Jeju With Kids
A volcano in the sea, an hour off the end of the country. I first went in January 2010 and it did not look like anywhere else in Korea.
Nicole Damiano, ASTA Verified Travel Advisor with FG Luxury Travel
How many nights do we need on Jeju?
Three at the very least, four is better. One day east for Seongsan and Manjanggul, one day south for the waterfalls and the cliffs, one slow day, and a buffer for weather. Two nights means you fly in, drive, and fly out.
Do we need to rent a car?
Yes. Jeju is the one part of a Korea trip where public transport does not do the job. Buses run but they are slow and indirect, and the sights are spread around a ring road. Bring an international driving permit, issued at home before you go.
What is the best time of year?
April and May, or September and October. Warm, clear and not yet packed. July and August are peak Korean holiday season with peak prices. Winter is cold and windy but quiet and cheap, and the tangerines are ripe.
Is a full day volcanic tour worth it with kids?
It is the single most efficient way to do this island. A private guide and driver for one full day covering a lava tube, the cliffs and a waterfall or two removes the driving, the parking and the arguing, and gives your children someone who can explain how the whole place got here. I book it for almost every family.
How does Jeju fit with the rest of Korea?
Last. Seoul first, then Busan on the train, then a short flight here, then home out of Seoul. Everyone arrives tired and leaves rested, which is the right order.
The Part Of Korea That Does Not Look Like Korea
I went to Jeju in January 2010, in the middle of my first year teaching in Gwangju. It was cold and windy and half empty and I have never forgotten it. Black volcanic rock stacked into field walls. Stone grandfather statues at every gate. Women in wetsuits walking out of the water carrying nets of shellfish they had free dived for. A mountain in the middle of the island with snow on it and orange trees growing at the bottom of it.
Korea is a peninsula of mountains and cities. Jeju is a shield volcano sitting on its own in the sea, and it behaves like a different country. The architecture is different. The dialect is different. The food is different. Even the light is different.
That is what makes it work as the third stop on a Korea trip. Four or five days of Seoul, a few days of Busan, and by then everyone has had enough concrete. Jeju is the exhale. It is also the one place in the country where a rental car makes more sense than public transport, which changes the shape of your days entirely.
Who it is for
Families who want outdoors after cities. There is a crater to climb, a lava tube to walk through, waterfalls that drop straight into the sea, black sand and white sand within twenty minutes of each other, and a horse ranch or a maze or a teddy bear museum whenever the weather turns. Kids do well here.
Who should skip it
If you only have a week in Korea, skip it. Jeju needs three nights minimum to be worth the flights, and squeezing it in as a day trip is the classic mistake. It is also very exposed, so a wet windy stretch in July can wash out the whole point of coming.
Getting There
General ranges, not exact schedules. Your travel advisor can pin down the real times once your dates are set.
Where To Stay
Three To Four Nights
One day east for the sunrise crater and the lava tube, one day south for the waterfalls and the cliffs, one slow day for a beach or a museum, and one buffer for weather. Two nights is not enough once you count the flights.
Seogwipo Or Jeju City
Seogwipo on the south coast is where the waterfalls, the resorts and the good weather are, and it is the side I send families to. Jeju City in the north is close to the airport, cheaper, and better if you are only here two nights.
Pick A Side, Do Not Chase The Island
People book somewhere central and then drive back and forth across a volcano twice a day. Choose east or south, stay put, and accept that you will not see all of it. You will not see all of it either way.
Where We Send Families To Splurge
Grand Hyatt Jeju is the one I book most. It is a tower in Jeju City with big family rooms, an infinity pool, an aquarium in the building and a view over the water, and after two cities it is the kind of property that resets everyone. The Jungmun resort strip on the south coast is the other option, right above the cliffs and the black sand.
Closer To The Waterfalls
Seogwipo puts Jeongbang and Cheonjiyeon falls, the Olle coastal trails and the boat to Udo within easy reach, and it stays warmer and calmer than the north side. Smaller hotels and guesthouses here, and prices drop a long way outside July and August.
These Are Areas, Not A Full List
Jeju has a lot of rooms and a lot of them are pensions and small stays that never show up on the big booking sites. What matters is which coast you are on and if you have a car. Sort those two first.
Top Sights For Families
Poppy marks the family parts. Wherever you see her, that section is written for traveling with children.
Seongsan Ilchulbong
Sunrise Peak, a crater that erupted out of the sea and is now attached to the island by a neck of land. The climb is about twenty minutes of steps and every kid I have taken up it has complained on the way and then gone quiet at the top. Go early. The parking lots fill and the stairs get slow.
Hallasan And The Lava Tubes
Hallasan is the highest mountain in South Korea and the reason the island exists. You do not have to summit it, and with children you should not try. Drive up to the visitor trails or go underground instead. Manjanggul lava tube is a black basalt tunnel you can walk a kilometer into, cold and dripping and completely unlike anything else they will do on this trip.
