Thereโs no query South Korea is a incredible vacation spot for households, mixing historical past, heritage and lashings of contemporary Ok-culture โ however when you havenโt visited earlier than, itโs effectively price testing the following tips for South Korea with children earlier than you go.
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Even when youโve visited different locations in South East Asia and East Asia, there are some things to know earlier than visiting South Korea with children for the primary time, which you may not count on out of your earlier travels.
From cash to move, meals to important apps, these are my high ideas for visiting South Korea with children.
Cash
Whereas it isnโt low-cost to fly to South Korea, I discovered it value lots much less as soon as we arrived which was nice, from transport and entry tickets to meals. You receivedโt get away with out spending some cash, clearly, so right hereโs what you do must know.
Carry money
We have been instructed that South Korea continues to be very a lot a money society, though we actually didnโt discover that was the case within the cities โ but it surelyโs positively useful to have some received with you, and particularly when youโre heading off the overwhelmed monitor.
Youโll want it when youโre planning to go to any of the markets or avenue meals markets, though numerous locations did have card machines, some have been firmly money solely.
You additionally want money to high up the T-Cash journey playing cards for public transport (though this has modified lately to permit international playing cards to high up, itโs very restricted presently so donโt depend on it for now).
I transformed round ยฃ100 at residence earlier than we left โ whereas it wasnโt the most effective alternate price, I knew Iโd want some on the airport to pay for transport into Seoul and it meant I had one much less factor to fret about after a long-haul flight. Because the alternate price within the airport isnโt the most effective one both, and as I wasnโt altering an enormous quantity, I donโt suppose it made a lot distinction.
As soon as we arrived, I wanted some further money (primarily for a tip, a ship tour the place I needed to pay another person, and transport again to the airport) so I used my Clever card โ this allows you to have balances in numerous currencies, so I transformed it to received, then simply withdrew it from an ATM.
I didnโt have any bother both time, however when you do run into issues, search for one marked World ATM (Woori and Hana banks are each good). The shows have an choice for English, then choose international card from the choices. Youโll usually get charged round 3000-4000 received to withdraw it.
Thereโs presently round 2000 Received to the pound so that you do must get used to dividing by that, but it surely shortly turns into second nature to knock off a number of zeroes and halve the remaining.
Which bank cards?
More often than not, youโll discover itโs superb to make use of your bank card โ Iโd learn that Visa is usually extra readily accepted than Mastercard, however each needs to be extensively accepted in cities.
I’ve a Visa bank card with no abroad costs and I used that just about in all places. Youโll additionally want this at lodge check-in and when youโre getting pocket WiFi as I used to be.
Having a bodily card is certainly a very good plan although โ not in all places will settle for digital ones in eg a Google Pay or through Apple Pay.
If you happen to want an alternative choice, try the Wowpass, which is a kind of debit card for vacationers. There are kiosks on the airport and in subway stations the place you possibly can alternate 16 totally different currencies into received โ and you may then use it as each a cost card and public transport card. Itโs not an important when youโve bought different playing cards which can work although.
Get a tax refund
If you happen toโre planning any procuring (and my 13-year-old positively was), you will get tax refunds on what you purchase โ often so long as you spend round 15,000 received.
If you happen to carry your passport with you, you possibly can typically get the refund on the until โ some locations could settle for a photograph of the passport, however most receivedโt. South Korea could be very protected so itโs one of many few locations I felt blissful carrying it round with me.
If you happen to desire to not (or overlook), you possibly can hold the receipts and scan them on the airport to get your refund. There are kiosks earlier than safety, then you definately get your a reimbursement after โ there arenโt too many decisions as to the way you obtain it, so the best choice was merely getting it again in received, which we then spent on dinner.
Transport in South Korea
You receivedโt keep away from utilizing some public transport throughout your keep, or not less than taking a taxi, particularly in Seoul and Busan that are each massive sprawling cities. However theyโre each very effectively linked, so so long as you enable sufficient time, itโs straightforward to get round.
Paying for public transport
The best choice is to purchase a T-Cash card, which prices round 3,000-5,000 received โ or you will get some particular version playing cards which value extra in order for you a specific memento.
These work throughout the entire nation, together with in Seoul and Busan, on buses and the metro system.
Upon getting the cardboard, merely high it as much as pay to your transport โ you are able to do it on the airport initially, but in addition at comfort shops that are dotted throughout, in addition to on the machines within the subway stations.
Whether or not youโre taking the subway or bus, you should faucet the cardboard initially and finish of the journey โ thatโs whenever you get on the bus on the machine by the driving force, then whenever you get off on the center doorways, or on the gates going out and in of the metro.
If you happen toโve used the tube in London, it ought to all really feel very acquainted โ though fares are actually low-cost by comparability, round 1550 received (lower than a pound) relying on the space you journey.
