Seoul: City Highlights and Historical Experience No Shopping

Great tour

This was a really fun tour on our first day in Seoul. Pearl was a great tour guide. Would highly recommend - especially to those not wanting a long full-day tour.

Wonderful tour

We enjoyed getting and overview of Seoul with this tour! We especially enjoyed seeing the changing of guards at palace! Gina our guide helped the tour go smoothly! She also took many pictures of us in our Hanbok that we rented! We cherish the pictures we have from the day!

Great intro to a beautiful city

We took this tour on our first day in Seoul. It was a great introduction to the city and some of the fascinating history of Korea. Our guide took us to see the major sites and was both informative and friendly. It was a full 1/2 day and the best way to start of our visit to this beautiful city. I’m sorry that I forgot our guides name, but she was so lovely. I remember that she has 3 children just like me!

Great tour experience

Amazing experience and well thought out guide! She gave alot of help with getting the at the store as well! Its very useful to have someone that can speak Korean and english! Highly highly recommend the tour! Lots of fun,

Learned a lot at the Palace!

Seoul City Highlights- this tour was very informative, I learned a lot about Korean history. The morning walk through Gyeongbokgung Palace was about 2 hours long with the Hanbok, then everyone goes back to change to their regular clothes. From the palace we walked through the historic Bukchon Hanok Village where you get to see traditional houses. These are residential homes so we were asked to keep the talking to a minimum. We then walked over to Insadong and the tour was done. We parted ways there but we explored the area, and ate delicious food. Our tour guide was wonderful and so sweet! She made sure to accommodate all of us. We were a group of 9. Happy Journeys ✌️

Highlight of the tour

Our guide Gina was great! She had a great knowledge of Gyoengbokgung Palace, Hanok Cultural Village and Baek In-Je house. I was a little hesitant about dressing up in hanbok at first but my girlfriend was insistent and I’m glad we did it as it turned out to be the highlight of the tour for us as our photos were just amazing. I highly recommend this tour with the hanbok option. Our tour guide Gina was great and I would recommend the tour to everyone visiting Seoul.

Great walking tour!

This walking tour was a great experience! We opted for wearing beautiful hanbok dresses and accessories. Our tour guide Gina was so nice and knowledgeable. We enjoyed exploring Gyeongbokgung Palace and Bukchon Hanok Village! Thank you for everything, Gina!

Could be better

This recent visit to Gyeongbukgung Palace and its surroundings left much to be desired, particularly due to the scorching heat. The experience was marred by uncomfortable walking under the blazing sun, especially while wearing hanbok. While the palace itself is impressive, the extensive renovations have diminished its historical charm. Moreover, the lack of in-depth historical insights during the tour, owing to the large group size and focus on photo opportunities, was disappointing. For those primarily interested in capturing hanbok-clad moments, renting outfits independently from the numerous nearby shops may be more efficient. However, for a deeper immersion into Korean culture and history, alternative tour options may be preferable. Our guide Janice was nice and helpful.

Gina the super guide!

Gina isca super guide! Don’t Miss this wonderful tour! She explains every thing very well and she guides you through the royal palace and old village.

One hour wait before tour even started......

Could have done this on my own. Tour started one hour after scheduled time to accommodate those wishing to rent Hanboks. We had to wait for one hour until these folks rented and got dressed. Complete waste of time. Viator should inform customers of the wait or have those wishing to rent hanboks arrive earlier.

Not enjoyable due to heavy rain

It wasn't that enjoyable due to heavy rain but our tour guide did try her best. It wasn't easy to walk in the rain wearing hanbok and we couldn't take many pictures or go anywhere. I wouldn't have mind if they cancel it because my clothes and shoes were all wet. She did recommend us where to eat samgyetang and that was really good.

Well worth it

The weather was not the best but we had a fabulous time with Jade. She was full of information and was so proud of her heritage it was a pleasure to have learned from her. The hanbok was definitely an experience and would recommend.

Great taste of cultural Korea

Our tour guide was awesome. She was very knowledgable and friendly. Had a lot of tips to all our questions. A few people from our group fell behind and did not make it to the end of the trip, but plenty of time was given at each location for photos. We covered a lot of area and destinations in under 4 hours but tour guide very punctual and kept us all on track. Very fun experience with the hanbok and amazing to see the old village as well!

Great walking tour

This was a great tour led by our exceptional guide - Gina, a Seoul native. We dressed up in our Hanbok attire and had many photo opportunities. Gina took very good care of the members and tried to accomodate the various needs and requests of the group. I would highly recommend this tour and be sure to ask for Gina - she is the best guide in Korea!

Disorganized, waste of time and money

Completely disorganized. We started at the hanbok store and spent almost an hour waiting in line to get dressed. Then we are told they don’t have time to do my wife’s hair or make-up even though we already paid. They did refund the hair and makeup but you would think the group would have a reservation or something so we could actually get what we wanted in a reasonable time. Due to how long we waited we missed the changing of the guard ceremony at the palace. Again completely disorganized and waiting around for people led to us going about two hours over the time limit and the guide kept asking should we just end it here and skip the other sites. The guide seemed inexperienced and needs to control the groups more. There were 1-2 groups we were always standing around waiting for them to come back. she was so “nice” she made the whole group wait 5-10 minutes while she ordered 3 people a cab even though we were well over time and we still hadn’t gone to all the places we were supposed to go, and many had said they had plans after. She also had a habit of starting to talk about something and then looking at the object instead of the group which made it impossible to hear her most of the time. We could have done this ourselves, we booked the tour to keep us on track, see what we wanted quicker and not get lost. This took way longer than it would have if we just did it ourselves. We missed some of the things we wanted to see and spent significantly more money than we would have just going ourselves.

