It's
perfectly feasible to travel from the UK to South Korea overland
using the Trans-Siberian Railway via either Moscow,
Vladivostok and a ferry from Vladivostok to Donghae in
Korea, or via Moscow, Beijing, then a ferry from Tianjin in
China to Incheon in
Korea. The journey will take about 14 days. See
the Trans-Siberian page for
details of the London - Vladivostok & London - Beijing journeys,
then see the
Vladivostok-Korea or China-Korea sections below.
You can also travel from Japan to Korea, using a ferry from
Hakata to Busan.
A weekly ferry
links Vladivostok with Donghae in South Korea, run by DBS
Ferry,
www.dbsferry.com. The ship is the 1993-built
'Eastern Dream', equipped to a good standard. The
service is relatively new, starting in 2009.
Vladivostok
(Russia)
► Donghae (Korea)
The ferry sails
from Vladivostok on Wednesdays at 15:00, arriving Donghae at
10:00 on Thursdays.
Vladivostok
(Russia)
► Donghae (Korea)
In summer from
March to November, the ferry sails
from Donghae at 15:00 on Sundays, arriving Vladivostok at
13:00 on Mondays. In winter from December to February,
the ferry sails
from Donghae at 15:00 on Mondays, arriving Vladivostok at
13:00 on Tuesdays.
Fares & how to
buy tickets
Fares start at 150 euros one-way
in economy class with a berth in a shared sleeping room,
rising to 310 euros for a deluxe cabin. See
the official site,
www.dbsferry.com/02_ticket/ticket03.asp for
details & booking. Perhaps the easiest way to book
is to call DBS Ferry in Seoul on 00
82 2 5485502. Ask for an English speaker, reserve
your place by phone, and collect and pay for the tickets at
the ferry terminal in Vladivostok.
Train
connections...
For information
on train travel from London & Moscow to Vladivostok,
see the Trans-Siberian page.
Donghae has both rail and bus links with the rest of South
Korea. Trains link Donghae with Seoul (Seoul
Cheongnyangi station, not Seoul main Station) 6 times a day,
journey time around 5 hours 55 minutes, see
www.korail.go.kr (Tip for finding train times: Use 'Cheongnyangi'
as your origin/destination, not 'Seoul').
There are several ferry services
from China to South Korea, including one from Tianjin to
Incheon twice a week, and one from Qingdao.
Beijing (China)
- Seoul (Korea) via Tianjin
Air-conditioned high-speed trains link Beijing and Tianjin
frequently, taking just 30 minutes,
see
details here. However, the port is actually at
Tanggu, some 50 km east of Tianjin itself, so it's better to
take a direct train from Beijing South to Tanggu, journey
time 55 minutes, with trains every hour or two.
Beijing to Tanggu costs 92 RMB soft seat, 78 RMB hard seat.
You can check train times at
www.chinatravelguide.com. Bus 102 runs from Tanggu
station to the ferry terminal, journey time 50 minutes.
Ferries run by Jinchon Ferry sail from Tanggu International Ferry Terminal (50 km
east of Tianjin) to Incheon
twice a week, taking 25 hours. Departure from Tanggu
is at 11:00 on Thursdays & Sundays, arriving
Incheon at 14:00 next day. In the other direction, the ferry sails from
Incheon at 13:00 on Tuesdays arriving Tanggu 14:00
Wednesdays and at 19:00 on Fridays arriving Tanggu 20:00
Saturdays. For sailing dates and times,
see
http://byferryfrom2japan.com/en/korea-china or
http://visitkorea.or.kr/ena/GK/GK_EN_2_3_2.jsp. The ferry operator's
own site (www.jinchon.cn)
is only in Chinese or Korean.
The ferry fare in economy class is 888 RMB + 60 RMB tax.
You should arrive at the ferry terminal 2-3 hours before
sailing time.
Trains link Incheon and Seoul
frequently, 39 km, journey time 58 minutes.
Beijing (China)
►
Seoul (Korea) via Qingdao
An overnight train (number T25)
leaves Beijing Main station at 22:48 and arrives Qingdao at 07:40. The
train has soft & hard class sleepers.
Alternatively, there are
also now a range of fast daytime D-category trains from
Beijing South station to Qingdao taking
just 5½ hours.
