Busan and the south coast in 5 days: Tongyeong and Yeosu

Four nights, three bases and what to book first

The route runs west along the south coast and then doubles back once: two nights in Busan, one in Tongyeong and one in Yeosu. You land on day 1 and fly home on day 5, which makes four nights. Busan gets two because the old port and the east coast sit at opposite ends of the city and each fills a day; Tongyeong gets one, enough for the market, the mural hills, the cable car and an evening; Yeosu gets one, enough for the harbour after dark and a market lunch the next morning. Gamcheon, Yeongdo and Taejongdae do not fit, and our Busan guide covers them.

Rail and bus seats first. KTX is Korea's high-speed train, run by Korail. This plan rides it twice: Seoul to Busan on day 1 and Yeosu EXPO to Yongsan on day 5. Tickets go on sale 2 months before departure for foreign passengers, up from 1 month, and you can choose your seat when you book online. Seats on busy trains, such as weekends, holidays and festival periods, can sell out, and a ticket bought on the day may be for a standing place only. The four bus legs, Busan Seobu to Tongyeong on day 3 and then Tongyeong to Busan Seobu, Busan Seobu to Suncheon and Suncheon to Yeosu on day 4, are sold on the TxBus intercity booking site. Our transport guide explains the booking step by step.

The long day. Day 4 is the bus day: back to Busan Seobu, west to Suncheon and on to Yeosu, from 11:25 to about 16:50 in the example under day 4. That is why the Tongyeong morning is kept short.

Land on a Friday. Landing on a Friday makes day 2 a Saturday, the day of the Gwangalli drone show, and day 5 a Tuesday: the Yeosu Specialty Seafood Market closes on the first and third Tuesday of the month and the Yeosu Fish Market on the second and fourth, so one of the two is open for the last lunch whichever Tuesday it falls on. Book the rooms after the seats.

Entry. The Ministry of Justice has extended the temporary K-ETA exemption for a further year, so it runs to 31 December 2026 Korean time for the countries and regions already exempt, and the e-Arrival Card is free and can be filed during the three calendar days ending on your arrival date, using Korean dates. Our entry guide sets out who the exemption covers and what still applies, and the first-trip guide covers the rest of the groundwork.

• Busan, two nights (days 1 and 2): the airport train and the KTX on day 1, then Jagalchi, BIFF Square and the Bupyeong night market in the evening; Haedong Yonggungsa, Blueline Park, Haeundae and Gwangalli on day 2.
• Tongyeong, one night (day 3): the morning bus from Busan Seobu, Jungang Market and Chungmu gimbap, Dongpirang, the Mireuksan cable car or the Hansando ferry, then DPIRANG or Seopirang after dark.
• Yeosu, one night (day 4): a short Tongyeong morning, three buses through Busan Seobu and Suncheon, then the Odongdo breakwater, the maritime cable car after dark and samhap at the cart bars.
• Day 5, the way home: a market lunch in Yeosu, then the KTX from Yeosu EXPO to Yongsan and the AREX to Incheon, or the flight from Yeosu Airport to Gimpo.

Where you sleep: Dongnae, downtown Tongyeong and Sinwol-dong in Yeosu

Three stays cover the four nights, and the hotel box below opens each of them. Dongnae and Hidden Bay are the Busan and Yeosu bases our 10-day itinerary also uses: Dongnae for Line 1 straight from Busan Station and the hotel's own hot spring, Hidden Bay at the price of a taxi to the Expo side each evening.

Busan: Hotel Nongshim, 23 Geumganggongwon-ro 20beon-gil, Dongnae-gu, for the nights of day 1 and day 2. Dongnae is the hot-spring district on Line 1, so the old port and the east coast are each a subway ride away rather than a walk. Oncheonjang Station on Line 1, Exit 1 or 3, is a walk of 5 to 7 minutes, and Line 1 runs there from Busan Station. The Deluxe Twin costs KRW 363,000 a night for two adults, VAT and service included, with half-price hot spring entry for two guests, and breakfast, booked with the room, costs KRW 30,600 an adult (checked on 26 October 2026). The hot spring, Heosimcheong, opens from 05:30 to 22:00 every day of the year with entry until 21:30, charges KRW 15,000 on a weekday and KRW 18,000 at a weekend, and allows up to three hours on one admission, with KRW 2,000 an hour after that: a good end to the day on the east coast.

