[10D9N] KOREA - SEOUL & JEJU TRIP itinerary [Part 1/2: Jeju]

My Korea trip will be a super long post so I'll split it up into 2 post,
In this post, I will be covering Jeju and the 2nd post will cover Seoul.

I'll also be sharing some tips through our experiences there which might be useful for your future trips to either Jeju or Seoul. Please continue to read on, thank you~ 😊👍

Trip duration: 14/9/17 - 24/9/17
Flight: KL-INCHEON using AirAsia (midnight 1am flight)  \\ Gimpo - JEJU using JejuAir

Getting to JEJU
In order for us to fly to Jeju, we had to fly to Seoul (Incheon) first before taking their domestic flight to Jeju as Airasia doesn't have direct flight to Jeju (well.. now they have direct flight to Jeju.)
We use JejuAir to Jeju and we have to transfer to Gimpo airport for domestic flight.

Tips : To save on JejuAir ticket, sign up as member and you'll get discount for your purchase. (We got 10,000KRW discount coupon per person, but I have to create 4 accounts for myself and my friends to enjoy 40,000KRW discount on our total purchase). Also keep an eye on their member week as they give good offers as well. 

There are 2 ways to get to Gimpo Airport from Incheon Airport
1. Shuttle Bus
2. Train (Airport Railway Station) using the ALL-STOP-TRAIN

Do read this blog for instruction on how to use the train to Gimpo Airport. I followed it and it's accurate. Kudos to the writter 👍
I will link it here.

The train to Gimpo Airport cost us 4,350won with a deposit of 500won which you can claim back when you stop at Gimpo Airport.

Arriving at JEJU
When staying at Jeju, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO CONSIDER IS your means of transportation. In Jeju, if you're not using local tour, I suggest you to:
1. Hire private driver
OR
2. Self-drive

Me and my friends ended up opting for Self-drive as we find it cheaper than hiring a private driver and we wanted more flexibility. Thanks to my friend's bf who pluck up the courage to drive us around in Jeju 🙏.

During arrival, we went to the car rental counter to confirm on our booking (we book through Expedia) and the staff will inform us to go to a bus stop to take a shuttle bus to the car rental place. At the car rental place is where we did our final confirmation and payment before getting our car.

Tips: If your opting for self drive, ask for english GPS. Also, to navigate with the GPS to your preferred destination, always key in the phone number of the place (example your hotel/sightseeing places/restaurant) instead of the address, it is much more accurate that way. Do not worry, the person who hand over the car to you will teach you how to use it.

Example: Our hotel number is 064-727-0037 if you googled it. So in the GPS you just have to key in 727-0037 (without the dash)

Accomodation in JEJU
We stayed at Ellui Hotel (제주 엘루이호텔) \\ Tel: 727-0037
Located in Jeju City (the north part of the island) and it's near to the airport.
Their room is really spacious as well as their bathroom. Definitely recommend this place.

Alright, time for our itinerary..
We did our research really last minute and manage to compile a really detailed itinerary within 1 week before flying. We did opt out or missed out a few must-go places as we were more interested in our planned sightseeing places.

DAY 1
Arrived Jeju -> Pick up rented car -> Checked in Hotel -> Dinner

Since we arrived late afternoon we did not venture anywhere since most of our time were spent on collecting our rented car and also my friend's bf was still not used to driving at night as it is very dangerous for first timer.

So we just had dinner at this restaurant which is around the neighbourhood.

DAY 2
Seongsan Ilchubong (성산일출봉) \\ Tel: 783-0959

One of UNESCO World Heritage site which I definitely recommend. However, you've gotta be fit enough to be able to hike up as the trail can be quite steep for some people.
But the view from above after hiking is a sight to behold !
During our hike, it was vey very VERY WINDY because it was typhoon season, and lucky for us the typhoon didn't hit Jeju but it was still very windy.
Tip : Regardless of season, always layer yourself enough as it could be very windy when hiking. 

If you come across those small stall nearby, do try out this grill squid after hiking. ITS DAMN GOOD !

