The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps
“It’s too troublesome and stressful,” many parents would say, “It’s work and not a holiday.” They shook their heads thinking of the children’s demands, schedules, crankiness and truckload of items. I agree. Without children in the tow, the luggage is lighter, the peace is more, …
In beautiful Jeju, there are many trails to hike and climb, sea breeze to feel against your face, and mountain top experience to revel in. The focus of our trip was nature and the pace was to go slow. Turns out, my itinerary was still …
Update: 22 Dec 22
Jeju’s intercity bus system has improved since I was there ten years ago. Still, taking a bus is inconvenient — waiting time is long and bus stops are sparsely located around the island. Hence, driving in Jeju is a popular option for tourists to the island, especially those with children like us, or those in a big travel party. It’s easy to rent and drive around Jeju anyway. You’ll see, most cars will be relatively slow because the drivers are foreigners as well. Hopefully, this guide to driving in Jeju will be useful for you!
Before you decide to rent a car in Jeju, it’s important you have certain documents and requirements. They are generally required by car rental companies for foreigners, and the following is explicitly stated in Lotte’s email to us.
Requirements for car rental in Jeju:
You are required to present International Driving Permit (“IDP”) when you pick up your car. For holders from the United States of America, only a permit issued by The American Automobile Association (“AAA”) is accepted.
In Singapore, you can only apply for IDP through the Automobile Association of Singapore (“AAS”).
Based on online reviews, our choices came down to Lotte Rent-a-car and AJ Rent-a-car. We went with Lotte in the end. Although Lotte is more expensive, it seems more established and has more positive reviews than AJ.
Tip #1: For most car rental companies in Korea, like Lotte and AJ, signed up for their free membership online to enjoy discounted rates. To get Lotte’s member discount, you can register for free on their website. Or if you have a Krisflyer membership, you might want to consider Hertz.
Tip #2: Book online to reserve a car and get better rates. This is especially true during peak periods when you might not even get a car over the counter.
We reckoned we would be deadbeat after a red-eye flight from Singapore to Seoul, followed by a connecting flight to Jeju. Hence, we thought it was best to take Jeju Airport Limousine 600 (“#600”) from Jeju airport to Seogwipo, where our Airbnb was, and then rent a car the next day.
#600 bus is at Gate 5, you can pay by cash or T-Money Card. The bus fare ranges from ₩1,300 to ₩5,500, depending on your alighting stop. The bus comes every 18-20 minutes, with the first bus leaving the airport at 6:20 am and the last bus at 10:00 pm. For more information on Jeju Airport Limousine 600, you can refer to Jeju Weekly, ISFNT, and Jeju Tourism.
However, Lotte’s branch at Seogwipo is not near our Airbnb. So, we aborted the plan and hubby had to fight his tiredness to drive us from one end of the island to the other, Seogwipo.
After we touched down at Jeju island, we took Lotte’s complimentary bus from Jeju airport to Jeju Auto House (the branch near the airport). It’s a two-way bus, and the ride was about 10 minutes. If you’re not sure where to hop on this bus, head to Lotte’s rental counter next to Gate 2 and 3 and ask.
Choose either branch to pick up your car during opening hours. There is no car delivery service.
Tip: A reader highlighted to me that payment doesn’t go through on mobile phones but only on desktops.
The pickup was fuss-free. I guess, since it is common to rent a car to explore the island, the car rental staff are experienced in dealing with non-locals. Anyway, we got a queue number, settled the admin stuff at the counter, and followed the staff to the car. He showed us how to use the car seat and pointed out some important car mechanisms. The car and car seats were in good condition and felt new. There’s even a sunshade provided for the baby (photo above).
The car didn’t give us problems throughout the ride and it was easy to drive. There was a mini accident that left some minor scratches, however, it was covered by the insurance. The car insurance was so comprehensive that there were no checks performed before and after we rented the car. The car insurance was included in the rental fee of KRW274,400 (online quotation) and did not pay additional charges when we were in Korea.
For left-hand drive folks, there might be a tendency to drive too far left, so be careful! Nevertheless, driving was a breeze in Jeju. Many drivers were foreigners unfamiliar with the roads, so they were also driving slowly to find their way. But don’t worry about losing your way too much, all rental cars are equipped with GPS devices.
It’s important to note that in Korea, the GPS device uses telephone numbers of the destination instead of the address. Sure you can input the attraction name, but it might not bring you to the specific entrance or worse, to some other similar name location. Phone numbers are like coordinates or postal codes to pinpoint your destination more accurately than addresses.