Tongyeong: Chungmu Beach Hotel, 89 Jungang-ro, for the night of day 3. It is a seven-storey hotel of 34 rooms in downtown Tongyeong, close to the harbour and 15 minutes by car from Tongyeong Intercity Bus Terminal, with check-in at 15:00 and check-out at 11:00. Gangguan is the small harbour of moored fishing boats and gimbap restaurants, with the turtle-ship replicas docked in front of the market, and from it Jungang Market, Kkulppang Street and the foot of Dongpirang are a few minutes on foot. Nammangsan Park, where DPIRANG runs, is on the far side of the harbour. Our where-to-stay guide lists the Gangguan area among the country's bases.

Yeosu: Hidden Bay Hotel, 496-25 Sinwol-ro, for the night of day 4. The hotel is in Sinwol-dong, away from the Expo and Odongdo side where the harbour evenings are. It is 6.8 km and 20 minutes by car from the Expo site, so plan on taxis in the evening and ask the front desk to book the morning ride. If you would rather walk to Odongdo and the cable car, the Expo and Odongdo district is the other base, and the Yeosu guide sets out both.

Days 1 and 2 in Busan: the old port and the east coast

Day 1, Incheon to the old port. The AREX Express Train runs non-stop from the airport to Seoul Station in about 43 minutes from Terminal 1 and about 51 minutes from Terminal 2 for KRW 13,000 an adult, against standard fares of KRW 18,500 and KRW 19,100; the all-stop train costs KRW 4,750 or KRW 5,350 with a transport card. From Seoul Station the fastest KTX reaches Busan in 2 hours 17 minutes on the Gyeongbu Line, stopping only at Daejeon and Dongdaegu, and the single costs KRW 54,400 (checked on 26 October 2026). The plan needs a landing by about midday, which puts you in Busan in the late afternoon; take Line 1 from Busan Station up to Oncheonjang, drop the bags, and come back down the same line for the evening. If you land later, keep the evening for the Bupyeong night market, which stays open until 23:30, and move Jagalchi to an early start on day 2, since the market opens at 05:00.

The old port after dark. Jagalchi Market, at 52 Jagalchihaean-ro, is one of the largest seafood markets in Korea; it opens from 05:00 to 22:00 and closes on the first and third Tuesday of the month. Choose live fish on the ground floor and have it served upstairs. From there BIFF Square runs through Nampo-dong: a 428-metre street from the Buyeong Theater to the Chungmu-dong overpass, named on 13 September 1996 for the film festival. The Bupyeong night market opens along a 110-metre lane from 19:30 to 23:30, with 11 kiosks of Korean food, 6 of international food and 13 stalls of clothes and accessories. Gukje Market next door keeps 09:00 to 20:00 and closes on Sundays.

Day 2, the east coast. Start at Haedong Yonggungsa, the temple built out on the rocks north of Haeundae, which opens from 04:30 to 19:20 with the last admission at 18:50 and charges nothing. Then ride Blueline Park's Beach Train along the old coastal railway: KRW 10,000 from Mipo or Songjeong, KRW 8,000 from Cheongsapo and KRW 16,000 for the all-stop pass, while the Sky Capsule above it starts at KRW 50,000 a cabin. Closing time moves with the season, from 19:00 in winter through 19:30 and 20:30 to 21:30 at peak; book the Sky Capsule slot ahead if you want it.

Haeundae to Gwangalli. Haeundae Beach is roughly 1.5 kilometres long over a 30 to 50 metre width, and Dongbaekseom, the wooded headland at its western end, is open all year and free; the path around it looks back at the Gwangan Bridge. Gwangalli Beach, 1.4 kilometres long and 25 to 110 metres wide, is the evening stop, with the bridge lit across the water. The city's drone show flies there every Saturday, two shows of 12 minutes or more, at 20:00 and 22:00 from March to September and at 19:00 and 21:00 from October to February, with the drone-and-laser version in the first and third weeks of the month. France Diplomatie and the UK Foreign Office report assaults, sexual violence among them, in nightlife areas, so in the bar streets around Gwangalli do not leave drinks unattended, go out accompanied, and use licensed taxis or public transport. Finish with dwaeji gukbap on the way back up Line 1; the food box below names the place.

