The picturesque island of Jeju, South Korea is a one-stop destination for the perfect post-pandemic holiday, especially if you choose to do a road trip.
From white sandy beaches and turquoise waters to hikes for adventurous and casual tourists alike, Jeju makes for a relaxing getaway in any season. In autumn (early November during my visit), the weather is a mild 10-20 degrees Celsius – the ideal range for a road trip, with hints of fall foliage throughout the drive.
We spent five full days on a self-drive, free and easy trip around Jeju, and we could have easily extended our trip because there’s so much to see and do in Jeju! Read on for the highlights.
Travel preparations
Traveling post-COVID is undoubtedly more of a hassle than before, but that shouldn’t stop you from going overseas now that the travel restrictions have mostly been lifted. To our absolute delight, the on-arrival PCR requirements were lifted slightly before we arrived. In brief, here are some things to take note of, but do verify with the official sites for the details.
Travel documents: Depending on where you’re traveling from, the documents needed would vary, so best to check with your local embassy. Coming from Singapore, we had to get our K-ETA approved as well as the Q-code in order to clear immigration. Printing proof of your fully vaccinated status would also be useful.
(The Q-code can be done on arrival at Jeju’s airport, but we had unexpected problems with the free airport wifi and activating our auto-roam plan with giga! before clearing the customs area, so completing the online Q-code form took way longer than it should have. If you’re reading this, you should register for the Q-code within 3 days of your arrival.)
Data plan: Despite the minor issues within the airport, giga!’s auto-roam (APAC) plan served us pretty well. For $5 for 1GB of data valid for 5 consecutive days, automatically activated when you switch on roaming in the country, it saved us the trouble of having to purchase a SIM card, and it was easy to purchase via the app (since I’m already a giga! customer – not sponsored though).
The drawback is not having a Korean phone number, which might make reservations at restaurants and calling ahead more of a hassle, but generally, this was more than sufficient for us.
Car rental: We booked a car via Lotte Rent-A-Car, which has a regular free shuttle service to and from Jeju Airport. With a credit card, driving license, and International Driving Permit, getting (and returning the car) was a straightforward process.
The car we rented was equipped with a built-in GPS navigation system in English, so getting around wasn’t a problem. There are pros and cons to driving yourself versus hiring a driver – driving in the city was stressful because of the traffic and different rules, but the freedom to change your plans as you wish without having to communicate with or rely on someone else ultimately outweighed the cons for us.
Navigation: I love Google Maps, and my traveling style is to save lots of places to visit on it and then filter out based on proximity wherever I find myself, but Google Maps (and hence Apple CarPlay) doesn’t seem to work well in Korea, so you’ll need to download a local navigation app e.g. Naver Maps for more accurate point-to-point navigation guidance.
If you’ve saved places on Google Maps, just copy the name into Naver Maps to try to find the phone number, and then manually type the phone number into the car’s GPS system for routing.
Translation: I used Papago to translate from Korean to English on the spot via the camera. While I usually try to learn some basic conversational phrases, I didn’t have much time before this trip so I relied heavily on this app! If you’re using Google Translate, that should be fine too.
Payment: I’ve been using Revolut as my travel card and I was delighted to find that it works well in Jeju! With the exception of street markets, the bulk of the payments was made via Revolut.
It’s easy to track your spending as you’ll get instant push notifications with the KRW paid and the equivalent value in your home currency. You’ll need to transfer money into your Revolut account first, so it’s more of a debit card – find out more at their official site.
Note: There’s no option to exchange your currency beforehand into KRW, unlike for other currencies like AUD, but it still works!
If you don’t have a Revolut card and want to sign up for one, you can consider signing up for one via this referral link here.
Hotel: We chose to stay in a hotel in Jeju City (North) as our home base to make traveling to and from Jeju Airport on the first and last days easier, and for more food options at night. Most places were about an hour’s drive away from Jeju city, so it still worked out pretty well.
Jeju Day One: Aewol (West)
Aewol is one of the most beautiful areas in Jeju, and one of my personal highlights. If you enjoy café hopping and views of the sea, Aewol is the place to go.
There are plenty of cafés within walking distance – Cafe Bomnal, A Twosome Place, Cafe Knotted – to name a few of the more popular ones. Actually, even if you don’t enjoy café hopping, Aewol is still a must-visit. The view of the sea was beautiful, and every photo we took looked like it could be a postcard.
