[4D3N Itinerary] Jeju Island, South Korea in April

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 1

Landed @ Incheon International Airport at 9.44am. It was 7 deg cel in Seoul and everyone was sniffling as they disembarked despite having a hearty, warm breakfast served at 7am. 

I picked the Spicy Chicken with Rice. A tad too spicy for something in the morning but it was a unique option compared to the classic western breakfast option (omelette with sausages and potatoes)

About an hour later, we finally crossed the customs and headed to Gimpo International Airport via the All Stop Train to Seoul Station to catch our flight to Jeju (yes we wouldn’t have had to do this if we had decided on our itinerary before booking our flight oops).

Protip: If you’re looking to go to Jeju in the first few days, fly there directly. It’ll save you all the hassle!

But if you’re in the same situation as we are, here’s how to get there: Follow the signages to Airport Railroad (within the Incheon International Airport). Get a Tcard from the vending machine and charge it. 

Protip: The Tcard machine does not accept 50,000 KRW notes so do bring smaller notes

Next, tap in at the gantry of the All Stop Train to Seoul Station. The train ride there would take about 50mins.  

Once we arrived at Gimpo International Airport, we headed to Domestic Terminal to do a check in before having lunch at Lotte Mall. 

Protip: While Lotte Mall is connected to the airport, the walk is quite far from the Domestic Terminal (~10min by speedwalking) so it might be better to dine at the Domestic Terminal if you don’t have much time to spare.

We had lunch at Tokkijung Project, a fusion restaurant with interesting-looking dishes.

Our favourite was the spicy pepperoni pasta. The creamy udon was great too. After slurping up everything we’ve ordered, we boarded the flight to Jeju. 

By the time we touched down and collected our luggages, it was already 4pm. There was a plane delay, which is very common for such domestic flights.

We followed the signs indicating “Rental Car Shuttles”, which took us to the opposite side of the road, and looked for the free shuttle bus that would bring us to Lotte Rent-a-Car. 

Protips for those who are looking to drive in Jeju:

• Apply for your International Driving Permit (2 weeks in advance online / a few days before if you will be collecting it yourself).

• It’s possible to have more than 1 driver but be prepared to pay extra for insurance if the other drivers are <26 years old.

• Make your reservation early and do consider if the car size would be sufficient for the number of luggages you would have. 

• Have a credit card with you for payment.

• Most cars should come with a built-in navigation system but do download the Naver App as well. 

• Key in the Naver address on the GPS instead of the one from Google Maps. 

• Driver’s seat is on the left hand side but cars should keep to the right lane. 

• Keep a look out at the speed limits as it fluctuates quite a bit (between 30km/h and 80km/h).

• Finding parking can be quite tough but most are actually free. Just make sure you’re not parking in residential areas or along roadsides which don’t permit parking. 

• Need to pump petrol back to full tank before returning the car so that would be the extra cost you would have to bear, on top of the car rental fee. 

The whole procedure took less than 15 minutes and we were ushered to our car in no time. 

We first drove to Jeonnong-ro Cherry Blossom Street. As its name suggests, it is known for Cherry Blossoms! We were a tad disappointed however as the pictures didn’t turn out as great.

The Cherry Blossom trees were unlike other photos I’ve seen of the street and weren’t really giving pink. Taking nice pics was tough too as it was a very busy street and we had to be mindful of the cars. Overall, we felt it was a street worth skipping as finding parking was incredibly difficult as well. Just driving through the street would be sufficient if you'd like to admire the Cherry Blossoms from a distance. 

Afterwards, we drove to Noksan-ro, a road lined with canola flowers (there should be Cherry Blossoms too but they’ve probably already withered?).

Nonetheless, we were lucky enough to catch the sunset at 6.30pm and took many road shots. There were many cars which passed by as well so do be careful if you’re taking pics there!

The entire road spanned about 10km and as we were approaching the end of it, we spotted gigantic windmills, which hinted that we’re at our next destination, the Gasiri Wind Power Plant. We drove in and took a few shots till the sky turned dark. 