Day 3, Tongyeong: the market, the mural hills and Mireuksan

The bus from Busan Seobu. Buses leave Busan Seobu Intercity Bus Terminal for Tongyeong 25 times a day between 06:00 and 20:20; the timetable gives 2 hours 24 minutes for every departure, on a route listed with stops at Masan Nambu, Jindong, Baedun and Goseong, and the fare is KRW 16,200, so plan on that time rather than the shorter figures some pages quote (checked on 26 October 2026). The 08:20 reaches Tongyeong Bus Terminal at about 10:45, which leaves the middle of the day for the harbour. From the terminal a local bus or a taxi takes you down to Gangguan Port.

Gangguan, the market and Dongpirang. Gangguan Port is the harbour in Jungang-dong where replicas of Admiral Yi Sun-sin's turtle ships are docked in front of the market, among moored fishing boats and rows of restaurants selling Chungmu-style gimbap. Tongyeong Jungang Market, at 14-16 Jungangsijang 1-gil, has almost 400 years of history; fresh and dried fish fill much of it alongside mother-of-pearl inlaid ware and rice cakes, and opening hours vary by store. Behind the market, Dongpirang climbs the hill: dong for east and birang for hill in the Tongyeong dialect. In October 2007 the Tongyeong Agenda 21 association invited people from across the country to paint murals on the walls of Dongpirang-gil, and the lanes are painted still, with the view over the harbour at the top. The village, at 6-18 Dongpirang 1-gil, is open around the clock. Kkulppang Street runs beside the market.

Mireuksan by cable car. The Tongyeong cable car is 1,975 metres long and takes about nine minutes to the upper station on Mireuksan, which is 458.4 metres high; on a clear day the view from the top reaches the Japanese island of Tsushima. It runs from 10:00 to 18:00 on weekdays and from 09:00 to 18:00 at weekends and is closed on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month. A return ticket costs KRW 17,000 for an adult, KRW 13,000 for a child and KRW 14,000 for a senior, and one way costs KRW 13,500, KRW 11,000 and KRW 11,500.

Or the water instead of the cable car. Hansando is where Admiral Yi commanded the fleets for most of the Imjin War of 1592 to 1598, and Jeseungdang Shrine stands on the island, so a ferry to it can take the afternoon in place of Mireuksan; our Tongyeong guide covers the crossing.

The evening, free or ticketed. Seopirang Park, on the hill across the harbour, has walking trails, 99 stairs, a music garden and piano stairs with murals along the climb; it is lit from sunset to midnight, open around the clock and free, and Seoporu at the summit looks over Tongyeong Bay. DPIRANG is the ticketed alternative: a digital light walk in Nammangsan Park at 29 Nammanggongwon-gil, open 19:30 to 24:00 in March, April and September, 20:00 to 24:00 from May to August and 19:00 to 24:00 from October to February, with the last admission at 22:30, or 22:00 in winter. It is closed on Wednesdays, on 1 January and on the day of Chuseok, and adults pay KRW 15,000, teenagers KRW 12,000 and children KRW 10,000. Afterwards the undersea tunnel, 483 metres long and 5 metres wide and dug between 1931 and 1932, is open around the clock.

Day 4, three buses to Yeosu and the night sea

A short Tongyeong morning. Sebyeonggwan, the naval hall of the old Samdo Navy Headquarters, opens from 09:00 to 18:00 from March to October and from 09:00 to 17:00 from November to February for KRW 3,000 an adult, KRW 2,000 a teenager and KRW 1,000 a child, with preschoolers under 6 and visitors aged 65 and over admitted free; Chungnyeolsa, the shrine to the admiral, keeps the same hours for KRW 1,000, KRW 700 and KRW 500. Pick one, then take a taxi to the bus terminal for the 11:25.

