Guide to Korea · Flight & Accomodation

There are many flights that fly to Seoul, so I used Skyscanner to search for the most ideal flight.

By using Skyscanner, I can compare prices between the different airlines and also find the cheapest days to travel. 

I booked my flight 1 month before my trip and I booked it on a Tuesday which was apparently the cheapest day to book your air tickets. I swear the tickets were like 20 or 30 bucks cheaper than what I saw on Sunday and Monday. 

So I settled with Vietnam Airlines. I paid $800+ for both my sister and my tickets (round trip).

Apparently, the tickets were cheaper than some of the budget airlines. But the only downside is that I'll have to transit at Ho Chih Min for an hour. 

But hey, it's only an hour and I can get to access the internet at the airport so I won't feel so disconnected with the world :P 

Meals were provided during both flights (to Ho Chih Min and to Seoul) and I would say the food was pretty good.

If I don't remember wrongly, for the 4 flights (to & fro) that I took, there were fried noodles, fish/chicken/beef rice and bibimbap! Also, there were in-flight entertainment. Although the list of movies are not as extensive as SIA but you get what you pay and I thought I got more than what I've paid for. 

ACCOMMODATION

Hotels in Seoul are pricey so we hopped on to the guesthouse bandwagon! 

I tried to use Airbnb but didn't manage to find an ideal accommodation. 

* Do note that the prices on Airbnb is not always the lowest. The exact same accommodation listed on other booking websites may be cheaper. So always do your research and compare prices if you're on a budget trip!

Spent some time in searching for the ideal accommodation, one that has private toilet, internet access, air-conditioning and most importantly it must be near the train station. Finalised my stay with Patio 59 (Hongdae branch) via Booking.com. 

This is how our room looks like:

The room pretty small but I don't really mind since I'm not spending most of my time there and it fulfilled my requirements.

The room is equipped with the following items:

Private Toilet

Internet Access

Television

Thermal Flask

Mini Fridge

Air-conditioner

This is the common area where you can chill and make friends with other guests. At the common area, you can find computer, washing machine, fridge, toaster and microwave. And anyone can use these 'facilities'.

The downside of this guesthouse is that it is located on the third level of the building and there is no lift. Which means, you've to lug your luggages when you're checking in and out. Had a hard time lugging down 2 luggages and 1 carton when we checked out. Especially when our luggages were so huge, heavy and bulky.

And the guesthouse isn't really near the train station, it was a 8 to 10 minutes walk from the train station. Got conned by the information provided :( 

But looking at the price again, I paid for a really good deal. $200+ for 6 nights for 2 pax ;) 

Not forgetting, breakfast (bread and juices) are provided every morning. 

TRANSPORTATION

Travelling around Seoul

Forget about taking cabs in Seoul because it is really expensive.

Take the train instead!

This is the express train, AREX, that we took from the airport to our guesthouse.

Not all trains in Seoul look like as comfortable and new like this.

Train in Seoul is similar to Singapore, you've to get their Ez-link card, T-Money Pass, to travel around. 

Use Cyber Station to plan your itineraries before you travel! 

You can find out how long is the travelling time, how much will each trip costs and how to get into different places because the train map in Seoul is extremely complicated, please brace yourself!

Crazy isn't it! There are like so many lines. 

And within a station, there can be like 10 different exits! It's really similar to Singapore but the distance between the exits can be a good 5 minutes walk. 

So yes, it's better to plan beforehand so that you won't get lost. 

Travelling in Korea can be a tedious due to the complicated train map and you really have to walk a lot. 

To play safe, you can download the train map in your phone and also Google Map! 

If you know how to type in Korean, it will be better to download Naver Map. Naver Map is much more accurate because Google can't detect some of the addresses in English. 

I'm more or less done with how to book your flight, accommodation and travelling around Seoul.

If you would like to find out more detailed information or you would like to have my itinerary, feel free to leave me a comment or drop me an email at Felicia-@live.com.sg.

I've done the most detailed itinerary ever that includes where to shop & eat, directions on how to travel from one places to another, cost of transportation, travelling time, cost of food etc etc. 

Watch this space for my next post! I'll be touching on Ewha Women's University/Edae.

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