Newbie to Korea....

I have just booked ourselves to Seoul in September for 10 days because of the special airfare and now have no idea where to start and what to do!! Is it easy to get around Seoul without a guide and is 10 days too long? We are travelling with 2 children aged 9 and 12 so I will want to go to places of their interest as well. Is Jeju Island a must for tourist? Do they all speak English or shall I start doing a crash course in Korean??? Please help and any help is good....

Newbie to Korea....

Seoul is fairly easy to get around using the subway. You can check this site for ideas, itineray suggestions and view the subway system map.

english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_3.jsp

There are plenty to do for 10 days but it would be nice to visit Jeju Island. Perhaps break-up your stay 7 in Seoul 3 on Jeju, etc.

Your kids will probably love Everland and the DMZ tour is probably one of the most popular site to visit.

Not everyone will speak English in Korea. Most subway stations are marked in English but not all. As in any other place you would travel to where English is not the first language, I would suggest learning some basic Korean and perhaps trying some Korean cuisine.

Newbie to Korea....

Thanks NYC. Will definitely learn some basic koreans to get us around. Have been trying out korean food in Sydney for the last few weeks just to get ourselves ready!! Thanks for sharing and have a great day.

10 days will definitely be enough for Seoul and even Jeju.

If you want to included Jeju, there are lot of packages going back and forth from Seoul.

But if you are travelling with children,

I suggest it would be better to stay in and around Seoul and enjoy everything you can! :)

If you come in September the weather will still be warm enough for the Caribbean bay in Everland, which I%26#39;m sure the children will appreciate.

It%26#39;s also the season when everything starts turning a little more colorful, so your eyes will have fun too.

and oh, knowing a little bit of Korean would increase level of your enjoyment...I hope. ^^

Good luck in planning for the trip!

Your children might enjoy visiting the Aquarium at the Coex Mall, good for a rainy day. Also of interest to them might be the Noryangjin Fish Market(awesome) - easy to get to on the subway- and the War Memorial was interesting, especially if the soldiers are practicing their routines. One suggestion - have the name(in Korean) and phone number of your hotel with you for taking taxis back at the end of excursions. We found the transportation system excellent for getting around.

Thank you everyone for sharing. Sounds like spending a few nights in Jeju might a good idea. If that%26#39;s the case, I might have to book my tour from Seoul to Jeju from Sydney. Does anyone know of any travel agencies in Seoul that I can contact via their website to make advance booking. I will be probably staying at the Ibis Ambassador in Myeong Dong. Thanks again.....

I would like to add, a visit to the Folk Village. It is possible by public transport but better in your case to do a trip. Lot%26#39;s of things to see and do there including traditional Korean Wedding Ceremony and Farmers Dance. Your children will love all the colourful costumes.......enjoy!

Things to do in Seoul...

10 days will be a very long time to explore Seoul. I recommend a few things... (I taught English there the past two summers teaching English outside of Seoul with many weekend trips in town)

To cover a lot of ground at the start of your trip I recommend the bus tour. You can get a day pass for about $10 a person and it goes past all of the great sites. You can hop off and on and the buses come about every half an hour. I didn%26#39;t happen upon this until my second trip to Seoul on our last weekend there. I wished it had been the first thing I had ever done. Here is the link...

http://www.seoulcitybus.com/eng/subA_B02.htm

With the kids I suggest going to Seoul Tower. The bus will take you as close to the top as possible. Or if you want to do this on a separate day you can have a cab take you to the gondola and ride up that way. I didn%26#39;t want to pay to go to the top of the tower, but the view of the city from the base is great.

The DMZ trip is nice, but the nine year old might tire quickly. However, you get on and off the bus frequently stopping at different points, so that might help.

Itaewon is the ';foreigner'; hot spot supposedly, but I don%26#39;t recommend going there. I was there once, swore I would never go back, went back with friends and remembered why I didn%26#39;t like it. People are very smarmy.

The two amusement parks are Everland and Lotte World. You should be able to visit their websites and see which one might be a better fit for your family.

The Olympic sites might be fun to see as well.

Just be glad you%26#39;re visiting in September because the humidity in the summer is the worst.

Last of all, in finding someone to speak English, you are usually best off trying someone 30 or younger. It%26#39;s more likely they have taken classes before.

For a great location I recommend the Hotel Ibis in Myeong Dong. Not too sure if they have any rooms with two beds though. Finding any room in Asia with two double beds can be tricky.

Have fun and enjoy! The people are very kind and I am sure you will have a great time.

Thank you everyone for your input. It has certainly help me with the planning of my Trip. We have decided to join a tour around Korea and finish off our day staying at Ibis Myeong Dong before we head home. Thank you and we look forward to our trip with all the wonderful hints and tips from you all.