#28 | Jeju Travel Guide | Car Rental & Top 7 Places to go

Welcome back! Today I would be introducing a nature wonder island that has got to be my favourite part of my Korea trip in March 2015, Jeju Island! If you have known me well, I am a lover of nature, scenic places and just any opportunities to detox from the city buzz. 

C A R  R E N T A L

We decided to rent a car and self-drive around Jeju as it is relatively a smaller place to do a road trip and definitely more convenient than to take public transport on that (2.5 times bigger than Singapore) island. Jeju is almost countryside like, and their transportation network is not as extensive as Seoul's to bring you directly to your destination. You might have to be prepared for long public transport wait or walk a considerable amount of distance from the bus stops to the attractions. Renting a car is definitely a good call! We booked our rental car before the trip at this website and it was a rather easy process to book. The KT Kumho car rental company that I am recommending is of reasonable price points.

You can also book a taxi tour if you do not have a driving license, here are some links that I have found to be useful:

1. Mr Lee Jung Lim - lee923cr@daum.net (Review: withinbudget)

2. Richard Kim - skimsr@hanmail.net or 001-81-10-3710-0065 (Review: Ladytravelbugs)

3. Jeju e Tours Taxi Booking

The roads are long and quite empty as compared to the bustling city, Seoul. So if it was your first time driving overseas, there's one less thing to panic over. Noting how in South Korea they use a left hand drive as compared to Singapore's right hand drive, it might take some time for you to get used to it, but should be not a problem if you are regularly driving, just some minor changes.

One of the best part about renting a car is that you do not have to worry about letting someone wait for you, something that I will feel paiseh (read: bad) about. You pretty much have a moving room with you and you can just dump your shopping into the boot or backseat as and when, and not have to haul them up and down public transportation. Needless to say, the freedom you get to decide where to go - which you would definitely need to do your homework well or rely on recommendations from the locals or just be daring and venture where ever. Ohhh and did I mention how you can pretty much karaoke hard to CDs that you can bring/ or simply plug in your phone. No road trip is complete without singing your lungs out on long rides!

Here are some things you might have to take note before you rent one:

1.  Driver must be minimum 21 years of age

2. Valid international driving permit (IDP) (Class 2 or higher) - for Singaporeans, get it from Automobile Association of Singapore (AAS) - note that you might need it even if you just want to rent an All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) or small electric bike on Udo Island, they are rather strict on this.

For a faster and more convenient way to apply, do it online! Click here to apply for IDP online and to see the necessary steps and documents.

3. The fee for IDP is S$20.

Tip: Rent your car before you fly! There will be a few car rental companies at the airport, but I would recommend that you settle the booking beforehand to save you from paying more or having to face the issue of "no more car available for you" or "we do not have what you want". 

G E T T I N G  Y O U R  C A R

Upon arrival at Jeju airport, you will need to take the shuttle bus to the rental car company. You will not be picking your car up at the airport! It would be the same arrangement when you are returning your car at the end of the trip - shuttle service is provided from the company to the airport. The mini shuttle bus is rather spacious and is usually not full. There is no fixed schedule on when the bus will arrive or be there, but on estimate when I asked, the staff mentioned about 10 - 15 minutes. The ride from the airport to the company takes less than 10 minutes.

When you have arrived at their office, you will just have to take a number and complete your registration. We were asked if we would like to buy car insurance (which we did - if I remember correctly it was about 190,000KRW ). Registration took about less than 15 minutes to complete and we were then showed to our car - Avante MD (Gasoline). The total charge for the rental for 3 days was 115,500 KRW.

Point to note: You be given the car at full tank, and you would need to return it with a full tank as well. So agar-agar know when to fill up. We only fill up on the last day, right before we returned the car, and it was about 50,000KRW - depending on how much you want to fill.

C A R  G P S

The car came with a Korean language GPS, the staff (other than the front desk staffs) could not speak English. He roughly showed us how to operate the car and the GPS. We were also asked to check if there were any defects on the car (would suggest that you take photos if any as pictorial evidence that it was not caused by you). We were facing some difficulty understanding how to use the GPS, plus we were staying in an AirBNB, thus it was not exactly very easy to find the exact location when everything was written in a language you cannot read. But after a few tries, we got the hang of it!

