By Harry Nara · Last updated
Yes, and it is easier than it looks, once you know how the city gives directions. Almost nothing is found by its street address. A restaurant, a hotel or a festival route is given as a subway station and an exit number, and the exit decides which side of a very wide road you come up on. Learn to read those two numbers, check whether you need a K-ETA before you book, and most of the rest follows.
Seoul can look daunting on the first evening: more than nine million people, signs in an alphabet most visitors cannot read, and a subway map of nine numbered lines with a web of other railways laced through it. It turns out to be one of the more forgiving big cities to find your way around, because the transit is signed in English as well as Korean and a single card pays for nearly all of it.
What trips people up is how it describes where things are. Street addresses exist, in two systems at once, but hardly anyone navigates by them. Directions arrive as a station and an exit: from a restaurant, a hotel, a tour company or the organiser of a festival.
How long do you need in Seoul?
Four full days covers the palaces and the old city, a market or two, Namsan, an evening in Hongdae and one district south of the river. Five or six let you add a day out, to the DMZ border area or the fortress walls at Suwon, without rushing the city. Seoul is spread out, and a day that crosses the Han twice is a tiring one, so group each day by area.
Before you go
The K-ETA is Korea’s online travel authorisation for visitors from visa-free countries. A list of nationalities that includes the United States was exempt until the end of 2026, and the official site had posted no extension into 2027 when this was written, so check your own passport there before you book. Apply only at k-eta.go.kr or in the official app. It costs ₩10,000 and usually comes back within 72 hours; look-alike agency sites charge far more to file the same form.
Google Maps has long been unable to give walking or driving directions in South Korea, because the government restricted the export of detailed map data. That was conditionally eased in February 2026 and the gap may close, but for now Naver Map and KakaoMap, the apps residents use, are the dependable choice on foot and for bus times. Naver Map has an English interface.
Seoul asks for less advance planning than most capitals: the palaces are walk-up. The exceptions are the Secret Garden behind Changdeokgung, entered on its own limited ticket; any visit to the DMZ border area, which is sold as a guided tour and needs your passport details ahead; and in April and October, rooms, hanok rooms most of all.
Seollal, the Lunar New Year, and Chuseok, the harvest festival, move with the lunar calendar and each take three or four days: in 2027, 6 to 9 February and 14 to 16 September. Much of the city goes home to family, trains and buses out of Seoul sell out weeks ahead, and small restaurants close. In recent years the government has also opened the main palaces free over both, then shut every one of them the following day. Inside the city that makes for calm days; for a trip onward to Busan or Gyeongju, it is the week to avoid.
Once you are there
Directions come as a station and an exit: exit 9 of Hongik University, exits 9 and 10 at Dongdaemun for the start of the lantern parade. A big interchange can have fifteen exits spread over several blocks, surfacing on different sides of roads that are not easy to cross. Choose the exit on the platform, where the station map shows what is above each one, and the street will be the right street.
A T-money card from a convenience store or a station machine pays for the subway, buses and most taxis, and a transfer between bus and subway within 30 minutes, or an hour late at night, costs nothing extra. Older machines top it up with cash only. Since March 2026, new machines at 273 stations on Lines 1 to 8 take foreign Visa and Mastercard for the Climate Card, an unlimited pass the city sells to visitors by the day.
Shoes come off at the door of homes, hanok stays and any restaurant where people sit on the floor; a raised step at the entrance is the signal. Barbecue restaurants often sell meat in portions for two or more, and the small side dishes, banchan, are refilled free.
Call 1330, the Korea Tourism Organization’s travel helpline, for interpretation, directions or a dispute with a taxi or a shop. It answers around the clock. Police are 112, and an ambulance or the fire service 119.
What it costs
Tipping is not customary, in restaurants, taxis or hotels, and a waiter may try to hand it back. Menu and shop prices already include tax. For food, transport and sights, budget about ₩75,000 a day in January and at least ₩90,000 in April or October, before the room.
Taxis are metered, and the night costs more: from 10pm to 4am a surcharge adds 20% to the fare, rising to 40% between 11pm and 2am, which is when the subway has stopped and demand is highest.
Cards are accepted almost everywhere, taxis included, but keep some cash for the older T-money machines and the smallest street stalls. Shops showing a tax-free sign can refund the VAT on qualifying purchases for visitors, so carry your passport when you go shopping.
Going with children
Seoul is straightforward with children. The subway is clean, air-conditioned and signed in English, lifts are common in the stations, and a convenience store on nearly every block covers anything forgotten. The National Museum of Korea is free apart from its special exhibitions and has a children’s museum of its own; Lotte World at Jamsil is a large indoor theme park, which helps on a wet or freezing day; and in summer the pools in the riverside parks along the Han open for the school holidays.
