Korean Job Discussion Forums

skookum · Joined: 11 Mar 2005

I'm off to China soon, presumably. Questions -
Can I use my debit card from the US in the port cities of Shandong Province?
Is the ferry hell or okay?
Can I buy my ticket the day of the trip?
Are fares cheaper from China than from Korea (as they are cheaper in Korea than Japan, on the Pusan-Fukuoka boats)?
Any recommendation for the Shandong peninsula that are not in the Lonely Planet guide??

mithridates · Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2005 7:14 pm Post subject:

I've only been on the ferry that goes to Dandong and that one had one meal in the evening and one in the morning with quite a few people in the cafeteria, all old, and it cost 5000W. I made sure to bring my own food on the way back.
And if you get the cheapest ticket your 'bed' will be a space on the floor next to an ajosshi. I would suggest a ticket second most expensive, or just go all out. Depends on if you really want to sleep.

guangho · Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2005 6:39 am Post subject:

Any way to ferry to Beijing?

tzechuk · Joined: 20 Dec 2004

guangho · Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2005 7:11 am Post subject:

JacktheCat · Joined: 08 May 2004

There is a ferry from Incheon to Tianjin, the port city of Beijing.

Contact info for the international ferry terminal and details about boat times are in the Lonely Planet Korea.

Qingdao is by far the best city to visit in Shandong province, and my pick for the best city in China.

dogbert · Joined: 29 Jan 2003 Location: Killbox 90210

Tianjin is worth seeing and you can easily find a bus to Beijing from there.

Zyzyfer · Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2005 12:10 am Post subject:

skindleshanks · Joined: 10 May 2004

The ferry isn't too bad--it's 24 hours on a boat, but there's half-decent food available, and a lo of interesting people to talk to.

If you're going to Beijing, you'll take the ferry to Tianjin. You can get into town by taxi or van (be prepared to haggle, but the price is pretty much set high, and the taxi drivers know that you're stuck with them, so they're not too flexible. If I remember correctly, it's about $60 US for the taxi option, and about half that for the busses. You can save a bit by catching a bus and then figuring your way from the town once you get there, but it will take a good part of your day to make it to Beijing that way. Or you could pay taxi prices to get to the Tianjin train station, but they want to to pay all the way to Beijing, so you'll probably have a hard time convincing anyone to take you.

Occidental-Tourist · Joined: 17 Nov 2003

In feb, I took a bus direct from Tianjin ferry terminal to Beijing railway station for about $8. Very basic bus, but it got there in reasonable time and I just slept all the journey anyway. However, after disembarking from the ferry,clearing immigration and waiting for the bus to fill up it was about 11pm before departure and almost 2am before arriving in Beijing.