Thereafter, we headed to Gommak Restaurant which was situated close to our Airbnb. The meal was pretty decent — we tried the abalone porridge, sea urchin noodles, seaweed rice and sashimi.

It’s my first time trying these so I can’t really benchmark it to anything else but I’d say it’s not on the flavourful side. Love the freshness of the sashimi though!

Day 2

We started off our day at London Bagel Museum, a cafe selling Bagels (of course!) and other beverages. At 10am, there were already 22 groups waiting to dinein so we opted for takeaway instead. Many others did as well and sat at the benches right outside to devour their bagels. 

Cafe Layered was right beside and their bakes looked SO GOOD! We couldn’t resist the temptation and bought their Earl Grey Salted Bread, Dark Chocolate Smores Cookie and Lemon Cake. They were all so good and I wish I could have a daily supply of their bakes~

After satisfying our bagel and bread cravings, we headed to Jeju Rail Bike. 

Protip: Buy tickets on kkday as it’s cheaper

The bike was automated so we didn’t have to pedal on our own. We could press the brakes if we wanted to stop the carriage to take pictures too. It was fun but was a little lacking in the sightseeing aspect as there really wasn’t much to see and the plastic sheets were quite dirty, which made it difficult to see. A great workout after a heavy breakfast though!

Bonus: After getting off the bike, we even got to see other animals such as horses, goats, deers and rabbits. 

The next stop was Snoopy Garden. This place was huge and I’d say that you’ll need at least 3hrs to explore the place in detail, especially if you’re a Snoopy fan. The trail starts off with an indoor museum detailing the history of Snoopy. Some of the more iconic comic strips were also framed on the wall.

There's an area where you can grab a postcard for free and stamp away!

After you’re done exploring the indoor museum, your journey will continue outdoors.

There were SO many instagrammable spots so this would definitely be an attraction you would enjoy if you love taking photos! Wouldn't be posting any other pics of this place so you can explore it on your own!

Protip: It’ll be great to have a map with you so you know where you’re going. Otherwise you could end up going in circles.

Before leaving the place, you may stop by the Snoopy Cafe and store for a meal or to purchase Snoopy merch!

It was already 4.30pm by the time we left Snoopy Garden so we decided to check out Blue Bottle Cafe Jeju for a light snack. Along the way, we saw a hugeee patch of canola flowers.

A few couples were even taking bridal shots there. We stopped by the roadside to check it out as well and realised that you’ll have to pay $2 if you want to be amongst the flowers. We didn’t think it was worth paying the $2 so we just took photos from the outside, without stepping in.

At Blue Bottle Cafe, notes of roasted coffee beans wafted into our nostrils as soon as we stepped in. They are known for crafting coffee exceeding specialty-grade standards! We decided to try the Nola Float Sakura with a Peanut Hotteok (aka pancake!).

The addition of pink sprinkles was a nice touch. So while I’m not a coffee-lover, the Nola Float was something I wouldn’t mind drinking. There was nothing special about the Hotteok though and we felt that it was a little overpriced.

After the tea-break, we headed to the other end of Jeju, where we would be spending the next day at. We resided at Jungmun Log Pension & Resort, which is a stone throw from the attractions we have planned out for the next day and had a nice “countryside” vibe. 

Protip: We were told that the orange-picking season is from Nov-Feb so this is a bonus activity to allocate time to if you visit during this period

To end off the day, we had KBBQ at Ida Garden and bought some snacks from Star World Mart, both of which were a short drive from our pension.

Day 3

Breakfast today was green tea themed, at Osulloc Tea Museum. Entry is free. There wasn’t much to see here but lots to eat and buy. The next pic would convince you that having breakfast here is a nice idea!

Oops the ice cream melted...

Protip: While there’s both indoor and outdoor seating, I’d recommend taking the seats outdoors where the cherry blossom trees are and immerse yourself in the spring vibes! 

We tried a couple of items, and everything tasted quite like the other after a while since the main ingredient is green tea so just pick those which is aesthetically pleasing to you~ My personal favourite is the circular one with strawberry on top though as it was refreshing and added more dimension to the cake.