Google Maps or Apple Maps does not work in Jeju as you would be required to write out the whole address in order to get the exact location - which is a torturous thing to do if you have no understanding of the Korean alphabets. *the struggle is real* The thing about Jeju GPS is that they use the last 7 digits of the phone number of the destination you want to go to, saving you the trouble to type out the addresses.

Below is a very useful video on how to use the GPS that I relied on:

Other things to note about driving in Jeju is that they are VERY particular about your speed limit. There were many occasions where the road was empty, but you would not be allowed to speed as your GPS would be reminding you that you have exceeded a speed limit and there would be this ear piercing sound and voice to ask you to lower your speed.

You might want to write down somewhere or key it into your GPS your car rental coordinates (last 7 digits of their phone number) and your hotel/stay coordinates - a click away then. I would be giving the coordinates of the 7 places that I am recommending!

T O P  7  P L A C E S  T O  V I S I T  I N  J E J U

1.  M A N J A N G G U L  L A V A  C A V E

A fascinating place that is hard to believe it was made by nature. This UNESCO world heritage place is a lava tunnel formed when the lava is deep in the ground and sprouts to the surface. Only 1km of the 13,422m is opened to the public for viewing. You would be surprised at how cold it actually gets the deeper you get into the cave. According to the research that I have done, it said that it could go down to 10 degrees Celsius - it felt colder though, maybe cause it was raining when I went.

The 1km walk felt like forever. The floor is bumpy and slippery, would advise you to wear comfortable shoes with good soles / friction with the ground. There are interesting displays along the walk, educating the users of the cave on how certain parts of the cave was formed etc. There would not be much photo taking opportunities, except for the start and at the end of the cave. Most part of the walk was dark, with warm and dimly lit lights.

You can view my Manjunggul Lava Cave Vlog here (With Sunrise Peak):

GPS Coordinates: 7834818
Address: 3341-3, Gimnyeong-ri, Gujwa-eup, Jeju-si, Jeju-do 
제주 제주시 구좌읍 김녕리 3341-3
Operating Hours: 8.20am - 6.10pm
Parking Cost: Free
Entrance Fee: 2,000won / pax
Amenities: Toilet, Souvenir Shop + Mini Mart 
Time to spend: At least an hour
Recommended: 6/10

2. C H E O N J I Y E O N  W A T E R F A L L S

Also known as the "god" pond, legend has it that 7 fairies that served the king of heaven would come down to its clean waters and bathe. This 22m high waterfall is a natural monument that is a natural habitat for mutae eels. It has many interesting mini waterfalls along the way that leads you to the main one. There are many photo taking opportunities as the area is surrounded with dense vegetation and amazing rock structures. One of my favourite part of this waterfall is the lines of little stone guardians (aka dol hareubang - stone grandfathers) located at the entrance of the waterfall.

It gives you the feels that you are back in the olden ancient China or Korea when people will secretly meet their lover at the river bank. (I watch to much drama for my own good haha)

GPS Coordinates: 7381529
Address: 666-7, Cheonji-dong, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do 666-7 
제주 서귀포시 천지동 666-7
Operating Hours: 7am - 10pm
Parking Cost: Free
Entrance Fee: 2,000won / pax
Amenities: Toilet, Pasis Baguette, Souvenir shops, 7-11, restaurants and many more.
Time to spend: 45 minutes
Recommended: 7/10

3. J E O N G B A N G  W A T E R F A L L S

If you loved CheonJiYeon waterfalls, you would love JeongBang more. This waterfall is magnificent and it is the only waterfall in Asia that flows directly into the ocean. Situated by a high cliff over looking the sea, with natural rocks of all shapes and sizes making the floor, this is one of the best place to take cool shots.

It is a short walk to the main waterfall, and once you have reached, there are many uneven rocks that you will need to be very careful about walking on it as they can be in weird shapes and be slanting in all directions. If you are in luck, you might be able to spot some ahjummas selling fresh seafood and you can also ask them to help you prepare raw sashimi dishes if you got the guts!

GPS Coordinates: 7331530
Address: 37, Chilsimni-ro214beon-gil, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do 
제주특별자치도 서귀포시 칠십리로214번길 37 (동홍동)
Operating Hours: 8am - 6pm
Parking Cost: Free
Entrance Fee: 2,000won / pax
Amenities: Toilet, Souvenir shops, small restaurants and many more.
Time to spend: 40 minutes
Recommended: 9/10

4. U D O  I S L A N D 

Also known as "cow island" as from an aerial view it looks like a cow lying on its sides. This was my favourite part of my trip to Jeju! There is sooooooo much to explore and the place is absolutely beautiful beyond words. Udo island is located on the eastern side of Jeju island, which you would need to take a ferry over - reminded me of Singapore's Sentosa, but instead of man-made attractions, everything there is by nature and just makes you feel naturally happy just setting your foot there and being one with nature.

