Sunday, November 20, 2011

South Korea: Incheon to Jeju

In less than 18 hours, I've been to 4 airports: Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3, Incheon International Airport, Gimpo Domestic Airport, and Jeju International Airport.

Flight 5J 194 is from Manila with arrival time of 20:45 at Incheon International Airport. I decided to spend the night at the airport just in time to my flight the next day. For my late dinner, I was hoping to take a soup from Paris Croissant Kitchen – sad, but it is no longer available. So I started to enjoy Paris Baguette goodies.

The following day, I started it with a very quick breakfast at McDo, then run to Airport Railroad. I was able to take the 2nd AREX train departing from Incheon to Gimpo Airport (6:05am).

Find Exit 1, this will take you to the Airport. On the following, left will be going to Gimpo Domestic Airport while the right direction is to the Gimpo International Airport.

You will pass around 3 walkalators and 2 more escalators to reach the Check-in Counters.



Initially I saw the one for Asiana Airlines, following is Korean Air. Far left is the check-in counter for Jeju Air. The counter told me to wait for the next 5 minutes before I can proceed to the Departure Gates – this for the security check of the check-in luggage.


Gate 17, the last gate, I arrived there 5 minutes before boarding time, just enough to finish my breakfast. Exactly 7:15am, the plane departed and it is my first time to see the ground personnel directing the airport traffic and waving goodbye!


With only 55 minutes of air travel, they no longer offer food, but instead the flight attendants were offering free water or juice. We arrived at Jeju International Airport exactly 8:20, took an airport bus going to the terminal and took me few more minutes before I got my luggage at the rotating belt.

Short-distance taxi is available between Gate 4 and 5. I was bit caught in traffic while going to Yeha Guesthouse. So as I arrived at the place, the receptionist and the guide is already looking for me, “Actually, we should depart now.” He immediately took my luggage, carry it inside and good thing he asked me if I still need something. I just took my monopod and we immediately left the place.

So we started the West Course English Guided Tour...

Date Visited: November 2011

15 comments:

  1. hi, how much was your airfare jeju-incheon RT?

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  2. thanks for your inquiry.
    gimpo-jeju: 46,600krw (bought in sep 02)
    jeju-gimpo: 76,000krw (bought in oct 08)
    total: 122600krw (for flight nov 14-16, 2011)

    happy planning!

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    Replies
    1. did you register at jeju air? i tried mock booking and it always prompts me to register

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    2. yes, i registered. you can read more of my encountered issue upon registration on: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g294197-i8161-k4774606-JejuAir_net_Blank_Name_upon_registration-Seoul.html

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  3. just curious hw rush it was since you only left incheon at 0600 and ur flight to jeju was 0715? what time jeju air close check in counter before departure? i intend to do the same thing but worrying will miss the flight.

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  4. you wont miss your flight, if you will not choose the very first flight from Gimpo. i decided to take the 2nd flight from Gimpo and also tried to take the earliest train from Inchecon to Gimpo. For the Jeju Air boarding procedures, you can refer to:
    http://en.jejuair.net/jejuair/en_EN/serviceinfo/checkin_guide_service.jsp

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  5. Hi! I'll also be staying at yeha guesthouse for my trip to jeju this december. Was it easy to find from the airport? What did you show the taxi driver? Thanks! -mel

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  6. I'm always taking a cab going to the hotel. I did not bother trying to take the aiport bus. For the driver, I'm showing the address and map that was mailed to me by the hotel which is also the same as posted on their site.

    Happy and safe trip to you melich!

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  7. Hi! It is fun reading your blog. I'm also from the Philippines, and my family and I love taking budget trips abroad.. Am taking a trip with my parents to Jeju on April.. We're still deciding if we're going to take the trolley tour or a rented taxi tour.. Nevertheless, i noticed that most tours are divided into either East or West. Were you able to take both tours? If possible, can you tell us which places are worthwile seeing. We're more interested in seeing the natural landscape of the island rather than museums or elephant/dolphin shows.. Thank you!

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  8. Hi Pat,

    I was able to try both east ann west.
    my top 3 natural places are:
    Jeju: Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak
    Jeju: Jusangjeolli Cliff
    Jeju: Hallim Park

    Thanks.

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  9. hi, i'll be in korea from 18-24 april 2012 with two friends from the phils. we'll arrive via incheon on the night of 18 apr and have to catch a morning flight to jeju (from gimpo) the next day. we also have to be in the incheon airport in the early morning of 24 april so we're looking at staying in incheon on the nights of 18 and 23 april because we don't want to miss our flights. you mentioned about sleeping inside the airport (was it at the incheon airport transit hotel or at the 'spa on air'? we were supposed to stay at namsan guesthouse in myeongdong on the 18th but we might stay in incheon instead to catch our flight the next day. any recommendations on good accomodations? we just need a place to catch a few hours sleep before going to jeju. i'm thinking of staying at the lazy bird guesthouse because it seems okay and they have shuttle service also from 530am-1130pm.

    after the jeju leg of our trip (3D2N), we'll stay in the myeongdong area for two days. while in jeju, we'll stay at the yeha guest house to avail of the east & west courses on a discounted rate. i'm so glad to read your post that a paris baguette outlet is right across yeha...love their goodies.

    by the way, we'll take the yeha english day tours on a friday and saturday, and we'll be taking our trip back to gimpo on 21 april. we have one free day and our option is to either take the global taxi tour (isn't it a bit more expensive than planning and going on our own walking tours? would it be hard to get around in jeju if we don't have guide? we'd like to explore the following on our own:
    Day 1 - yongduam dragonhead rock, dokkaebi mysterious road, tamna mok sok won (stone park), loveland, halla arboretrum. would it be feasible?
    on the 2nd and 3rd day, we'll take yeha's east & west tours.

    hope to hear from you. thanks!

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  10. Q: sleeping inside the airport (was it at the incheon airport transit hotel or at the 'spa on air'?
    A: I did not try Spa On Air, it says in TripAdvisor that they keep the room on hot temperature. I stayed on Arrival Area, just on the benches.

    Q: would it be hard to get around in jeju if we don't have guide?
    A: I consider myself a ‘train’ person than ‘bus’ when going to a foreign city. Aside from taking cabs, you can only take bus in Jeju. Yeha receptionist and the Yeha English tour guide will be helpful in giving you directions on where you want to go. By the way the Loveland is like more than an hour bus ride from the city.

    Happy planning! And have a safe trip.

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  11. Ruffee, ilang days ka ba sa Jeju? I plan to be there for 2 days but I'm not sure if kaya naman in 1 day ang Jeju.

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  12. Ruffee, ilang days ka ba sa Jeju?

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    Replies
    1. Hi goriolakwatsero,
      I spent 2.5 days in Jeju.
      Day 1 - Arrival from Seoul at 8sh am & Jeju - West Course
      Day 2 - Jeju - East Course (this is around 1-1.5hr drive from the airport without traffic)
      Day 3 - Visit a church & leave Jeju by around 10am

      Happy planning!

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