Our 4-day South Korea cruise stops with Incheon to Seoul highlights. Our port excursions, transport, food, and itinerary and what we did.
We had three stops in South Korea: Incheon (Seoul) for two days, Busan (one day) with Silversea, and then one day on Jeju island with Celebrity. (For this trip, after a week on land, we spent a little over two months on Silversea, and an additional two weeks on Celebrity.) I am writing this up for all four days, even though our time in South Korea was broken up (three days in March, one in April).
South Korea 4 Days: Seoul, Incheon, Busan, Jeju Island
Entry into Incheon was a cluster****. I suppose when you are surrounded by China and North Korea, your entry into the country would have to be rather strict.
As US citizens, we did not need a visa.
We got in line to get off the ship at 8am for our 8:45 tour (a bus into Seoul). The ship itself was not cleared by customs until 8:30 am. At that time, at least a hundred more people were lined up behind us to disembark.
We got off the ship to take the LONG walk to immigration. I am guessing Incheon is an starting and returning cruise terminal as that was the set-up.
There were three custom agents on duty to process passports and the QR code sticker on the back of our passports. As soon as Hubby and I got to the front of the line (a little after 9am) two more agents opened up. < slaps forehead >
We then went to where our bus was and other tour buses were making a last call (!!!) When we saw this, we let them know that there were still hundreds of people waiting to be processed at customs. I really hope they waited a little longer before letting those tours depart.
Seoul
Our 8:45 tour bus departed at 9:30. The expected 90 minute ride took 105 minutes.
We were able to see the end of the Gwanghwamun guard dispatch ceremony at Gyeongbokgung Palace upon arrival!
After watching the end of the dispatch, we were on our own until 4:15.
Think of Seoul as New York City except quieter, cleaner, and with much, much, MUCH ruder people.
I ended up bruised and was knocked around so much that Hubby had to get in front of me acting as my guard to lead the way. Hubby is quite broad in the shoulders and no one was going to mess with him as he was larger than nearly anyone we saw. I was walking with a cane, am a good deal smaller than he is, and apparently, I am invisible in Seoul.
After he got out in front of me to clear the way, things got a lot better!
When we were dumped off at the palace we were told that there would be political protests that day. And there were. Mobs of people with United States and South Korean flags were assembling for a protest in front of City Hall, which was basically within spitting distance of our drop-off point. On our way back, we made certain to avoid being near city hall, although we did see the hordes of protestors and the opposition party floats (like a parade float).
Hubby and I walked off knowing we (ie, me) wanted to hit Myeongdong shopping street. My mission on that day was to shop for Korean skincare which is some of the best in the world.
And let me tell you, it was overwhelming! Store after store after store with goods and skincare for your shopping pleasure.
We stopped at a local Tim Horton’s on our way to our first planned stop. I like to get a Tim Horton’s whenever I find one in a country other than the US or Canada.
After Timmie’s, we went to lunch at an all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ restaurant with 4.9 stars on google reviews.
It was a five star experience!
The fried chicken was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. Probably the best I have ever eaten out, and fried chicken was everywhere in South Korea.
This was all you can eat as long as the briquettes remained hot. We saw a group of young men at a table near us that had it down to a science. They gathered plates of raw meat, and someone cooked while the other two ate. They switched it up, so everyone got enough to eat, and they were constantly cooking. The restaurant had to have lost money on that table, but they made plenty of money on me, so don’t feel too badly for them.
We got some marinated pieces of beef, pork, lamb, and chicken to barbecue, and it was simply fantastic. I wanted the marinade recipe!
After that, we popped across the street to Olive Young, a chain that sells skin care and makeup. Think of it as a cross between Sephora and CVS.
I bought a few things after Hubby took a photo of the products to translate the writing with google translate. It simply translated from the photo! As much as I complain about Google, the translate features were invaluable on this trip.
The tax refund machine was not working (slide a passport, get the Korean tax deducted from the bill) but since it amounted to about a dollar refund, we were fine with just paying it for our goods.
After that, we took in the sights, sounds, and smells of the shopping district.
There were TONS of food trucks and kiosks and even more skin care stores!
Every kind of food imaginable seemed to be offered on this street. I wonder how many people went into the area restaurants with all the street food available?
Since we had just eaten the only kiosk/stand item Hubby bought was a marshmallow ice cream. He picked vanilla, but they also offered strawberry, coconut, s’mores, etc. It was a chunk of ice cream covered with marshmallow and then blow torched.
