Smart Ways to Travel Korea on a Cheap Budget

Traveling to other country always entails cost. It could be cheap or expensive depending on our preferences and how are we going to spend our days exploring our travel destination. To give you an idea on the cost of traveling within Korea, I detailed it here. Would you believe that I only spent $350 on my first trip to Korea? That already includes my airfare, accommodation, food, transportation, travel tax and entrance fees. I stayed in Korea for 5 days and visited a lot of tourists spots with that using that budget. For smart ways on how to travel Korea on a cheap budget like I did, here are some tips:

Early Flight Booking

If you can, I suggest that you book your flight as early as you can. You can use other flight searching apps like Skyscanner ot Traveloka to look for the cheapest flight on your desired travel dates. Additionally, you can also download the apps of your trusted airline companies. In my case, my notifications are on for these apps so that I would know if there are promotions. Moreover, I make sure to join their rewards platform where I could earn points or miles every time I use their service.

For instance, I was able to book my roundtrip flight from Manila to Incheon (Korea) for as low as $65. It could actually be lowered to $45 had I remembered to use my $20 coupon. But I was in a hurry to book the promo fares that time I ended up not using it.

Early Accommodation Booking

For the accommodation, one of my smart ways to book cheap rooms is to reserve for it at least a month before my travel date. In doing that, I could have more options that are cheaper. In addition, I usually use the services of aggregator apps like Agoda and AirBnb in booking for my accommodation. Using these apps, you can filter the location, the price range, the facilities and amenities. The cheapest place that I was able to book using these apps only cost me 7,000 Korean won per night. Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post.

Use Reliable Apps

Thanks to modern technology, it is now easier to travel to other country using mobile apps in navigation, translation, booking transportation tickets, ordering food, and more. So when you are in Korea, make sure to download the useful apps that I detailed here.

Use T-Money

There is a difference in fare when you use T-Money in subway and bus versus cash. See sample base fare below.

Using T-Money will not only save you money from paying your rides in subway and bus, you can also use it for free transfers between the two. Actually, this is one of the things I wish I knew when I first came to Korea.

Connect to Free Wi-Fi

Another smart way to travel cheap in Korea is to connect to Free Wi-Fi. Of course, Free Wi-Fi is not everywhere, which is one of the things I realized when I became a resident in Korea. But it is mostly available in public places such as subway stations, inside the bus and public parks.

Share Food Expenses with Travel Buddy

Sharing is caring, right? So if you are traveling with friends, you can possibly split your food expenses. Instead of buying separate meal for each, you can just buy food for sharing. I also noticed that the servings in some of the restaurant is quite large and is enough for two people. However, in some restaurants, the required minimum order is for two people.

Craving to have a food adventure in Korea? You may also read:

Purchase Discounted Tickets and Tours

I could say that one of the important and smart ways in traveling to Korea is to purchase discounted tickets and tours via Klook. I have been using their service since 2016 and it’s my best decision ever in the course of all of my travels locally and internationally. Klook has wide array of offerings from tourists spots admission fees, package tours, food and restaurants, and many more. And they offer great discounts when you book it thru their app. For example, they are selling 1-day admission ticket to Everland for as low as 25,000 KRW from its original price of 56,000 KRW. Moreover, its very convenient to use because you only have to show your QR code or voucher as a confirmation of your purchase.

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post.

Have an Itinerary

And lastly, be smart in budgeting your trip to Korea by having an itinerary. If you are a person who likes to follow certain schedule, then using an itinerary is for you. In doing this, you can save a lot of time and you can also estimate the time and budget that you will be needing. But if you want a spontaneous travel, then just go where you heart and feet lead you. Though having an itinerary as a back-up might help you in case you will need one. Here are some simple itineraries that you can use:

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