A few weeks ago I went to South Korea. While I was there I was able to do some pretty awesome things like visit a Jjimjilbang with some friends and eat a ton of awesome food.This trip was all made possible due to an incredibly cheap airfare I was able to book a few months ago. It was less than $420! Yes, there was a catch, it was out of Toronto… and I live in the states. Luckily, it only cost me 9,000 British Airways Avios to get myself to Toronto. The flight flew through Detroit, my home airport, both directions, so I just didn’t get on my last flight on the way back home.
Here are the costs of spending a little over a week in South Korea!
| 8 Days, 7 Nights | ||
| Acvitivies | $119.72 | |
| Airfare | $417.31 | 9,000 Avios |
| Food/Drink | $91.19 | |
| Hotel | $217.03 | 22,500 Hyatt Points |
| Transport | $123.48 | |
| Total | $968.72 | 9K Avios, 22.5K Hyatt |
| Cost per Day | $121.09 |
Even with such a low cost, we didn’t skimp on our trip. We went to some UNESCO World Heritage Sites near Seoul, ate well, stayed in nice hotels, and took the train to Daegu to stay there for a day.
Remember, its possible to see and do a lot when you travel without spending a lot!
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I’m going to Seoul in a few days and was wondering where you stayed for so little money. The bill I’m looking at is around the price you quoted, but PER DAY, whereas it looks like you only spent $217 + 7500 Hyatt Points total? Even looking at non-western-chain local hotels they are all $70-$150 a night.
I stayed at a Hyatt on cash and points, and stayed in a jjimjilbong. The jimjilbong was awesome and I’d highly recommend it if you don’t need the 4* or 5* experience. The Grand Hyatt in Seoul is really awesome as well. A friend was traveling at the same time as me, so I crashed there for 2 nights and my friend stayed with me at the Hyatt for 2 nights. The other hotel was booked with Marriott points, which I don’t collect. If I hadn’t stayed there I would have stayed at a hostel for somewhere around $10-15 per night (which I totally realize is not everyone’s cup of tea!)
Alright thanks for the tips!
Seoul has a fantastic number of budget hotel options if you are just looking for a basic, clean room and don’t need much else.
I live in Seoul, and seeing you spent $91 on food in 8 days is unbelievable. You must have either been 1) skipping meals, 2) eating instant ramen or 3) eating at the cheapest places possible. Seoul isn’t Saigon; it’s a bit more expensive 🙂
Well we did make good use of the lounge food, so that covered breakfast and at least would allow us to eat a smaller dinner on some nights. We also did eat some street food. We had Korean BBQ one night and a lot of bibimbop. Definitely having access to the lounge helps keep food costs down, though.