Travel from Seoul to Sokcho and Seoraksan

10 November 2014

 
The best way to get Seoraksan from Seoul is by bus. There are express buses running from Gangnam Express Bus Terminal (in Seoul) to Sokcho City roughly every 30 minutes. The trip takes about 2 and a half hours.  Upon arrival at Sokcho, we need to get off the bus at ‘Sokcho’ express bus terminal and take the local bus No 7 or 7-1. The last stop for these buses is the entrance of Seoraksan, about 60 minutes from Sokcho. The best place to stay when visiting Seoraksan National Park would be the Seorak Kensington Stars Hotel, ideally located just a few minutes walk from the entrance of Seoraksan National Park.

We checked out of the Seoul Palace Hotel and took a taxi to the Gangnam Express Bus located nearby. We could have walked. But with our luggage, 3000 KRW for the taxi fare was well worth the expense.

There are 2 sub-terminals within the Gangnam Express Bus terminal, depending on which bus line, operator or destination. Earlier (in Day 1) in our trip, we had recce and found out which terminal to go to. Tickets were sold at many booths, with the names of the destination flashing above.

We booked our tickets for the next bus leaving for Sokcho at 9:00 AM. Each ticket costs 18,100 KRW for the deluxe express bus. We had time for a quick breakfast at a small cafe next to Platform 17 while waiting for the bus to arrive.

Ticket for Express Bus from Seoul to Sokcho. 


The deluxe bus has only 3 seats per row, like the KAL Limousine bus and plenty of legroom. This made the 3 hours journey from downtown Seoul to Sokcho very comfortable. After travelling for about 2 hours, the bus stopped for a 15 minutes break at a rest area.

Our bus at the rest area with toilet facilities, shops selling souvenirs, food and snacks.

We bought 4 Snicker bars that we would need for the hikes at Seoraksan.


We arrived at the Express Bus Terminal in Sokcho slightly before noon. There are two bus terminals within Sokcho – Intercity Bus Terminal and Express Bus Terminal and they are located a distance apart. To make sure that our taxi driver would bring us back to the correct terminal on our day of departure, I took a photo of the Express Bus Terminal before leaving. Just in case there is a language barrier later.

Sokcho Express Bus Terminal. This is near to Sokcho Beach.

For those who find going to Seoraksan and/or Sokcho via public transport a hassle, check out various Day Tours to Seoraksan National Park and the Eastern Provinces from Seoul.

There is a Tourist Information Booth just outside the terminal. First thing to do was to get a map of Sokcho, which we would need in the next few days. The girl manning the booth looked disinterested and was not too helpful with answers to our questions. Language barrier or motivational issue? Not sure. We just took the map of Sokcho and left. Thankfully, I had already done my research on Sokcho before our trip.

Dragging our trolley bags, we walked towards the nearby Sokcho Beach in search of seafood restaurants for lunch. Along the way, we passed a few guest houses and got a few offers for accommodation. Vacancies a plenty. It was probably not the peak season. It was also a weekday, where there were less Korean visitors.

We found a row of seafood restaurants by the beach. Most seemed to be open but were empty of customers. Not much business at this time of year, or day. One had a Korean family taking lunch inside. We went into this restaurant since the elderly couple operating the restaurant seemed friendly and inviting.


Outside the seafood restaurant where we had our lunch near Sokcho Beach.


The speciality in Sokcho is the Ojingo-sundae or squid sundae (Korean sausage, not an ice cream).  Lots of photos of this dish were pasted in the restaurants on this row.  The squid sundae consists of whole squid, stuffed full of pig’s blood, barley, cellophane noodles and other goodies, boiled, then sliced up, covered in egg yolk and fried.  It seems that this dish is only available in this particular region of Korea. I guess this is true since you need fresh squid a plenty and Sokcho is a fishing town where fresh and live squid is in abundance.

Squid Sundae – speciality of Sokcho. The squid sundae had been sliced up and fried with egg yolk. 

Squid Sundae and side dishes that came with our main course.

Codfish Stew – our main course.


After our lunch, we walked back to the Express Bus Terminal.

 
I knew that we could take local Sokcho bus number 7 or 7-1 to get to Seoraksan National Park and our hotel. The bus ride would cost about 1200 KRW per trip per person and takes about 15 to 20 minutes. But with our luggage in tow, we decided to take a taxi instead. Why not enjoy a bit of luxury and contribute to the local economy. There was a taxi stand just outside the bus terminal and we were soon on our way to our hotel and Mount Seorak!

Where we stayed for 3 days while visiting Mount Seorak National Park:

Kensington Stars Hotel is the hotel closest to the entrance of Seoraksan National Park and a few minutes walk to the park entrance. The bus terminal just outside the park provides convenient access to the nearby Sokcho city.

Beatles fans would be thrilled by the hotel’s Abbey Road Sky Lounge featuring some original Beatles memorabilia.