Seoul travel tips — Top 10 most useful Seoul tips for visiting Seoul & How to travel to Seoul on a budget

You can stroll around the food markets for only $0.50 – $3, you have a complete meal with appetizers, main dishes, desserts and snacks along the way from many different stalls. Great, excellent, wonderfull!

Read more:

• What to eat in Seoul blog — 9 must eat food in Seoul & must try food in Seoul & best places to eat them.
• Best Korean street food — Top 22 best street food in Korea & Seoul you definitely must-eat.
• Where to eat street food in Seoul? — 5 best restaurant & best street food area in Seoul you must-visit.

Tips for visiting Seoul: Visit the free museums

According to information from my friend Google, there are more than 100 museums in Seoul and you can not visit them all on a trip. I just visit the great museums and the museums of my favorite subjects. Most museums in Seoul have free admission or quite low ticket prices.

The National Folk Museum of Korea (국립민속박물관): The museum is located within the grounds of the Gyeongbokbung Palace (The east gate). The exhibits clearly show the typical features of Korean daily life and culture from prehistoric times to the end of the Joseon era.

National Palace Museum of Korea (국립고궁박물관): This museum is also located within the grounds of Gyeongbokbung Palace, so you can take advantage of visiting both places at once. The content on display is artifacts from the Joseon Dynasty that were once found in palaces and nearby temples.

National Museum of Korea (국립중앙박물관): Free entrance fee. The museum has an extremely large collection, focusing on historical and artistic relics from prehistoric, medieval and modern times.

National Hangeul Museum (국립 한글 박물관): Free admission. This museum refers to history through the stages of the Korean alphabet. This museum is very close to the National Museum of Korea, so you can visit both at once.

War Memorial of Korea (전쟁기념관): Free entrance fee. It has an indoor and outdoor gallery with machines and equipment used in the wars.

Seoul Museum of Art (서울시립미술관): Entrance fees are depending on each exhibition. Art exhibitions, in turn, are held in this museum throughout the year with interesting and unexpected content for viewers. I used to enjoy Tim Burton’s exhibition a few years ago and really loved it. This is one of the museums you are always looking forward to seeing every new exhibition.

National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (국립 현대 미술관): The ticket price is about 4,000 won ($3.35). This museum is truly a place for devotees who love contemporary and modern art to be included in your bucket list. The admission is cheap, but the exhibition topics are constantly being renewed.

Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art (리움 삼성미술관): Ticket price 10,000 won ($8.38). Enjoy traditional Korean art and contemporary art at this museum that is worth the money. With the 10,000 won ticket, you can enjoy all the best collections in the museum and the 8,000 won ($6.70) ticket is limited to visit a number of special exhibitions depending on current exhibitions.

In addition, you can refer to the information at the tourist websites for the Culture Day program, which is free admission once a month. Hope your trip is lucky to coincide with this day.

Seoul travel tips: Visit the main attractions

In addition to the free admission museums, Seoul also has many interesting tourist attractions and landmarks around the city center. Here are some key attractions that, according to my Korean travel experience, you should include in your travel bucket list.

Grand Palaces: Admission 10,000 won for 5 palaces

Seoul has 5 grand palaces: Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung, Deoksugung, Gyeongbokgung and Gyeonghuigung. You can pay entrance fee for each palace or pay 10,000 won for a combo to enjoy all 5 (1 of 5 palaces is free) and Jongmyo temple. Buying 10,000 won ticket is much cheaper than buying tickets for each palace. This ticket also has the advantage that you do not necessarily have to visit all 5 palaces in the same day.

If you rent a Hanbok, traditional Korean costume, you will be visited the palaces and temple for free. The rent price for a Hanbok set is around 12,000 – 15,000 won ($10.05 – $12.56), a bit more expensive than the package fare for all palaces but actually wearing a special outfit, going everywhere in the palace and freely virtual living is really not thinking more, renting immediately, renting right away.

We had a very detailed review of 5 palaces of Seoul here: Royal palace Seoul — How to visit 5 grand palaces in Seoul?

Jogyesa Temple: Free entrance

This is a famous Buddhist temple located in Jongno, near the Grand Palace area. The most wonderful time of the year to visit Korean temples is the Buddha’s Birthday. That is when the temples are decorated with thousands of colorful lotus lanterns, sacred rituals, parades, and folk games taking place in most temples.

Cheonggyecheon Stream: Public area

Cheonggyecheon is a small stream that flows smoothly and winding through downtown Seoul. This is the most popular picnic, walking and sightseeing spot for locals. Across the stream there are small bridges or stone steps leading from shore to shore. Especially, at the lantern festival, this place is no different from a street displaying the most brilliant lanterns.

