Hello all,
I%26#39;d be very grateful for your comments on the following plan. I%26#39;m heading to Korea next week and have 5/6 days to explore the country beyond Seoul.
Day 1: Evening bus to Sokcho (I finish work at about 3pm)
Day 2: Hike in Seoraksan national park (is it good in early May? Has anybody done a 2-day hike there?)
Day 3: Look around Sokcho, bus to Gyeong-ju. Is there such a bus? How long does it take?
Day 4: Look around Gyeong-ju (tumuli park, bulguksa, etc.). Anything else?
Day 5: Hoping to go to a temple stay at Golgosa, not yet confirmed.
Day 6: Return from temple-stay, head back to Seoul.
Any comments very gratefully recieved. Also, what should I do if the temple stay doesn%26#39;t work out? Another day in Seoraksan? Somewhere else in-between?
Finally, I%26#39;ve also been thinking about going to the Ulleueng-do island after Seoraksan, instead of Gyeong-ju. Would this be better? Is it possible to get a ferry from Sokcho or would I have to go to Pohang (and is this possible)?
Many many thanks %26amp; I look forward to all your wisdom. Trip report will be posted afterwards, naturally.
BTW Flights to Jeju-do all booked up, so can%26#39;t do that one ...
itinerary advice please!
Hi,
I spent several days hiking Sorak some years back and just loved it. It%26#39;s still one of my all time favorite trips. Although being there during the peak of autumn foliage season had something to do with it, I%26#39;m sure it%26#39;ll be beautiful now as well. Azaleas maybe??
Anyways, I stayed in Sokcho for few days to explore outer Sorak (reachable through Sorak-dong, the main entrance to the national park) and another few days in Osaek (reachable by bus with transfer in Yangyang, south of Sokcho) to explore inner Sorak and climb the highest peak, Daechonbong. Outer Sorak was beautiful on a grander scale, while inner Sorak had cozier, more intimate feel. If you%26#39;re a serious hiker, consider getting up to the top of Sorak, spending a night at the shelter and then coming down a different way. Osaek-Daechonbong takes about 5 hours going up, while Sorak-dong to Daechongbong takes double that.
There should be, at least there used to be, buses to Gyeongju from Sokcho. If not, try taking a bus down to Gangrung, south of Sokcho, and catch a bus from there. Or see if you can get a bus to Pohang which is near Geyongju with frequent connections to Gyeongju. I don%26#39;t know how long the ride takes, but my guess is 5-7 hours.
In Gyeongju, I hear cycling is a popular tourist activity. If you have time %26amp; energy, I%26#39;d recommend hiking up to Seokguram Grotto from Bulguksa (or splurge on a cab to Seokguram and hike down to Bulguksa which is what I did about three weeks ago). Also check out Bomun Lake district (the resort area).
There%26#39;s no ferry to Ullungdo from Sokcho. You can catch one in Mookho which is closer to Sokcho than Pohang. But adding Ullung-do will be tough even if you skip Geyongju. East Sea is supposed to be rougher than other waters, and if the wind picks up just a little, they%26#39;ll cancel the ferry and you%26#39;ll get stuck on the island for an extra day or two, or possibly even longer. Happened to me once..
For 5-6 day trip, Sorak %26amp; Gyeongju are more than enough in my opinion. Alternatively, you can do Ullungdo %26amp; Gyeongju. You waste less time on the road with the latter combination. Gyeongju %26amp; Pohang are next to each other with frequent bus connections, and Pohang has an airport with daily flights to/from Seoul. Both cities also have high speed train connections to Seoul. Plan on 2-3 days on Ullungdo, 2 days in Gyeongju, and 1-2 day cushion in case of bad weather in Ullungdo. If you get off the island on time, you can easily explore another nearby destination (Busan comes to mind).
itinerary advice please!
Hi Wanderlustt,
Thanks so much for a really useful reply! I am now planning to go to Gyeongju first, since this is when I can stay at the Golgusa temple. Then, depending on time left and transportation, Sockcho/Seoraksan or Ullueng-do. I%26#39;m tempted by the latter for the reasons you mention but wary of missing Seoraksan (Sorak?) ...
Can you recommend anywhere to stay in Sokcho/Sorak-dong? It looks I%26#39;ll be arriving there at the weekend, according to the current plan.
Many thanks again, you%26#39;ve been a real help and I%26#39;m very grateful.
There is a bus from Sokcho(속초) to Gyeongju(경주). It starts twice a day. So transfering in Gangreung(강릉) would be better. 14 buses per day. A train is also available between Gangreung and Gyeongu. The train runs the remotest region in Korean, so you can enjoy breathtaking scene of Taebaek mountains (태백산맥). Bus ride will take about 5 hours, Train 7 hours.
You%26#39;re welcome, brighton99!
It%26#39;s always a pleasure to share about places I enjoyed..
As for Sokcho/ Seorak-dong hotel recommendation, I really don%26#39;t have one. I stayed at Daemyoung Condo and while I liked the place a lot, it%26#39;s not exactly convenient location-wise for a shorter trip like yours. Daemyoung is about 20 minute bus ride from Sokcho in the opposite direction of Seorak-dong, up the hill towards Misiryoung Pass. Reasonable price for a nice, spacious studio and a killer view of the Ullung Rocks.
If you want some luxury as closed to the national park as possible, Kensington Hotel looked like an excellent option. I%26#39;m saying it just from what I saw in terms of the location and the exterior, not from personal experience of staying there.
I hope I didn%26#39;t get your hopes up too high for Seoraksan. Just so you know, I generally like mountains and hiking, and I also had total of ten days to leisurely explore and experience the area.
Ullung-do is actually not too shabby a trip compared to Seoraksan. It was a quite special trip for me in its own way... hard to compare the two places because I went to Ullung-do under completely different circumstances for different activities (I was working remotely for much of the time). But in that you can experience both mountain and coastal sceneries at the same time, Ullungdo is kind of similar to Sokcho/Seorak.
Wherever you end up going, I%26#39;m sure you%26#39;ll have as much fun as you allow yourself. I%26#39;m already jealous, and I just came back from a Korean trip less than a month ago. :)
BTW, you might already have this, but make sure you get the tourist hot-line number from the Korean National Tourism Office. It%26#39;s supposed to give you English info %26amp; interpretation assistance 24-7.
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