Korea-Bound? Here’s Your Ultimate Travel Checklist with FREE Printable [2024]

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Are you ready to plan the trip of a lifetime to South Korea? Don’t leave anything to chance by relying on a haphazard approach. Instead, use our expertly curated South Korea travel checklist to ensure that you cover all the key planning steps in the right order. This checklist is specifically designed to help you plan your trip in a logical sequence, so you won’t miss out on any of the must-see activities or experiences that South Korea has to offer.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to make your trip planning easy, hassle-free and organized. Click here to download your FREE printable checklist, to help you to plan your trip step by step and tick off items as you finalise your preparations.

Join the South Korea Travel Planning Facebook Group

You are also welcome to join our South Korea Travel Planning Facebook Group – it is a great resource to enable you to ask questions about your upcoming trip to South Korea!

South Korea Travel Planning

Disclaimer:  This article contains affiliate links.  If you book after clicking on one of these links then we may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Before Booking Your Trip to South Korea

1. Visa for South Korea

Check on this link to the Korea Visa Portal to see which nationalities have access to visa-free entry to South Korea and which nationalities need to apply for a visa. If your country has on the visa-free list, it means that you do not need to apply for a visa.

If you need to apply for a visa, start that process immediately with your local South Korean Embassy, as it can often take several weeks to be processed. Also, note that you will need a passport to apply for a visa, so you may need to get it first if you do not already have a passport with sufficient validity.

Wait until after your visa has been approved to book your flights.

2. Passport for South Korea

Ensure you have a valid passport with at least six months remaining before it expires on your date of arrival in South Korea, otherwise, you risk not being allowed to enter South Korea on arrival.

3. Review Your Travel Insurance Options for South Korea

Research your travel insurance options for South Korea. If you have any pre-existing medical conditions, pregnancy or other reasons which could make it difficult to get travel insurance, you will need to take action early to obtain a policy, preferably before you book your flights. Our recommended travel insurance providers are as follows:

  • Residents of the USA. If you live in the USA, we recommend that you check out Travel Insurance Master, which provides comparisons of a large selection of travel insurance products to help you find the one which suits you best.
  • Residents of Australia. If you live in Australia, we recommend that you check out Cover-More and Travel Insurance Direct.
  • Residents of the United Kingdom. If you live in the UK, we recommend that you check out Moneysupermarket, which provides comparisons of a large selection of travel insurance products to help you find the one which suits you best.
  • Residents of Other Countries. For residents of other countries, check out your local travel insurance providers.

4. Plan Your South Korea Itinerary

Now for the fun part – developing your itinerary!

  • Visit our Start Here page, which contains articles to help you learn more about South Korea, when to visit, specific destination information for major tourist destinations and how to get around South Korea.
  • Consider your personal options to visit in terms of the best time of year and how long you will have available.
  • Consider your budget for the trip.
  • Develop a rough itinerary.
  • Check out the package tour options available through Tour Radar – sign up for their email list to receive regular deals to get up to 60% off package tours. Also, consider whether you may want to add additional days before or after the tour period.
  • (USA Readers) Sign up to Going (previously called Scott’s Cheap Flights) to receive flight deals.
  • Purchase a guide book to help you learn more about South Korea to plan your itinerary.
  • Once you have developed an initial draft itinerary, post it to the South Korea Travel Planning Facebook Group to get feedback from group members.

Put all of this information together to create an itinerary which works for you, and you are then ready to book!

Ready to Book Your Trip to South Korea

5. Book Flights and Package Tours

You are now ready to make the step to commit to your trip to South Korea! Step one is to book your flights and package tour. We recommend that you take this step 6-12 months before your trip, however, understand that many people book their trip a much shorter time ahead.

  • If booking a package tour, book the tour first and receive confirmation before booking your flights.
  • Check out the latest flight options using Skyscanner.
  • Then book your flights, both international and domestic flights within South Korea. Be very careful when entering your details, double check them before choosing to proceed with your booking. Check that the passenger names are correct, and also that you have selected the correct flight and dates.

If you have connecting flights, check the time gap between flights and also the specific arrival and departure airports.

6. Book Travel Insurance for South Korea

Plan to book your travel insurance policy as soon as you book your flights and package tours to South Korea, as your policy will then provide you with insurance coverage in the event you need to cancel your flights or package tour due to an acceptable cause – note you cannot book a policy after you depart.

Note that most travel insurance policies will not cover you for COVID19 unless you have purchased your policy at least 3 weeks or more prior to your departure date – so book early!