Namsangol Hanok Village: Free admission

This village is home to many traditional Korean houses (hanok). Stepping into this area, you will feel like you are going back to the past extremely magical. This place used to be a summer resort of the Joseon Dynasty. The first feeling that comes to you is tranquility, gentle, and peace.

Bukchon Hanok Village: Free admission

Also a village with traditional hanok houses, Bukchon Hanok is different from the old villages in Seoul because it is an open-air museum, although there are still households living inside. A number of houses have been mentioned in the seminars on tourism and preservation of Korean cultural and traditional heritage. According to my tips for visiting Seoul and travel to Seoul on a budget, you should walk quietly, say softly, avoid noisy jokes so as not to disturb the households living here.

Read more: Visiting Bukchon Village — One of the most beautiful villages in Seoul, South Korea.

N Seoul Tower: Addmission: 10,000 won ($8.37)

One of my Seoul travel tips is to have the best value view of Seoul, you have to visit N Seoul Tower. You can take the cable car or walk up the hill to see the city in the morning mist or splendid at night. This is also the place where couples often leave their romantic love lock as in Korean movies. Read more: Visiting N Seoul Tower (Namsan Tower) — The symbol & one of the best places to visit in Seoul.

Read more: Top places to visit in Seoul — Top 20 most famous, beautiful, must go & best places to visit in Seoul.

Seoul South korea travel tips: Shopping at subway stations or areas near the universities

Shopping for clothes, shoes and fashion accessories is nowhere as ideal as the shops near the universities. The prices of these items are mostly targeted at students, so it is very soft, very reasonable for shopping. According to my Seoul travel tips (Seoul tips), tips for visiting Seoul and travel to Seoul on a budget, these are the places to update the latest trends.

Hongdae

Hongdae is a shopping area around Hongik University, one of Korea’s leading art schools. This means that the fashion trends here are very trendy, many styles have become the mainstream of the youth. Hongdae is also an area with lots of unique and abundant outdoor shops and stands.

Read more: Hongdae travel blog — How to visit, what to do in Hongdae & what to eat in Hongdae?

Edae

Edae is an area with the famous Ewha Womans University. The fashion shops here are aimed at women. That’s why most products are sold to women, such as clothes and skirts, accessories and bags. Whatever fashion women need, all can find at Edae.

Sinchon

Sinchon is the shopping area around Yonsei School, the oldest and most prestigious university in Korea. Sinchon is also quite close to Ewha Womans school, so you can buy non-stop shopping in both areas. The shops here offer a variety of products for both men and women, and the prices are extremely student-friendly.

It is also home to many cosmetic stores, spas, nail salons and beauty salons. Walk along the streets selling cosmetics, sometimes you get a whole basket of samples for testing such as plating surface, moisturizer or cleanser.

Subway stations

According to my Seoul travel tips, if you like shopping, you should think about the subway stations. It sounds strange, in Japan and South Korea, under the major subway stations, there are extremely quality shopping malls. Major brands of food, fashion, electronics, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics are all available for sale.

Read more: Best shopping in Seoul — Top 10 best shopping places in Seoul & best underground shopping Seoul.

Seoul tips: Enjoy beautiful green spaces

How much Seoul travel tips can not be missed when enjoying the green, beautiful and romantic space of this city.

Han River

This is a great walking place on weekends. On days of good weather, a lot of people go on a picnic or sightseeing along the river. The section of the river that I consider the most beautiful is the area along Yeouido Park. You can rent a bicycle to go along the river, there is no word to describe.

Seoul Forest Park

The forest with a long, tree-lined path will take you out of the busy and bustling metropolis. This forest used to be a hunting ground for royal members. Currently, the forest is a nature reserve with many friendly animals. Sometimes you can feed the deer too.

Seonyudo Park

Seonyudo is an island in the middle of the Han River and is also a water purification plant. This whole place has become an eco-park with fresh and cool climate in Seoul. You can go for a walk and take pictures in this place is also great. To get to Seonyudo, you must cross the Yanghwadaegyo Bridge from Hapjeong to the north or Yeouido to the south.

Bukhansan National Park

If you are not a gentle walker, you can choose to trekking in Bukhansan National Park, located north of Seoul. Exciting trekking trails will have many different levels to challenge you. Along the way there are many sacred temples that you can visit and pray.

Seoul Korea travel tips: Take advantage of convenience stores

The convenience store system in Korea is really developed and especially helps you save significant costs for your trip. Convenience store can provide you with all 3 main meals of the day at extremely reasonable prices. So according to my Seoul travel tips, tips for visiting Seoul and travel to Seoul on a budget, you should come here often.

