South Korea Budget Trips & Packages Tours & Trips

Highlights

• Rub shoulders with the locals at Nambu Market, which recently provided free rent to young entrepreneurs to keep the market alive. Then, stay in a hanok (a traditional Korean house) and experience what it’s like to live day to day in Jeonju.
• Feast on delicious local cuisine, with included dinners where you might be able to try some traditional Korean noodles, Korean BBQ or fried chicken, and plenty of time to wander around street food markets and restaurants.
• Discover Seoul at your own pace with tonnes of free time to explore the various districts throughout the city. Maybe hit up karaoke (or noraebang, in Korean), go bar hopping with your local leader or grab a coffee at one of Seoul's famous themed cafes.
• Experience the natural beauty of South Korea from Ahwon Gotack – with lush, green surroundings, it’s a stark contrast to the big cities Korea is famous for. Soak up the tranquil mountain views and enjoy a moment to enjoy the silence of nature.
• Learn how the community have innovated agricultural growth at the Urban Smart Farm Social Company – a social enterprise backed by the government and local NGOs, focused on sustainability.

Highlights

• Cycle along the famous Four Rivers Bike Path – the most famous and scenic trail of South Korea’s amazing bike path network.
• Experience the diverse nature of Seoul, from the neon lights to the quiet paths – not to mention a visit to the infamous DMZ (Demilitarized Zone).
• Ride along the stunning shoreline of the East Sea – this is possibly the most picturesque road in all of Korea!
• Take some time off the bike and share life experiences with a North Korean refugee in Sokcho.
• Enjoy a unique night ride on the street of laidback Gyeongju, soaking in the history long after the last tourist has gone home.

Highlights

• Learn how to make everybody’s favourite pickled dish – kimchi, of course – at a cooking demonstration in Jeonju, then try the city’s iconic bibimbap (declared an intangible cultural asset, it’s just that good).
• Meet the local stall holders in the Gwangang market of Netflix fame and try the best street food that Seoul has to offer. Then, wander the Jagalchi market – a huge seafood wonderland by the Busan port.
• Experience Busan’s vibrant food scene with a hands-on cooking class, where you'll prepare your own lunch. In the evening, indulge in a Korean-style lamb skewer dinner, featuring a self-rotating grill that ensures perfectly cooked meat.
• Rub shoulders with the locals in a hanok (traditional home) in Jeonju, then learn about the everyday life of monks during a unique temple experience in Gyeongju.
• Feast on all the iconic foods of South Korea, including Korean fried chicken, bibimbap, japchae, kimbap, a seafood barbeque and of course, Korean BBQ.

Highlights

• Spend a fascinating day exploring the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) on a guided tour. Discover why this intriguing place has been awash with tension and political pressure since the Korean War.
• Take a street food tour of the renowned Gwangjang markets in Seoul, feasting on bite-sized delights, and indulge in an authentic all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ experience for your final night.
• Explore the seaside Sokcho and discover the island village of Abai, home to hundreds of North Korean refugees and learn about their experience in a sobering talk with the community here before enjoying a delicious home-cooked community dinner.
• Spend a night in a traditional Hanok house in the Andong Hahoe folk village, walking past the traditional homes to imagine the country in its past life.
• Visit coastal Haedong Temple, explore the colourful Gamcheong Culture Village and then meet a Haeyno diver in Busan for an insider’s view of this predominantly female profession.

Highlights

• Witness the effects of the Korean War first-hand at the border between South and North Korea on an eye-opening tour of the DMZ – no textbooks are needed for this lesson, you’ll have a knowledgeable local guide.
• Take a tour around the colourful and ultra-Instagrammable Gamcheon Cultural Village then enjoy plenty of free time to relax on the sandy beaches of Busan.
• Discover some new favourites and delicious flavours with a Korean BBQ dinner and a visit to the street food night markets. You’ll even learn to make kimchi and kimbap in a family-friendly cooking class – now this is how you get the kids to try new things!
• Step back in time in Gyeongju – nicknamed the ‘museum without walls’ – and experience local culture with two nights in a Hanok (traditional Korean house). You can even snap a family pic dressed in Hanbok, the traditional Korean clothing.
• Experience an afternoon of fun activities with local monks in a beautiful temple setting. Try your hand at archery, Sunmudo – an ancient Korean Buddhist martial art – and an insightful meditation.

Highlights

• Visit the home of Daniel Gray – a food expert and food tour pioneer who worked on Netflix’s Street Food Asia Seoul – for a fascinating lecture on local cuisine, food history and a homemade meal.
• Immerse yourself in the local way of life for Korean monks at your Premium Feature Stay in Hainesa Temple on Mt Gaya – a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the Three Jewels Temples representing Dharma.
• Visit Jeju Island, where you’ll visit Seongsan Ilchulbong or Jeju Seongsan Sunrise Mountain/Castle – a volcanic peak nicknamed Sunrise Peak with sweeping panoramic views that earned Korea its first ever UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Enjoy the vibrancy of Purple Island near Mokpo, where the colours of lilac and lavender fields have spread to the entire town.
• Meet a local Haenyno – one of the local women divers who go diving for shellfish 10 m under the sea on Jeju Island. Learn about the local fishing culture and why these women, some in their 80s, still practice diving.

Highlights

• Learn about ancient and modern history in Seoul
• Spend a night and join ceremonies at the Unesco-listed Haeinsa Temple
• Visit Panmunjom and the DMZ to learn how Korea was divided
• Discover the bustling, colourful markets of Busan
• Be captivated by the culinary delights of South Korea

Highlights

• Create traditional Arita-yaki pottery at Atelier Yume
• Experience Awa (Fool’s Dance), a traditional dance with origins some 400 years’ old at Tokujima
• View the iconic red torii gate of the Itsukujima shinto shrine ‘floating’ in the Seto Inland Sea
• Uncover Second World War history at Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park
• Visit Osaka, the food capital of Japan, or the historic city of Kyoto where traditional and modern architecture collide