Things to Do in Jeju Island (2026): East, West, South and Hallasan, Plus the Bus-or-Car Question

Jeju is the volcanic island off Korea's south coast that Koreans go to for honeymoons, school trips and long weekends. The flight from Seoul's Gimpo Airport takes a little over an hour, and planes leave almost every few minutes. Lots of visitors spend two days there and leave feeling they only saw the inside of a rental car. The island is bigger than it looks on a map, about 75 km from east to west, and its best sights are spread around the coast with a 1,947-metre volcano in the middle.

So this guide is organised by side of the island. Pick a side for each day, sleep in the area you are exploring if you can, and you will spend more time at the sights than on the road. Opening hours, fees and booking rules were checked in October 2026.

How many days?
2 days: the east side (Seongsan, Udo) and the south (Seogwipo).
3 days: add the west (Hyeopjae beach, tea fields, Camellia Hill).
4 days or more: add a Hallasan hike, which needs a full day and, for the summit trails, a booking.

Getting there and the entry rules

Most visitors fly in from Seoul Gimpo (domestic flights are cheap outside holidays), Busan or straight from abroad. Jeju has its own visa-free scheme for international arrivals that lets many nationalities who fly directly to Jeju stay on the island for up to 30 days; you cannot travel on to the mainland under it. If you are coming from Seoul, the normal rules for entering Korea apply, which we explain in our K-ETA and e-Arrival Card guide.

Bus or rental car?

This is the first real decision, so here is the honest version.

• Rental car is how most visitors see Jeju. Driving is calm by Korean standards and parking at sights is easy. You need your home licence and an International Driving Permit under the 1949 Geneva Convention (some countries have their own arrangements), and most companies want drivers to be at least 21 with a year's experience. Navigation works best with a Korean map app; Naver Map and Kakao Map both have car directions.
• Bus is very cheap and works with a T-money card. Regular buses cost about ₩1,150–₩1,200, and the red express buses (100-series route numbers) between the airport, Jeju City and Seogwipo cost up to ₩3,000. The catch is frequency: some coastal routes run every 20 to 40 minutes, so a bus-only trip works best if you base yourself in one area per day and accept fewer stops.
• Taxi tours (a driver for the day) are a middle option for groups of three or four and can be booked through hotels or apps.

The east side: Seongsan and Udo

Seongsan Ilchulbong (Sunrise Peak)

The tuff cone that rises straight out of the sea is Jeju's signature sight and part of its UNESCO World Natural Heritage listing. The paid climb to the crater rim takes about 20 to 30 minutes on stairs and the view over Seongsan town and the sea is the reward. Adult admission is ₩5,000. Hours change with the season: 6:00–18:00 from November to February, 5:00–19:00 in spring and autumn, and 4:30–20:00 in summer, with ticket sales ending one hour before closing. It is closed on the first Monday of every month (the next day if that Monday is a public holiday), so check your calendar. Food is not allowed on the trail.

The view from the crater rim of Seongsan Ilchulbong over Seongsan town and harbour. Photo: Bernard Gagnon, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Climbing for the sunrise is popular, but on cloudy mornings you see grey. If the forecast is poor, go in the late afternoon instead, when the tour buses have left.

Haenyeo, the women divers

Jeju's haenyeo are women who free-dive for shellfish and seaweed without breathing equipment, many of them in their sixties and older. Their culture is on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Near the foot of Seongsan Ilchulbong you can often see them coming back to the shore, and some villages sell their catch fresh. The Haenyeo Museum in Gujwa, on the north-east coast, explains the history well and is a good stop on a rainy day.

A haenyeo boat coming in at the harbour below Seongsan Ilchulbong. Photo: Teemeah, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Udo Island

Udo is a small island a 15-minute ferry ride from Seongsan Port. People go for its white-sand beaches, the coastal cycle loop and peanut ice cream. Bring your passport for the ferry boarding form, and check the last ferry back before you rent a bike or scooter, because ferries stop in strong wind. Rental cars from the main island are restricted on Udo, so plan to go on foot, by bike or on the island's tour bus.

Manjanggul lava tube

One of the longest lava tubes in the world, with a walkable section inside that stays cool all year. It reopened in 2026 after a long period of safety work, so check the official Jeju tourism site (visitjeju.net) for current hours and how much of the tube is open before you plan around it.