The ship sails from Qingdao at
16:00 on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays, arriving Incheon at
10:00 next day. The one-way fare for the most basic berth is
about 110,000 won or 750 RMB. The operator is Weidong
Ferry - see
www.weidong.com for sailing dates and fares.
Traveller Wendy Bishop reports: "It seems to be
impossible to buy the Qingdao-Incheon Weidong ferry tickets
in Beijing, but it feels a bit risky turning up in Qingdao
and hoping to be able to get tickets there. However,
we didn't have any problems buying tickets 4 hours before
departure though (late August) - the ferry company sells the
tickets from its office 100m or so from the terminal."
Trains link Incheon and Seoul
frequently, 39km, journey time 58 minutes.
Seoul (Korea)
►
Beijing (China) via Qingdao
Trains link Seoul & Incheon
frequently, 39km, journey time 58 minutes.
The ship sails from Incheon at
17:00 on Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays arriving Qingdao at
09:00 next day. The one-way fare for the most basic
berth is about 110,000 won or 750 RMB. The operator is
Weidong Ferry,
www.weidong.com for sailing dates and fares.
An overnight train (number T26)
leaves Qingdao at 20:07 arriving Beijing Main station at 05:38.
Alternatively, there are also now a range of fast daytime D-category trains
taking just 5½ hours to
Beijing South station.
There are several ferry services
between Japan and South Korea. The suggested options
are:
Japan Kyushu Railway 'Beetle' service from Fukuoka
(Hakata) to Busan. The 'Beetle' is a fast jetfoil, taking just 2 hours
55 minutes and
running 4-5 times a day. It's also one of the few ferry
companies with a website in English,
www.jrbeetle.co.jp. The fare is about 13,000 Yen
(£100) one way, from 24,000 Yen (£185) return.
Kampu Ferry Service from Shimonoseki (international
port terminal) to Busan. These are conventional
ferries with cabins, sailing overnight and departing daily
at 18:00 arriving 08:30 next morning. Fares around
9,000 Yen 2nd class (with tatami mat sleeping place), 12,000
Yen (£92) 1st class (with bed in a western-style or
Japanese-style cabin with shower & toilet), deluxe cabins
and suites also available. It's 10% cheaper to buy a
return ticket, but still reportedly cheaper to buy another
one-way ticket back when you get to Korea. Website
www.kampuferry.co.jp, but
Google language tools can help you translate it.
Camellia Line Hakata to Busan by conventional ferry,
www.koreaferry.co.kr (only in Korean). Sails
overnight (22:00-06:00) in one direction, by day
(12:30-18:00) in the other. One-way fares from 80,000
Won, or from 1000,000 Won with cabin berth.
Inclusive train+ferry tickets between Japan & Korea:
Japan Railways offer inclusive train+ferry fares from Tokyo,
Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Nagasaki and other stations in
mainland Japan to Busan using either the Kampu Ferry from
Shimonoseki or the fast Beetle jetfoil from Hakata.
For information & prices,
see this page which traveller Louise Rouse has helpfully
translated from
this original Japanese page. For example, Tokyo to
Busan costs around 29,260 Yen. Tickets are sold from 1
month before departure up to 2 days (ferry) or 7 days
(jetfoil) before departure, so don't try to buy a ticket on
the day of travel.
Traveller Wendy Bishop travelled from Korea to Japan:
"Although we came across tantalising information about a
bargain ticket that combined train travel in Korea and Japan
plus the connecting ferry ride, it proved impossible to
find, despite enlisting a Korean friend to phone around.
There is a kiosk at Busan International ferry terminal that
sells Japanese rail passes for any last-minute purchase, but
it's not open all the time the terminal is open - it wasn't
when we left about 8am."
To reach Korea from Japan...
Take a train across Japan to
Hakata-Fukuoka or Shimonoseki.
Hakata is the end of the high-speed 'shinkansen' line
from Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima - see
www.hyperdia.com (English button upper left)
for train times and fares within Japan.
Take the 'Beetle' from
Hakata to Busan or the overnight ferry from Shimonoseki to
Busan. To
check Beetle times and fares,
see
www.jrbeetle.co.jp.
