Get an in-depth look at what our South Korea trip cost with our detailed travel expenses breakdown from 10 days in Seoul.
We visited South Korea for over two weeks and loved our entire trip there. South Korea is a perfect destination for some amazing food, the sweetest people, tons of culture, and even some modern twists.
There is so much to see in South Korea but this expense guide covers two weeks in Seoul and all the costs that come with it!
We’ll cover what a South Korea trip cost, how much money to bring to Korea for 2 weeks, if South Korea is expensive to travel, cost of meals in Korea, and more!
As a quick note, we are not backpackers, we rarely stay in hostels, and are very cautious with street food. We like to save money where we can, be we certainly spend it on what is important to us.
This is not representative of what you will spend in South Korea, even for the same period of time or season. This is merely an overview of what we spent and some of our tips and reasons for the amounts. Please use it as a guide to your future trip to Seoul, South Korea!
This post is all about what our 2 week South Korea trip cost.
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Best time to visit south korea
Peak seasons in South Korea are spring (April – June) and autumn (September—November). These seasons bring consistently good weather, far more tourism to the country, and, with them, higher prices.
We visited Seoul in September and absolutely loved the weather. We’ve also visited in late March. It was certainly less crowded during this time, but the weather was a bit more inconsistent with rain and very cold days.
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Cash vs. card in south korea
Since we only visited, Seoul, we can only really say for this very large, modern city. The rest of the country may be very different. However, we were able to use credit card nearly everywhere, even at the markets for street food. There were some stalls that only took cash and we did need cash for the public transportation. We would say we averaged around $10 per day for cash with food, trains, and tips.
South Korea Itinerary
Our original South Korea itinerary had us traveling over the entire country. However, due to an unexpected positive test and subsequent mandatory quarantine, we had to alter our plans. We ended spending the first half of our trip indoors, but the next 10 days were spent soaking up the magic of Seoul, South Korea. I was a little worried that we would get bored in one city for so long, but there is SO much to do in Seoul. Plus there are so many destinations within a day trip radius that you can easily stay busy for 10 days.
day trip tours from Seoul
South Korea Trip Cost:
Flights
Total: $241
We flew directly from Hanoi, Vietnam, on VietJet Air. This was a budget airline that charged for our baggage, but we found it to still be affordable and their customer service was wonderful!
Flights will be different for everyone since everyone is coming from somewhere different. However, this gives a good idea of how affordable it is to fly around Asia once you are there.
Entry Fees
Total: $138
Oftentimes, travel entry fees are nothing. You simply get a visa on arrival and go on your merry way. This is especially true for US citizens or one of the most powerful passports in the world. South Korea was easy to enter as a US citizen but it did cost us a little bit.
This is because at the time we went we needed a South Korea e-visa and COVID tests upon arrival. The e-visa cost us $9 per person but the COVID tests at the airport were $60 each! Super expensive for COVID tests, given the fact that we had just paid $3 each in Vietnam before we left.
UPDATE: We have since returned to South Korea, and US citizens no longer need an e-visa. This was as of early 2024, and as always, is subject to change.
>> Pro Traveler Tip: Register your trip on STEP as a US citizen to be kept in the know on your destination!
Accommodations
Total: $652
Average: $65 per night
Candidly, our budget is $45 a night for accommodations. South Korea, Seoul especially, didn’t really fit in that budget. But we were able to make the most of it and find deals here and there. We did end up staying at multiple properties as we had to move when the deals did.
- Conrad Seoul (Hilton Points)
- Fairfield by Marriott Seoul
The best way to find deals in Seoul is book ahead of time. The closer you get to the day of arrival, the more expensive it will be. Weekends are definitely more expensive so if you can plan your trip during the week, that’s best.
Luckily, there is a great transportation network in Seoul, so you can stay in areas a little farther away and still be able to get around easily and affordably! Also, the level of cleanliness in Seoul was incredible. Even if we booked a lower rate place, it was due to location or the size of the room and never because of the quality of the accommodation or the cleanliness.
Food & Drink
Total: $631
Average: $63 per day
Average: $31.50 per person per day
The food in Korea is one of my new favorites. Even though we spent quite a bit on food every day, it was worth it! We ate a few meals that were a little more expensive. Or in the case of our food tour, we ate 12 meals in one day…
Korean BBQ can be quite expensive at touristy spots (think: $100+ per person), so be on the lookout for more local places where you can snag delicious BBQ for around $20 per person. There are also tons of street food options. The Gwangjang Market was amazing and had some delicious food for cheap. And we met some of the kindest people there!
Food tours in seoul
Transportation
Total: $66
Average: $6.50 per day
We took the public transportation in Seoul as much as possible. It’s clean, efficient, and went near enough to everywhere we were looking to go. We even took the train all the way to and from the Incheon airport into Seoul. It was a long trip, but definitely the better option financially. It was also comfortable and if you can get a seat, really not that bad.
The only times we didn’t take the train were when we were out past midnight when they stop running. This surprisingly happened more often than we thought, but there is so much to do even late at night in Seoul! In those instances, we took a cab either by waiting in a cab line or called for a taxi through the Kakao T app and paid cash for the metered price or via credit card in the app.
Excursions
Total: $32
We were able to easily enjoy our time in Seoul with mostly free activities. The day we visited the Gyeongbokgung Palace was a free entry day but it normally is 3,000 won (unless you’re wearing Hanbok). We visited the Namdaemun Market, saw the closing ceremonies at the Sungnyemun Gate, walked along the Cheonggyecheon, explored Bukchon Hanok Village, and even saw deer at the Seoul Forest Park all for free.
The only thing we did pay for was our first international baseball game. The KBO (Korean Baseball Organization) game was a blast! I could not figure out how to book tickets online, so we had the concierge at our hotel book them for us and we paid the hotel in cash, much easier. And for only $30 we were able to sit right on the field in the midst of all the action!
Top Activities in Seoul
Personal
Total: $96
Everything was aesthetically pleasing in Seoul which is my kryptonite. I really had to restrain myself on shopping there. However, we did get a few things as gifts for friends and family. We also saw a movie as a date night. We saw Top Gun: Maverick (Nate’s new favorite movie) in IMAX for only $25 for the two of us!
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Sim Card
Total: $20
Get data before you even land in South Korea with Airalo’s e-sims. They offer coverage by country or regionally if you are visiting multiple countries. This is a little secret… since the South Korea package (Unlimited for $32 over 10 days) was a bit more expensive than the Asia regional package (5 GB for $20 over 30 days), we got the Asia regional package for our time in South Korea. The data coverage was great and we could top up any time.
Get cellular data before you even land in a new country. Check out our current eSIM deals, with exclusive discounts in dozens of destinations.
Travel Insurance
Total: $45
We never go on a trip without travel insurance (in fact, we have an annual plan with them). Our favorite travel insurance with SafetyWing offers great coverage for travel and medical needs and is affordable starting at just $10. Plus, I can’t emphasize enough, the customer service is actually really good and real people respond to you when you have questions, a surprising rarity in the travel insurance space.
Don’t forget to get our go-to travel insurance for every trip to cover medical emergencies, cancellations, and even lost luggage!
Total South Korea trip cost
Total: $1,613
Average: $161 per day
Average: $80.50 per person per day
south korea trip cost
Our Total:
$1,613 for 2 people
Daily Total:
$161 per day for 2 people
Value for Money:
