Long layover in Seoul: Where to stay, what to do?

Question

I have a layover in Seoul on my way to Japan. I arrive at Incheon at 5:10 pm and my flight leaves at 3:10 pm the next day. I know it'll take a while to get out of the airport and take a bus to Seoul, so I was planning to get a place to stay, get some food in the area and sleep so I could get up early and see a few things before catching a bus to the airport. I have been looking at hostels on hostels.com but I don't know the layout of the city well so I was wondering if anyone knew of a hostel that is easy to get to from an airport busline and possibly in a good area to walk around and get a good feel for the town. Also, if anyone has any ideas or suggestions of things to see in the morning, I would appreciate it.

Answer 1

The Incheon International Airport is a good hour away from the center of Seoul. With the amount of time you have, it's still possibly for you to be able to head into the city and do one or two hotspots in the city.  

The Seoul Metro (subway) goes to and from incheon airport.  You can take it to any major part of the city.  If I were you, I would stick to north-western parts of the city.  You can hit up Insadong Arts district (Anguk Station on the orange line), or sample the night life at Sincheon (green line) maybe wake up early and go visit gyungbok palace (right under anguk station on the orange line) in the morning.

If you have a lot of luggage, I recommend you find some lockers at the airport and leave them there.  Traveling via subway involves lots and lots of stairs.  

The subway system is easy to figure out.  Everything's in english under the korean and they have english subway maps.  It costs about a dollar one way.

You could also do an all-nighter at dongdaemoon market.  The department stores there close at 430am and the huge wholesale markets close around that time too.  You can get some really good deals on handbags, socks, blankets, etc.  

The all-nighter thing isn't really fun unless you have some people there to suffer with.  ah, memories.

The bus system is also another way to get to and from Incheon airport.  It's faster than the subway, but more expensive.  Either way, it'll still take you an hour to get anywhere worth going in Seoul.

There's another option for you:

Incheon is a separate city where the airport is located.  YOu can take the subway into incheon and browse the markets and see the sights there.  There are actually some pretty good places to shop there, and incheon's a good sized city.  You can find some good places to eat, rest, shop and play AND only be a couple minutes away from the airport.  

Seoul can be a bit too overwhelming for an overnight visit.

Good luck!

Answer 2

unless you want to go into the city of Incheon or Seoul you might be better off staying near the airport. There is a city close to the airport with nice hotels, restaurants and small shops. There is a Lotte story where you can buy anything including food.

It takes about an hour to get into the city from the airport, so if you take the time then ride the subway or bus to the city center and it is like New York, except the signs are in Korean.

Answer 3

Theres a lot of parks, in korea, with very pretty flowers you should go thoses out