  • Residents of the USA. If you live in the USA, we recommend that you check out Travel Insurance Master, which provides comparisons of a large selection of travel insurance products to help you find the one which suits you best.
  • Residents of Australia. If you live in Australia, we recommend that you check out Cover-More and Travel Insurance Direct.
  • Residents of the United Kingdom. If you live in the UK, we recommend that you check out Moneysupermarket, which provides comparisons of a large selection of travel insurance products to help you find the one which suits you best.
  • Residents of Other Countries. For residents of other countries, check out your local travel insurance providers.

7. Book Accommodation for South Korea

We recommend that you book your South Korea accommodation as soon as you have booked your flights. You can often get a much better price by booking early, and if you book a cancellable option, you can always change your accommodation as new or cheaper options pop up closer to your departure date.

If you are a family or larger group, it is better to book early, also if it will be a peak time like the cherry blossom season or a popular location. Note that many accommodation providers in South Korea only release room availability from 3-6 months prior.

We always book our own accommodation through Booking.com, as it provides an easy way to have all of your accommodation in a single app.

Click Here to check out and book your South Korea accommodation through Booking.com
Booking.com

8. Money for South Korea

You can easily use credit and debit cards to pay for items and draw funds while in South Korea. Ensure that you check out the fees associated with international transactions with your bank – they should be listed on your bank’s website.

If you are interested in getting a multi-currency or low international transaction fee card, we recommend that you check out Wise and Revolut for international banking options. You can get a debit or credit card which can be used with Google Pay and Apple Pay.

9. Review Vaccinations for South Korea

This is a good time to visit your doctor to review your vaccination status, and get any boosters and other recommended vaccinations for your trip. Some vaccinations can require multiple injections to complete the vaccination program so do this early. The US Center for Disease Control has a list of recommended vaccinations for South Korea.

Two Months Prior to Departure

Two months prior to your departure date, there are multiple things you need to book in advance to ensure you are able to have specific experiences during your trip to South Korea.

10. Prescription Medicine for South Korea

If you require prescription medicine, ensure that you have refilled your medication scripts prior to your departure.

Be aware that South Korea has strict controls on what medications and medical equipment can and cannot be brought into South Korea. Narcotics-containing medication, including CBD oil is strictly prohibited from import into South Korea, even with a doctor’s prescription. For prescription medication, visitors must submit a written application to the Narcotics Control Division before travelling.

Check out this link for further information and ensure you comply with the stated requirements. Your local South Korean Embassy should have the specific details for the application process for your country, so ensure you check out their website.

11. Purchase Specific Event Tickets

If you are interested in attending a K-Pop concert, festival or other local events, ensure you check out the ticket options so you are ready to purchase when they are released, as they usually sell out quickly.

For K-Pop and other music concerts and festivals, both Klook and Trazy regularly offer tickets for international visitors – I recommend that after you click on these links, you sign up to both online travel agencies to receive alerts when tickets become available. Often tickets only become available 4-6 weeks prior to each event and can sell out quickly.

Other options for purchasing K-Pop tickets include Global InterPark, Yes24 and Melon Ticket Global. I recommend that you set up your account in advance, as tickets usually sell out very quickly, so you want to have all of your account authentication completed in advance.

There are also ticket reseller options for K-Pop and other concerts and festivals in South Korea, noting that these come with a higher risk. Ticket reseller options include viaGoGo, StubHub and TickPick.

One Month Prior to Departure

12. Purchase Your Korail Pass

When travelling in South Korea many visitors purchase a Korail Pass, as they provide a cost effective and easy option to get around South Korea using the KTX fast trains. Once you have purchased your Korail pass, you can go online to reserve your seats on the KTX trains which become available from one month prior. Click here to check out our dedicated article on how to purchase and use your Korail Pass.

Korail Pass

13. Book Ferry Tickets

Book your ferry tickets for travel as follows:

14. Drivers Licence and International Drivers Permit (IDP) for South Korea

If you are planning to hire or drive a vehicle in South Korea, you will also need to carry both your Drivers Licence and an International Drivers Permit (IDP).  Click on this link to find out more about where to purchase an IDP.

15. Book Day Tours for South Korea

If you are planning to book some day tours for your visit to South Korea, we recommend that you pre-book them one month ahead to ensure that you can get your preferred option. Click on the below links to find out recommended day tour options for:

16. Book Entry Tickets for South Korea

Also plan to book your entry tickets for South Korea as follows:

  • Seoul. Discover Seoul Pass, Lotte World Theme Park, Everland Theme Park, Nanta Cookin Show, Food Tours
  • Busan. Lotte Adventure World.

17. Finalise Your Money for South Korea

Ensure that you notify your bank prior to your departure to advise them that you will be travelling overseas – either through your online account or by phone. Otherwise, they could suspend your account when they see transactions coming from an unusual location!

