Budget Backpacking Guide:

Busan, South Korea

Travelling in Busan….

Busan Daily Budget Information

Daily Average Cost – Room / 3 meals / Transportation (2 people)
$80 ($40 each) Hostels and Super Cheap Eats
$100-120 ($50-60 each) Private Room and Cheap Eats

Accommodations on the low end are about $20/night per person if you are in a hostel dorm or splitting the cost of a lower priced motel/hotel room with two people. The super cheap eats would be $5 dollar meals that you can score in various forms like street food, noodles, or rice dishes and would be filling enough for a meal. The cheap eats are $15-20 meals that would be ok shared between two people and fill you up. Transportation would be a day pass good for all 5 of Busan’s subway lines.

Budget Accommodations in Busan

You can get three different kinds of accommodations in Busan while still keeping to the backpackers budget. They vary a bit in comfort, convenience, and price.

First is the Jim-jill-bong or public bath house and sauna. Some run 24 hours and can work for an overnight stay for one night here and there. The entrance fee is between $6-10 dollars usually per person and they have communal rooms with heated wooden floors, lounging chairs, and TV’s where one can get some sleep for the night if need be as well as the regular sauna rooms and hot bath and shower areas (separate for men and women). Be aware that many of the guests there may not be there for sleeping and may disturb the peace by watching TV, talking, or moving around noisily. This option is best used if you just need a crash out place for a short night and don’t want to waste the money on full accommodations or if you are a really deep sleeper that isn’t bothered by the environment around you. You can stash your bag and valuables away in a locker and have full service showers, a uniform shorts and t-shirt, and soaps and shampoos provided free of charge.

The second option would be the traditional youth hostel. Busan has many hostels or budget beds places located in the Haeundai and Gwangali Beach areas, downtown in Seom-Yeon and Nampo Dong, as well as in the popular University night life zone of Kyungsung Dae and Daeyeon Dong. Beds basically run for an average of $20 per night per person but range from $14-30 in the dorm style rooms.

The third budget oriented option is the love motel or “Yogwan” in Korean. Don’t let the name throw you off, thou often used for quick lover’s romps these hotels are still a great option for a cheap night in your own private room/bathroom with TV and usually a computer too. Most of the expats living in Korea like myself use these when we travel domestically. The quality, amenities and cleanliness varies from place to place but they are found in abundance in most of the popular areas of the city that attract foreign and domestic tourists alike. Rooms range from $30-80 per night for two people and they provide toiletries for you as well as offer free DVD’s and most have a LAN wired internet computer in the room.

Cheaper Mid-Range Accommodations in Busan

You can…

Eating in Busan

Food is..

The SUPER-CHEAP $4-5: Street..

The CHEAP $4-8/dish: Rice and noodle dishes..

Sample List of General Food Prices

Fries – $1.50
Chicken/Pork Dish – $3
Sandwich – $4
Pizza – $5
Beef Dish – $5
BBQ Shrimp (6 jumbo) – $6
Whole BBQ fish (2 people) – $8-10
3 Crab Dish – $8

Drinks & Alcohol: Ok..

Local Transportation in Busan

Subway

Bus

Taxi

Activities to Do in Busan

there are..

Busan Services Information

One of the trade-offs about El Nido is that beautiful nature and lack of thronging tourism comes at the cost of some services. Although you can get what you need if you plan ahead and know what you can and can’t get in El Nido there are still a few things that are not entirely first world tourist zone about it.