Gimnyeong Maze Park (김녕미로공원) \\ Tel: 782-9266

This is one of the place where me and my friends saw online and wanted to check out.
May not be interesting for adults because this place is actually more for kids as the maze was actually quite easy (for us adults) to get through and most of the activities there are for kids.
Not really a 'must go' place.

Manjanggul Cave (만장굴) \\ Tel: 710-7903

Another UNESCO World Heritage site which is a lava tunnel cave.
The temperature inside is quite cold and the surrounding is wet and dark.
The path inside is pretty uneven and there is lot of puddles. Nothing much to see inside unless your an enthusiast on lava or rock formation.
The path is about 1km walk and at the end you'll see a 70cm lava stalagmites which marks the end of the path in which you'll have to u-turn and walk back to where you came from.
Tips: Wear comfortable shoes that you don't mind getting it wet. 


Ecoland Theme Park (에코랜드테마파크) \\ Tel: 802-8025 / 802-8000

Do not expect this place like Lotte world or Disney Land kinda theme park. This is literally a huge park with different sections or gardens.
All sections are accessible via a train that looks like those olden days steam engine.
This place is also not neccessary a 'must go' place but it'll be more for those whose interested in nature.
However I do believe that different seasons offers a different setting (eg. more flower during spring season), so it depends on what you're looking for.

-Dinner-
쉬는팡가든 \\ Tel : 738-5834

We randomly found this place last minute through an app (if i'm not mistaken it was KakaoMap).
(I couldnt find the english name of this restaurant.)
This is a Korean BBQ restaurant and it serve black pork. I don't really know the difference between a normal pork and a black pork, but whatever we ordered that night was so good ! Especially when the meat is dip in that sauce on the hot plate ! (picture above)
Thank goodness there's a waiter who knew how to speak mandarin and help us to order !


DAY 3
Day 3 was overcast and there's slight drizzle every now and then. So we started our day with..

Teddy Bear Museum \\ Tel: 738-7600

No Jeju trip is complete without visiting the Teddy Bear Museum.
Literally a museum will all sorts of bear plushies.


Lunch place & Random Rock Beach
중문어촌게해녀의집 \\ Tel : 738-9557

Our lunch place was found through an app recommendation while we were searching for places that serves abalone porridge.
This small house is where Haenyeo (women divers) serve/cook their catch of the day.
Here, we've got problem communicating with the Haenyeo so we decided to just randomly point whatever its on their menu on the wall which is basically just korean and chinese words.
We manage to get abalone porridge but to our dismay, we also order some raw seafood which we never tried before 😰
It took alot of courage to finish the raw seafood 🙈 but nevertheless it was an experience for us.

Tip: If your not sure what's on the menu, always google first ! That's if you have basic knowledge of korean alphabet because all the menu will be in Hangul. 

This rock beach is just beside our lunch place and its a very instaworthy place.
So we had our mini photoshoot session just before we head for our lunch.


Cheonjeyeon Waterfall (천제연 폭포) \\ Tel: 738-1529 

Cheonjeyeon is one of the famous waterfall to visit in Jeju island.
This waterfall consist of 3 parts/sections. However we only venture to only 2 sections of it because we tired from walking the stairs and each waterfall/pond is quite a distance from each other.


Jusangjeolli cliff (주상절리) \\ Tel: 738-1521

Another sightseeing spot that I recommend people to visit !
Here you'll be able to see different geometrical rock formation and rock pillars at the cliff.
Its a really beautiful and breathtaking view. However, while we were there, it was very cloudy and drizzling, the waves at the cliff were starting to get real bad till they have to close off one section because the water was splashing so much.
I've saw some tripadvisor users posting up some really nice pictures (better than mine) of the jusangjeolli cliff, go check that out and you'll see how beautiful it is.


A TWOSOME PLACE coffee & dessert

We had our tea time at this coffee shop before we head back to our hotel.
Similar to Starbucks and Coffeebean, this is another Korea's popular coffee chain stores.
I really love their Tiramisu latte ! You've gotta try it !
The mango & cheesecake bingsu and Tiramisu was also not bad !

