Seoul + some other destination - advice?

Hello,

Planning a trip to Seoul (from west coast USA) for Nov 2008, and will visit a friend in Seoul for a few days. Would also like to visit some other destination, as I will have about 7-9 days total (exclusive of travel time over the Pacific). While in South Korea I would like to see some other sights - maybe the DMZ and one or two other sights. So that leaves me with perhaps 3 to 5 days to go elsewhere if I so desire.

Thailand is very interesting to me, as is Japan (and perhaps I could stage a long layover on the way there or back, in Tokyo?).

My interests include historical / cultural sights, a little bit of nightlife, sampling local foods %26amp; drinks, and generally experiencing the locale and seeing things I won%26#39;t see at home.

Any suggestions as to what else I could comfortably fit in (both time- and money-wise)? I%26#39;m a regular guy with 2 weeks vacation per year and average income, so I want to make this trip as worthwhile as possible.

Thank you!

Seoul + some other destination - advice?

There are so many good places to visit, old temples, old Korea mountain tops, island resort, etc. Buy a travel book and make a plan. Buy the Korea Rail Pass so you can zip through Korea in ~3 hrs. by their bullet trains and rails between any major cities(Seoul-Busan %26amp; others). Your time frame is good to see the beautiful fall foliage.

Seoul + some other destination - advice?

Hi amazinga,

Thank you for the reply. You%26#39;re right - a book or two is definitely in order, to give me some more ideas.

I have decided on 5-6 days in Korea and then 5-6 days in Tokyo on the way back.

I%26#39;m super-jazzed!

Almost bought my airline tickets through vayama.com (which I%26#39;d read about here and there), as their fare was $940- compared to $1400 on the Northwest Airlines site (same flights, days, and times); other sites were all $1200, $1300, +. But a local agency got me the same NWA flights for $1075, an AmEx Travel partner. I figured worth the extra $ just for the peace of mind, as vayama.com just seemed too good to be true...

(just mentioning vayama here in case others go searching the forums for them - my advice is go with a local trusted agency for the extra $, if you can...)

I%26#39;d say check out Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon as an afternoon excursion out of Seoul. I%26#39;ve been here 3 years but never gotten around to doing the DMZ tour. Go figure. Give yourself the experience of a good scrub and soak at a sauna or oncheon (hot spring resort). You don%26#39;t actually have to go too far for that; the Silloam Sauna near Seoul Station is great. Busan%26#39;s got a good vibe and is worth a couple of days. I%26#39;ve heard good things about all the historic sites around Gyeongju (which is a bit northeast of Busan) but haven%26#39;t made it down there yet. I wouldn%26#39;t opt for the pass, though: train fares here are cheap and the whole country is the size of Indiana.

Korea%26#39;s hotel scene is artificially expensive because love hotels, yeogwans (traditional little inns), and jjimjilbangs (the sleeping rooms in public saunas) fulfill that role but are often impossible to book online in English. You can crash at the Silloam for almost nothing. Lots of people do this if they%26#39;ve been out late drinking and they miss the last trains.

There aren%26#39;t many good Seoul and Korea guidebooks but the Wallpaper one (I think that%26#39;s it -- it%26#39;s a little folding thing) is one of the better ones, and it has some sensible recommendations.

hi, you might find this destination guide useful

cheaperhotelrates.com/seoul-south-korea-hote…

all the best

burts bees