Neither of us were impressed with the taste, but it certainly was a novel treat.
We then walked back to the palace to meet up with our tour group.
Since we had about an hour to kill before we met up with our bus, we found a coffee shop for a coffee and sweet waffles.
The coffee at both the Tim Horton’s and the waffle shop was excellent. We should have just split one waffle we both ended up leaving more than half. But, who knew?
The cost for this day was: Korean BBQ $13.50 US (each), Tim Horton’s $3.50 US (each) and $10 (each) at the waffle place. South Korea was really quite affordable.
South Korea was the first place in Asia (Bali, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam) that I thought the drivers were certifiably insane. Very few scooters were on the road in South Korea (it was chilly), it was mostly cars.
Our bus driver drove like he was competing at the Indy 500. We had on seat belts (necessary) and I lost count of how many time we had to brace for stops and on turns. It was like Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots meets Mario Kart.
The next day when we took a taxi from the port into Incheon and the driving was no better. We were just lower to the ground so we could be immersed in the experience. Yikes.
Crossing the streets was hordes of people in Seoul – which has a larger population than NYC, but the “little green guy”‘s time was also longer than any other street crossing we had experienced in Asia to-date.
And the smog! Wow.
Incheon
On Sunday, the weather was very cold (we started off in the 20s on the way to a high of 43) and windy.
The wind was not nice to walk in, however, it did blow off the smog by the end of the day. Think of it like the inversion in Las Vegas when the winds come through and you can see the difference from Red Rock. This, however, was so startling you didn’t have to be looking down from the mountains to tell the difference. Instead of the sun being blocked behind a veil of smog, it was actually sunny out once the winds did their work!
Anyhoooo that Sunday, Hubby and I slept in and took a taxi in to the local market in Incheon.
The smells. Oy. And on a Sunday! And on a cold day! I could not imagine what it smelled like on a weekday, or when it was hot out, nor I want to.
We bought walnut balls – not pictured – (a bakery packed 13/$5 US), brought them back to the ship and then ate them next few mornings for breakfast.
We then went to a local Mom & Pop restaurant for lunch. Hubby called it Korean comfort food.
The place ended up packed and we were the only foreign people in the restaurant. Always a good sign when eating out in a foreign country! Seriously, it tells us the locals like the place.
There was an ordering machine on the table, and English was a choice, so that went smoothly. Hubby got a dumpling soup, we bought an order of assorted dumplings to split, and I got beef & rice with seaweed. Once again we did not finish it all, but tasting new items is part of the adventure and so we never hesitate to order too much. We are unlikely to be back, so we think of it as a once in a lifetime experience.
Lots of things to buy and eat at that market.
I have no idea what these are, but they looked interesting.
Mmmmm yummy (just kidding)
After lunch, we went back to the market.
Hubby bought a banana wheat beer from Incheon Brewing because it sounded unique. It was actually very good!
Busan
Then, it was a taxi ride back to the port and we were off to Busan, South Korea.
Hubby and I both woke up achy with sniffles. We were over two months into our trip and had not had a sick day, so we were due.
We did not plan on doing our tour – Gamcheon Cultural Village and local wet market anyway, but had hoped to take the shuttle bus to visit a different market.
Alas, it was not to be.
It was also 30°F out, and we sat and watched the snow come down when we were at lunch.
We made the correct choice as we were on to Japan after this stop.
Jeju Island (this was weeks later on our Celebrity cruise)
We did not get off the boat. It was a very short stop and we had colds.
So, we only made it off the ship two of our four days in South Korea, and that was plenty for me.
On to Japan.
Our other stops on this long vacation:
● Our One-Day Taiwan Itinerary
● Hong Kong, China | Our Day Trip
● One Week in Vietnam: Our 7-Day Adventure
● Short Stay in Thailand: Elephants, Food & Cultural Gems
● Our Two Days in Singapore: Itinerary & AttractionsBali, Indonesia | Two Days on the Island
● Adelaide to Perth: Our Australia Travel Stops
● Two Days in Melbourne, Australia: Our Itinerary
● Two Days in Tasmania: Short Stay Itinerary
● Exploring New Zealand North Island
● Auckland, New Zealand – Sightseeing and Our Itinerary
● For more travel posts on Ann’s Entitled Life, click here.
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