Two things are worth planning. A hanok night means a futon on the floor, which suits some families and not others. And over Seollal and Chuseok, family-run restaurants shut, so a room with a kitchen or meals at the chains saves an awkward evening. With a buggy, plan for stairs at some station exits even where the platform has a lift, and for the gravel courtyards of the palaces.
Going alone
Seoul is a comfortable city to travel alone. Streets stay busy late, the subway runs until around midnight, and eating alone is ordinary enough to have its own word, honbap, with counter seats and single portions to match. Barbecue is the exception, since the two-portion habit makes some places awkward for one; look for signs offering single servings, or go at lunch. Women travelling alone will find women-only guesthouses and floors in Hongdae and elsewhere, and the 1330 helpline answers in English if anything goes wrong. Hostels and guesthouses around Hongdae and the old city are where solo travellers tend to meet each other, and the walks up Namsan and along the old city wall are busy and well lit enough to do alone; the higher ridges of Bukhansan are better with company and proper boots.
Mistakes worth avoiding
It handles the subway but, for now, not a walking route. Switch to Naver Map or KakaoMap once you are on foot.
Search results are full of sites charging several times the ₩10,000 fee to submit the same form. The only official places to apply are k-eta.go.kr and the K-ETA app.
The lanes around Bukchon-ro 11-gil are off limits to sightseers outside 10am to 5pm, with a ₩100,000 fine, because every door is somebody’s house. The quietest hour to see them is mid-morning on a weekday.
It is not part of the culture, and it can cause a moment of confusion at the till or the taxi door.
Hongdae, the palaces and Gangnam sit on different lines and different banks. A day that visits all three spends much of itself underground; give each day one part of the city.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Seoul worth visiting on a first trip to Asia?
Yes. Few big Asian cities are easier to begin with: the transit is signed in English, the city is safe, and its food, palaces and neighbourhoods are distinct enough from Tokyo or Bangkok that it is no stand-in for either. The adjustments are a map app that is not Google’s, directions by station exit, and a winter colder than most of the region.
Do I need a K-ETA to visit South Korea?
Probably, unless your nationality needs a visa instead. Visitors from visa-free countries apply online for a K-ETA; a group of nationalities including the United States was exempt only until the end of 2026, and no extension into 2027 had been posted when this was written. Check k-eta.go.kr for your passport before booking.
Does Google Maps work in Seoul?
Partly. It shows places and subway routes, but it has not given walking or driving directions in South Korea because of long-standing limits on exporting map data, eased conditionally in February 2026. Naver Map and KakaoMap are what residents use, and Naver Map offers English. Download one before you land, and search for a place by name rather than by address, since the apps match names far more reliably.
How do I get from Incheon Airport to central Seoul?
The Airport Railroad is the simplest. The express train runs non-stop to Seoul Station, and the all-stop service calls at Hongik University for Hongdae on the way. Airport buses serve the main hotel districts, including Myeongdong and Gangnam, and are easier with heavy luggage. Gimpo, the city’s second airport, is on the same railway and closer in, if your flight uses it.
Is Seoul good for families with children?
Yes. The subway is clean and signed in English, the National Museum of Korea is free with a children’s museum inside, and Lotte World at Jamsil is a large indoor theme park for bad weather. The things to plan are the floor-level beds of a hanok and the family restaurants that close over Seollal and Chuseok.
Is Seoul safe for solo travellers?
Yes, and it suits travelling alone. Streets stay lively late, eating alone is common enough to have a name, honbap, and women-only guesthouses exist in the busier districts. The one practical snag is barbecue, where many places sell meat for two or more. The 1330 helpline answers in English day and night.
Do I need cash in Seoul?
Very little. Cards work almost everywhere, including taxis, and since March 2026 the new transit machines take foreign cards for the Climate Card and single tickets. Keep a small amount for older T-money top-up machines and street food stalls, and remember that tipping is not expected, so small notes are rarely needed for anything else.
Can I visit Bukchon Hanok Village?
Yes, between 10am and 5pm. The residential red zone around Bukchon-ro 11-gil is closed to sightseers outside those hours, and a ₩100,000 fine applies, while guests staying inside it are let through on showing their booking. It is a lived-in neighbourhood, so keep voices down and do not photograph through doors or windows.
Checked against K-ETA, notice on the extension of the temporary exemption to 31 December 2026, K-ETA, official application site: fee, processing time and phishing warning, Seoul Metropolitan Government, Climate Cards and single tickets accepting international cards, Visit Seoul, T-money cards, VisitKorea, the 1330 travel helpline, Jongno district, Bukchon special management zone, National Museum of Korea, hours and admission.
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