We had lunch at Nolman, a small, open-air restaurant where the menu consists of a single item. I don’t know what the name of the dish is – not knowing but learning through exploration and discovery, to me, is the main joy of traveling – but it consists of a small crab, mussels, prawns, and ramen in a rich and flavorful seafood broth.
It was great eating this just across from the sea, where people were heading out in rented transparent kayaks.
Of the multitude of cafés in the area, we chose Cafe Knotted – a beach-themed cafe. Sit at outdoor tables on the sand, surrounded by palm trees, and take your pick of croissants and drinks. Every spot is a photo opportunity. For more cafes along the Handam Coastal Road, click here.
Having had our fill of pastries, we headed to Dochidol Ranch, where you can pet and feed alpacas, horses, sheep, and rabbits. Standard admission was 10,000 KRW per person, and it was well worth the admission ticket and a definite hit with the young and young at heart.
You’ll each get a bucket full of food (hay? Grass?) to feed any alpacas you come across. Follow the red signs to find them! Some of the alpacas can be pretty forceful – they’ll literally stuff their heads into the buckets and gobble down the food!
There was an area with baby alpacas, and we gamely donned the outfits for a “Peruvian experience”. Alpacas are ridiculously cute and fluffy, and this was a really fun experience. Alpacas also make a sort of “mmmmm?” sound which was quite funny to hear.
I loved that it was completely unguided so you’re free to spend as much time wherever you like, and with the rapidly setting sun behind us, we made our way back towards the city.
Back in the city area of Jeju, we had dinner at Project 064, a small restaurant focusing on Italian/Japanese food with a moody and charming atmosphere that I personally loved (not everyone’s cup of tea though). The projector playing a black-and-white film, the warm lights and wooden tables – so cool. We had the sirloin cutlet, and it was really tasty.
One of my favorite things to do while overseas is to try out different types of bread. This red bean and fresh cream-filled bread from a bakery near our hotel was delicious, and we came back multiple times throughout our stay.
Jeju Day Two: Seogwipo (South)
Our next day was spent in the South of Jeju. There were three waterfalls that I wanted to visit, but we ended up only going to Jeongbang waterfall due to time constraints. There’s ample parking, and getting to the waterfall takes less than 5 minutes. Standard admission costs 2,000 KRW per person.
We headed to Seogwipo Maeil Olle Market to take a quick look. There’s not much to buy because it sells mainly fresh produce and seafood, so it was just a speedy walk-through for us. Definitely catered more to the locals.
Next up: the minimalist Hueilot cafe. Like the cafes in Aewol, this one was equally stunning and offered great views of the sea. We took way too many photos here.
The absolute highlight of Seogwipo for me was walking along Yongmeori coast, Jeju’s “Grand Canyon”, supposedly named because the beach looks like a dragon leaping into the ocean with its head raised. The layers of sandstone built over millions of years result in fascinating textures, and it was unlike any sight I’ve ever come across before.
Check the tidal conditions on the day of your visit. We reached at 4PM during the low tide, and took about an hour to walk around the coast with a lot of photo taking. Wear shoes with good traction as the rocks might be slippery! Standard admission costs 2,000 KRW for adults (13 and older) and 1,000 won for children (aged 7-12).
Jeju Day Three: Museums & touristy things
I’m a city girl at heart, and no trip will be complete without visiting at least one museum. This day was dedicated to all the touristy things – O’sulloc Tea Museum, Innisfree Jejuhouse, and Arte Museum.
At O’sulloc, you can walk through a small field (beware of bees and tiny insects!). Check out the O’sulloc cafe for an entire range of green tea desserts. We ordered one of the sets and added on a hot green tea latte. There’s an O’sulloc gift shop, but the queue was too long so I didn’t get anything.
The Innisfree Jeju House cafe and shop is really aesthetic, and if you’re a fan of Innisfree, you can look forward to experiencing and learning more about the brand. Personally, I found the food at the cafe a bit expensive, and it’s more of a checklist on the list of touristy things to do while in Jeju.
Arte Museum (standard admission: 17,000 KRW per person) is a short drive away and comprises a couple of zones of digital art installations, with “eternal nature” as the theme. As Korea’s largest immersive media art exhibition, most people head there for Instagram-worthy photos, but as masks were still compulsory indoors at the time of my visit, I didn’t really bother with photos of myself.