All
major towns and cities in South Korea are linked by an
efficient railway. For train times and fares visit
www.korail.go.kr.
In
addition, Seoul and Busan (older spelling Pusan) are linked
by a new high-speed train service known as KTX. The
KTX runs on a new high-speed line built using French TGV
technology. Trains run frequently, taking just 2 hours
35 minutes. The fare is 45,000 won (£25) one way 2nd
class, 63,000 won (£35) 1st class. For times, fares
and online booking of KTX trains, see
www.korail.go.kr.
Right: The high-speed 'KTX'
train from Seoul to Busan.
Believe it or not, there a railpass for Korea, giving 3, 5,
7 or 10 consecutive days unlimited travel over the whole
Korail network, including both their high-speed KTX and
regular trains (but excluding tourist trains & city metro
trains). For details and to buy a pass online, see
www.trainticket.com, a subsidiary of Rail Europe 4A.
www.hotelscombined.com
is probably the best hotel search system I've seen, a free search tool
which checks all the main hotel booking sites (Opodo, Expedia,
Booking.com, Hotels.com, AsiaRooms, Travelocity, LateRooms and
others) to find the cheapest hotel rates. Set up in
2005, it's probably the best place to start for booking any
hotel online in any country, worldwide.
Other hotel sites
worth trying...
www.tripadvisor.com
is the place to find
independent travellers' reviews of all the main hotels.
www.booking.com is my own preferred hotel booking system
(Hotels Combined being a search/comparison system). It
has a simple interface, a good selection in most countries
worldwide, useful online customer reviews of each hotel, and
decent prices, usually shown inclusive of unavoidable extras
such as taxes (a pet hate of mine is systems that show one
price, then charge you another!).
Backpacker hostels...
If you're on a tight budget,
don't forget the hostels. For a dorm bed or an
ultra-cheap private room in backpacker hostels in most
European cities use
www.hostelbookers.com.
Travel insurance...
Get travel insurance, it's essential...
Never travel overseas without travel insurance from a reliable
insurer, with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover. It should also cover
cancellation and loss of cash (up to a limit) and belongings.
An annual
multi-trip policy is usually cheaper than several single-trip
policies even for just 2 or 3 trips
a year (I have an annual policy myself). Here are some suggested insurers.
Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through these
links.
If you live in the UK, get quotes from
Columbus Direct or
Go Travel Insurance, or go to
Confused.com to run a price comparison on a whole range of
travel insurance providers for your dates of travel, seeing
their policy's features at a glance..
Get a spare credit card, designed for foreign travel with no currency
exchange loading & low or no ATM fees...
It costs nothing to take out an extra credit card.
If you keep it in a different part of your luggage so you're
not left stranded if
your wallet gets stolen, this is a form of extra travel insurance in itself. In addition,
some credit cards are significantly better for
overseas travel than others. Martin Lewis's
www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money explains which
UK credit cards
have the lowest currency exchange commission loadings when you buy something
overseas, and the lowest cash withdrawal fees when
you use an ATM abroad. Taking this advice
can save you quite a lot on each trip compared to using your
normal high-street bank credit card! You can save money on ATM charges and exchange rates using a
Caxton FX euro currency Visa Card, or indeed the
multi-currency 'Global Traveller' Visa Card,
find out about these cards & sign up here.
Get an international SIM card...
Mobile phones can cost a fortune to use abroad, and if you're
not careful you can return home to find some huge bills
waiting for you. I've known people run up a £1,000 bill
in data charges just by leaving their iPhone connected during a
simple trip to Europe. However, if you
buy a global SIM card for your mobile phone from a company
such as
www.Go-Sim.com you can slash the cost by up to 85% and
limit any damage to the amount you have pre-paid. It
cuts call costs in 175 countries worldwide,
and you can receive incoming calls and texts for free in 75 countries. It's pay-as-you-go, so no nasty bills
when you get home. It also works for laptop or PDA data
access. A Go-Sim account and any credit on it doesn't
expire if it's not between trips, unlike some
others, so a Go-Sim phone number becomes your 'global phone
number' for life.
Backpacker hostels...
If you live in the UK, get quotes from
If
you're resident in
Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the EU, try
If you're resident in the USA or Canada, try
