Korea's Cultural Odyssey Seoul to Busan

Welcome to Korea – we transfer you to your hotel, and you have time to settle in. In the afternoon we provide a short briefing about the start of your tour.
Please note: This tour may have travellers joining or departing at various points along the route, meaning group composition can change during the tour. Please also be aware that depending on group composition, guiding may be in additional languages as well as English.

Today we embark on an extensive Seoul sightseeing tour of around five hours. We visit Gyeongbokgung Palace – entrance included – a grand complex set within broad parkland, then stroll through Bukchon Hanok Village, a traditional neighbourhood of small houses. We continue to the War Memorial of Korea – entrance included – an impressive museum that explores the nation’s conflicts, especially the Korean War under the United Nations. Lunch is included at a local restaurant. We head to the Gangnam District, one of the city’s busiest quarters with abundant shopping and entertainment, before stopping at Lotte World Tower, an icon rising to 550 metres – you have free time to go up at your own expense or to wander its park and luxury shopping areas. We transfer to the station for the included high speed train to Busan, then transfer to the hotel on arrival.

This morning we leave Busan to visit Haedong Yonggung, a 14th century Buddhist temple dramatically set by the sea. We return to the city to visit the United Nations Memorial Cemetery – entrance included – then continue to the country’s largest fish market by Nampo port. Lunch is included. We walk to Yongdusan Park to view its pagoda rising to around 120 metres, then continue to Songdo Beach to ride the maritime cable car – ticket included and weather permitting – for sweeping views of the bay. We explore the colourful lanes of Gamcheon Cultural Village with its art galleries, pottery workshops and inviting cafés, then return to Busan for the night.

We depart for the Seokguram Buddhist Grotto – entrance included – an 8th century sanctuary on the slopes of Tohamsan, then visit Bulguksa Temple – entrance included – considered among the country’s most beautiful. We continue to Gyeongju, the Korean capital that endured the longest under 56 kings across 992 years, and pause to photograph the graceful wooden Woljeonggyo Bridge over the Namcheon River. Lunch is included. We visit Tumuli Park to see the royal burial mounds of the ancient Silla Kingdom, dating back over 1,500 years, and we enter one of the tombs – entrance included – before walking to Cheomsongdae Astronomical Observatory, the oldest in East Asia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We arrive in Daegu and, before reaching the hotel, we see Dongsan Cheongna Hill, the lively commercial street of Dongseongro and the Yangnyeongsi Museum of Traditional Medicine – entrance included.

We travel north to Andong to visit Hahoe Village – admission included – a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the city’s outskirts. You have free time to wander its time capsule lanes. We then visit the World Mask Museum, showcasing masks used for dances, medical practices, religious ceremonies and theatrical performances. Lunch is included at a local restaurant. We continue to Byeongsan Seowon, a Confucian academy founded in the 16th century beside a peaceful river, before arriving in Seoul in the mid afternoon.

After breakfast our journey concludes – we hope you depart with wonderful lasting memories.