Through Busan Seobu and Suncheon. There is no bus from Tongyeong to Yeosu or to Jinju, so the route goes back through Busan Seobu and changes again at Suncheon (times and fares checked on 26 October 2026). Tongyeong to Busan Seobu takes 1 hour 31 minutes for KRW 15,100, with 31 buses from 06:20 to 22:00. Busan Seobu to Suncheon takes 2 hours 29 minutes to 2 hours 55 minutes, with 13 buses from 07:05 to 19:10, for KRW 17,000 on a regular bus and KRW 22,000 on a deluxe one. Suncheon to Yeosu takes 38 minutes for KRW 5,400, with 50 buses from 06:05 to 23:50. One chain that works: the 11:25 from Tongyeong reaches Busan Seobu at about 12:56, the 13:20 regular bus reaches Suncheon at about 15:59, and the 16:10 arrives in Yeosu at about 16:48. The direct intercity buses from Busan to Yeosu leave from Busan Dongnae terminal, not Seobu: four a day, 3 hours, KRW 28,200, so the Suncheon change is the simpler chain from the Tongyeong bus. Book the legs on the TxBus intercity booking site before you set out, and take a taxi from the Yeosu terminal.

Odongdo and the cable car after dark. Walk the breakwater to Odongdo, the camellia island off the Expo site: the breakwater is 768 metres long and the walk takes about 15 minutes. The Dongbaek Train along it costs KRW 1,000 but stops at 17:50 from March to October and 17:00 from November to February, so on this evening you walk. Over 3,000 camellia trees start to bloom in January and are fullest in March, and the island, with its lighthouse, musical fountain park and barefoot walking park, is open 24 hours and free. Then ride the Yeosu Maritime Cable Car, open 09:30 to 21:30 with the last ticket at 21:00, which takes 13 minutes one way and 25 minutes there and back; an adult pays KRW 17,000 return or KRW 14,000 one way in a standard cabin and KRW 24,000 or KRW 19,000 in a crystal cabin with a transparent floor. The harbour lights are on by the time you go up.

Dinner at the cart bars. The Romantic Cart Bars line the street under the Geobukseon Bridge at 102 Hamel-ro. They open from 18:00 to 01:00 from March to October and from 17:00 to 24:00 from November to February, and they close on the first Wednesday of the month, with exceptions. The dish to order is samhap, which the food box below describes. From May to November the Big-O show plays on the water nearby: 346 fountains rising up to 70 metres inside a sculpture called THE O, named best show of the year at the THEA Awards in 2012.

Day 5, a market morning in Yeosu and the way home

Which market is open. Both of the city's seafood markets serve lunch, and they close on different Tuesdays. The Yeosu Specialty Seafood Market, at 60-31 Namsan-ro, keeps 05:00 to 21:00 and closes on the first and third Tuesday of the month; you buy on the first floor and eat on the second, and seodae-hoe, sole in a dressing of year-old makgeolli vinegar and red chilli paste, is a representative food of the city. The Yeosu Fish Market, at 24 Yeogaekseon terminal-gil, keeps 07:00 to 21:00 and closes on the second and fourth Tuesday; it is the largest of the city's three seafood markets and divides into live fish, dried seafood and food (checked on 26 October 2026). With a clear morning to spare, walk Odongdo again or go up to Jinnamgwan in the old downtown, built in 1599 on the site of the Jimhaeru watchtower and open from 09:00 to 17:00 in winter and 09:00 to 18:00 in summer.

The KTX from Yeosu EXPO. KTX trains from Yeosu EXPO to Yongsan Station take 2 hours 52 minutes to 3 hours 58 minutes, with the first leaving at 05:05 and arriving at 08:16 and the last at 21:54, arriving at 00:46; midday examples run 12:31 to 15:25 and 15:47 to 18:51. Yongsan and Seoul Station are a short subway ride apart, and the AREX covers Seoul Station to the airport in about 43 or 51 minutes, so an early-afternoon train suits an evening flight. Yeosu EXPO Station stands beside the Expo site, so it is a short walk from an Expo-side room and a taxi ride from Sinwol-dong.

Or fly out of Yeosu. Yeosu Airport has flights to Seoul's Gimpo Airport, 55 minutes away, with six flights a day. The taxi from Odongdo and the Expo and Yeosu Station area takes 20 minutes and costs KRW 20,000 on the meter. Gimpo to Incheon is a further transfer, so the flight suits a departure from Gimpo or a late one from Incheon rather than a tight connection.

