Seoul - Hostel Recommendation & Currency Advice

lc180

Hi, I will be in Seoul for 2 nights, 3 days on my way back from a trip to Japan. I've been looking at hostels on tripadvisor and hostelworld but I'm failing to see any that stand out.

Has anyone got any personal recommendations? What is the best area to stay? I'm looking for somewhere central, good quality, clean and somewhere quite lively and social would be ideal as I'm traveling alone.

Also regarding the currency, I see Bank Of Ireland don't sell the South Korean Won, is it a closed currency? I'll probably just get some at an ATM when I arrive at the airport if that's a good option.

tannytantans

No recommendations for a hostel but I'd recommend staying in the Myeongdong/Insadong/ Hongdae areas. The subway in Seoul is really good so you'll never be too far away from any of the main attractions. If you're looking for nightlife staying near one of the Universities might be a good idea.

There should be no problem at all getting currency from the ATM when you arrive in Seoul - you might also be able to get some in the Bureau de Change when leaving Japan?

Berberis

We went over to Seoul last year for family holiday.
Could not recommend hostel, but I believe most are all great value and usually of a high standard.
We stayed in this palce and it was very nice and great value as we saved quite a bit by booking through Agoda
It was in the Gangnam district which was lively enough and also the centre of Seoul is easily accessibly with the metro. Also taxis are very good value.
With regards to the Korean won. We could not get it in Ireland but we manged ok with the ATMs in airport and Seoul.
Have a great time in Seoul. We were there for 2 weeks and could have stayed 2 months, Fabulous city and the people are so friendly and curteous

lc180

tannytantans wrote: »

No recommendations for a hostel but I'd recommend staying in the Myeongdong/Insadong/ Hongdae areas. The subway in Seoul is really good so you'll never be too far away from any of the main attractions. If you're looking for nightlife staying near one of the Universities might be a good idea.

Yeah I'm looking about hostels in Hongdae area right now, a lot of the hostels on Tripadvisor have very few photos and loads of reviews from people with only one review in total, hard to tell what's legit or not!

Berberis wrote:

Have a great time in Seoul. We were there for 2 weeks and could have stayed 2 months, Fabulous city and the people are so friendly and curteous

Thanks for the advice! great to hear you enjoy it. I only have three days there so was there anything you did that you think was over-rated and should be skipped?

Thanks again!

Berberis

As ours was a family holiday and and catching up with our eldest who lives over there these past 3 years we did a mixture of sightseeing and pleasure (shopping and Caribbean Bay and Everland)
places/trips I most enjoyed was the palaces (time your visit to see the changing off the guards, I forgot which one we went to where this was on) Some temples, The Folk museum and Seoul tower.
Oh and sample a tradional Korean Bar B Q meal at their many restraunts.
We did not get to visit the DMZ as you need to book in advance and by the time we thought of going to visit it was too late.
We found this website excellent for planning trips