Tapping out additionally permits you to switch to a different type of transport (inside half-hour through the day) when youโre taking a number of buses to get to your vacation spot.
Itโs free for youths beneath six, and there are presupposed to be youngster and youth fares for 6-12 and 13-18-year-olds.
You want your passport to have the low cost utilized however we by no means fairly labored out tips on how to do it, even with English-speaking workers on the airport, not to mention at a comfort retailer โ because the distinction was about 30p, it actually didnโt appear well worth the effort to search out out for a 12-day journey!
You can too use a Local weather Card in Seoul, though that doesnโt work outdoors the capital. This acts as a vast cross for a selected variety of days, from 5,000 received for someday as much as 20,000 for seven days (and longer variations) โ in case you are taking greater than three journeys per day, itโs a very good choice. The cardboard prices 3,000 received and doesnโt work on the trains to the airport.
Planning your journeys
By far essentially the most helpful app you possibly can have is Naver Maps. Don’t go to with out downloading this!
Google Maps doesnโt presently work effectively in South Korea, though itโs helpful for pinning locations which doesnโt are likely to work with Naver as you want an account (and it often doesnโt create one efficiently when youโre outdoors Korea/have a non-Korean telephone quantity).
That is because of change as the federal government has agreed to offer Google entry to the info is wants, however within the meantime, Naver Maps is sensible.
In addition to planning out your journey, it should fairly actually stroll you thru every step, telling you which of them entrances/exits to make use of on the subway stations (which are sometimes large and have 6-8 of them), and which path prepare you want, in addition to when itโs resulting from arrive.
I additionally had Kakao Maps beneficial, and Citymapper ought to work in Seoul, however I discovered Naver really easy to make use of that I simply caught with that.
Public transport etiquette
Look out for the arrows displaying you the place to line as much as get onto the subway carriages โ individuals do observe this, so that you donโt wish to be standing the place everybody will get off.
As with most underground trains, it is best to let individuals off earlier than you attempt to get on.
As soon as you’re within the carriage, youโll additionally see a piece of seats for the aged/those that battle to face, plus a number of shiny pink seats for pregnant ladies, and also you positively mustn’t sit in them in any other case, even when theyโre empty.
You might be additionally anticipated to be quiet โ whilst you can speak, do hold your voice low.
BONUS TIP: As a basic rule, individuals stroll on the right-hand facet on streets and on platforms (although thatโs much less strictly adopted, particularly in busy subway stations when persons are dashing from A to B).
Taxis/Uber
You can too discover taxis in South Korea, together with ride-share similar to Uber, which can also be far cheaper than within the UK (or US/Australia) โ however when youโre planning to do that, Iโve bought a number of warnings.
Though you possibly can flag taxis down (search for the illuminated gentle), itโs not at all times straightforward to search out one until youโre at a station the place thereโs a rank.
Utilizing an app additionally tends to be simpler as you donโt have the danger of miscommunicating the vacation spot, you donโt want money to pay and the pre-agreed value means thereโs much less threat of overpaying. If you happen to donโt wish to use Uber, the most effective native choice is Kakao T, which works in an analogous means.
You donโt typically discover bigger autos until youโre across the airport, so when you’ve got a number of individuals with giant baggage, you might end up extra restricted, or must guide two vehicles (simpler for a household of 4 than when youโre travelling solo with a babyโฆ)
Drivers additionally appear reluctant to take comparatively quick fares โ eg from Seoul Station to Myeongdong. I do know of not less than two circumstances the place a mum and their youngster (plus baggage) have been turned down by driver after driver. Getting an Uber with out baggage throughout the town appears rather more easy although.
Seoul airport transport
If you happen toโre searching for an alternate strategy to get into Seoul from Incheon Worldwide Airport, fortunately there are a few different helpful options.
The Ok airport limousine buses are what we used, and make the journey a breeze. We would have liked to purchase tickets in money (there are machines or workers promoting tickets, it value us round 17,000 received every) โ children aged 6-12 ought to get a reduction, and coming again, we did see a bank card machine on the bus too.
Ensure you talk your vacation spot clearly to the driving force โ I spent a part of our first journey feeling faintly panicked about tips on how to make the bus cease (fortuitously it was a preferred cease).
There are numerous routes with a number of stops in the primary areas youโre prone to be staying. We additionally took the airport limo again from Myeongdong to the airport (from a special cease, having swapped lodges) and it was equally easy โ you should utilize a T cash card going from Seoul to Incheon, or simply use money once more.
Thereโs plenty of baggage storage, and comfortable seats with plenty of leg room. It additionally meant we hardly ever needed to stroll quite a lot of minutes with suitcases, and meant we may keep away from steps to and from the subway.
Simply consider some further time for any site visitors and the varied stops within the metropolis, though 90 minutes needs to be lots. I additionally factored in further time in case the primary bus again to the airport was full, but it surely turned up virtually empty (higher protected than sorry although).
