Travel Blog Nov 2024: Jeju Olle Trail , Part 1 of 3
#Overview #JejuOlleTrail #JejuGoSlow
For Jeju Olle trail, the total trail length is 437km with a total of 27 routes.
A seasoned trekker, Ms. Janice Loh introduced us to Jeju Olle trail. During research and planning, Ms. Loh and the website owner, Mr. Jim Saunders at https://jejuolletrailguide.net/ provided us with great information to plan the trek. A big thank you to both.
All these along with Kakao map, we were able to map out everything and planned out our routes details quite effectively. Do download the English guide ( in pdf) at the site and really read through them. You will certainly benefit heaps from doing that.
We will share our routes, the planning thought process around it, the accommodations we stayed in as well as, how we go about taking public transport without understanding a single Korean character, from a foreign visitor's perspective.
Will also highlight what we like and dislike and what we will do differently if given a choice again.
Read through just the section on #AFewKeyPointsToNote if you just want some quick take aways. We included all the details for the benefits of those who are interested.
#AFewKeyPointsToNote
- Spring (Mar to May) and Autumn (Sep to Nov) are the best time to trek in Jeju. Summer is way too warm and winter way too cold for comfort.
- There is a mini certificate for first 100km completion. You can cover more but still will be awarded a 100km certificate. The next step to get another certificate is after full completion (437km)
- There is no time limit to how long you take to complete all the routes at the time of writing. Some did it over months at one go while others did it over multiple trips to Jeju, spanning over a few years.
- You need to get your Olle passport stamped at the start, mid and end points of the all the routes to be eligible for the certificates. You may miss a few stamps ( up to 3 mid course stamps, please refer to their guide from time to time) and still able to get the certificates. But trust me, the stamps and the Olle passport itself are such great souvenirs that you will want to collect them all.
- If you are foreigner, you need to stamps on the respective pages in the Olle passport for the routes to be validated. Locals can use an mobile application.
- Locations in this list https://jejuolletrailguide.net/about/ sells the Olle passports except the first one at airport desk. If you cannot get it before start of your first trek, you can stamp them onto a piece of paper. Cut and paste into the Olle passport once you get them. We trekked route 1-1 first and did exactly that and eventually bought our Olle passports at the start of route 1.
- The only place to get the certificate as of Nov 2024 is at Olle center @Seowipo. So you may want to plan your route to end at Seowipo for your 100km and 437km certification. In between, assuming you visit and trek over multiple trips, it does not matter where you end as long as you get all the stamps.
- It is possible to take public transport to start point of most treks. But our personal advise is to try to stay in one place that can cover 3 to 4 treks to avoid too long travelling time. It can be more than an hour by bus one way if you stay too far away. But we treat the bus journey like city tour, so it is quite fun too.
- Go slow, one route a day is the best way to enjoy it. We combined 2 routes (about 30km total ) for 2 of the days and seriously, we do not enjoy that much on those 2 days.
- It took us 6 days to complete 8 routes, including one to offshore Udo island.
- We decided to cover the eastern routes starting from route 1-1, move clockwise and eventually ends at route 7-1. This allows us to complete 100km near Seowipo where we can collect the first mini 100KM completion certificate.
- Just for reference, our total trip is 11 days. 2 days to travel into and out of Jeju, 6 days to trek and 3 days R&R.
- We completed route 1-1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7-1 for this trip. Total 124km.
- We used mainly Kakao map as we find it to have almost all the Olle routes information.
- For Kakao map, you need to search using Korean characters or the last 7 number of their phone number (no space or -) not English. Always ask for the Korean name or phone number. Copy and paste into the search field of Kakao map then you will be able to search for bus numbers or travel distance by car to your destination.
- Most Korean accommodations except big hotels do not have elevators or lifts. If you wish to bring huge luggage, please be ready to carry them up the stairs ( can be as high as 4 storeys). There is no porter service.
- Their toilets are typically very clean despite not seeing many cleaners around. Please be mindful that their building may have old sewage system that do not allow toilet paper to be flushed into the toilet bowl. There is a separate bin nearby for used toilet paper. There are many countries in Asia having similar restrictions. Please respect and adjust accordingly. When in doubt, look around for sign or ask when you checked in.
