Jeju Island
The haenyeo are the last of their kind: women who free-dive for shellfish without tanks, most of them now past sixty. Jeju is theirs, built around a volcano with a crater lake at the top.
Jeju Island in a nutshell
Jeju Island: what to expect
Before writing this we counted 51,000+ planned stops in South Korea on Stippl.
Jeju is a volcanic island eighty-five kilometres off the south coast, built around Hallasan and some 360 smaller cones. Seongsan Ilchulbong is a tuff cone that came out of the sea five thousand years ago, twenty minutes up to the crater, and the name means sunrise peak. Manjanggul is one of the longest lava tubes on earth with a kilometre of it walkable. The Olle Trail waymarks you 437 kilometres of coast across 27 routes, and the haenyeo still free-dive for shellfish without tanks.
Jeju is the third leg of a Korean trip and almost never the second. More than four in five Jeju trips are Seoul plus Busan plus Jeju, and barely one in ten has as few as two stops. It also carries the lowest share of night-free stops we measure in any country, which is what an island does to an itinerary, and it is booked further ahead than anywhere else in Korea.
Three nights, and rent a car for them. The buses work and they are slow, and Jeju rewards driving more than anywhere else in the country: the island splits into a north half around Jeju City and a south half around Seogwipo, and the distances between them are real. Hallasan is a full day to the summit crater. Come outside July and August, when the island is hot, wet, expensive and full of Korean holidaymakers at once.
Who Jeju Island is for
Already doing Seoul and Busan
That is what a Jeju trip is in our data
Walkers.
The Olle Trail is 27 routes and 437 km around the coast, and it is the island's best idea
Drivers
the island rewards a car more than anywhere else in Korea
Hikers
for Hallasan, which is a genuine full-day mountain
Families
for the beaches, the museums and the short distances
When to go to Jeju Island
The picks
May, September
warm, dry, and outside the domestic peak.
The shoulders
March–April, October–November
blossom and canola at one end, clear air at the other, and a little cool at both.
The peak
July–August
hot, wet, expensive and full.
The quiet
December–February
mild for Korea, cheapest, camellia in flower.
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Things to do in Jeju Island
Seongsan Ilchulbong
a 182 m tuff cone that erupted out of the sea 5,000 years ago, with a crater at the top and a 20-minute climb. The name means "sunrise peak" and that is when to do it
Hallasan National Park
South Korea's highest mountain at 1,950 m, with a crater lake at the summit. Two trails reach the top and both are a full day; Gwaneumsa is the harder and Seongpanak the longer
Manjanggul Lava Tube
one of the world's longest lava tubes, UNESCO-listed, with a kilometre open to walk and a 7.6 m lava column at the end
The Jeju Olle Trail
27 routes and about 437 km of waymarked walking around the island's coast, created from 2007 and the reason many Koreans come
Haenyeo
the women who free-dive for shellfish without tanks, mostly now in their sixties and older, UNESCO intangible heritage. The Haenyeo Museum on the east coast is the place to understand it
Seong-eup Folk Village
a lived-in village of thatched, stone-walled Jeju houses in the south-east, rather than a reconstruction
The neighbourhoods of Jeju Island
Jeju City
first-timers, budget
North coast, the airport, the bus hub, Black Pork Street and the Gwaneumsa trailhead
Black Pork Street, and the Gwaneumsa trail up Hallasan.
Seogwipo
families, couples
South coast, the waterfalls, night markets and a milder climate
Three waterfalls, night markets and the island's mildest weather.
Jungmun
luxury, families
The resort strip west of Seogwipo: big hotels, a beach, the museums
Big resort hotels, a beach and the museums, all on one strip.
Aewol / west coast
couples
Cafés on the sea west of Jeju City, and the Hyeopjae and Gwakji beaches
Hyeopjae and Gwakji beaches, with the café strip on the sea between.
Seongsan / east
adventure
Under the tuff cone, for the sunrise climb and the Udo ferry
The sunrise climb up Seongsan Ilchulbong, and the ferry to Udo.
Southeast
off-the-beaten-path
Canola fields in spring, the folk villages, camellia in winter
Canola in spring, camellia in winter and the Seong-eup folk village.
