9-day Itin advice: Seoul - Sorak - Jeju - Suwon - Seoul

Hi all, Would need your help to plan a tour with my mum to Korea in late October. Some questions I have, which I hope to get some advice on:

1) Advice on itinerary:

Day 1 (Sat) - Seoul City (Shopping/Dining - Dongdameum/Nandameun/Mt Namsan)

Day 2 (Sun)- Morning bus to Sorak area - How shld i spend the rest of the day in Sorak area? (or can i go to Sorak from Suwon? or from Chuncheon?)

Day 3 (Mon) - Morning at Mt Seorak (Sorak) - Light walk around Gwongeumseong Course 鈥?Sinheungsa Temple District - Bus back to Seoul

Day 4 - Morning Changdeokgung Palace/Insadong. Late afternoon Flight to Jeju Island

Day 5 - Jeju Island Trolley Bus tour (East)

Day 6 - Jeju Island Trolley Bus tour (West) - Flight back to Seoul

Day 7 (Fri) - Suwon鈥檚 Hwaseong + Korean Folk village OR Chuncheon Myeongdong Street - Nami Island

Day 8 (Sat) - Seoul City (Shopping/Dining - MyeongDong etc)

Day 9 - Seoul City - Flight back to country

2) Am afraid that time is too tight for above, but really i am already sticking to the supposedly must see sights in Korea. Wld you recommend removing or including any other sights? And shld i arrange for any of the destinations best done on weekends? Shld i re-arrange my itin?

Is there anyway i can do combine any of the sights i want to do in Day 7 to be done in Day 2, before i proceed to Sorak for the night?

Or shld i just reduce the time spent in Seoul City itself?

3) Autumn Foliage in late-October:

- I have read that the best time for viewing autumn foliage would be mid-October. So if i am goin in last week of October, will i still be seeing red maple leaves in Mt Seorak (Sorak)?

- Have read that Mt Seorak is the best autumn foliage viewing spot. Is there any other spot that i shld choose, if i only have time to go for one?

- How about Naejangsan? Is it as good? or more convenient than Mt Seorak?

- As i am travelling with an elderly mum, any advice on recommended routes/tips to reduce walking, will be appreciated!

3) Jeju Island Trolley Bus

- Have read that it%26#39;s convenient. But is the itinerary really good? And will it be better for us to travel on our own in taxi (if assuming i have a group of 4?)

- By the way, am intending to stay at Let%26#39;s go Jeju guesthouse. Anyone has any review of that?

4) Ibis Myeong-dong - any review on Ibis hotel in Myeong-dong area? Do you think the hotel will allow me to leave some luggage over at that concierge while i am away at Mt Seorak and Jeju?

9-day Itin advice: Seoul - Sorak - Jeju - Suwon - Seoul

I think you are WAY too ambitious.

I wouldn%26#39;t try this much, unless you are really experienced in Korea and speak good Korean. (I go 4/5 times yearly for business and have lots of friends who are amazed at how much I do while there, but even they%26#39;d throw thir hands up at this, I think)

Sorry to say that I don%26#39;t think you%26#39;re seeing the ';must see';s either. (eg Kyongju/Gyeongju; DMZ?)

Are you basing yourself around Ibis? Where are you staying at Seoraksan?

Naejangsan is right down near Kwangju (south west); Seorak is north east.

Certainly won%26#39;t have a problem with leaving luggage at Ibis, if I know them!

Day 7: Assuming you take train to Suwon; that%26#39;s 1 hr 30 from Ibis. Then folk village is 30 mins by bus. I would happily spend all day there, and get the 5 pm bus back to Suwon. There%26#39;s no way I as a fit middle aged person would then do Hwaseong, let alonew with an elderly lady.

I wish you all success!

9-day Itin advice: Seoul - Sorak - Jeju - Suwon - Seoul

I absolutely agree with ethelman2%26#39;s comments. You are stretching too far. I can not imagine doing Namdaemoon area and Dongdaemoon area and let alone Namsan in one day! Either I would do Seoul %26amp; Jeju combo or Seoul %26amp; Mt. Sorak combo. That way, you may have extra days to do both Suwon/Folk village and Nami/Chuchun day trips. If you are big ';Winter Sonata%26#39; fan definitely check out Nami Island.

As per fall foliage, Naejangsan would have better foliage than Soraksan in late October because Naejangsan is located further down south, thus later foliage season than Soraksan. Soraksan would still have wonderful foliage at that time though, and cable car there is convenient if you don%26#39;t want hike all the time.

For Jeju I won%26#39;t recommend the trolley bus as the sightseeing locations that they cover are very limited. I was there a few days ago and I hardly see any buses. Most people would rent a car in Jeju and it is pretty easy to get around. What you can do is rent a car with a GPS. Take the Jeju map from the tourist office. The map has all the tourist spots telephone numbers. Just key in the telephone numbers and it would direct you to the place. We rented a car with Avis Jeju with a GPS and managed to drive around without any problem. We had a lot of fun as we visited places that we wanted to go and are flexible with our time. If you are keen, I can share with you my itineraries and the telephone numbers.

As for shopping in Seoul, maybe you can forego Namdaemun. We do not like the areas as it is like a combination of wet market and night market kind of environment. I would recommend Dongdaemun, Myeongdong and Ewha Women University instead.

Consider also Nami Island. It is a very relaxing and scenic place to hang around.

Your itinerary is too packed. I don%26#39;t think you can cover so much.

I am rather concern in terms of your viewing of autumn foliage as you are going in late Oct. Based on my understanding, the peak date of foliage at Seoraksan is 20 Oct.

Chiaksan, Woraksan, Bukhansan, Gyeryongsan, Palgongsan, Gaysan %26amp; Hallasan%26#39;s peak date of foliage is towards end of October.

You can visit www.tour2korea.com for detailed information. Alternatively, you can drop by Korea Plaza, Samsung Hub, #01-02 Church St for more information.

Hope you have a good trip.

You can fly direct from Incheon Airport to Jeju %26amp; Jeju to YangYang Airport (Gangwondo) then take bus to Mt Seorak.(abt 2hrs). The travel time Seoul to Mt Seorak is abt 4hrs.

1st %26amp; 2nd day - Jeju

3 %26amp; 4 day - Mt Seorak

5th day - Chuncheon %26amp; Nami island

6th day - Suwon + Korean Folk Village

7 - 9 day Seoul

Is there direct domestic flight from Incheon to Jeju? I don%26#39;t think so. I remembered you have to take from Gimpo Airport (Domestic) to Jeju Island instead.

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