In any other case, the AREX trains run from Incheon and Gimpo airports to Seoul Station โ there are specific variations which run much less regularly, or stopping variations which commonly, however each will take lower than an hour.
You do must have a timed ticket, so it may be simpler to purchase one on the airport slightly than attempting to guess how lengthy immigration will take. If you happen toโre not staying close to Seoul Station, additionally, you will then need to navigate public transport or discover a taxi that may take you onwards.
The important apps for visiting South Korea
There are a few apps which can make life MUCH simpler whilst youโre exploring South Korea with children.
Naver Maps
I discussed this above, however I canโt stress it an excessive amount of โ Naver Maps is incredible for serving to you navigate, together with strolling instructions and public transport routes.
It additionally exhibits opening instances (helpful for cafes which frequently opened later than we would have liked for breakfast), and even permits you to guide tables and order meals, though I didnโt find yourself utilizing that operate.
If you happen to usually use Google Maps, thatโs nonetheless very useful to pin totally different places and itโs superb for serving to information you on shorter walks when youโre in South Korea. Or Kakao Maps is one other different when you’ve got any points with Naver, whereas Citymapper additionally works in Seoul.
Google Translate
Until your Korean is considerably higher than mine, youโll need a translation app in some unspecified time in the future. We have been beneficial Papago over Google Translate, however didnโt really discover that notably user-friendly.
In the long run, Google Translateโs digicam operate was useful for understanding elements in meals at comfort shops, and on the one event I wanted to say one thing extra sophisticated (in a publish workplace in Korea), I additionally introduced up the sentence to indicate.
TOP TIP: Ensure youโre linked! Though there was numerous free WiFi in Seoul notably, we discovered it a bit erratic โ networks typically had no web, or mysteriously didnโt join.
If your own home community costs lots (as mine did for South Korea), the choices are an esim or hiring pocket WiFi โ the latter is a good suggestion in case your telephone doesnโt assist an esim otherwise you need a couple of individual utilizing the WiFi.
You do want to hold it round, though it isnโt large, and also youโll virtually actually want an influence financial institution when youโre out all day โ I booked ours by means of Trazy and picked up on the airport, and whereas it did include a conveyable energy financial institution however that by no means appeared to work so I simply used my very own.
Language & communication
Until youโve bought numerous time and are very devoted, youโre unlikely to be fluent by the point you arrive in South Korea however Iโd strongly suggest studying some fundamental Korean.
Even a number of fundamental phrases โ howdy (annyeonghaseyo), please (juseyo), thanks (gamsahabnida), sure (ne), no (aniyo) โ went down very well. I did do my greatest to study some extra however a few months wasnโt actually lengthy sufficient to work out quite a lot of very fundamental sentences.
Learing the hangeul alphabet can also be very easy and logical (it was particularly created within the mid fifteenth century to be straightforward to study), which suggests you possibly can shortly work out tips on how to sound out indicators. This โstudy hangulโ web site was actually useful to start out off.
We did discover that lots of people spoke some English within the cities, so between that and signal language, we at all times managed to make ourselves understood, plus thereโs at all times translation apps for something extra sophisticated.
Exterior the cities and vacationer areas, you would possibly effectively have extra points, however Iโve discovered that persons are at all times extra tolerant when youโre making an effort.
Youโll additionally discover English translations of indicators within the metro and bulletins in a number of languages on all public transport. And when youโre in cafes, most have touchscreens with English translation, so you possibly can order simply that means.
TOP TIP: The Korea Journey Hotline is on 1330 โ they communicate English and will help when you want it, whether or not thatโs in an emergency or attempting to speak with a taxi driver when youโre struggling to know one another.
Korean meals
Korean meals is incredible โ and evidently, thereโs much more to it than kimchi, together with lots that children will eat very fortunately.
A few of our high picks have been bibimbap (this mixture of rice and greens is topped with a fried egg and should have meat in โ simply combine all of it up collectively), plenty of rooster, bulgogi (beef), mandu (dumplings with numerous fillings), and many rice and noodle dishes.
There are many cafes and comfort shops when youโre simply grabbing a snack โ Twosome Place has some good salads and sandwiches (plus phenomenal cake) in order for you a simple choice for extra Western-style meals.
In case you are vegetarian or donโt eat meat, it may be more durable as these can pop up in even apparently harmless dishes โ gimbap (typically referred to as Korean sushi, because it makes use of rice wrapped in seaweed however with cooked elements) will typically include spam or crabsticks, even when in any other case vegetarian, whereas shrimp and anchovy is usually used to make kimchi.
A whole lot of meals could be very spicy too, so even dishes marked as low spice could also be hotter than youโd count on โ though conversely in additional touristy areas, youโll typically discover the spice is dialled down greater than youโd like. Thereโs at all times kimchi to counteract that although.