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Where to stay in Jeju Island
The island's hotels are almost all in Seogwipo, on the far side of the mountain. The Shilla and the Lotte sit side by side on the Jungmun cliff; the KAL is in Seogwipo town and walkable to it; Podo is inland at Andeok; Sono Calm is out east at Pyoseon. Jeju City and the airport are an hour away over Hallasan
Jeju City
North coast, the airport, the bus hub, Black Pork Street and the Gwaneumsa trailhead
Seogwipo
South coast, the waterfalls, night markets and a milder climate
Jungmun
The resort strip west of Seogwipo: big hotels, a beach, the museums
Aewol / west coast
Cafés on the sea west of Jeju City, and the Hyeopjae and Gwakji beaches
Seongsan / east
Under the tuff cone, for the sunrise climb and the Udo ferry
Southeast
Canola fields in spring, the folk villages, camellia in winter
What to eat in Jeju Island
Jeju's native black pig, grilled at the table
Sea snail, harvested by haenyeo, as porridge or grilled
A large sweet citrus grown only here, named for the mountain
Raw mackerel, an island speciality that does not travel
Millet rice cake with red bean, a Jeju sweet
Discover food spots in Stippl
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Jeju customs and what not to do
The haenyeo are at work
not a display. They are photographed constantly; the museum and the scheduled demonstrations are the respectful way to see the practice
Seong-eup is lived in
not an open-air museum
Jeju has its own dialect
distinct enough that mainland Koreans struggle with it, and it is UNESCO-listed as endangered
Shoes off
in temples and guesthouses
Do
- Arrange an International Driving Permit before you leave home.
- Climb Seongsan Ilchulbong at sunrise, which is what it is named for.
- Check the airport limousine route if you are not driving.
Don't
- Don't plan a bus-based itinerary and expect to see the island.
- Don't come in July or August unless the dates are fixed.
- Don't expect Jeju's cherry blossom on the mainland's schedule, it is a later variety.
Daily budget in Jeju Island
Budget
A Jeju City guesthouse, a small hire car, market food
Mid-range
A Seogwipo hotel, a car, restaurant meals, the entry tickets
High-end
A Jungmun resort, and someone else driving
Track what you actually spend
Set a daily budget per country and log expenses in any currency while you travel.
Fun facts about Jeju Island
The haenyeo are the last of their kind: women who free-dive without tanks, most now over sixty, UNESCO-listed as intangible cultural heritage
Jeju's cherry blossom is a native variety, not the Japanese one. The king cherry is original to the island and blooms later than the Yoshino that covers the mainland
The dol hareubang have no agreed origin: the lava "grandfather stones" are the island's emblem and nobody is certain what they were for
Jeju is the third leg of the Korean trip and almost never the second: 82.9% Seoul plus Busan plus Jeju
It has the lowest zero-night share anywhere we cover at 1.42%, and the longest booking lead at 104 days. You cannot pass through an island, and you have to buy the flight
Local tips for Jeju Island
The limousine bus works
The airport limousine bus is the exception that works: it runs from the terminal to the Seogwipo and Jungmun hotels directly, and two sources recommend hotels specifically for being on its route
Hire a driver instead
If you will not drive, hire a driver for a day rather than trying to reach the blossom and canola spots by bus
Safe, as everywhere
Jeju is as safe as the rest of Korea, which is very
Jeju Island questions, answered
As a flight from Gimpo rather than Incheon, and as its own block. Travellers planning Jeju on Stippl book about 104 days out, the longest lead in the country, because the island fills through summer. Put Jeju into Stippl after Seoul and Busan rather than between them.
Three nights with a car, four without one. Jeju gets 3 nights in the trips people plan on Stippl. The island is a ring road with the sights spread the whole way round it, so the difference between three and four is simply whether you are rushing.
Hardly anyone tries: 12.48% of Jeju stops planned on Stippl are a single night, the lowest share in South Korea. Between the flight, the hire car and the drive out of the airport, one night leaves you half a day on an island that wants a full circuit.
You fly, and from Gimpo inside Seoul rather than Incheon. It is the busiest air route in the world, with departures every few minutes and fares that stay remarkably low. The overnight ferries from Busan and Incheon no longer run, and the crossings that survive are from the south-west coast, mostly for cars.
A tuff cone that erupted straight out of the sea at the island's eastern tip, with a crater rim you climb in about twenty minutes. It is named for the sunrise and that is when to do it, before the coaches arrive. The village below is where the haenyeo divers still work.
Yes, and it is a full day: nearly two thousand metres on marked trails, with an enforced turnaround time partway up that the rangers do check. Two routes reach the summit and the others stop short, so choose before you set off, and book the summit trails ahead in season.
Every guide is written by the Stippl editors and checked against the trips our travellers actually plan. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
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