By tight travellers, June 2026
Nah then. Us tight travellers just spent 6 weeks gandering round Jeju Island and there is more things to do than you can shake a stick at. Here are 30+ activities to keep ya busy on your trip!
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Ventimo Hotel & Residence Jeju
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Best Activities in the Area-
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Jeju: East UNESCO Tour Seongsan, Haenyeo Show, Lava Tube
Jeju: Western and Southern Sightseeing Day Tour
Jeju: Tangerine Makgeolli Brewing Class with Tasting
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Walks
Hallasan National Park
Jeju is home to the highest peak in South Korea – Hallasan. It is completely free to hike, but you have to reserve a day / time – what a faff. There are 2 trails that go to the summit: Seongpanak (the easier trail), and Gwaneumsa (steeper and more scenic, a lot of hikers descend via this trail). It’s 1947m and it takes between 5-10 hours (18km round trip). You must reach the mid-way point by a certain time, otherwise you cannot continue to the summit – all hikers must start their descent between 13:30 – 14:30 (depending on the time of year) as you cannot hike at night. You canny just walk willy nilly like you can back home!
If you ain’t fussed about walking to the summit, there a a few shorter routes you could do that stop at the famous Witse Oreum.
- Yeongsil Trail is 3.7km (1 way)
- Eorimok Trail is 4.7km (1 way)
Olle Trails
There is 437km of walking trails around Jeju Island. There are 26 routes that span the whole island, so you really shouldn’t be struggling for things to do.
Check out the Olle Trail Tourist Information Centre where you can buy stamp passports / merch, get your completion certificate, and find a walking group.
We did a fair share of the trails during our time in Jeju, our favourites being Route 1-1, 6, 10-1. We did collect the stamps (the perfect free souvenir) but did this in our own plain notebook instead of buying a stamp passport.
Oreum Hikes
There are over 350 Oreum’s in Jeju so you can get a lot more walking done! (An Oreum is a volcanic body with a crater formed by volcanic ejecta). Some of these are located on the Olle Trails but others can be walked on their own.
Gunsan Oreum is perfect for sunrise / sunset and has amazing panoramic views of Hallasan and Gapado.
Ttarabi Oreum is made up of 3 large and small craters that are connected to form a single mountain. This entire Oreum is covered in silver grass making it extra picturesque in Autumn.
Hyodon Scenic Trail
This is a 10.83km walking trail that starts from the end of Olle Course 5, it is a side path that deviates from the Olle trail to allow you to explore every nook and cranny of Hyodon Village. Then it connects to Olle Course 6; there are stamps along the route – the perfect free souvenir.
HaYoung Olle
There are 3 walking paths that explore Seogwipo, from parks, sea, and eateries. It is 22.8km in total but is split into 3 trails.
Island Hopping
There are a couple of islands you can head to for the perfect day trip or overnight stay.
Udo Island, also known as Cow Island (apparently it is shaped like a cow…) and famous for its peanut ice cream (and all things peanut really). You can check out our tight travellers guide to Udo here.
We spent 1 night on Udo and it’s definitely worth it! The crowds dispersed at around 6pm and didn’t reappear till 11:30 the next day.
Udo highlight: seeing a pod of dolphins while watching the sunset from our balcony!
Biyando is the only island we didn’t visit on our trip – but its tiny! Possibly taking only 10 minutes to cycle round.
Gapado is a small island off the South of Jeju. It takes 10 minutes by ferry and it was perfect for us cheapskates. We used our breakfast included accommodation to make a picnic and hired a bike for only 5000 won / £2.50 – what a bargain.
It only took us about 30 minutes to cycle around the whole island, but we spent time watching the Haenyeo (female free divers) and taking in the scenery.
Culture
The Haenyeo performance is everyday – 13:30 / 15:00 at Umutgae Coast. It is the only performance in Jeju; the women put on a show singing Haenyeo songs before doing a demonstration. You can also taste the freshest seafood that they collect.
Visit a folk village – there is the Jeju folk village and the Seongeup Folk Village which is located at the bottom of Hallasan Mountain. Step back in time and immerse yoursen in the local culture.
Perfect for a rainy day
In Nature
The recently re-opened Manjanggul Lava Tube is the perfect rainy day activity! Nature, but sheltered. It is the largest known lava tunnel and is only about £3 to visit.
If you don’t mind getting piss wet through, you could pay a visit to Eongtto Waterfall. This is on the Olle Trail 7-1 route and only appears after lots of heavy rain!
Saryeoni Forest Path is a popular rainy day activity and does look beautiful in the rain!
Visit one of the Hot Springs / Sauna and escape the rain.
Museums
There is a wide variety of museums in Jeju – you’ll surely be able to find one that interests you.
Beaches
You canny visit an island and not head to the beach right? Right? Yes it’s not a tropical paradise, and the sea can be extremely chilly, but the volcanic landscapes are pretty cool. Our favourites were Jungmun Beach and Geumneung Beach. Located at opposite sides of the island so just head to whichever is closest!
