As I’ve mentioned in my first post about our Korea trip, I will be breaking our experiences into a series of post. The previous ones were about our day-to-day activities in and outside Seoul. And for my final post, this post, I will be sharing our detailed itinerary and actual expenses that might be of help to you.
So, here goes…
DAY 1: Manila-Seoul + Gyeongbokgung Palace + Bukchon Hanok Village
1:00 AM – 5:30 AM | Travel from Manila to Incheon International Airport | |
9:30 AM | Arrival at Holiday Inn Express Euljiro | |
10:00 AM – 10:45 AM | Gyeongbokgung Palace | |
11:00 AM – 1:00 PM | Bukchon Hanok Village | |
1:30 PM – 2:30 PM | Lunch at one of the restaurants in Bukchon | |
3:00 PM – 8:00 PM | Snooze off | |
8:15 PM – 10:00 PM | Dinner somewhere near the hotel | |
10:15 PM | Lights off |
We flew in via Philippine Airlines because it was the only airline that offered a morning flight to Korea. For the hotel, I picked Holiday Inn Express mainly for convenience, as it was just beside Euljiro 3(sam)-ga Station.
DAY 2: Namiseom Island + Petite France + The Garden of Morning Calm
7:00 AM – 8:30 AM | Breakfast buffet and shower | |
11:00 AM | Arrived at Gapyeong City | |
11:15 AM – 1:30 PM | Nami Island | |
2:00 PM – 2:20 PM | Petite France | |
2:45 PM – 5:45 PM | The Garden of Morning Calm | |
6:00 PM – 8:30 PM | Travel from The Garden of Morning Calm to hotel | |
9:00 PM – 10:30 PM | Dinner somewhere near the hotel | |
11:00 PM | Lights off |
Our Nami Island trip was a bit of a challenge because it was really far from Seoul. But we definitely had no regrets! The island was so far the most romantic place Ralph and I have been to.
So, if you are planing to go to Korea, you cannot not go to Nami Island! Make sure to include it in your itinerary and schedule it on a weekday to enjoy the sceneries with lesser crowd.
DAY 3: Changdeokgung Palace + Namsan Seoul Tower + Pierre Gagnaire À Séoul
8:30 AM – 10:30 AM | Breakfast buffet and shower | |
11:00 AM – 1:30 PM | Changdeokgung Palace + Secret Garden Tour | |
1:45 PM – 2:30 PM | Lunch somewhere near the palace | |
3:30 PM – 5:30 PM | N Seoul Tower | |
6:30 PM – 10:30 PM | Wine & Dine at Pierre Gagnaire | |
11:30 PM | Lights off |
Our DAY 3 in Korea was the exact day of my 30th birthday. And it was actually the main reason for this trip. It was my birthday wish! 😁
If you are going to Korea for a special occasion, whether you’re celebrating anniversary or (for guys) you’re ready to pop the question, I highly recommend Pierre Gagnaire À Séoul! But if you are on a budget, forget that I suggested it coz it might hurt your pockets! Haha!
DAY 4: Cheonggyecheon Stream + Myeongdong + Lotte Mart
9:00 AM – 11:00 AM | Breakfast buffet and shower | |
11:15 AM – 12:00 PM | Cheonggyecheon Stream | |
12:15 PM – 3:00 PM | Stroll along Myeongdong + shopping + lunch | |
3:30 PM – 4:30 PM | Lotte Mart | |
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM | Back at the hotel to drop all shopping bags | |
6:30 PM – 9:30 PM | Dinner at Hanradam with Korean colleague | |
10:00 PM – 11:30 PM | Back at Myeongdong for street food experience | |
12:00 MN | Lights off |
All we did on our 4th day was eat, shop, eat, repeat! We could’ve gone to other attractions in Seoul rather than waste our time binging on Korean food. But, you see, if you are following my previous posts (DAY 1, DAY 2, DAY 3, DAYS 4 and 5), you’d know how tired we really were. So, I (we) couldn’t be happier we decided to do just that on our last whole day in Korea.
Besides, it’s FOOD and SHOPPING! What’s not to enjoy, right? 😉
DAY 5: Dongdaemun Design Plaza + Kyochon + Seoul-Manila
9:00 AM – 11:00 AM | Breakfast buffet and shower | |
11:30 AM – 12:30 PM | Stroll around Dongdaemun | |
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM | Lunch at Kyochon | |
2:30 PM – 5:00 PM | Collect luggage at hotel then travel to airport | |
12:00 MN | Travel from Incheon International Airport to Manila |
With only a few hours left before we finally bid goodbye to this beautiful country, we decided to check the astonishing neo-futuristic Dongdaemun Design Plaza. We then had our farewell feast at Kyochon, which by the way you need to try when you visit Korea because from what I heard, the quality and serving in Manila are far from what they offer in Korea! I swear their chicken’s really yummy!
Here’s a look at our actual expenses for the whole trip:
Please note that the computed Total Expense is already an individual expense. I divided the expenses of the hotel and food by 2, since both are for sharing.
Airfare can be lessened if you check other airlines and/or look for discounts. Since we went to Korea during their pre-Spring season plus via Philippine Airlines, roundtrip airfare tickets were expected to be that expensive. Hehe.
Also, I prefer to not disclose the damage we had on our dinner at Pierre Gagnaire because… Because… Just message me if you’re curious! 😉
TRAVEL PERIOD: March 15-19, 2017
Flying to Seoul on the 24th of November. I want to experience fine dining in Seoul and I hope you could share the details about your Pierre Gagnaire experience. I’ve been eyeing Jungsik and Mingles too.
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Hi! I’ve shared some details about Pierre Gagnaire on my previous post. Just click on the link “Pierre Gagnaire” in this blog and it’ll lead you to it. 😊
Or here…
https://aquinojed.com/2017/05/09/south-korea-changdeokgung-palace-namsan-seoul-tower-pierre-gagnaire/
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Hi there! How u all travel when in Seoul? Heard taking taxi will be very expensive..
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Hi, Yvonne. We went around via subway. We used the map that came with the T-Money Card we bought at the airport. It’s very handy and easy to read.
Check my previous posts for directions to all the places mentioned here. Just click on the links above. 😊
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What month did you visit Korea?
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Hi! Mid March 🙂
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Hi, I will be going to Seoul on the last week of March next year, how was the temperature like when you went there? Is it still very cold?
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Hi, Nadya. It was freezing cold on our first 2 nights. The temperature went down to 3 deg Celsius at that time. But it got better by day. 🙂
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