Bismillah. This is based on my experience staying in 4 different places during my recent trip to Korea. We backpacked, the two of us carried a total of 20+ kg of bags (two bags were attached with wheels), we used 100% public transportation and 0% taxi/cab.
1. Choose somewhere really close to the airport / direct transportation to airport. There's less hassle when there is no transferring process.
In Seoul, as the city is 55km away from the airport, the best place to stay is not around the airport unless if we want to take an early flight the next day or we have business around the airport.
If we are staying in the Seoul city, try to stay near the stations which offer direct express train to airport.
Reason: The airport railroad (AREX) train fare is much cheaper than the airport buses, and they are traffic-jam proof, a very big plus for the heavy-traffic metropolitan.
As of today, the fare are as follows: airport bus w10k to w14k, AREX commuter w3750, AREX express w8k (discount until end of 2013, afterwards will be w13500).
So the best place to stay are:
a) near exit 8, 9, 10 of Seoul station, because these exits have escalators, and Seoul station is the only station where the express AREX train stops. http://disability.seoul.go.kr/en/transport/subway_view.jsp?no=224&idx=2&Depth=21&searchLine=1&searchWord=
Other reasons to stay near Seoul station: great if we want to try the superspeed KTX train or intercity trains to go to other part of Korea.
b) near the bus stops of Airport limousine buses. http://www.airport.kr/airport/traffic/bus/busList.iia?flag=E Click the "Detail" grey button, another page opens, and click the dot that represents each station to see a map of the bus stop.
c) near escalator exits of the stations in the airport railroad line (AREX). From these stations we can take AREX commuter train to the airport.This maps mark 3 stations in line 2, 5 and 6 that are in the AREX railroad line. http://www.johomaps.com/as/korea/seoul/seoulmetro.jpg However, all these stations are outside of Seoul downtown.
2) Choose somewhere really close to the stations connecting to the stations in airport railway line.
Seoul station, although is a great location, is not located right in the middle of downtown Seoul. If we want to stay in the middle of downtown Seoul, try these locations:
a) near escalator exits of subway stations in line 1 or line 4, because these lines connect directly to Seoul Station. From these stations we can go to Seoul station and take either the express or the commuter AREX train.
To see the location of escalators in subway stations, refer http://disability.seoul.go.kr/en/transport/subway_list.jsp?Depth=21&searchLine=1&searchWord=#contop
b) near escalator exits of subway stations lines 2, 5 or 6, because these lines connects to stations in the airport railway (AREX) line. From stations in these lines, transfer at any of the stations in the AREX line, and take AREX commuter to the airport.
An ideal location is Dongdaemun History and Culture Park (Dongdaemun Stadium) which connects line 2, 4 and 5, and is in the middle of downtown Seoul.
In conclusion, if we want to get to and from the airport easily, stay near subway stations in line 1, 2, 4, 5 or 6, near the escalator exits which are near to the airport bus stop. My personal ranking of choice will be
a) Exit 8, 9, 10 of Seoul station
b) Exit 4 of Dongdaemun History and Culture Park (Dongdaemun Stadium) station
These are very convenient locations and covered by airport limo buses to. For (b), the bus stop is Toyoko Inn http://www.airportlimousine.co.kr/route/routee02.htm.
To book hotel, I found out that it's the cheapest to book directly from the hotel website. Alternatively, use local agents such as travelnote.net and hotelwide.com in Korea. To identify hotels by location, it's good to use map provided by tripadvisor or hotelscombined. then, find the hotel's website then do booking directly or through local agents.
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