Just came back from our Free & Easy Korea trip 2 weeks ago. Been so busy with work that I can only start to pen down on the fun and adventure we had during our time in Korea.
First thing first, we booked our Flight tickets from Singapore Airlines. Honestly speaking, this is my first SQ experience, and I was quite excited about it. Tell me who's isn't when you kept seeing posts on Facebook about getting world class services on a SQ Flight.
Promotion tickets cost us about S$700/pax
We took the 0805 Flight which will take us to Incheon Airport by 1500 (local time) about 6.5 hours of flying time.
First time getting a menu on board a Flight :)
My first meal on board the SQ
Cleared the immigration within an hour, and we went looking for our Pocket WiFi. We booked it through their online website here. It costs us US$5.25/day (all around Korea, including Jeju Island) with a refundable US$50 deposit (in case you did not return them the router after using). It's quite reasonable-priced as we didn't want to change our SIM card to a local one. Singtel is charging S$15/day for unlimited usage for the data roaming package. So all in all, we decided to rent from the Pocket WiFi.
We took quite a long time to find them as we were expecting to collect from a counter. However, they're just sitting at the passengers seats with 2 luggage full of the routers.
We took quite a long time to find them as we were expecting to collect from a counter. However, they're just sitting at the passengers seats with 2 luggage full of the routers.
To be precise in locating them, you can find them at Exit 7 on 3rd floor of Passenger Terminal in Incheon airport.
After which we made our way to Gimpo International Airport for the domestic flight to Jeju Island. Initially we wanted to buy our tickets online first, but after much considerations, I decided that we should buy over the counter. It might be more expensive but we didn't want to risk missing our flight due to unforeseen situations, like flight delay, cannot clear immigration on time, etc.
Airport Railroad (AREX) is the most convenient way to get to Gimpo International Airport. They have 2 types of tickets, Express Train (Non-Stop all the way to Seoul Station) or the All Stop Train. Just need to be careful when buying the tickets if you're going to Gimpo International Airport.
Fare Cost: 3,550 WON (S$4.45)/trip/pax
Once you reached Gimpo International Airport, all the airlines there will have flights to Jeju Island. We took the Asiana Airlines as they have the earliest flight out (7:25pm) and return tickets cost us 389,600 WON (S$243.50/pax).
50 minutes of flight time and we're in Jeju Island, temperature was quite cold around 3°C. We put on our coats and sweater and waited for the Shuttle Bus which will take us to the KT Rental.
Self-drive in Jeju Island is highly recommended, as the buses are on schedule and frequecy is about an hour. You will need an International Driving Permit (IDP) in order to rent a car there. Even though the Singapore Driving License is an international license, in Korea they do not accept that. You can always get the IDP from the Automotive Association Singapore. There is a validity period for this IDP, so I suggest you to apply an least 2 weeks before your actual trip.
Shuttle bus is free services by KT Rental, about 10 minutes drive away from the Airport.
When you make the online reservations, you do not have to make any payment yet. Payment is made over the counter and they only take credit cards (no cash payment).
5 days of rental cost us 185,100 WON (S$236). If you calculate daily, it's around S$47.20/day. It's so much cheaper to rent a car in Korea! The rental comes with insurance & English GPS navigation to bring us around.
2736! We love this car so much! :)
We rented the Hyundai Avante (automatic) and we had a great time driving it. Both of us had our first time driving on the left hand side (opposite to Singapore) and initially we kept taking reference from the right side. It takes us some time to get use to it, and after that it's a breeze to drive around Jeju.
Our accommodation in Jeju for 4 nights is at Dreaming Forest Pension. We booked through Agoda and the rates are quite reasonable. S$348 for 4 nights for a standard double house. It's about an hour half drive from the Airport, located in Seogwipo (2nd city in Jeju Island).
GPS Coordinates: 738-1010
Our accommodation in Jeju for 4 nights is at Dreaming Forest Pension. We booked through Agoda and the rates are quite reasonable. S$348 for 4 nights for a standard double house. It's about an hour half drive from the Airport, located in Seogwipo (2nd city in Jeju Island).
GPS Coordinates: 738-1010
FYI, the telephone number is the GPS coordinates used in Jeju Island. Similar to our Postal Codes in Singapore.
This is not exactly the kind of hotels room that we booked. It's more of a 2-storey house with Kitchen, bathroom & living room. The bedroom is on the upper deck (with dressing table & hair dryer!) whereas at the lower deck, we have a living room, dining table, kitchen and bathroom.
We also have a small balcony to enjoy the scenery outside, sipping coffee and having breakfast. Kitchen comes equipped with pots and pans, utensils & even plates. So we can actually cooked our meals if needed.
When we arrived at the house, we were too tired to go out for food, and were really surprised to find a basket with instant noodles & eggs in it. The owner prepared these for us and we were so glad to have something to eat.
Had our dinner, cleaned up and fell asleep before a long day out tomorrow.
