Our favorite South Korea tours and excursions

Mountains, beaches, markets and islands are all well and good (who are we kidding – they're pretty amazing here), but if you’re looking for something that can’t be seen or done anywhere else in the world, Korea’s still the place to be.

We know that local people are key when it comes to delving into an exciting new destination – no off-the-peg walking tours here, only experiences that we’ve tried ourselves and loved to bits.

How does visiting a pristine river island sound? Appealing? We can get you there on a zipline, rather than a bus. Want to visit a Korean temple? We can get you bed and breakfast at one – not just any temple, mind you, but one where the monks will teach you martial arts. Want to take a few steps into North Korea, without the danger of stepping on a landmine? Yep, we can arrange that too.

While some experiences will simply become great memories, what happens in SK doesn’t necessarily need to stay there – try one of our classes and you’ll be able to wow your friends back home with authentic Korean dishes, or even the latest K-pop moves.

Half day trip to Suwon

The last walled city in Korea, Suwon is perhaps best known as the home of the World Heritage-listed Hwaseong Fortress, the 18th-century stronghold built by King Jeongjo to honor the remains of his father. So where better to kick off a half-day history tour?

As you stroll past bastions and artillery towers, you’ll learn how the fortress was expertly designed to defend the city using the very best of Eastern and Western military architecture. Want to get hands-on? To really get you into the Joseon dynasty mindset (or perhaps even that of a modern-day Olympian), you’ll have the opportunity to try some traditional Korean-style archery while you’re here.

After delving into the political and military history of Korea at Haenggung Palace – which once served as the royal family’s retreat during times of war – it’s out of the past, and back into the present: your tour will wrap up amid the craft stores, workshops, colorful murals and street food stalls of Haenggungdong Mural Village.

Hanbok dress-up

Hundreds of wooden buildings once home to royals, with a wall of mountains in the background: the palace of Gyeongbokgung is a fantastic selfie spot. But why not go the whole hog and dress up in some traditional silken clothing for your photos?

Until recently, hanbok was seen as rather simple when compared to other types of traditional East Asian clothing; neither the fit nor the colors had the beauty of a Vietnamese ao dai or a Japanese kimono. However, Korean designers began to tweak the styles to make them more appealing to modern tastes; nowadays you can’t walk around a Seoul palace without seeing visitors wearing rental versions of these prettier new forms. While more popular with female visitors, there’s plenty of choice for men too, including some terrific hats.

Your two-hour hanbok experience includes dress-up, basic hairstyling, and an English-speaking photographer who’ll pop well over a hundred shots. Just note that Koreans tend to say “kimchi!” instead of “cheese!”

Golgulsa Temple stay

Korea has more Buddhist temples than you could count in several reincarnated lifetimes –staying at one offers the chance to experience a way of life virtually unchanged in centuries.

Our temple stay takes place at one of Korea’s more unusual places of worship. Tucked within the forests and fields of the Gyeongsang countryside, Golgulsa is a real stunner, but bizarrely, the monks here mix meditation with martial arts. Don’t expect too many taekwondo kicks, though – sunmudo is a Zen-based martial art form quite in keeping with Buddhist practice.

Temple stay programs tend to run to a strict schedule; experiencing the life of a monk, if only for a short while, is the whole point. On day one, you’ll don temple robes and get through some meditation and sunmudo practice before a vegetarian Buddhist dinner. It's early to bed, and early to rise; the next day starts at 5am! After some chanting, meditation and breakfast, there’s time for a tea ceremony and more sunmudo before checking out.

Three soldiers standing guard at the DMZ in Korea

DMZ tours

The Demilitarized Zone – or DMZ – is a four-kilometer-wide buffer zone between North and South Korea. There’s palpable tension in the air between these razor-wired borders; created by mutual agreement at the end of the Korean War in 1953, it was dubbed the “scariest place on Earth” by Bill Clinton.

The DMZ stretches clean across the Korean peninsula, though its focal point is undoubtedly the Joint Security Area in Panmunjeom. Here, soldiers from North and South Korea eyeball each other at scarily close range; and if you’re in luck, you may have a chance to step across the border into one of the huts that the two sides use for negotiations.

On our guided DMZ tours, you’ll also see a mountain observatory, where you can peer through binoculars at the “propaganda village” of Kijong-dong; and tunnels secretly made by North Korea, apparently for a surprise attack on Seoul. Got questions? Rest assured your guide will be able to fill you in on all things DMZ.

Korean cooking class

Most visitors to Korea come away raving about its food – but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t pinch a few of the nation’s culinary secrets and take them back home with you. All that this act of theft takes is a little tuition...

Our Korean cooking classes take place in the dynamic city of Busan, famed for its beaches and hectic nightlife – and, of course, its fantastic culinary scene. With a plethora of regional specialties, a vast collection of traditional food markets and some of the best seafood in the country, there’s nowhere better to get “hands on” with Korean food culture.

After your welcome drink and homemade Korean sauce tasting, experienced chefs will give you an in-depth lesson on how to create your own authentic Korean dishes using fresh, seasonal ingredients – with a side of local culture thrown in. Afterwards, you’ll get to try the fruits of your labor – and complimentary recipe cards are included, so you can use your new skills back home.

Anapji Pond and Observatory illuminated at night.

Night walking tour of Anapji Pond and Observatory

Gyeongju’s pretty Anapji Pond is particularly beguiling in the evening, when atmospherically lit pavilions are reflected in the lake’s glassy surface against a darkening sky.

The pond was constructed by King Munmu in the year 674, when the Korean peninsula was dominated by the kingdom of Silla. In the 1970s, over 30,000 relics were discovered in and around the pond, including jewelry, pottery and a full royal barge – evidence of the power and splendor that this city enjoyed over a millennium ago.

Another important monument on this guided evening tour is the nearby Cheomseongdae Observatory – the oldest astronomical observatory in Asia. While you’re here, look out for the burial mounds of Silla-dynasty royals, illuminated in the distant darkness. There’s so much history in the air here, but our guides will fill in the blanks if you have any questions.