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 30^th 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