Hence, to save time on the road, planning in advance helps! Because who would easily know the phone number of a waterfall?
To save you even more time, refer to my list of GPS phone numbers of Jeju attractions. Please let me know if there is any error or new update so I can keep the list updated. You can leave a comment below. It will definitely help other travellers!
To test out the GPS phone numbers and see if they’re really bringing you where you want to go, you can download “KakaoMap” APP to try them out and plan your route. If you are taking public transportation in Seoul, this and “KakaoMetro” APP can help you to navigate as well. Or you can use the desktop version: map.kakao.com
You’ll realise that Google maps or Apple maps don’t help much if you are driving around Jeju. Yes, you can see where all the landmarks, but you wouldn’t find the driving route.
In my list, I will omit the first four digits of the phone numbers, +82-64-xxx-xxxx, because you just need to key in the last 7 digits into your GPS.
In alphabetical order,
In my list, I will omit the first four digits of the phone numbers, +82-64-xxx-xxxx, because you just need to key in the last 7 digits into your GPS.
If you want to know what I think of the food, refer to “What to Eat in Jeju | 21 Food Choices“.
Coffee and Bread
Traditional Markets
Black Pork BBQ
Restaurants/Eateries
For more Korea travel tips, refer to our itinerary for our South Korea trip (Jeju and Seoul).
To prepare meals for our toddler, we needed an accommodation with kitchen. Better still, if it’s at a convenient location. It was a tough search before we found Shinchon Ever8 Serviced Residence (www.ever8.co.kr) that best met our criteria. Location Ever8 Serviced Residence (“Ever8”) is in …
Jeongbang Falls, Cheonjeyeon Falls, and Cheonjiyeon Falls are 3 famous waterfalls of Jeju island. They are located in Seogwipo, the southern part of the island. To find the exact locations, key in the following GPS phone numbers* into the GPS of your rented car or …
This is my fourth and final post about Nami Island! Can’t believe I wrote so much about a tiny island. I wanted to specifically dedicate one post for children, because of how child friendly Nami Island is. It was designated the 14th UNICEF Child-Friendly Park in the world and the 1st in Korea.
With 5 nursing rooms on Nami Island, it’s easy to find a place to nurse with discretion. We went to the one at Picture Book Library and it was empty and cosy. The changing diaper stations and nursing rooms were clean and tidy.
To explore Nami Island, parents can bring their children and hop on to Story Tour Bus, Unicef Charity train or to cycle around on the family bike (2 adults + 2 children).
There are quite a few places on Nami Island where children can let loose and have fun. Locate these places on Nami Island Brochure: (Chinese Version) (English Version).
Right next to UNICEF Hall is Unchi Garden, where there’s an outdoor playground for kids to have fun and be creative. We would go if we had more time and the weather was dry. If your children want to have more outdoor play, for example zip-line, trampolines and swings, check out Forest Adventure TreeGo. More details in my post of ‘Things to Do in Nami Island‘.
If outdoors is not your children’s thing, wander into Picture Book Library and have them pick up a book. It has an outstanding children’s book collection and also indoor slides and playground on the first and second floor. So fun, we saw local teenagers in uniforms running about the second floor’s play area. There are also programs and activities such as colouring and maze exploration available. Approach the staff to find out more.
If you are a muslim, there’s prayer room on the second floor and a Halal restaurant near the entrance: Asian Family Restaurant Dongmoon. I supposed this restaurant has child-friendly menu too. Because while we were there, a group of children seemingly on school excursion was having their lunch at this restaurant.
Picture Book Library is a good pit stop to change and feed your child, while letting them read and play. Can probably set aside 45 minutes to one hour here. Opening Hours: 10:00AM to 5:00PM
Among other things you can do on Nami Island, children can easily explore and interact with the beautiful nature that is everywhere on Nami Island. Have fun on Nami Island with your children!
Be sure to bookmark my South Korea (Seoul and Jeju) Itinerary.
“Where can I feed my nursing toddler?” That was the question pressing on my heart before our trip to Seoul. Jeju is easy because I can just latch her in the car we rented for our 4D3N trip. I searched online and found very little …
Travelling with a Toddler to South Korea (Seoul and Jeju) Be sure to bookmark this page as I update my itinerary of South Korea. It’s our second trip with E. She’s now a toddler! A different ball game when she was an 8-month-old infant during …