Korean Palace and Market Tour in Seoul Including Insadong and Gyeongbokgung Palace


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From $100.00

133 reviews   (3.93)

Price varies by group size

Lowest Price Guarantee

Pricing Info: Per Person

Duration: 8 hours

Departs: Seoul, Seoul

Ticket Type: Mobile or paper ticket accepted

Free cancellation

Up to 24 hours in advance.

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Overview

Spend a full day discovering the beautiful architecture and landscape of Seoul while learning about its history, culture and traditions. With your guide, visit two grand palaces, including UNESCO World Heritage-listed Changdeokgung Palace; learn about traditional lifestyles at a museum; and explore bustling local markets by foot.


What's Included

Air-conditioned vehicle

Hotel pickup and drop-off

Lunch

Professional guide

What's Not Included

Gratuities


Traveler Information

  • INFANT: Age: 0 - 1
  • CHILD: Age: 2 - 9
  • ADULT: Age: 10 - 99

Additional Info

  • Contactless payments for gratuities and add-ons
  • Face masks required for travellers in public areas
  • Hand sanitiser available to travellers and staff
  • Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
  • Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
  • Suitable for all physical fitness levels
  • This tour include one shopping center (Ginseng center)
  • Contactless payments for gratuities and add-ons
  • Face masks required for travellers in public areas
  • Hand sanitiser available to travellers and staff
  • Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
  • Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
  • Suitable for all physical fitness levels
  • This tour include one shopping center (Ginseng center)

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

  • For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
  • If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

What To Expect

Jogyesa Temple
Jogyesa Buddhist Temple, the chief temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. Admire the lovely locust and baeksong trees lining the entrance and enter the main temple, dating back 500 years, to see the statue of Seokgamoni, the historic Buddha at the moment of enlightenment

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

The Blue House (Cheong Wa Dae)
Blue House, the residence of the South Korean head of state and the President of the Republic of Korea.

• Admission Ticket Free

Gyeongbokgung Palace
Gyeongbokgung Palace, constructed in 1395. Because much of this royal palace was destroyed during the Japanese occupation, there are many restoration projects underway. With your guide, marvel at the grandeur of the original and new portions.

60 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

National Folk Museum of Korea
National Folklore Museum, whose historical replicas illustrate traditional Korea. Browse the extensive artifacts to learn what life has been like for Koreans from ancient times to the 20th century. You’ll also learn about the deep roots of Confucianism in Korean culture. And then we will visit to Ginseng Center (shopping center)

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Seoul
We will visit one shopping center. (ginseng center)

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Insadong
Insadong Antique Alley in central Seoul . With your guide, wander down alleys to browse traditional Korean restaurants, teahouses and galleries full of antique artifacts and local artwork.

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Changdeokgung Palace
Changdeokgung palace, a perfectly preserved palace from the Joseon Dynasty. As you explore this UNESCO World Heritage Site, discover the grand pavilions, massive gate, several halls and the Geumcheongyo Bridge
Before go to the next attraction, we will stop by at duty free shop

40 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Namdaemun Market
Namdaemun Market, the largest traditional market in Korea, opened in 1964. with various goods in store. You can find great bargains here and snatch up the perfect souvenir to remind you of your trip to Korea!

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free


Reviews

Great Tourguide!
laurahT5738ST, 25-12-2022
Karin was great! She was kind, considerate and knowledgeable! I’m really happy she was my tour guide.
Great tour of the City
Kim_C, 11-12-2022
Highly recommend this tour if it's your first time in Seoul. Be prepared for lots of walking as there is a lot to see in the two palaces we visited. It is a full day and our guide in the morning, Yoon, was so knowledgeable and got us the prime viewing position for the changing of the guard at the palace and kept everyone on time. Our afternoon tour guide Ko was also extremely knowledgeable and helpful with answering all our questions and getting us to where we needed to be. I would have preferred not to go to the Ginseng centre and spent more time in Insadong. Also the bus and van drivers we had were so good at getting us to and from all the attractions and back to the hotel at the end of the day.
Amazing!
Zarah_M, 12-10-2022
The tour was amazing and our tour guides Spring and Yoon made the experience even better. They were knowledgable, kind and really wanted everyone to enjoy themselves. Favourite part was seeing the changing of the guards at the palace and being with a great group of people. Would certainly recommend to anyone visiting Seoul.
signed up for this tour to get historic sites, and I got so much more. Helped rest of Korean trip!
Taylor_W, 27-07-2022
Absolute Must Do! I signed up for this tour to get historic sites out of the way, and I got so much more! The tour guide, Soyoung, went well above and beyond to make this tour fun, comfortable, informative, and helpful. This tour even helped the rest of my stay in Korea as Soyoung helped me to learn the Korean subway system.

I took my first solo trip to Korea a few weeks ago. I cannot emphasize enough that I am so glad I took this tour on my first full day there! For the first half of the day, we went to 5 1/2 different sites. It happened to rain all throughout, but the sites were still so cool to see and never felt too rushed. The tour guide was excellent at explaining detail & facts about every site; even adding her own personal favorite things about every place, which was cool to hear from a local's perspective. Her English was very good and very understandable.

Soyoung also always offered to take photos for us and would suggest the best backdrops to have in our photos. She wouldn't mind if you wanted to retake them.

By the time we were just hungry enough, we went to a cool Korean BBQ place hidden within the Insadong alleyways. It was very local (exactly what I had in mind when I came to Korea - so it was perfect) and the food was good.

The group that we started with included me and a family of five. The family of five only signed up for a half-day tour whereas I had signed up for a full-day tour. This meant that for the second half of the tour it was just me and the tour guide.

Soyoung did a fantastic job of keeping up the conversation, making me feel comfortable, and stopping in stores whenever I wanted to. When we went to the Namdaemun Market she would help me look for specific items and helped to negotiate down the price when able. When we went to the Changdeokgung palace, not only did we get to take more time exploring the area, but we also stopped at a cafe where she bought me water and offered to buy me snacks as well. And, because it was raining so hard, she also let me borrow her brand-new, never-before-worn raincoat just to help keep me warm! (See photo)

And at the end of the experience, instead of having the driver take me back and forth to my hotel (a two-hour total drive for the driver), she asked if we could use the subway instead. This ended up working perfectly because I had never used the Korean subway system! When Soyoung heard this she helped me to find a t-money card (a cute one that we took two stops to get, haha). She also showed me how to put money on the card and how to navigate the subway system. She sat with me for the hour-long subway back to my hotel! At the end of it all, she even offered to exchange contacts so that if I needed anything for the rest of my trip I could message her at any time!

Basically, this was above anything I could’ve asked for! A very memorable experience! I would highly recommend going on this tour and going with Soyoung if you can.

Palace tour seoul
aurelia_m, 04-07-2022
Was disappointed didn’t go to see the secret garden thought that was part of the tour ? Overall it was a good tour




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