Nami Island 남이섬
Nami Island is a must-go in our itinerary. What's winter in Korea without Nami Island, right? After all, Korea was made famous by Winter Sonata, which was filmed at Nami Island.
There's a few ways to go to Nami Island from Seoul - public transport, shuttle bus or tour package. Being the explorer kind of traveller, I chose public transport method. It's cheaper and I have better control of my time.
Shuttle Bus
The shuttle bus runs from Namdaemun and Insadong to Nami Island. Booking can be done via their website, written in both English and Korean.
Bus timing:
Namdaemun / Insadong : 0930H (0830H during May, July, August, October and November)
Nami Island : 1600H
Pricing:
Bus timing:
Namdaemun / Insadong : 0930H (0830H during May, July, August, October and November)
Nami Island : 1600H
Pricing:
Public Transport
There's 2 ways to go via public transport - normal subway or ITX.
Here's a little comparison (from Cheongnyangni to Gapyeong):
Time taken
|
Cost
| |
Normal subway
|
Approx. 70 mins
|
₩2,150
|
ITX
|
Approx. 40 mins
|
₩3,800 - 4,000
|
In my opinion, SGD $1-2 more is definitely worth it than to spend 30 minutes sitting in the train.
Normal Subway
Hotel > Cheongnyangni > Magu > Gapyeong
ITX
ITX reduces the wait time by taking away the transferring of trains and skip pass most stations and get to Gapyeong straight! The only down side is that there's only 1 train every hour, so plan before you go!
You may choose to book the tickets online and redeem it later or you may choose to buy the tickets on the spot, but that means that you will most probably left with the standing tickets.
Here's now to book online. You may only do this 1 month before your departure date.
First, go to Korail website : http://www.letskorail.com/ebizbf/EbizbfForeign_pr16100.do?gubun=1
Select 'Rail Tickets' from the Main Page:
Fill in the part with the arrow sign:
For walk-in, I will still recommend checking on the timing of the train so as to not waste any time.
From Gapyeong Station, similarly, there's 2 ways to getting to Nami Island - Taxi or Shuttle Bus
If you're traveling with a pax of 2 or more and won't be going to other places, like Garden of Morning Calm, then grab a taxi. It's cheaper and faster. Plus the shuttle bus timing is always not accurate. I once waited more than 30 minutes pass the shuttle bus timing.
If you're a solo traveller or plan to go to other places that's along the Shuttle Bus line, then grab the Shuttle Bus.
You may choose to book the tickets online and redeem it later or you may choose to buy the tickets on the spot, but that means that you will most probably left with the standing tickets.
Here's now to book online. You may only do this 1 month before your departure date.
First, go to Korail website : http://www.letskorail.com/ebizbf/EbizbfForeign_pr16100.do?gubun=1
Fill in the part with the arrow sign:
You will be directed to this page for the train departure timing. Click on 'Select' under Economy Class to select the particular timing.
Lastly, fill up your particulars and voila! You've made your booking. Now just wait for the day to come to redeem your tickets from any of the ticket counter, remember to print out your voucher!
For walk-in, I will still recommend checking on the timing of the train so as to not waste any time.
From Gapyeong Station, similarly, there's 2 ways to getting to Nami Island - Taxi or Shuttle Bus
If you're traveling with a pax of 2 or more and won't be going to other places, like Garden of Morning Calm, then grab a taxi. It's cheaper and faster. Plus the shuttle bus timing is always not accurate. I once waited more than 30 minutes pass the shuttle bus timing.
If you're a solo traveller or plan to go to other places that's along the Shuttle Bus line, then grab the Shuttle Bus.
Getting to Nami Island
There's 2 ways to get to Nami Island - ferry or Zip Wire.
If you're taking shuttle bus from Namdaemun or Insadong, you may choose to include the ferry ticket (a.k.a. entrance fee). There's 3 different pricing:
Regular : ₩10,000
Discount : ₩8,000 (for foreigner)
Special : ₩4,000 (visitor aged 3 - 13, admission after 6.10pm (Dec-Mar) and after 7.10pm (Apr-Nov))
For a much more adventurous way to enter Nami Island, you may try Zip Wire. If you've heard of Sentosa's Megazip Zip Line, then you should know what I'm talking about, basically it's like Flying Fox. The cost is ₩38,000, which includes the admission to Nami Island and ferry back as well. But the waiting time to get into Nami Island will be longer as compared to taking the ferry.
Which one did I went for?
Zip line of course!!
Nami Island
Well, perhaps because I was there during the peak season, I didn't really enjoy myself because
1. too many people everywhere!
2. scenery wasn't great; wasn't a snowy Nami Island nor a greeny one.
3. it was drizzling (yes! drizzling not snowing!)
4. it's too cold!!
So here comes my expectation versus reality photos again.
No snow but lots of human!
Nonetheless, I still managed to captured some good photos.
While in Nami Island, remember to grab one of this bun! It's only ₩1,000 and oh-so delicious! Highly recommended! It's opposite the cafe along the street going out/coming in.
There's 2 ways to get to Nami Island - ferry or Zip Wire.
If you're taking shuttle bus from Namdaemun or Insadong, you may choose to include the ferry ticket (a.k.a. entrance fee). There's 3 different pricing:
Regular : ₩10,000
Discount : ₩8,000 (for foreigner)
Special : ₩4,000 (visitor aged 3 - 13, admission after 6.10pm (Dec-Mar) and after 7.10pm (Apr-Nov))
For a much more adventurous way to enter Nami Island, you may try Zip Wire. If you've heard of Sentosa's Megazip Zip Line, then you should know what I'm talking about, basically it's like Flying Fox. The cost is ₩38,000, which includes the admission to Nami Island and ferry back as well. But the waiting time to get into Nami Island will be longer as compared to taking the ferry.
Which one did I went for?
Zip line of course!!
Pardon the lousy quality cause my hands were shivering cold!
Alternatively, get the boat ticket from the ticket booth nearby and hop onto the ferry! It's only a short 5-10 minutes ride. The boat feels calm enough even for someone, like me, who has sea sickness.
Well, perhaps because I was there during the peak season, I didn't really enjoy myself because
1. too many people everywhere!
2. scenery wasn't great; wasn't a snowy Nami Island nor a greeny one.
3. it was drizzling (yes! drizzling not snowing!)
4. it's too cold!!
So here comes my expectation versus reality photos again.
 |
| I was expecting this |
 |
| Or at least this... But I got..... |
 |
| THIS!!! |
Nonetheless, I still managed to captured some good photos.
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