day 10, Busan: Haedong Yonggungsa Oceanside Temple, Tea Ceremony

Day 11, Andong Hahoe Village: Another well-preserved heritage site with rich history and architectual beauty.

Day 12, Jeonju: Explore this quaint and traditional village, where it feels as though you’ve traveled back in time.

Day 13, Boseong: We will visit the breathtaking fields of the Boseong Green Tea Fields. Sip on green tea and sample green tea flavored snacks while taking pictures of the well-organized bushes that stretch on for ages.

Day 14, Back to Seoul: Drive back to Seoul and say farewell.

South Korea Historical and Heritage Itinerary

Consider going on a historical and heritage tour if you're mostly interested in learning about South Korea's fascinating and heartbreaking past. A historical tour of South Korea will allow you to visit important heritage sites, learn about it's troubling past with North Korea, and wander through quaint villages.

Day 1, DMZ: The demilitarized zone, sleep in an ondol.

Day 2, Gyeongju: Explore Gyeongju, a city filled with rich history and important historical landmarks that have been preserved since 935AD. With 52 different designated sites spread across the area, you’ll definitely be in for an educational day.

Day 3, Gyeongju: We will visit the Bulguksa Temple and Seokguram Grotto, both lie further out from the rest of Gyeongju’s main attractions.

Day 4, Andong Hahoe Village: We’ll then transfer to the Andong Hahoe Village which is another well-preserved heritage site with more historical beauty.

Day 5, Jeonju: Explore this quaint and traditional village, where it feels as though you’ve traveled back in time.



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South Korea Tours Reviews & Ratings

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Trusted Customer
·
2024-04-13
Written on
South Korean Soul by Contiki
South Korean Soul
Contiki’s South Korean tour is the perfect way to hit all the highlights and explore the best Korea has to offer in a relatively short time. The trip is jam-packed and fast paced, and filled with amazing experiences. I especially enjoyed the Han River picnic, the karaoke night in Busan, and the Hanok stay in Jeonju. My tour group was great, and our tour manager was outstanding. She handled all the logistics and boring bits to make sure we had a great trip. Along with our local guide, she answered questions, helped us not get lost, organised all our activities and made every day a fantastic adventure. I had an incredible time, and now that I’ve had a taste of Korea I plan to return and use what I learned with Contiki on my next trip. I would highly recommend this trip to anyone interested in exploring Korea.
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Judy CC
·
2023-02-24
Written on
Urban Adventures Company Reviews by Urban Adventures
Siagon Street food by night Experience
Duy, the tour leader was attentive, informative and the food we were given was fantastic.
So much so, that we will organise another night street food tour in Hoi An when we arrive there.
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Paul
·
2022-03-30
Written on
GlobalJourneys Company Reviews by GlobalJourneys
Best Travel Agency By Far!!
We have used Global Journeys a few times since 2013 to book our tours, accommodation, and flights; each and every time the level of service has been marvellous. The team at Global Journeys are very knowledgeable, reliable and customer focused. Global Journeys offer very competitive pricing rates. In view of the welcome return to a new normal after a few years in the doldrums for the travel industry due to COVID-19 there is rightfully/thankfully a surge back to booking holidays and tours again. We would highly encourage folks looking to book holidays/tours to at least consider contacting Global Journeys (https://www.globaljourneys.com). They help take the hassle and stress out of planning for your memory making journeys. Life is short, travel as often as you can. Afterall, travel is one of the best forms of education and self-discovery!
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Carlton Sandercock
·
2019-12-05
Written on
Urban Adventures Company Reviews by Urban Adventures
a totally wonderful tour with Tereza…
a totally wonderful tour with Tereza who was passionate about Prague s history and her knowledge in general was expansive and was relayed to us with character which made the whole day so enjoyable highly recommended. Prague itself is stunning but to have the added bonus of a place to eat where the locals go and knowledge about this incredible city was very much a bonus.
My wife & I came away thoroughly invigorated after our tour .. really good !
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Robert
·
2019-09-27
Written on
2020: South Korea & Japan: Temples, Shrines & Seaside Treasures by Overseas Adventure Travel (O.A.T. Tours)
This is a wonderful trip
This is a wonderful trip that provides an excellent opportunity to experience the sights, the culture, the unique history and the food of two very colorful and fascinating countries. The guides are excellent and a pleasure to travel with.
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Cynthia
·
2019-09-16
Written on
2020: South Korea & Japan: Temples, Shrines & Seaside Treasures by Overseas Adventure Travel (O.A.T. Tours)
Great trip
Great trip, liked having both countries on the itinerary. Korea was unexpectedly wonderful and PAM KIM, GROUP LEADER WAS OUTSTANDING! Japan started off poorly with Group Leader asking what we wanted to do and where we wanted to go in Tokyo! What!? We wanted to stay together as a group and have the tour leader show us what was important to see and Read more aboutdo, not leave it to us to design and lead the tour! Fortunately Tiger Lee was with us and he understood completely our concern and got us back on track. Anyone who had specific interests could spin off and do that. Group leader helped those people with directions and methods and the majority of the group then stayed together to have Group Leader (and O.A.T.) guide the tour! THANK YOU TIGER LEE!
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