- Always bring along a trash bag when you trek. Bag all your trash, including tangerine/fruits peels. Leave nothing behind. Sort them out and throw accordingly when you reached your accommodation. Korea has strict and very detailed recycling procedures, please respect and follow them. Ask the host if in doubt.
- Luggage forwarding is limited on Jeju island. Moving them from stay to stay have to be done typically by individual.
#ThePathWeTook #NarativeOfRoute
If you are still not bored by now and wish to know more. Here comes the details. If you are only interested in certain route, just click on the link on that route and jump right to it, listed at end of this page.
#Day1 #TravelIntoJeju #Rest
There are multiple ways to get to Jeju from Singapore. But no matter which option you take, you almost always reach Jeju early in the morning.
They are broadly 4 routes you can consider from Singapore to Jeju (Nov 2024 peroid).
Option 1: Take a direct overnight flight from Singapore to Jeju. At time of writing, Scoot offers that option. Flight time is about 6hrs.
Option 2: Take a flight to Seoul then onwards to Jeju. More full service carriers offer overnight flight to Seoul. From Seoul, there are lots of domestic flight option to Jeju. You can almost get a whole list of hourly flight from Seoul to Jeju.
Option 3: Fly to Shanghai Pudong International Airport then onwards to Jeju. For this option, you will need to choose a China airline and take their overnight flight from Singapore to Shanghai, transit onwards to Jeju. From flight path standpoint, it is actually a more direct route among all the non-direct flights option. As long as you do not mind transiting in China and wait a few hours in the airport, this may be a good option to consider.
Option 4: Fly to Busan, South Korea then onwards to Jeju. The airline into Busan are limited but it may be a good choice if you wish to visit 2 cities at one go.
#OurChoice For this trip, we took option 1. It is the most direct route to us. We actually booked accommodation for the night before and onwards so that we can check in immediate upon landing, rest, explore the area and get ready for next day early morning trek. More comfortable for us but the choice is yours.
You will have to make necessary luggage arrangement if you do not wish to pay for that extra night.
Our accommodation was Jeju Very Good Day Pension (http://verygoodday.co.kr Address: 85, Onpyeongsangha-ro, Seongsan-eup, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do).
The taxi ride from airport to here was about 1.5 hrs, ~ 50km. Our reason for choosing this place was, it is located near end of route 2 and start of route 3. With this arrangement, we can stay in one place and cover route 1, 1-1, 2 and 3 comfortably.
And the bonus, we simply love the place. Clean, spacious and wonderful host. The morning sun rise view at the balcony/BBQ area of the unit was simply spectacular too! That was the extra that we did not expect.
If you wish to shop in South Korea, like cosmetics, then probably option 2 is a better choice for you. Transit and stay over Seoul for a night or 2 on your way home. You can find Olive Young and other renowned cosmetics outlets in Jeju too but generally Seoul have more choices.
We however, are tempted to go for option 4 for our next trip. Wishes to visit Busan after Jeju to have a taste of their fresh seafood. Jeju have their very yummy native seafood too. But Busan is Korea biggest seaport hence the curiosity to visit and explore. Many friends raved about their seafood market.
This trip, we experienced some hiccups with airline and actually arrived one day later in Jeju. Hence, we reshuffled route 1 and 2 to day 5 and combined 2 routes into one day. The travelling time was quite long from our 3rd hotel and wasted some time. But at least we got what we wished to cover despite the hiccups.
Ideally you should cover route 1-1, 1, 2 and 3A while staying at area around the first hotel. Less travelling time.
There are lots of eating places within walking distance to this resort too. One that we particularly like was this BBQ black pork place. The pork was chargrilled to perfection and the vegetable and sauce to go with the meat was so so good.
[KakaoMap] 온평꽃돈숯불구이
495, Hwanhaejangseong-ro, Seongsan-eup, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do https://kko.kakao.com/-EPZTL9tNm
For details of individual route, please click on the respective link.
Nov 2024 Jeju Olle Trail Part 1 of 3, South Korea
#Day3 #Route3A
#Day4 #Route4
#Day5 #Route1 #Route2
#Day6 #Route5 #Route6
#Day7 #Route7-1
#Day8-9-10 #BonusTips #RevisedItinerary
Note:
The views in this blog is purely the impression and views of the author, Wan Ying. Others views may varies.
No part of the write-ups from this site can be reused in any way without written permission from the blog writer.
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