By tighttravellers, June 2026
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Now then! Planning a trip to South Korea? We spent 63 days gallivanting ’round, and as proper tight travellers we consistently booked the cheapest accommodation in each location. Our stays ranged from free (yes, free) to £30 a night. For us, the hotel (or in our case, motel) is just a place to stay! An’ if it’s a sh*t hole, we’ll do what all Brits do … grumble quietly and be thankful that we didn’t pay an arm and a leg.
Here’s our experience, and which sh*t holes we would recommend for your budget trip – feel free to skip down to find out how we got our accommodation for free although we do appreciate you taking the time to read!
Busan
Busan was our first stop on our trip to South Korea (aka it had the cheapest flight). We stayed out of the hustle ‘n’ bustle of Gwangalli and Haeumdae (‘Ow much?!) and chose a quieter area, closer to Gamcheon Culture Village.
Quiet, comfy, and probably the dirtiest place we have stayed; all topped off nicely with a red glitter floor! I mean, it succeeded in getting us out n about! But for 13 quid a night; we always wore shoes in the shower, flipped the pillow over, and got on with it! Check it out here.
Here are some alternatives if that ain’t for you!
Gyeongju
Next up, Gyeongju, also known as the ‘museum without walls’. We chose another motel for our 2-night stay, though this one we enjoyed. This was £17.50 per night but was within walking distance to the main attractions, clean, and close to transport. We would recommend this stay to other tight travellers, you can ‘av a gander and book ‘ere.
Seoul
Seoul, the capital of South Korea; bound to be spenny right? Well, it was our most expensive but only cost us £27 a night for a private room and private bathroom. Located pretty central, close to transportation, and relatively clean. The pros did come with cons at this one: small things like minor floods while showering, having to diy the shower head so it didn’t just wash the ceiling, and the constant light from the not so black out curtains.
Us tight travellers can’t be picky, so we made constant jokes and complaints but ultimately would stay there again (if it was the cheapest option, of course). If you ain’t a fan of the ‘midnight sun’ shining through your paper-thin curtains, check out these alternative – they ain’t tight traveller approved.
Jeju
Jeju, definitely our cheapest stay in South Korea! We spent 6 weeks in Jeju; it seems like a long time on such a small island, we know – but our accommodation was completely free.
We spent 6 weeks at Backpacker’s Home hostel; you can book it above – or you can do what us tight travellers did and do a work exchange. We booked this through the World packer’s website; a work exchange platform that connects travelers with hosts in over 140 countries. We paid about £50 for a year’s subscription to World packers, but honestly if you are only doing the odd one you may as well attempt to email hosts directly instead of paying for the membership. For us, we know we will use the platform often enough to get our money’s worth (tbh, we think we already have).
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