In case your children donโt love something too scorching, the phrase โmaebji anhdaโ means not spicy, and thereโs typically a model utilizing soy sauce (ganjang).
Avenue markets and night time markets are good for grabbing easier, child-friendly meals too โ suppose teriyaki rooster on a stick, corn canine and many dumplings. Alternatively Seoul (and Busan) are very cosmopolitan when you do want a substitute for Korean meals throughout your journey.
TOP TIP: If you happen toโre consuming in a restaurant, youโll additionally get a string of facet dishes included along with your meals; at all times kimchi however numerous different vegetable dishes too โ these receivedโt value further, and nor will water (mul). Chopsticks are metallic and also youโll usually solely have a alternative of those and spoons, usually tucked away in a drawer within the desk.
Whereas some locations could have forks when you ask, itโs effectively price studying tips on how to use chopsticks if attainable however you might wish to carry some disposable forks or wood/coaching chopsticks for youthful children too, because the metallic ones do take a little bit of apply. Thereโs no tipping both, so leaving any further is prone to trigger confusion.
Korean BBQ
One other nice choice for households, Korean BBQ isnโt at all times the most affordable choice, however with freshly cooked meat, a string of facet dishes and the choice of plain rice on the facet, itโs excellent for youths.
Itโs price understanding that you simply usually want two individuals consuming BBQ to order this (even when you’ve got extra individuals within the group who’re selecting one thing else off the menu) but it surely does rely a bit on the circumstances.
For instance, we discovered ourselves in a completely empty restaurant one night (which did then refill fairly shortly) asking for one bibimbap and one order of BBQ and didnโt have any points. Iโm positive if weโd tried to go at a busy time it may need been extra of an issue. The choice is simply to order two parts anyway.
GOOD TO KNOW: A whole lot of eating places shut between 3pm and 5pm, so when youโre planning a late lunch, youโll should be inside by 2pm.
The climate
Koreaโs climate ranges from freezing in January (when it barely makes it above zero in Seoul) to 30C or larger in midsummer, with excessive humidity.
The summer season monsoon additionally arrives in late June, with most rainfall in July, however moist climate persevering with till early September.
Unsurprisingly, most individuals plan their journeys for spring and autumn when the local weather is greatest, though itโs additionally busiest then. Spring does additionally see yellow mud and dangerous air high quality at instances, though we didnโt discover it notably dangerous throughout our April go to โ you will get face masks at pharmacies whether it is.
Planning a visit in spring additionally means you possibly can see the cherry blossom โ the dates change every year, however early to mid April is an effective wager to see the bushes in bloom.
In any other case, the temperatures werenโt that totally different from the UK, with some rain and a few cloudy days and different clear sunny, heat ones โ positively a very good plan to take layers! Youโll discover loads of very cute umbrellas when youโve forgotten to take one (and even when you havenโt).
Issues to pack
A whole lot of your packing necessities are going to be the identical as for many metropolis breaks, until youโre having to consider winter or summer season climate. However there are some things to remember.
Youโll want a plug adapter when youโre coming from the UK โ this is identical as a European plug with the 2 spherical prongs.
Undoubtedly take a conveyable energy financial institution to your telephone too โ one thing like this slimline Anker energy financial institution is sweet โ as youโll be taking numerous photographs, utilizing it for instructions, translation apps and extra. When you have moveable WiFi like us, youโll want it for that too.
If you happen toโre hoping to avoid wasting room by not bringing plenty of toiletries, we have been instructed that itโs nonetheless price taking your regular deodorant and toothpaste as Korean formulations are usually very totally different.
In any other case, there’s a department of Olive Younger round virtually each nook, and whereas itโs largely targeted on make-up and skincare, youโll often discover all the opposite necessities too. These little silicon journey pots have been actually helpful for saving house too.
Don’t journey with out comfy sneakers โ even with public transport, you’ll stroll for miles. This isnโt the time to attempt to break in one thing new!
Donโt carry plenty of socks although โ socks in Korea are tremendous low-cost (lower than ยฃ1 per pair), very cute and nice high quality, though when youโve bought notably small or massive toes, youโll discover much less alternative. Most are round UK measurement 4-7, so excellent for common teen women and girls not less than!
Final however not leastโฆ go away plenty of room in your baggage โ you may be shopping for souvenirs. We managed to come back residence with 15kg greater than we began with (though my share of that was a mug, some jewelry, a little bit of skincare and some pairs of socks. Simply saying)
Disclosure: This publish incorporates affiliate hyperlinks โ any purchases you make are unaffected however I’ll obtain a small fee. All opinions are my very own, together with in regards to the socks.
Pictures: cash/bank cards/passport/metro gates/highway signal/subway station/taxi/airport/telephone/suitcase courtesy of Depositphotos, all others copyright MummyTravels
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