We recommend exchanging at least $US200 into Korean Won in cash prior to departure so that you have some cash in your pocket on arrival to pay for trains etc. You should be able to purchase currency at your departure airport or local bank.

While in South Korea, you cannot draw funds from any Automatic Teller Machine (ATM). The only places you can draw cash using a credit or debit card from outside South Korea are from an ‘International Automatic Teller Machine (ATM)’. International ATMs have a global ATM logo on the front of the machine. Use the below ATM locators to find options close to your booked accommodation:

18. Review Your South Korea Packing List

We recommend that you review our packing list article for South Korea, and if there are any items you need to purchase you can take action to ensure they are delivered prior to your departure. Click here to check out our packing list article for South Korea.

Two Weeks Prior to Departure

These final activities can be done any time up until you depart on your trip – but based on our experience, the final weekend before a trip is one where you may be quite busy preparing your home and visiting family prior to your trip. So if you take action to complete these activities two weeks prior to departure, you are less likely to have a pre-trip overload before departure.

19. Register on the K-ETA and Q-Code Websites

Before arriving in South Korea, you need to complete a K-ETA and also apply for a Q-Code. Further details on each are below.

K-ETA is the official online Korea Electronic Travel Authorization website and app, for nationals of countries/regions who are eligible for visa-free entry to South Korea. You need to get K-ETA approval before you board your flight or ship to travel to South Korea. Here is the link to the official site. The cost is 10,000 KRW (about $US8) per person. Note that there are third-party and scam sites out there that will charge in the order of $US100 – so make sure you are using the official site. The K-ETA lasts for 2 years.

You also need to apply for a Q-Code (Quarantine COVID19 Defence) health declaration through the below website up to three days before you depart, to enable you to take the shorter queues after you arrive.

20. Finalise Your South Korea Phone Data Options

Review and decide whether you will use your existing phone plan’s international roaming option (hint – they can be very expensive!), or decide whether to purchase an eSim Plan if you have a newer generation phone, local sim card or rent a pocket wifi device. Book your preferred option at least two weeks prior to your departure date.

Korea eSim Plan
Sim Card in Korea
Pocket Wifi for Korea

21. Review Flight Details

Review your flight details, as they may have changed since you made your initial booking. Sign up for flight alerts if this option is available so that you receive notifications of changes. Also, confirm how early you will need to plan to be at the airport for your departure flight.

We use a great app called TripIt to load and keep track of our itinerary on the go. The premium Tripit option will send you flight alerts as you travel and is a great service. The Tripit app makes it really easy to keep track of all of your bookings in a single app.

22. Plan your Departure and Return Airport Transfers from Home

Do your homework for how you will get to your departure airport and also how to return home after your trip. Allow extra time to get to the airport, post COVID19 the processes to get through check-in, security and immigration can take a lot longer than they used to. For international travel, I would personally plan to be at the airport at least three hours prior to your flight departure time.

Check out whether you can have a friend or family member drive you to and from the airport. Alternatively research your local public transport, self drive and airport parking options, and also shared and private transfers.

If you are travelling long haul or overnight, expect you will be tired after you return to your home airport, so driving your vehicle is not always the safest option.

23. Plan Your Arrival Airport Transfer

Most visitors to South Korea arrive at either Incheon International Airport or Gimpo International Airport near Seoul. Options to transfer from these airports to your Seoul accommodation include the following:

24. Read Your Government Travel Advisories for South Korea

Read your government travel advisories for South Korea – and also subscribe to receive updates. Take note of your government guidance, cautions and areas to avoid when you visit South Korea.

Here are the links to the South Korea travel advisories from the USA, Canada, UK and Australia. For other countries, search on Google to find your own government information.

25. Load South Korea Travel Apps onto Your Phone

Spend some time loading apps for South Korea travel onto your phone before you depart. Check out our detailed article on travel apps for South Korea for details of what to load.

South Korea Travel Checklist Wrap Up

After following this checklist, you will be as well prepared as possible for your trip to South Korea. Like any travel experience, expect there will be popups which you could not have planned. Plan to be patient when unexpected things do happen. South Korea is an amazing destination to visit, so we wish you all the best for your trip!

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to make your trip planning easy, hassle-free and organized. Click here to download your FREE printable checklist, to help you to plan your trip step by step and tick off items as you finalise your preparations.

Join the South Korea Travel Planning Facebook Group

You are also welcome to join our South Korea Travel Planning Facebook Group – it is a great resource to enable you to ask questions about your upcoming trip to South Korea!

South Korea Travel Planning

Disclaimer:  This article contains affiliate links.  If you book after clicking on one of these links then we may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.