There are many activities for you to do there as well, such as hiking, taking a submarine tour, ride bikes, speed boats tours, sea fishing etc. Udo island is famous for their peanuts, garlic, agar, sea mustard and live turban shell. You will also see a lot of canola fields around the island.

To get here, you would need to go to Seongsan Habour on Jeju Island to CheonJinhang Habour on Udo Island. The price of a round trip for the ferry would be 5,500 KRW per adult. You can also choose to well ship your car over as well, but I do not advise that as it would cost you at least 21,600 KRW for a small car. After travelling around the island, I can share with you that the streets on Udo are narrow and really difficult to maneuver around. You can choose to park your car at Seongsan Habour, there is a huge open car park that offers free parking! Just make sure you lock your car well and leave no valuables inside, just on the safe side. Click here for ferry timing.

There is a plethora of options on how you want to travel around the island. If you are new to the island, I would recommend you to take the bus tour (5,000 KRW) that goes in one direction around the island and it will stop at 4 different places. This bus tour consists of a Korean guide (does not speak English but does not really matter as they are just introducing the history of the island and describing the life of the people who live on Udo island etc.)

Once you have alighted from the bus (at any stop) you can only move from stop 1>stop 2> stop 3>stop 4, you cannot go back to the previous stop. You can choose to hop on any bus, at any stop once you are ready to move on to the next one, so do not lose your ticket!! The bus intervals are about 15-20 minutes and an estimate on how long a full tour around the island would take would be 2 hours.

Other options that you have would be taking the bicycle, about 10,000 KRW for 2 hours, Scooter for 15,000 KRW, All-terrain Vehicle (ATV) for 20,000 KRW - you will need your IDP.

You can view my Udo island Vlog here:

If you have chosen the bus tour that I recommended, here are what the 4 stops are and the recommended activities you can do there:

Stop 1: Udobong (Peak)

There would be 2 "hills" you can hike, The first one, is the Jiducheongsa, it would give you an amazing ocean view at the stop that allows you to see Jeju's Sunrise peak. The hike up gets steeper as you proceed higher, but the view is beau. You will get to see the panoramic view of the land beneath you and the sea sparkling from afar.

The second "hike" would be the one to the Udo lighthouse. There did not seem to be anything special, so I did not really go up. But you can give it a shot and let me know what is up there! haha who knows?

There is a mini horse farm (?) in the area at the foot of the hill to the light house. I was really amused by this majestic looking horse that was rolling on the grass and then standing up and making loud neighing noises. Being the first stop, I was excited and felt adventurous. I was eager to try everything and was enticed by the ahjummas at the shops at the bus stop to buy their peanuts. Which was priced at 5,000 KRW for a small bag.. At the point of purchasing, I did not think much of it and thought it was a reasonable price. But when I started eating the peanuts, it did not feel super special? It then daunted on me how expensive it was (about S$7) for a small bag of peanuts. Yikes!

Stop 2: Geommeollae Beach

When you alight from the bus, there are 2 things that will catch your eye. (1) The crazy beautiful rock formations and sea view, (2) The Peanut ice cream and Hanrabong ice cream store - a must try!!

Oh my god, the ice cream is really different, it is not creamy nor is it like froyo texture. I do not konw how to explain it but I know that I was hooked. The queue was really long when I went, and as a typical Singaporean my first instinct when I see a queue, is to join it - best decision. So the ice cream costs 5,000 KRW each and it is really up to the creativity of the staff to create different designs and patterns using different shape and flavours of biscuits to form like faces or structures - only for the peanut flavoured. YOU GOT TO TRY IT!

As for the sight seeing, you will be able to trek down to the beach and there would be stalls set up there with seats and soju for people to enjoy fresh seafood. I think I saw some sea urchins and some other weird seafood that I have never seen in my life, but the Koreans seem to love it and business was brisk. The seafood was kept fresh with pipes from the sea that brings the seawater into the basins. The beach sand was of a greyish or black colour.