After all the green tea, remember to visit the tea plantation and go tea shopping before you leave!

The next stop for us was Hello Kitty Island. This is a must-go for Hello Kitty lovers! This is an instagrammable spot with plenty of Hello Kitty merch. 

Protip: Get the Hello Kitty stamping kit from the vending machine for only 3,000 KRW so you can stamp as you go! Receive a badge after collecting all the stamps. 

There’s even a Hello Kitty Cafe which you can check out! We personally didn’t since we were still too full from breakfast.

After spending 2.5hrs at Hello Kitty Island, we decided that we needed a break from all the pink and drove to Jeju Holseuta Horseback Riding. This is one of the horse-riding parks that not many people know about, and we had to call in prior to book a slot. 

The staff was super friendly and joked with us as she helped us to put on our horse-riding gear. She then assigned horses to each of us. After we got onto our horses, the staff lined them up and led the horses on a forest trail. It was a pretty long walk with a few slopes and the staff made sure to take pictures and videos of us throughout the whole journey. 

After the forest trail, we were led into an indoor horse-riding arena, where the horses were made to gallop faster so we could experience what it was like sitting on a galloping horse. To ensure our safety, the staff held to and ran with the horses the entire time so I’d say that the chance of getting injured is very low!

To end off the whole experience, we were each given a cup of carrots to feed our horses after they returned to the stable. It was the perfect end to the 45 mins we had with the horsies!

On our way to Dongmun Traditional Market, we drove past Jeju National University. The streets were also lined with cherry blossom trees and it was a pretty sight but we didn’t think of getting down for a pic this time. 

When we reached the Dongmun area, we were desperately trying to find somewhere to park but couldn’t. The road was congested and every lot was taken. We made a few rounds before eventually parking somewhere further away and made sure that some of us stayed in the car to prevent the car from being towed away. A few of us went to the market to get some food and needless to say, it was packed like sardines. 

Some of the food we got included these dumplings which come in 4 different flavours: Black pork, kimchi, abalone & squid. There were also a variety of other korean snacks for you to try and buy.

Something that you shouldn’t miss out on would be the Jeju Oranges. They were SO SWEET and juicy!

We bought 12 in a heartbeat before returning our rented car and enjoyed them at Hotel White House, a hotel near Jeju Airport. 

Day 4

We decided to explore North of Jeju without the car today since we would be flying back to Seoul in the evening. For a start, we took a 15 minute walk along the coast till we arrived at the famous Dodu Rainbow Coastal Road. This is a road with many colourful blocks. The concept is simple but the colours of the blocks brought life to the space and made it super instagrammable! There are also a few gift shops along the road.

This marks the start of the Rainbow Coastal Road

We were so fortunate - the sky was so blue that day!

This was such a cute shop!

I got some cute socks from here!

After photographing ourselves with the blocks and a couple of golden statues, we headed to Paik’s Coffee & Bakery for a short break. Other than a cold delicious cup of smoothie, we tried their Crungji (flattened croissant) and Mammoth bread! It was our first time trying both and we really enjoyed it! 

Not long after, we hopped over to Dodu Chinese Restaurant for lunch. We tried their sweet and sour pork, jjajangmyeon and chilli crab siew mai! The restaurant was located near the sea too so we had a good view of the coast from where we were seated. 

Our lunch gave us the energy we needed to conquer Dodubong Peak! This was quite a workout as the hill was relatively steep and there were many steps to climb. This is a great place to visit if you’re hunting for cherry blossoms though. We weren’t expecting to see that many here so it was a bonus for us. The view from the top was also worthwhile!

This marks the start of the climb to the peak

After exploring Jeju on foot for half a day, we reluctantly bade goodbye and headed to Jeju Airport for our flight. Dinner was grilled fish and horsemeat, as well as 6 glutinous balls (not sure what it’s actually called oops) at Jeju Local Food restaurant. This was rather disappointing as the horsemeat was rather dry and tasteless but I think that’s just the nature of horsemeat.