Let’s admit it. South Korea isn’t exactly what you’d call a cheap place to travel to. However, that’s only true if you don’t know where to find the good and inexpensive stuff during your holiday. If you’re the kind of person who prefers to stay in luxury hotels, then you’re definitely going to burn a hole in your pocket every time that you’re in South Korea.
Here are five valuable tips you should bear in mind for your next visit to the country of South Korea.
Seek Out the Street Stalls and Convenience Stores
Street stalls are a great way to save money on food in South Korea. Majority of the natives eat here after work to save on money, in fact. Street-side barbecues offer native Korean food at local prices, which is not as expensive as the food that you will be paying for if you decide to visit a foreigner-targeted restaurant. Street-side grills offer skewered meat at very affordable prices, around 9,000 won at most, and you can pair this up with cheap soft drinks or instant coffee at the convenience stores. Instant noodles and ramen are also very affordable from these stores as well.
Take Public Transportation
It can be tempting to take the cab as you want to make sure that you get to where you are safely and on time. However, you can achieve the same by using public transportation like the bus and the trains. These are not as expensive as taking the bus and you also get to mingle and observe the natives up close. South Koreans speak passable English so you can even strike up a conversation.
Seek Out Free Sightseeing Destinations
Why pay for a tour guide or tour package when you can go around Seoul for free? Yes, there are many sights in South Korea, particularly in the capital Seoul, that you can tour or visit without having to pay for admission. Do your research. You’ll be surprised at how much you can do in the capital and the minimal amount that you spend in return.
Find Cheap or even Free Accommodation
Nowadays, there are websites like CouchSurfing that allow you to network with natives and get free accommodation in exchange for contributing to food. These are great ways through which you can save money in accommodation. If you’re not up for that kind of cost-cutting, you can instead check out bed-and-breakfast hostels in the city you’re planning to visit.
Plan Ahead
Finally, you should plan your trip ahead if you want to see savings on your next holiday in Korea. Planning ahead will give you the opportunity of booking flights early, for instance, so they don’t get too expensive for you. It also gives you time to research and plan your itinerary with an eye for saving money on travel costs.
Traveling is great, and should not cost one a lot of money. Bear these five tips in mind, and you should be able to stretch your travel budget in a manner that you maximize your experience in South Korea.