LOCAL TOUR DAY
After a crazy shopping day, I decided to get some fresh air by joining the local tour. Instead of transferring multiple times at the subway station, joining local tour is a good option to travel somewhere outside the residential area.
I’ve joined local tour multiple times already, and here are places that I went to through local tours.
*Most of these places located in the countryside, if you don’t have a car and are not planning to drive around Seoul, joining the local tour will save you lots of time and energy.
The Garden of Morning Clam (아침고요수목원)
This garden is ranked number 1 throughout my trips to Korea. I am a big fan of nature and trees, this place is absolutely stunning with different kinds of flowers and tree. You will be able to understand the other side of Korea.
Yes! Cherry blossoms! I used to stay in Washington state and there are cheery blossoms every year, but the structure and surrounding landscape makes everything rise to another level.
This 30,000 ㎡ garden features 20 different themed sections. There are a variety of festivals throughout the year, they even have a lighting festival in Winter.
Address: 432, Sumogwon-ro, Sang-myeon, Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do
Hours: 8:30 a.m. – Sundown
Price: 9,000 won (Adults); 6,500 (Youth); 5,500 (Kid)
Estimated time spent at the site: 3 hours
Website: http://morningcalm.co.kr/_ENG/html/main.php
* Spring: Spring Garden Festival
* Summer: Festival of Roses, Hydrangeas and Roses of Sharon
* Autumn: Festival of Chrysanthemums and Autumnal Tints
* Winter: Lighting Festival
Namiseom Island (남이섬 종합휴양지)
This is actually one of the places that I love the most when I joined the local tour. (I brought that back pack at Dongdaemun Design Plaza ) Also located in the countryside, you even need to take a huge ferry to get there, but this is not a problem at all if you join the local tour.
I went there in April and its the perfect time for cheery blossoms. The Namiseon is quite huge and it wont be too crowded for photos. There were many Korean families and couples who went there for a picnic, there were also couple who were doing their wedding photo shoots as well. You can find red bean buns, temple, museum, and you can even rent bicycle there.
Address: 1, Namisum-gil, Namsan-myeon, Chuncheon-si, Gangwon-do
Hours (Ferry schedule) :
07:30-09:00 (30 minute intervals)
09:00-18:00 (10-20 minute intervals)
18:00-21:40 (30 minute intervals)
Price: 8,000 won (Foreigners); 10,000 (Regular)
Estimated time spent at the site: 2 to 3 hours
Website: https://namisum.com/en/
Petite Prince (쁘띠프랑스)
Escaping from the busy street and fancy shopping mall, the Petite France is a French cultural village that features ‘flower, stars, and the Little Prince.’ I am not a big fan of Little Prince, but this little village is filled with color flowers and little houses. Great place to take some photos and walk around.
This site is actually smaller than I thought, but there are still couple places that are worth visiting and taking photos. (Especially the little prince I guess)
Address: 1063, Hoban-ro, Cheongpyeong-myeon, Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do
Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Sun to Thu); 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Fri to Sat)
Price: 8,000 won (Adults); 5,000-6,000 (Teenagers & Children, Seniors)
Estimated time spent at the site: 1 hour and a half
Website: http://www.pfcamp.com/
Gangchon Rail Park (강촌 레일파크)
There are multiple rail parks in Korea and most local tours have this “Rail park” experience, which makes this activities quite popular among families and foreigners. I’ve heard about the rail park because of RUNNING MAN, which is a Korean variety show. (They played game at this site couple years ago)
You would listen to a brief instruction of how to control the “Little car” (Which is super simple, just like riding a bicycle without really controlling or balancing), the car could contain 2 to 4 people and is perfect for a group of friends or family.
The water is really clear and you can feel the fresh air, the course is not too long but not too short. However, avoid going to the rail park on a really hot day, as well as rainy day. Don’t worry, this activity is perfect for elderly and children.
Address: 14, Jangteo-gil, Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do
Hours:
[Gangchon Rail Bike]
Summer (March-October) 10 times daily
Winter (November-February) 9 times daily
[Gyeonggang Rail Bike]
Summer (March-October) 6 times daily
Winter (November-February) 5 times daily
Price: 30,000 won (Two-seater); 40,000 won (Four-seater)
Estimated time spent at the site: 45 minutes
Gangchon Dakgalbi
If you are joining a local tour to Chuncheon, you might be able to try Chuncheon Dakgalbi. It is a famous local food in Chuncheon. Comes with cabbage and marinated chicken, the sauce is spicy & sweet, just put some rice and stir fried all the ingredient. Trust me, it tastes even better than what it looks like in this photo.
Some local tours also offer strawberry picking and you can pick a small box of strawberries home (as well as strawberry jam). The strawberries in Korea is quite sweet and huge, you can eat as much strawberries as you want at the site. Just be aware that they might turn bad by the time you leave Korea. (I usually ate them all before I left)
More about Korea!
Top restaurants to visit in Korea
How to nail the Subway map – Seoul, Korea
Seoul-Five days trip in Korea (Day 1)