As a Type A Person, part of the fun of going on a vacation is the planning. We went on a tip to Korea last month and I had a lot of fun planning the trip. I understand not everyone enjoys the planning aspect of travel, so if you are ever planning a trip to Korea, below is our itinerary to help guide you.

Day 1

On our first day in Korea we didn’t plan anything. Our flight got in at 5pm so we landed, checked into our hotel, and got dinner.

Day 2

We started our first full day in Seoul with the Korean Life Time Tour which was included in our GoCity Pass. For us the GoCity pass was worth it because it included almost all of the attractions we wanted to do anyways so we ended up saving a little money. I loved doing the Life Time walking tour to kick off our trip because we learned more about Korea’s history and architecture. We then spent the afternoon at Gyeongbokgung Palace which is the largest palace in Seoul. It’s common to wear Hanbok Clothing to the palace. We did a deep dive into whether or not this is considered cultural appropriation or not. I never want to be disrespectful towards another culture. We found out it’s not considered cultural appropriation and it’s actually encouraged. It was so special to wear the beautiful attire in the palace and I feel like it created a more culturally immersive experience. Tickets to the palace were not included in the GoCity pass but Hanbok rentals were included with the pass and if you wear Hanbok clothing you get into the palace for free.

Day 3

On our technically third day, second full day in Seoul, we kicked off the day with shopping at Olive Young. Skincare is huge in Korea and the K Beauty products have been making there way into western countries. I love makeup and skincare so it was a ton of fun shopping at the most popular K Beauty store. We then had an incredible tea experience at the Hanok Tea House in Insadong. After tea, we took a Kimchi making class at the Seoul Kimchi Academy. One of my passions is cooking so I try to take a cooking class everywhere we go. Taking a cooking class offers a different insight into the culture, it’s an experience that keeps on giving because you can make what you learn to cook at home, and the instructors often have the best restaurant recommendations.

Day 4

Our third full day in Seoul is when things started to not wok out as planned (which honestly worked out for the best). We went to the Lotte Hotel Peninsula Hotel and Bar to experience their Strawberry desserts which runs from December-April. Strawberries are a big deal in Korea this time of year so we had to indulge in the ultimate strawberry experience. The atmosphere of the bar was one of (if not the best) restaurant atmospheres I have experienced. The food was incredible, but it was a little too much sweet food for me so towards the end I was starting to feel a little sick. Afterwards, we headed back to our hotel to check-out and collect our luggage before heading to the airport to go to Jeju. When we got to the airport all other flights going to Jeju were either delayed or cancelled due to weather and unfortunately ours was as eventually cancelled as well. We had the opportunity to reschedule the flight for the following day but decided not to. We missed our connecting flight to get to Seoul when flying in, so we had already missed a day in Seoul. Since we would be rescheduling the flight to Jeju the next day but not extending our trip there that meant we would only have one full day there and it didn’t feel like it was worth it so we decided to skip the trip to Jeju and spend the remainder of our trip in Seoul. We were luckily able to check back into the same hotel. I plan on doing a full review of the hotel we stayed at in Seoul at some point.

Day 5

On our fourth full day in Seoul we went to Lotte World. We had never been to an amusement park in another country and it was a pretty wild experience. Even though we went during the week, the crowds felt like Disney level crowds. We had fun going to Lotte World, but if you have more limited time in Seoul this is something I would skip.

Day 6

On our fifth full day in Seoul our group split up and everyone did their own thing. I considered going to a traditional Korean spa but ultimately decided not to because I wear medical devices. I have concerns about getting any body treatment done at spas because massage oils will cause the adhesive on the medical devices to lift up and any sot of scrubbing makes me nervous that the medical device might get hit on accident. I instead decided to go to the Lotte Department store which was fun to shop around. I was specifically looking for a wool coat and almost all of the stores were transitioning to Spring attire so wool coats were hard to come by. It was an unsuccessful shopping day but still fun.

Day 7

On our 6th full day in Seoul we went to N Seoul Tower. This was the perfect day on our trip to go to the tower and take in the spectacular views. Most of our time in Seoul had overcast days. This day was relatively clear but it had snowed the night before making everything very beautiful. Later that day we went to the Gwangjang Market for some street food. This was such a fun experience and something everyone can do from picky eaters to more adventurous eaters. I’ll share a separate blog post about my favorite food in Seoul where I’ll go into more detail about my favorite food from this market. We ended the evening with a Cooking Nanta Show. I didn’t necessarily dislike the show but if you have more limited tie in Seoul then I suggest skipping it.

Day 8

On our 7th full day, and last full day in Korea, we headed out of Seoul. We went on a tour that included Alpaca World, Nami Island and the Garden of Morning Calm. I had a lot of fun on this tour but it was not a vey culturally immersive experience so again, if you have more limited time in Korea then I suggest skipping this one. Alpaca World included more animals than just the Alpacas but the Alpacas were definitely the highlight. You could pet them and feed them and they made the cutest noises. Nami Island gave camp vibes and was really cute and charming in many ways but it also felt kind of creepy in some ways. The food on the island was kind of disappointing and it was quite muddy when we were there making it difficult to walk around and enjoy the island. We did a sky bike ride on the island which was fun. My favorite part of the day trip was The Garden of Morning Calm. This is a really stunning Asian garden covered in Christmas lights.

Day 9

On our last day in Korea my husband and I had plans to get the viral scalp treatments but woke up feeling completely exhausted to we decided to sleep in and have a slow morning. We packed up and checked out of the hotel before getting coffee, walking around the neighborhood and meeting up with our friends for lunch and tea before heading to the airport. Getting to and from the airport is super easy and cheap.