-Dinner-
Tel: 758-1134

Stumble upon this restaurant while walking around the neightbourhood of our hotel.
Guess what.. this restaurant is operating 24 hours! 😲 Actually even in Seoul, we saw many 24 hours restaurants that serve these stew dishes and other kinds of meals..and even KOREAN BBQ at this ungodly hours. I really wish Malaysia have these kinds of restaurant cause we're tired of eating mamak food most of the time. 😣

-Supper-

After dinner, we found this Chicken & Beer restaurant just nearby and decided to give it a try.
Can't really remember what flavour of chicken we chose, but it was nice and crispy.
It goes really well with beer too! 😛


DAY 4
Yongduam Rock (용두암) \\ Tel: 728-3918

Situated at the northern part of Jeju, this place is famous for it's rock formation near the coast that looks like a dragon head. Down the coast, there'll be Haenyeo women diver either in the sea catching seafood or selling their catch of the day near the coast. However due to the strong wind during our visit, we didn't manage to see any.

There are small stalls nearby selling grilled squid which I really recommend you to try !

Mysterious Road
You may have heard of Jeju's mysterious road where object or cars with engine off 'move upwards on a hill'. We did pass by that road, but sorry to burst your bubbles... it wasn't that much of a hype because the 'moving uphill effect' only last a few meters of the entire road and it wasn't really 'moving' very fast. We wanted to step out of our car to record this 'mysterious phenomenon' but then again.. it was raining !


Yongmeori Coast (용머리해안) \\ Tel: 794-2940

One of the reason we wanted to come here was to see this ↓

Source: Google Image

However once we reach there the coast was close due to weather conditions 😭

But since we were there, we might as well stroll along the path to take some good photos. Along the way there were a few small shops as well, mostly selling foods.
But to those who are going or had been to the coast, do let me know if its worth it or not ! 🙏


Innisfree (이니스프리 제주하우스) \\ Tel: 794-5351

If you're an Innisfree fan, you'll definitely have to check out this place !
Be prepare to spend some money ! Because some of the product are found exclusively in this Innisfree Jeju house.
Like the DIY mask where you can choose your base (clay or cream) and you can mix & match any topping according to your skin concern. HOW COOL IS THAT?! (sorry for the low res. picture on the topping)
Tips: Always remember to ask for TAX REFUND if you spend more than the required amount!

Osulloc (오설록 티뮤지엄) \\ Tel: 794-5312

Located just next to Innisfree Jeju House is Osulloc, the brand which is famous for their Green Tea Spread. Not only do they have a section that sells high quality tea and the green tea spread, they also have a cafe which sells anything green tea ! And boy.. their green tea softserve is probably the best green tea ice cream I've ever had !
However, do be warned that the cafe will be pack with people depending on the time of visit.
After you've finished with your dessert, you may head outside to the field to take some instaworthy pictures with the green tea field.
Overall, it is definitely a recommended place for all green tea lovers out there!
Tips: Remember to ask for TAX REFUND if you're buying their green tea spread ! But if I recall, they'll ask you to claim it at the airport.

-Dinner-
대학로참닭갈비노형점 \\ Tel: 743-1667

This was probably the best Dakgalbi I ever had in my life !
We saw a que infront of the shop and just like any typical malaysians, we assume its good and started lining up as well.
Once we were sitted, there was no menu given as it was plastered on the wall, so we had to google.
AND not only that, the staff there doesn't know english. There was this young guy who was told by his boss to take our order, ended up using google translate to communicate with us. 😂

Another unexpected event that happen to us there was there's a group of korean customer sitted at a table behind us was celebrating their friend's birthday, they were so kind to give us and other customers a slice of their birthday cake (melon cake to be precise) to share ! That's really really sweet of them 💗


DAY 5 (Last Day in Jeju)
Our Jeju trip has come to an end as we left in the morning to return our rented car and to catch our noon flight to Seoul.

Stay tune for Part 2/2: Seoul itinerary !