The Garden Zone was my favorite, especially the art exhibition (Garden #2) where different famous paintings are projected around the room. One set reminded me of being in the Louvre, with projections of the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper, while other sets showcased art by Gauguin, Monet, and Van Gogh. Paired with curated music, it made for a fully immersive experience that brought back memories of being in Paris.
Jeju Day Four: East
From Jeju city, the drive to the east seemed to take longer than to the west and north. We stopped by the popular Café Delmoondo which overlooks the sea, and had breakfast there. The food was even pricier here compared to other cafes, with a hot latte priced at 7,500 KRW, but I suppose the views of the stunning emerald waters do make up for it.
Lunch was at Myeongjin Jeonbok, where the star ingredient is abalone. Grilled abalone (30,000 KRW) is a must-try while in Jeju, and it really was delicious. Quite chewy, but definitely a fun experience, and it comes with side dishes including a very tasty grilled fish.
We also had the hot stone pot abalone rice (15,000 KRW), which was surprisingly equally good. After emptying the contents of the stone pot, leave the burnt rice in the pot and pour the contents of the kettle until it’s one-third full, and leave it for the end of the meal. The rice was also really good.
This tiny tangerine jam-filled thing made on the spot by a streetside vendor was quite nice. I was instantly won over by how cute it looked so we got it to go as a snack (5,000 KRW for 16 pieces, 10,000 KRW for 34 pieces).
Having fuelled up properly, we hiked up Seongsan Ilchubong (2,000 KRW per adult), otherwise known as “Sunrise Peak” because of the breathtaking views of the sunrise. Coming from the city, we knew we wouldn’t be able to make it in time to see the sunrise, but that’s fine by me.
The entire hike up is paved with proper wooden boards and rails, but it is quite a steep climb up. On the bright side, it doesn’t take too long to climb up, maybe half an hour or so. There were tiny insects and huge wasps along the way, which was way more terrifying than the actual climb, and served as good motivation to walk faster.
At the peak, enjoy the well-deserved view of the city below and the mountains in the distance, and make your way down via another descending trail.
At the bottom of Seongsan Ilchubong, there’s also a horseriding experience where you can sit on a horse for a very short walk (~5 minutes) for 10,000 KRW.
We had fish and chips at Willala, just a short walk from Seongsan Ilchubong. Unfortunately despite arriving at 4PM, we could only get it to go as the shop closes pretty early, but the fish and chips were amazing and super fresh.
Part two of dinner was at Woljeongri beach, along the way back to the city. Like Aewol, I imagine it must be a hit during summer, with so many cafes and bars facing the sea, but it was extremely quiet and peaceful on an autumn night.
We had Mexican food at Taco Massim, a quaint and beautiful little beachside restaurant run by a really nice and kind young lady. It was really cozy, with very limited seating, and the tacos and guacamole that we ordered were delicious.
Jeju Day Five: Hallasan
One cannot leave Jeju without trying their signature black pork, so we had Korean BBQ at Sukseongdo, where they helped us to cut up and cook the meat. I’m not usually a huge fan of KBBQ, but it was a fun experience. We also dropped by soin cafe to try their iced apple shot latte for a quick caffeine hit.
The last checkbox on our list was hiking up Hallasan, the highest mountain in South Korea. There are seven trails ranging greatly in difficulty, with the trails going to the peak (1,950m) requiring a full day’s commitment and a certain level of fitness.
As it was a family trip, we chose to go with the absolute easiest and shortest trail which would bring us to a different peak, the 1.3km Eoseungsaengak trail. It sounds short but it’s still quite a climb! The parking spot for the trail is the same as the Eorimok trail.
There wasn’t much to see along the way on the trail, but the 360-degree views from the top were well worth the journey.
When we first reached the top, it was too misty to see anything, but the clouds cleared up after a short while and the sun broke through, bathing the trees below in a golden light.
These pictures don’t do enough justice to how picturesque the view was; a postcard-perfect ending to our fulfilling week in Jeju.
With more time, there’s so much more I’d have wanted to explore – more waterfalls, more gardens and parks, the famous Dongmun traditional market, and so many more cafes on my ambitious itinerary – but for a slower-paced family trip, I think we still managed to cover quite a lot of ground.
Till next time, Jeju!
