How To Visit Jeju Island Without a Car

So what’s cool about Jeju Island? So many things! This green, glorious island is a must for your South Korea bucket list. If you have a trip lined up, this guide is for you, especially if you plan on visiting Jeju Island without a car.

JEJU ESSENTIALS

Accommodation: Booking.com / Hostelworld

Activities: Viator / GetYourGuide

Getting there: air (Skyscanner) 

Getting around: Car / tour / bus

Airport to hotel transfer

While a lengthy ferry does run from Busan, the cheapest and quickest way to get to Jeju is by air. You can fly internally from various cities in South Korea and you can also fly direct from other countries in Asia.

After an action-packed 5 days in Seoul, I flew into Jeju with Value Alliance or more specifically Jeju Air, their partner. This flight website partners with all the affordable carriers in Southeast Asia to bring you the best value flights. They also fly to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Singapore and even over to Berlin.

You can simply use the search tool like any other website but it will only bring up Asia’s low-cost carriers – really useful if you’re travelling Korea on a budget! You’re able to select your seats, add-ons and meals without having to go over to any third-party websites which is super handy

However, if you want to pack a lot into your Jeju Island adventure, I would suggest taking a day tour. I travelled around Jeju on two consecutive days, one on an East Coast tour and the other on a West Coast tour.

As a full-time solo traveller, I often get exhausted doing all the planning and navigating myself. Jeju was a holiday for me thanks to these tours, plus I learnt a lot of valuable info from our guide.

There are three popular tours:

Where to stay on Jeju Island

Jeju Island is the perfect place for a beach day. If you’re visiting from Seoul, you’ll definitely enjoy the escape from the urban jungle. Even if you’re visiting Busan, you’ll find the beaches on Jeju much better for relaxing with not a skyscraper in sight.

While there are plenty to choose from, I enjoyed my trip to Hyupjae Beach on the west coast of Jeju. The white sand is a total contrast to the black volcanic rocks, making it visually unlike any beach I’ve been to before.

Even though I only visited briefly with a tour, I think it would be a good place to spread out with a book and beach towel.

One of the coolest spots I visited on Jeju Island was Gwangchigi black sand beach on the east coast. The black sand is made from ground-down volcanic rocks which you’ll also see in abundance on the beach, their porous bubble-like texture telling tales of ancient eruptions.

Gwangchigi can be found on the peninsula that juts off Jeju’s east coast as you head over towards Seongsan Park. If you’re journeying to the Haenyeo Woman Diver’s Show (spoiler, you should) you can check out Gwangchigi en route.

Hallim Park is a sweet spot to check out if you’re cruising the west coast (it’s just a minute’s drive from Hyupjae Beach). However it wasn’t my overall favourite place on Jeju Island. Maybe I’ve just seen a lot of botanical gardens before and the 10,000 won (£6/$8) entrance fee seemed excessive.

Still, it’s a pretty and peaceful place with caves, a bonsai garden, folk village and live peacocks strutting around, so it might be worth it for you.

Meet the Haeyeo women divers (East Coast tour)

For me, this is hands down the best thing to do on Jeju Island!

To set some background, the Haenyeo are a group of elderly women whose profession is now protected by UNESCO. When they were young, there were few opportunities to work in tourism and instead, they began fishing for clams and other sea life, selling to local markets to earn a living.

They began free diving down to depths of 20 metres without any diving equipment, something I can’t imagine doing at any age, let alone in my 60s or 70s!

Since Jeju has boomed in terms of tourism, young people aren’t interested in taking on the profession of the Haenyeo. The work is hard and often badly paid; I can’t say I blame them. The future exists without the Haenyeo but, for now, the original women continue their trade. The youngest is in her 50s and the eldest is 91!

I couldn’t be in greater admiration of these women although I do wonder if it’s safe or healthy for them. Does associating their trade with UNESCO deter them from retiring? They must be working themselves to death rather than letting their profession die.

Ethical debates abide, the Haenyeo are certainly an inspiring group of women. In the future, it won’t be possible to see them in action when visiting Jeju Island. Now’s the time.

The Haenyeo Women Diver Show in Seongsan-ri Park takes place at 1.30pm every day. Visit to watch the women diving for sea life, then bringing in and sorting through their catch. Truly an amazing experience!

If there’s matcha, I will seek it out. O’Sulloc Tea Museum is a green tea plantation on the west coast of Jeju Island. Cafes all over Jeju (including Starbucks) serve Jeju green tea beverages but there’s no better place to try it than at O’Sulloc.

There are matcha lattes, ice creams, cakes and loads of other desserts to tuck into, as well as a wide range of green tea beauty products to purchase. Well, what else would you expect from Korea, the beauty capital of the world?

The stretching green tea fields are also a gorgeous place to wander and snap photos. Schedule an hour or so here, especially if you want to do some shopping or pop in and learn about the history of green tea at the museum.

On Jeju Island, you’ll find all the usual Korean foods from the mainland like bibimbap and Korean barbecue but you’ll also find a few Jeju-specific dishes.

The most famous food from Jeju is black pork, made from a particular bread of pig found on the island. I can’t say it tasted that different to regular pork but it was certainly very tasty. Eat it with traditional Korean sides like kimchi, bean sprouts and gochujang (hot pepper paste).

Tip – if you take the East Coast Tour with Yeha Tour, a delicious Jeju black pork meal is included for lunch.

Check out these gorgeous views! If you have a clear day, one of the best things to do on Jeju Island is take a cruise.

The Sanbang Mountain Cruise departs daily at 11am, 2.10pm and 3.20pm from Hwasun Port. You’ll spend an hour cruising the beautiful waters around Jeju, admiring volcanic Sanbang Mountain in the background.

The Sanbang Mountain Cruise costs 17,500 won per person; kind of expensive but worth it if you have great weather!

Cheonjiyeon Waterfall is nestled in the middle of the forest, the clear blue and green waters carving out a pool in the rocky basin. It’s a gorgeous spot at the southern base of Jeju Island, perfect for a little peace and quiet. Entrance is free.

Manjanggul Lava Tubes (East Coast tour)

Visiting these weird and wonderful lava tubes is one of the best things to do on Jeju Island. They’re part of the reason Jeju was voted a New 7 Wonder of Nature and they’re widely considered the best of their kind in the world. Stretching 7.4 kilometres underground, they’re a map of where boiling lava travelled several thousand years ago. You can still see its marks etched into the rock.

The Manjanggul tunnel is 23 metres tall so you don’t need to worry about feeling claustrophobic. But do bring an extra layer as it’s pretty cold, dark and eerie underground…

Hiking Mt Hallasan

This is the only entry in this blog I didn’t do myself. I hear hiking Mt Hallasan is a tough full-day job and honestly, I was feeling pretty lazy after two 8-hour days touring Jeju.

If you’re not driving, you can catch a taxi (approx 12,000 won) or two buses to the start of the hiking area. If that sounds confusing and you’d prefer to hike with a guide, take this small group Mt Hallasen hiking tour.