Getting around South Korea without overpaying for rail
How KTX, SRT, express buses and the Tmoney card actually fit together, when the KORAIL Pass is worth buying, and why Jeju needs a car booked before the room.
Planning budget
≈ €867(₩1,400,000 original)Rate snapshot 2026-08-26This is the route that gets recommended most often, and for good reason: it is one line. Seoul, Gyeongju and Busan sit on the same fast corridor, so the two travel days cost about two hours each rather than half a day, and nothing is repeated. The budget shown is a mid-range figure for nine days on the ground in won, excluding international flights, and it drops substantially in guesthouses and market food.
Book the two KTX legs as soon as your dates are fixed, particularly if either falls on a Friday or Sunday. Do the KORAIL Pass arithmetic before buying one — with only two intercity legs on this route, point-to-point tickets are almost always cheaper.
Jeju is deliberately absent. Adding it here would convert one of the nine days into an airport and a rental desk; if you want the island, use the sixteen-day version instead.
The route
Day-by-day route
- Day 01
Arrive in Seoul
Buy a Tmoney card at the airport, take the express line into town and keep the first evening to one neighbourhood and one meal nearby.
Seoul
- Day 02
Palaces and Bukchon
Be at Gyeongbokgung for opening, then walk uphill into the hanok lanes before the middle of the day fills them.
Seoul
- Day 03
Markets and the eastern districts
Eat lunch standing at Gwangjang, then spend the afternoon and evening between Ikseon-dong and Euljiro.
Seoul
- Day 04
A mountain half-day
Take the subway and a bus to Inwangsan or Bukhansan for a walk with the whole basin below, and keep the evening loose.
Seoul
- Day 05
KTX south to Gyeongju
Two hours to Singyeongju, then hire a bicycle and ride the burial mounds and Cheomseongdae in the late afternoon light.
Gyeongju
- Day 06
Bulguksa and Seokguram
Give the morning to the terraced temple and the grotto Buddha above it, and the evening to the lit pond at Donggung.
Gyeongju
- Day 07
On to Busan
Half an hour by train, then the western half of the city — Jagalchi market at midday and Gamcheon before the light goes.
Busan
- Day 08
The east side and the coast temple
Reach Haedong Yonggungsa near opening, then stay east for the coastal walk and Gwangalli after dark.
Busan
- Day 09
Depart from Busan
Fly out of Gimhae, or take the KTX back to Seoul in under three hours if your flight leaves from Incheon.
Busan
Keep reading
Related guides
Sources
- Korea travel guide, Korea Tourism Organization, accessed
- Ticket reservation and timetables, Korea Railroad Corporation, accessed
- Train travel and the KORAIL Pass, Korea Tourism Organization, accessed