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Getting There by Air
The national airlines are Asiana Airlines (OZ) (website: www.asiana.co.kr/english) and Korean Air (KE) (website: www.koreanair.com).
Approximate Flight Times
From London to Seoul is 11 hours; and from New York is 13 hours 30 minutes.
Main Airports
Seoul (SEL) Incheon International Airport (ICN) (website: www.airport.or.kr/eng/airport) is 40km (25 miles) west of Seoul on Yongion. To/from the airport: Limousine buses, taxis and coaches operate regular routes between the main urban areas (journey time - 1 hour 30 minutes). A ferry service operates a daily service between the airport ferry pier and Wolmido/Yuldo on the coast of Incheon city (journey time - 15 to 20 minutes). Facilities: Left luggage, banks/bureaux de change, chemist, duty-free shops, business centre/post office, mobile phone rental, games room, Internet, golf course, hotel, restaurants, stopover shower and relaxation area, transit tours and tourist information.
Busan (PUS) (Kimhae) is 27km (17 miles) from Busan (in the far south). The airport receives flights from Fukuoka, Osaka and Tokyo. To/from the airport: There are bus, subway, coach and taxi services to the town. Facilities: Currency exchange, post office, duty-free shop, snack bar, gift shop, restaurant, travel information service and car hire.
Jeju (CJU) (Jeju), located on the island of Jeju, is 4km (2.5 miles) from the town centre. To/from the airport: Buses and coaches are available to the town. Limousine buses and taxis are also available from the airport terminal. Facilities: Currency exchange, post office, duty-free shop, snack bar, gift shop and travel information service.
Note: Seoul (SEL) Gimpo (GMP) airport is the main domestic airport, although a few international flights (mainly to Hong Kong) do still depart from there (see Getting Around).
Departure Tax
Busan (PUS) (Kimhae) is 27km (17 miles) from Busan (in the far south). The airport receives flights from Fukuoka, Osaka and Tokyo. To/from the airport: There are bus, subway, coach and taxi services to the town. Facilities: Currency exchange, post office, duty-free shop, snack bar, gift shop, restaurant, travel information service and car hire.
Jeju (CJU) (Jeju), located on the island of Jeju, is 4km (2.5 miles) from the town centre. To/from the airport: Buses and coaches are available to the town. Limousine buses and taxis are also available from the airport terminal. Facilities: Currency exchange, post office, duty-free shop, snack bar, gift shop and travel information service.
Note: Seoul (SEL) Gimpo (GMP) airport is the main domestic airport, although a few international flights (mainly to Hong Kong) do still depart from there (see Getting Around).
None. There may be a KRW4,000-17,000 passenger service charge to pay if this has not been included in the cost of the ticket.
Getting There by Water
Main ports: Busan (in the far south) (website: www.busanferry.co.kr), Jeju (website: www.jejucvb.or.kr) and Incheon (due west of Seoul) (website: http://english.incheon.go.kr).
Passenger lines: Sailings to Japan from Busan include Korea Ferry (website: www.koreaferry.co.kr), Mirejet (website: www.mirejet.com) offers the speedy 3-hour service to Fukuoa, and Pukwan. There are many options to sail to China from Incehon: the fastest is Hwadong Haeun's (website: www.huadong.co.kr) service to Shi Dao, which takes 12 hours. Others include Weidong Ferry (website: www.weidong.com/english) from Incheon to Qingdao. See the tourist board's site for useful details of Korea-China crossings (see Contact Addresses).
Passenger lines: Sailings to Japan from Busan include Korea Ferry (website: www.koreaferry.co.kr), Mirejet (website: www.mirejet.com) offers the speedy 3-hour service to Fukuoa, and Pukwan. There are many options to sail to China from Incehon: the fastest is Hwadong Haeun's (website: www.huadong.co.kr) service to Shi Dao, which takes 12 hours. Others include Weidong Ferry (website: www.weidong.com/english) from Incheon to Qingdao. See the tourist board's site for useful details of Korea-China crossings (see Contact Addresses).
Getting There by Rail
Test trains crossed the border to the Republic of Korea in May 2007 for the first time in over 50 years. However, there are no passenger services at present. North Korea can only accessed by train from China, with services between Beijing and Pyongyang. For details of China-North Korea tours, try Koryo Tours, run by Westerners based in China (website: www.koryogroup.com).
Rail Passes
Korea-China Through-ticket and Korea-Japan Through-ticket provide discounts on travel between the countries, including transport by ferry and train. For more information, contact the tourist board (see Contact Addresses).