Swap or add: Gyeongju instead, Geoje by bus, or two more nights

Gyeongju in place of the south-coast nights. If a day of buses puts you off, keep Busan and give the last two nights to Gyeongju instead. Gyeongju is 30 minutes from Busan by KTX, and the Silla tombs, Bulguksa and Seokguram make a different kind of day from a harbour. Our Gyeongju guide has the plan, and the 7-day itinerary runs Seoul, Gyeongju and Busan as a route of its own.

Geoje as the island you come back for. Geoje, the large island east of Tongyeong, is reached from the Busan side: Gimhae Airport sells intercity bus tickets to it. It does not fit into four nights without taking one from Tongyeong or Yeosu.

Two more nights, and a stop on the way west. With six or seven nights you can break the ride west at Jinju or Suncheon instead of riding it in one day. Busan Seobu to Jinju takes 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 55 minutes for KRW 10,000 on a regular bus, and Jinju to Suncheon has five buses a day of 1 hour 36 minutes to 1 hour 44 minutes for KRW 8,900 or KRW 11,600; the South Coast Train also runs Busan, Gupo, Mulgeum, Changwon Jungang, Masan, Jinju, Hadong and Suncheon on the Gyeongjeon Line. The 10-day itinerary reaches Yeosu from Jeonju by train instead, which is the easier way in if Yeosu is the one place on this coast you want.

What 5 days on the south coast cost, all in

About KRW 1,405,000 per person, KRW 2,810,000 for two, for 5 days and 4 nights, without international flights. The rooms, every meal and drink, airport and local transport, sights, data and a 10% buffer are all in.

The budget covers two adults on eligible visa-free passports sharing one private double or twin room for four nights, landing on a Friday in spring outside major holidays. Rooms are Hotel Nongshim at its published KRW 363,000 a night. Chungmu Beach Hotel and Hidden Bay publish no rate, so each is about KRW 180,000 a night, estimated as half the Nongshim rate for a simpler hotel; taxes and service are in.

Food covers four breakfasts, five lunches and four dinners each, from the arrival-day lunch through the departure-day lunch. The two Busan breakfasts are Hotel Nongshim's at KRW 30,600 an adult; the Tongyeong and Yeosu breakfasts and four ordinary lunches use Busan gukbap prices of KRW 9,000 to KRW 13,000 a dish, at about KRW 10,000 a breakfast and KRW 13,000 a lunch. The four seafood meals (Jagalchi, the Tongyeong evening, samhap and the Yeosu market lunch) are an estimate of about KRW 90,000 for two each, because market fish is sold by weight and none of the markets or cart bars publishes prices; the gukbap supper is KRW 9,000 a bowl. Drinks, coffee and snacks: KRW 20,000 a day for two.

Getting around adds up the fares above for two: the AREX Express both ways (KRW 52,000), the Seoul to Busan KTX (KRW 108,800), the four bus legs (KRW 107,400) and two Tmoney cards (KRW 8,000). Three items are estimates: the Yeosu EXPO to Yongsan KTX at about KRW 50,000 a seat, between Korail's published fares of KRW 42,000 from Yongsan to Gwangju Songjeong and KRW 54,400 from Seoul to Busan; 9 subway rides each (8 in Busan, 1 in Seoul), 18 in all, at about KRW 1,600, Seoul's KRW 1,550 card fare being the nearest published one; and ten taxi rides in Busan, Tongyeong and Yeosu at about KRW 10,000, close to Hidden Bay's own KRW 9,500 estimate for its 6.8 km ride to the Expo site.

Sights count the Beach Train, both cable cars, DPIRANG, Sebyeonggwan and a weekend visit to Heosimcheong at the guests' half price. Data and entry cover tourist data for two and two K-ETA applications, which are counted only if needed: a valid approval, or the temporary exemption while it runs to 31 December 2026, lowers the cost; the e-Arrival Card is free.

• Flights: about GBP 850–1,150 per person for a Korean Air economy return from London to Incheon, based on advertised from-fares for selected dates checked on 21 October 2026, including taxes and fuel surcharges. With flights, the trip is about KRW 2,910,000–3,445,000 per person; fares and availability vary.