The Waterfalls And The Stone Villages
Jeongbang falls drops straight into the ocean, which almost nowhere does. Cheonjiyeon is a short flat walk and easier with small children. In between, drive through the inland villages and look at the stone. Every field wall on this island is stacked lava rock, no mortar, built to let the wind through. Jeju Folk Village and the miniature park at Mini Land fill a rainy afternoon.
For The Kids
Jeju is the easy one. After a week of subways and crowds, this is where children get to be outside and loud. There is a crater to climb, a cave to walk into, horses in fields, a beach every fifteen minutes, and enough small odd museums to cover any weather. We went to Jeju Miniature Park in January 2010, which is a whole park of scale models of world landmarks, and it is exactly the kind of place kids remember for no logical reason. This is our own jeju family itinerary boiled down, jeju with kids works because there are this many things to do in jeju with kids without ever needing a museum pass.
Downtime Pick
Mini Land and the museum belt. Jeju has a strange density of small museums, mazes and theme parks stacked along the middle of the island. They are not high culture and they are exactly right for a wet afternoon with tired children.
What To Eat
Jeju black pork
Jeonbok juk, abalone porridge
Hallabong tangerines
Gogi guksu, pork noodle soup
Just caught shellfishWhat I Think About Jeju
Go in the off season and go slow
I went in January, which everyone will tell you is the wrong month. It was cold and the wind came off the water sideways and there was almost nobody there. It was one of the best weeks I had in two years of living in Korea.
Jeju in summer is a Korean domestic trip island and it is packed. In January the tangerines are ripe, the crater is empty at seven in the morning, and the coast belongs to you. If you can travel outside July and August, do.
The other thing. Do not try to see the whole island. Pick a coast, rent a car, drive twenty minutes, stop. Then do it again. That is the entire correct way to spend three days here. Coming from Busan or Seoul, slowing down is the whole point.
Udo Island
An Island Off The Island
Fifteen minutes on the ferry from Seongsan harbor and you are somewhere smaller and slower again. Udo is flat, tiny, and made for a day of doing very little. Rent a scooter or an electric buggy, ride the coast road, stop at the white coral beach, eat peanut ice cream because that is the local thing and the children will insist.
Ferries run frequently in good weather and stop entirely in bad, so go on a clear morning and do not leave it to your last day. Check the return times before you get on, because the last boat back is earlier than you would expect.
A Few Nights Above The Water
Jeju is where I tell families to spend the hotel money, because it is the stop where you stay in the room. A resort with a pool and a view earns its keep here in a way it never does in Seoul, where you are out from eight in the morning. Look at the Jungmun strip on the south coast for cliffs and black sand, or a tower on the north coast for aquarium and city convenience with the sea still out the window.
Things I Would Tell A Friend Before They Booked
Jeju FAQ
How Many Days
Three or four days for Jeju with kids.
The Seongsan sunrise peak, a lava tube, a black sand beach, and the haenyeo divers on the coast.
Add a hike partway up Hallasan, a folk village, and one of the museums kids love.
Udo island by ferry for bikes and beaches.
How many nights do we need on Jeju?
Three at the very least, four is better. One day east for Seongsan and Manjanggul, one day south for the waterfalls and the cliffs, one slow day, and a buffer for weather. Two nights means you fly in, drive, and fly out.
Do we need to rent a car?
Yes. Jeju is the one part of a Korea trip where public transport does not do the job. Buses run but they are slow and indirect, and the sights are spread around a ring road. Bring an international driving permit, issued at home before you go.
What is the best time of year?
April and May, or September and October. Warm, clear and not yet packed. July and August are peak Korean holiday season with peak prices. Winter is cold and windy but quiet and cheap, and the tangerines are ripe.
Is a full day volcanic tour worth it with kids?
It is the single most efficient way to do this island. A private guide and driver for one full day covering a lava tube, the cliffs and a waterfall or two removes the driving, the parking and the arguing, and gives your children someone who can explain how the whole place got here. I book it for almost every family.
How does Jeju fit with the rest of Korea?
Last. Seoul first, then Busan on the train, then a short flight here, then home out of Seoul. Everyone arrives tired and leaves rested, which is the right order.
A printable built just for Jeju
The Jeju bingo card is ready now, one card the whole family can play. More are on the way, and if you need one for an upcoming trip, message me!
Jeju Adventure Bingo
All ages. One card, seven print sizes, twenty-four things to spot on Jeju and a free space in the middle. $1.99.
Ready To Put Jeju At The End Of Your Korea Trip?
I have been going to Korea since 2009 and I still think Jeju is the part people underestimate. Tell me your dates and who is coming and I will work out if it belongs in your trip.
Plan Your Korea Trip With NicoleWritten and kept current by Nicole Damiano, ASTA Verified Travel Advisor with FG Luxury Travel. If something here is out of date, tell me and I will fix it.
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