Are you planning a trip to Jeju Island and still can’t decide where to stay? When I was doing our Jeju itinerary, one of my important considerations is the place of our lodging. A bulk of the cost of traveling to Jeju goes to your accommodation so it would be best to be wise in choosing a place to stay in the island. The cost actually depends on type of place that you would want to stay, its location and the dates. During peak season in the summer and holidays, expect that the cost of the accommodations in Jeju especially the ones near popular tourist spots could go up to two to three times. So to help you decide, here are some guide and tips on where to stay in Jeju Island:
If you are going to Jeju Island for the first time and you will stay there for only few days, I highly recommend that you stay in Jeju City near the Jeju International Airport. It is also the best place to stay f you don’t have a private to tour around the island as there are city buses that can bring you to the popular tourist spots. The nearest beach from the airport is just 10-minute away and from there you can also easily go to one of the most beautiful beaches in the island, the Hamdeok Seoubong Beach.
Even if you want to explore more of the south in Seogwipo, it is very accessible from the Jeju City for approximately 1.5 to 2 hours. If you will stay in Jeju for a week or more, I suggest that you stay in Jeju City for few days and then move down south in Seogwipo in the remaining days of your stay. In that way, you can maximize your time and will be able to visit various place all over the island from the north, south, west and east side like what I did.
There are several accommodations located within Jeju City and the price ranges depending on the type of place. But my friends and stayed at Hotel BnB just 10 minutes away from the airport. This hotel is accessible via local bus and there are a lot of establishments around it such as restaurants, clothing stores and convenience stores. Another thing that love about this hotel is their spacious lobby. Additionally, if you are checking out at noon but still want to explore the city, you can leave your luggage bags at the lobby.
For 2 nights, we only paid for 72,000 Korean won. Since we are composed of 3 persons, each of us only paid 24,000 for 2 nights already. Although this hotel doesn’t have a breakfast, they provide spacious rooms with basic necessities such as towels, body lotion, body mist, hair dryer, etc.
If yo are more into nature and want to visit the different waterfalls and other popular coastal areas in Jeju Island, then it would be best to stay in Seogwipo area. It is the second largest city in the Island and offers a lot of adventurous experience for tourists. From there you can easily go to Sanbangsan Mountain and Yongmeori (Dragon Head) Coast, Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak, Seopjikoji Jeju Folk Village, Daepo Jusangjeolli Cliff, Seonnyeotang, and many more.
You can also find the Jungmun Tourist Complex (중문관광단지) in Seowgipo. It is multi tourism area of Jeju Island and the largest resort in Korea located on the seashore of Jungmun area. Jungmun Resort operates 10 lodging places including the high-end hotels such as Hyatt Hotel, Shilla Hotel, Lotte Hotel, The Suites Hotel, Hotel Hana, Seaes Hotel, Kensington Hotel, Booyoung Hotel, Booyoung Condo, Coreacondo, and Jungmun Golf Club (18 halls), and International Convention Center Jeju-International Peace Center Jeju. It also operates nine leisure recreational facilities such as Cheonjeyeon Falls, Yeomiji Botanical Garden, Teddy Bear Museum, Believe or Not Museum, and Pacific Land.
But for budget-friendly, if you don’t want to spend on luxury hotels in Jungmun area, you can still find cheaper hotels and guesthouse in Seogwipo. For example, my friends and I stayed at H.Y. Choi Hostel located near the Jeongbangpokpo Falls (정방폭포) and Seogwipo Maeil Olle Market.
For 5 nights, we paid 330,000 Korean won. Since we are composed of 6 people, each of us only paid 55,000 won; approximately 11,000 won per night per person. Although it still doesn’t include a breakfast which you can pay separately. It was a big apartment with a bedroom and a living room. Aside from the common dining area which is spacious too, they also have a rooftop which offer a nice view of the city especially at night.
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