At this beach, you can also take the speedboat that I have mentioned earlier if you want to experience that adrenaline rush - but not for me, specially in spring, the air is just too cold! The speedboat port is located at the end of the beach, do ask the locals when you are there for clearer directions. From some review that I read, the speedboat sits up to 8 people and they would bring your to sea caves and small tunnels in the rock formations. It would also go around the island and there would be a guide on board to give commentary. You can click here to see some visuals posted by a korean blogger.

Stop 3: Hagosudong Beach

This beach is located further up the island and thus it would be the longest bus ride. Along the way you will get to see many of their stone-walls that acts as fences between houses, canola fields and small plantations.

Many people decided to stay on the bus and not alight at this stop, which I can understand why.. There is not really much to see here except for the crazy amount of seaweed (as shown in my vlog) that was like a blanket on the beach. There is a haneyo (female diver) and mermaid statue on the beach to take a photo with.

But the best part of this stop have got to be the themed restaurants that were further in the beach. I went to the Pirate cafe (Inn) out of curiosity and the decor there was really true to theme. But we settled for the Marilyn Monroe Cafe, because it looked so pretty and it sold burgers. I did not really have high hopes for the burger, but when it was served, my oh my.. It was a piece of art. Try the sweet potato latte while you are there! It is really something special.

Stop 4: Seobinbaeksa Beach

Another long ride to the final stop that is a beautiful white beach that is made of dead coral that are washed up shore. The beach here is too pretty not to take awesome shots and the water here is the clearest! You can put your hand in the water and still see your cuticles. Its like liquid glass. (is that a wrong choice of words? hahah but you get what I mean)

There are many seafood restaurants here just like stop 2, and if you missed the peanut ice cream already, fret not as you can go for second round or more as there is another outlet here! I pretty much got myself another one and sat on one of the benches and soaked in the beauty of the place.

To return to Cheonjin Port, just wait for your bus (dont forget to take out your ticket! They would be checking). Take out your ferry tickets as well, as you would need it to board the ferry - go back to the place where you alighted. If you are lucky you will be able to spot live haneyo performing their stunts in the sea while on the ferry.

GPS Coordinates: 7843136 (leads to local produce shop beside the ferry ticketing office)
Address: Gosumul-gil, Udo-myeon, Jeju-do 
제주 제주시 우도면 고수물길
Operating Hours: Ferry Timing
Parking Cost: Free
Entrance Fee: 1,500won / pax, 5,000won for ferry ticket
Time to spend: 3 hours
Recommended: 9/10

5. S E O N G S A N I L  C H U L  B O N G  ( S U N R I S E   P E A K )

Seongsanilchulbong is actually a crater that was formed by hydrovolcanic eruptions about 5,000 years ago. It over looks the sea and Seogwipo City. To catch the sunrise, you might have to reach the area by 4am. The road up was not easy considering how it was my first every overseas hike! But it was manageable. No trip to Jeju is complete until you hiked up this mountain that is 90m tall. The total time we took to complete going up and down was about 1.5 hours. The whole trail is a staircase from the bottom to the peak and back to the bottom, so it is safe to go even on rainy days.

Along the hike there are educational signs on how the rocks are formed, there are also some benches as pit stops. The park is opened 1 hour before sunrise, but my cousin mentioned that if you come even earlier, you might even get to skip paying the entrance fee and hike up on your own! There is one toilet stop halfway through the climb, but do visit the one at the bottom if you must, just to avoid the crowd and long wait. At the peak, there are rows of tiers for you to sit and enjoy the scenery before you make your way down.

If you stay long enough, you might be able to catch the Seongsan Ilchulbong jeju Woman Divers performing at 1.30pm and 3pm. You might have to deviate from the typical trail to watch.

GPS Coordinates:7107923 or 7830959
Address: 284-12, Ilchul-ro, Seongsan-eup, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do 
제주특별자치도 서귀포시 성산읍 일출로 284-12
Operating Hours: 1hour before sunrise to 8pm
Parking Cost: 1,000 - 2,000 won (but I don't remember paying)
Entrance Fee: 2,000 won
Time to spend: 1.5 hours
Recommended: 8/10

6. T E D D Y  B E A R  M U S E U M

If you love soft toys, especially bears, be amazed by the variety of teddy bears there are here. You will see like Disney themed teddy bears to Rock'nRoll teddy bears. You name it, maybe they will have it - Mona Lisa teddy bears? The thinker teddy bears? Gandi teddy bears? Crystal teddy bears? YES YES YES.