The south: Seogwipo

Seogwipo is Jeju's second city and the warmest part of the island, with waterfalls dropping straight to the sea.

• Cheonjiyeon Waterfall is an easy 10-minute walk through a gorge. It stays open into the evening and is lit after dark, which makes it a good last stop of the day.
• Jeongbang Waterfall is one of the few waterfalls in Asia that falls directly into the sea.
• Jusangjeolli Cliffs show the hexagonal basalt columns left when lava cooled quickly in the sea.
• Olle Trail: Jeju's long-distance walking route circles the island in 27 sections. Routes 6 and 7 around Seogwipo are some of the most scenic and are easy to do in half a day.
• Seogwipo Maeil Olle Market for an evening of street food and tangerines.

Cheonjiyeon Waterfall in Seogwipo, lit up in the evening. Photo: Norton Ip, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The west: beaches, tea and gardens

• Hyeopjae and Geumneung beaches have shallow turquoise water with the small island of Biyangdo just offshore. Best in summer and on clear days in autumn.
• O'sulloc Tea Museum and the green tea fields around it are free to walk and very busy around lunch. Go early.
• Camellia Hill is a large garden at its best from late November to February, when the camellias bloom.
• Saebyeol Oreum is a grassy volcanic cone that turns silver with pampas grass in October and November. The climb is short and steep.

Hallasan: Korea's highest mountain

Hallasan (1,947 m) is the volcano in the middle of Jeju, and on a clear day the summit crater lake, Baengnokdam, is worth every step. It is a serious day hike: allow 8 to 9 hours return on the summit trails.

Baengnokdam, the summit crater of Hallasan, in January 2025. In winter you need crampons (light chain spikes) on the upper trail. Photo: Sadopaul, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

• Only two trails reach the summit: Seongpanak (longer, gentler) and Gwaneumsa (steeper, more scenic). Both need a free advance reservation on the official Hallasan booking site (visithalla.jeju.go.kr). Bookings open on the first working day of each month at 9 a.m., and popular weekend dates fill quickly. On the day you show a QR code and your passport.
• Cut-off times are strict. All trails open at 5 a.m. From October 1 to March 31, the shorter daylight means earlier cut-offs: summit-trail hikers have to pass the checkpoint partway up by about late morning, or rangers turn them back. Start early.
• No booking needed for the Eorimok and Yeongsil trails, which climb to the Witse Oreum shelter (about 1,700 m) but not the summit. They are shorter (4 to 5 hours return) and Yeongsil passes dramatic rock formations. A good choice if you could not get a summit booking.
• In winter the upper trails are icy, so carry chain spikes and warm layers; weather on the summit is far colder and windier than on the coast.

When to go

Spring (April–May) brings canola flowers and cherry blossoms. Summer is beach season but humid, with typhoons possible from July to September. Autumn (October–November) is clear and mild, with silver grass on the oreum and tangerine-picking farms open from about November. Winter is windy and cool rather than freezing on the coast, with snow on Hallasan and camellias in the gardens.

Practical tips

• Jeju is windy. Ferries to Udo and other islands are cancelled more often than visitors expect, so do not put them on your last day.
• Tangerines (gamgyul) and Jeju black pork are the local food. Hallabong, a large sweet citrus, is sold everywhere in winter.
• Bring cash for small markets, though cards work almost everywhere else.
• For a mobile connection on the island, an eSIM bought before you leave is easiest; our Naver Map guide covers getting directions that work in Korea.

Summary

Treat Jeju as three areas plus a mountain. Spend one day on the east (Seongsan and Udo), one on the south (Seogwipo's waterfalls and the Olle Trail), one on the west (beaches, tea fields and gardens), and add Hallasan only if you have booked a summit slot or are happy with the shorter Yeongsil trail. Decide early whether you are driving, because it changes how much you can fit into each day.

Seongsan Ilchulbong hours and closing days: Visit Jeju (visitjeju.net), checked October 2026; adult admission ₩5,000. Hallasan reservation and winter hours: Hallasan National Park (visithalla.jeju.go.kr), winter schedule October 1 to March 31. Jeju bus fares vary by route; check the route in your map app. Ferry schedules change with the weather.