Korean Job Discussion Forums

[tigresa]

hi all,

been searching for info online, and found some stuff about navigating jeju sola, but not too much...

can anyone recommend good, reasonable places to stay?
is it better to stay in seogwipo, or also spend a night in jeju city?
easy to rent a car there as a weeguk?
anywhere worth missing/really worth seeing?
is it worth the hike to the top of Halla-san, in rainy season?

cheers

[LarrytheGiraffee]

It really depends on how long you will be staying there. If you have an international driver's license then it is easy enough to rent a car. It also makes it easy to see the whole island. I went a few summers back with some friends as we just bought a picture book (coffee table style) before we went. It gave us a good idea of the spots to check out. I think we did the whole trip in 5 days including Hallasan. It is worth it to go up the mountain (as far as you can due to closers for environmental reasons) as long as it isnt raining. We went in the rainy season, but manages to get some fairly clear days.

My only suggestions are to hike Sunrise hill (at sunrise of course) and go to the stick and rock garden if you have the extra time. That was the only place we could find an original Harubang and it was a nice garden area.

[Son Deureo!]

Yeogwans and love motels are pretty much everywhere on Cheju. I like to stay in love motels whenever I travel around Korea, the accommodations are usually a fantastic value even if the decor is sometimes cheesy.

I wouldn't bother staying in Cheju City, there really isn't that much to see and do there.

If you can rent a car there, I'd say do it. It's kind of a pain to get around without one as the city bus goes around the island only once every half hour or so. It's easy to waste a lot of time waiting for it, or waste money taking taxis everywhere.

The one place I particularly recommend checking out is Udo/우도. It's a small island just off the eastern coast of Cheju, the ferry port is in Seongsan/성산, which is also where Sunrise Hill (일출봉) that jessokelly mentioned is located. Udo has three different colored beaches, one with normal sand, one with white sand (pulverized coral) and one with black sand (pulverized volcanic rock). If you're lucky, you might see some of the 해녀 who live there, the women divers who can dive up to 15 meters without scuba gear (they can hold their breath for up to 4 minutes).

I was also impressed by the Cheju Island Folk Village.

[whatever]

Where is the best nightlife to be found?

[europe2seoul]

New and economical Jeju Air airline:

http://www.jejuair.net/

They started flying in April (?) this year.

[tigresa]

thanks for all the info...nice to have some useful, genuine conversation in this space

to clarify, if i may press for more answers, when we get to the airport, best to take a bus to seogwipo and try to rent a car there, rent a car at the airport (do they gouge you there like in other countries?) or rent a car in Jeju city and then drive to Seogwipo?

we are flying down on Friday morning, returning Monday evening...I am so looking forward to this...I might not want to come back to the mainland, i suspect

for the sunrise rock, if we don't have a car rental the whole time, i guess we'd have to spend the night near there to get there in time?

thanks so much for all the advice...

[ajgeddes]

If I were you (and I have done this before) I would make a reservation for a rental car before I got down there.

If you book a car, they will take you straight to the car lot and you are all set. Also, when you rent cars there, they come with the navigation system right in the car and a booklet with the number address for everything on Jeju island. The book is huge for such a small island. You will never have to worry again after that.

If you don't book a car before you get there, you can just rent one when you get there. All the car lots are on the same road leading out (or into) of the airport. Don't take a bus to Seogwipo and then rent one there, that seems strange.

Just remember, sometime you get to these big huge intersections that are full of cars and there are really no rules and no traffic lights, it's really fun. Also, they like to drive with their lights off at night sometimes, which can be scary when suddenly a black car zooms by you out in the country (I almost had a heart attack the first time that happened).

[snowy32]

[ajgeddes]

[LarrytheGiraffee]

I got my international driver's license through AAA. Your home country should have a similar organization. Since I hadnt planned to well, I had to have it expressed here to me. Still I think it was between $50 and $80 with having it sent via international courier and I got it in about 1 week. Good luck and have fun.