You might also want to check out Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum (not really recommended, unless you are really interested in weird little facts) opposite the Teddy bear museum, and there is also a Chocolate factory (Buy the orange chocolate, it is what they are famous for) beside it. The whole stretch is just full or interesting museums that would be good to last you half a day.

GPS Coordinates: 7387600
Address: 31, Jungmungwangwang-ro110beon-gil, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do 
제주특별자치도 서귀포시 중문관광로110번길 31 (색달동)
Operating Hours: 9am - 8pm
Parking Cost: Free
Entrance Fee: 8,000won / pax
Amenities: Toilet, Souvenir shops, (Opposite) - Starbucks, Fast food, Convenience Stores
Time to spend: 1 hour
Recommended: 6/10

7. M A Z E L A N D

This attraction was not planned in our trip. We were actually intending to go to the Kimnyeong Maze Park, however my airBNB host said that it was not worth going as it is very small as compared to the Mazeland. She also mentioned how Running Man played there - my eyes lit up and I said LETS GO.

The maze was pretty fun, there were 3 different themes. The first one was the Jeju Stone Grandfather, the second one was like forests themed? and the last one was stoned themed. Apparently it is the world's longest stone maze that is 5.3km in total length and it reflects the Jeju principles of "three somethings" - abundance of rocks, wind and women. The maze is said to be good for your health as the stones emits high levels of  far-infrared radiation and the wood have large volumes of phytoncides that will help to strengthen your immune systems.The park is also the Bijarim Forest that is filled with Nutmeg trees that produces similar properties to purify your body.

The rain didn't dampen our mood, as you can see in the same vlog above. We manage to find our way out with a drenched map and my awesome directional instincts - follow the path where there are lesser stones in the middle = more people walked that way. #Lifehacks

At the end of the maze there is a place for you to stand and have an overview of the whole area and a bell to ring to signify that you have successfully completed the maze!

GPS Coordinates: 7843838
Address: 2134-47, Bijarim-ro, Gujwa-eup, Jeju-si, Jeju-do 
제주특별자치도 제주시 구좌읍 비자림로 2134-47Operating Hours: 8.30am - 7pm
Parking Cost: Free
Entrance Fee: 9,000won / pax
Amenities: Toilet and Restaurant
Time to spend: 1 hour
Recommended: 7/10

B O N U S: L O V E L A N D

Depending on how comfortable you are with the people you are going with, here's a little cheeky place that I could not stop laughing when I found out about it.

Loveland is probably the one and only sexual theme park in the world, i might be wrong. As said on their site, it is a place that breaks taboos surrounding sex and a place for visitors to appreciate the natural beauty of sexuality. It was opened in 2002, and created by 20 graduated artists of Hong Ik University in Seoul -  I really wonder what they majored in. LOL

Here are some reviews from people that went:
1. Jeffer.wordpress
2. Kotaku

GPS Coordinates: 7126988 (Very near Mysterious Road, if you are going)
Address: 2894-72, Cheonbaengi-ro, Jeju-si, Jeju-do 
제주특별자치도 제주시 1100로 2894-72 (연동)Operating Hours: 9am - midnight
Parking Cost: Free
Entrance Fee: 7,000won / pax
Amenities: Toilet and not sure
Time to spend: 40 minutes


So yeap, that kind of sums up my roadtrip in Jeju island. There were many more attractions, which I may or may not do another post about. I would recommend a stay of 3-5 days on Jeju if you really want to explore the island well. Getting a car is an economical decision that saves you alot of time and bring about lots of convenience. I would like to share my orange - animal farm experience soon, which should be out in the next few posts or so.

Life update, been busy with my school work and my part time job. So glad that its recess week so I could breathe a little deeper. I'm enjoying the stress as I feel that I am growing along the way. I really hope to break out of my comfort zones in University and just lead a more purposeful life.

Hope that this post was once again helpful to whomever reading! Do share it if you think it might help someone out there. I cannot wait to set foot in new land that I have not been to and share my experiences on my YouTube Channel and here. You may also view my Korea Pictures on Instagram with the #SharleenInKorea or #SharleenTravels in general under my profile @SingingSpikes

Till next time, love yourself and others.
X Sharleen