• Ramen noodles: with enough kimchi, slices of cheese, beef, chicken, mushrooms, vegetables … for about 1,000 won ($0.84). In addition, the store also has an automatic hot water bottle and chopsticks so you can completely prepare your own meal.
• Curry rice: A bowl of curry rice is a very popular meal in Korea. They are usually sold in bowls that you can put in the microwave to heat up.
• Food tray: Understandably, this is called a bento. Such a meal would include rice, pork / beef, kimchi and some other vegetables.
  Snacks: The most popular are still french fries, Peperp sticks (chocolate-covered cookie sticks), rice cakes, seaweed, red bean dumplings, honey cakes and countless, countless of chewing snacks that can’t be denied. All of these dishes are no more than 2,000 won ($1.67).

Travel to Seoul on a budget: Participate in free activities at the Seoul Global Cultural Center

This is a place where regular entertainment activities, art exhibitions and seminars for locals and tourists. This is a way for the Korean government to effectively introduce and promote their culture. Here, you will be able to participate in activities such as:

• Practice dancing at K-POP dance classes
• Practice cooking traditional Korean dishes
• Hanji craft class
• Korean folk painting
• Try wear hanbok, traditional Korean outfit

Before coming here, you can look through the information on the center’s website to find out the schedule of these interesting activities. Some workshops or classes are limited in number, you must register in advance.

Address: 27 Myeongdong 8-gil, Myeongdong 2(i)-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Hours: 10AM–7PM
Phone: +82 2-3789-7961
Url: https://www.seoulculturalcenter.com/en/

Seoul travel tips: Experience the unique coffee culture space

Seoul’s themed cafes

Themed cafes in Korea have become so popular, people often call them “Seoul’s themed cafes“. Their strong growth has become a cultural trait and an extremely strong tourist attraction, especially virtual living devotees.

It can be mentioned some other types of cafes such as: Poo Café, Cat Coffee, Dog Coffee, Book Coffee, Hello Kitty Coffee, Raccoon Coffee, Lego Coffee, Flower Coffee … Average price for a drink here is about 6,000 – 10,000 won ($5.02 – $8.37) with lots of virtual living photos.

Read more: Best cafes in Seoul — 16 cool, cute, famous coffee shops & best themed cafes in Seoul you should visit.

Traditional tea ceremony in Seoul

In Insadong, you will find places to enjoy tea ceremony with the best Korean teas. In a peaceful, quiet space, mixed with a little ancient, you will have moments of valuable tea time.

Hopefully, some Seoul travel tips, tips for visiting Seoul and travel to Seoul on a budget that I have shared above will help you quickly conquer your dream of coming to Korea. Have a nice trip!

Some best day tours, trips, activities and transfer services, tickets in and from Seoul you can refer to

• Private Incheon International Airport Transfers (ICN) for Seoul
• Private Incheon Airport Transfers (ICN) for Seoul
• Incheon International Airport (ICN) Limousine Bus Transfers for Seoul (Gangnam District)
• Klook Exclusive Seoul 5 Day Pass
• Discover Seoul Pass (BTS Edition Available)
• [SALE] Instant Ticket! Korea Rail Pass (KR PASS) 2/3/4/5 Days to travel around the cities in Korea
• Private Incheon Airport (ICN) and Gimpo Airport (GMP) Transfers for Seoul by S.A Tour
• Everland Private Car Charter with Admission Ticket by Wondertrip
• KAL Limousine Bus Ticket for Seoul
• [Limited Offer] AREX Incheon Airport Express Train One Way Ticket in Seoul
• Bukchon Oneday Hanbok Rental Experience (4/24 Hrs)
• Nami Island, Petite France, Garden of Morning Calm, and Gangchon Rail Bike Day Tour from Seoul
• Seoul City Sightseeing Bus (Downtown Palace Namsan Course/Seoul Panorama Course)
• [Limited Offer] Incheon International Airport (ICN) Luggage Services (Between Airport and Hotel) by Safex
• 4G Prepaid SIM Card (SK Airports Pick Up) for South Korea
• [SALE] South Korea 4G Pocket WiFi (KR Airports Pick Up) from KT Olleh
• 4G WiFi (MY Airport Pick Up) for South Korea (Unlimited Data)
• 4G Portable WiFi for South Korea from Uroaming (Unlimited Data)

Are you finding more top things to do in Seoul: Tours, activities, attractions and other things? Let’s check it out here.