A weekend in Seoul: where to go, what to budget

The flight from Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City is only four and a half to five hours, which makes Seoul one of the easiest short-haul escapes from Vietnam. You step off the plane into a city that somehow holds six-hundred-year-old palaces and neon game-arcades in the same breath. Two full days is enough to feel it; three lets you breathe. Here is a route that works for a first visit, with a sense of what it costs.

Day one: palaces and old lanes

Start at Gyeongbokgung Palace, the grandest of the royal compounds, and time your morning for the changing-of-the-guard ceremony at the main gate (usually around 10am and 2pm). Tip worth knowing: rent a hanbok, the traditional dress, from a shop nearby and your palace entry is free — and the photos in the courtyards are unbeatable.

From the palace, walk uphill into Bukchon Hanok Village, a hillside of restored wooden hanok houses on quiet, steep lanes. People still live here, so tread gently and keep your voice down, but the views back over the tiled rooftops to the modern city are the ones you'll remember. Wind down the afternoon in neighbouring Insadong, the street for traditional crafts, hand-made paper, calligraphy brushes and old-style tea houses — order a cup of citron or ginger tea and watch the lane go by.

Day two: shopping, a tower, a night out

Give the morning to Myeongdong, the busiest shopping district, packed with Korean skincare and cosmetics at prices worth the trip alone. By early evening the main streets fill with food carts — this is the place to graze on tteokbokki (chewy rice cakes in sweet-spicy sauce), grilled skewers, egg bread and cheese-pulled street snacks.

As the light goes, ride up Namsan to N Seoul Tower — take the cable car or the short woodland walk — for the city laid out glittering below. If you'd rather earn your view and have a spare morning, Bukhansan national park sits right on the city edge and offers a proper mountain hike with granite peaks, reachable by metro and bus.

Save the night for Hongdae, the student quarter around Hongik University: live buskers on the street, tiny bars, dessert cafés and the kind of youthful energy that runs late. It's also the home of Korea's café culture — expect beautifully designed coffee shops on every corner, open well past midnight.

Day three (if you have it): out of the city

With a third day, head out. A DMZ tour to the demilitarised zone on the border with North Korea is sobering and fascinating, and must be booked in advance with a licensed operator. For something gentler, Nami Island — about an hour and a half out — is a wooded river island famous for its tree-lined avenues, lovely in autumn and spring alike.

What to eat

Korean BBQ — grill pork belly or beef at your own table; the side dishes keep coming for free.
Bibimbap — rice, vegetables, egg and chilli paste, mixed at the table.
Fried chicken and beer — the chimaek ritual; find a spot in Hongdae.
Tteokbokki and street carts — cheap, hot and everywhere after dark.

Getting around

Seoul's metro is clean, cheap, signposted in English and goes nearly everywhere — you'll barely need a taxi. Buy a T-money card at any convenience store or airport kiosk, top it up with cash, and tap on and off buses and trains. From Incheon Airport, the AREX train runs straight into the city: the express to Seoul Station takes about 45 minutes, the all-stop commuter line a little longer for less.

Google Maps gives limited walking and driving directions in Korea. Download Naver Map or KakaoMap before you go — both have English and handle the metro and buses properly. Pick up your T-money card the moment you land.

When to go

The two golden windows are spring (late March to April) for cherry blossom, and autumn (October to November) for crisp air and red-gold foliage — both ideal for walking the palaces and mountains. Summer is hot, humid and rainy, closer to a Vietnamese wet season; winter is dry but genuinely cold, often below freezing, so pack properly if snow is the draw.

A realistic budget

Rough per-person figures in USD for a Vietnamese traveller, as ranges rather than promises:

Return flights from Vietnam: around $250–$500, higher in peak blossom and holiday weeks.
Mid-range hotel: roughly $70–$130 a night; comfortable guesthouses and good hostels come in lower.
Food and transport per day: about $35–$60 if you mix street food, casual BBQ and the metro.

For a two-night weekend that lands most people somewhere around $550–$900 all in, before shopping — and Seoul makes it very easy to spend on shopping. You can search flights to Seoul to see what the dates you're thinking of actually cost.

Visa — read this early

Vietnamese passport holders generally need a visa to visit South Korea, applied for in advance through the Korean embassy or an authorised visa centre — it is not a visa-on-arrival or a simple online permit for most travellers. Requirements and processing times change, so confirm the current rules for your passport and apply well before you book anything non-refundable. If you've held certain other visas or travelled widely, different conditions can apply, which is worth checking too.

Three days barely scratches Seoul, but it's enough to fall for it — and close enough to Vietnam that you'll come back. beSure plans Korea trips end to end; tell us your dates and we'll build the route. Plan your Korea trip whenever you're ready.