Great way to experience Seoul's history

Gina was fantastic at keeping people on track and so incredibly knowledgeable. It was raining the day we went, but still got all dressed up and enjoyed every minute.

Fantastic

The guide was very kind. and the hanbok in the palace was perfect. It was a beatiful trip. You must do it.

¡¡¡Loved dressing in Hanbok!!!

We LOVED dressing in Hanbok and touring the palace!! We were able to take such amazing pictures!! The tour was very informative and worth the money.

The Hanbok Experience

The Hanbok experience was unforgettable. We took great photos & our tour guide, Gina, and her assistant, took beautiful photos of us wearing the traditional Korean costumes as well.The tour was wonderful & very educational. Our tour guide, was thorough & made it fun & interesting. Overall, it was a memorable day. We highly recommend this tour. The Hanbok is a must!

Good introduction to Seoul

Helena was a great guide- fun and very informative. We enjoyed the tour but the palace and Hanok village were very crowded. It might have been nice to start the tour about an hour earlier to hear the crowds.

Book this one

Loved the dresses which made for beautiful period pictures in the palace. Guide was great she gave us fried rice with chile on a stick very nice.

Korean City Tour

Great tour! Jade was very knowledgeable and helpful. It’s nice to understand what your seeing when visiting other countries. Dressing up in the traditional clothes was a lot of fun.

Great tour with Ms. Gina

Excellent tour! Really enjoyed having Ms. Gina Park as our guide. Not only did she give us an amazing tour, but she also taught us so much about Korea’s rich history and amazing people. She helped us at the Hanbok Rental then walked us over to start the tour. She was so patient and also helped in making this a memorable time by taking such great pictures of the group. She even recommended the best places/spots for pictures and served as photographer many times. I would highly recommend her!

Hanbok and sightseeing adventure

Had an amazing experience!! I loved wearing the hanbok! It was amazing for taking pictures w the hanbok! Saw amazing sights! Tour guide was amazing

A morning in a royal palace

Gina is just a brilliant knowledgeable guide - full of energy enthusiasm and humour- she knows a lot about imperial history

Seoul walking tour

We had a great tour with Ms Gina. She was extremely helpful and went out of her way to make our tour enjoyable. This is a great tour and highly recommend.

Enjoyable Tour

My tour guide, Jade, was energetic and friendly. Even though it was a cold and dreary day, she kept things moving and provided a lot of details and context to the buildings and different areas she showed us.

Wonderful tour!

Loved the tour guide! She knew so much and was very pleasant! She showed us so many amazing places and answered all our questions.

Nice historical trip!

Hanbock experience was very fun! Liked to walk in traditional outfit ☺️ Our guide Jade shared even more than was scheduled.

Fun walking tour, look no further.

I had the best time, J our tour guide very well spoken, know all the history well and gave us time to rest and enjoy snacks too. J also very happy to take pictures and videos, as a solo traveler I appreciated this. I opt in for the traditional dress, it was so cute and fun walking around the palace with it. Best walking tour and I love all the tips about insa-dong at the end too. Thank you.

Excellent Service.

The tour guide knows the history of the temple and its surroundings very well. Attentive to questions and very professional. Excellent service.

all dressed up in the palace

This was a really neat tour. We were all dressed up like royalty and it gave the palace tour so much more. Our guide was fantastic. She gave everyone time for pictures and even suggested the best place for them. She was very knowledgeable and kept the pace of the tour just right to keep us all entertained and engaged. Highly recommend.

Great Cultural Tour

Great tour !!! Our guide was so informative and accommodating. Hanbok rental experience was seamless. We visited Gyunbokgung, Bakchon Village, Jogyesa Buddhist Temple with a folk museum and a local house at this 4 hour trip. The guide was so nice , she concerned with us not overheating as she constant tries to find a cool spots under the sun for us

Great walking tour! Thank...

Great walking tour! Thank you to our guide Pear teaching us about the history and showing us part of the city (houses, kdrama locations, restaurants)

Very good tour

Saira tour guide was super nice, knowledgeable, sweet & accommodating. I recommend the tour for the main sights of South Korea.

A friendly & and an Informative tour <3

It was an informative experience roaming around the palace grounds. He suggested the best hanbok for me in the rental store. I had the best experience and would suggest you go for it too.

Great, fun an friendly trip

A personable trip. Our guide was very knowledgable of the history and facts pertaining to the tour places. He was to help and accommodate. I would highly recommend to anybody wanting to go on the trip!

Nice price, nice experience

Good tour, highly recommend it. The weather was awful but it can't stop our guide to tell us interesting facts :) Hanboks were also good

Hanbok experience

The tour was great, I weared a really beautiful hanbok. We went to the Palace, and did many photos with trees while also learning some intersting historical facts. It is a nice walking tour who wants to feel the atmosphere of old Joseon. Recommended.

Felt like a Joseon dynasty's princess

It was such a fun tour! Wearing a hanbok made us feel like princesses and it really made the sightseeing more fun! The guide was knowledgeable and very nice and gave us plenty of time to take pictures at the different sites. It was nice to meet other international travellers too!

Good experience

I had a nice experience visiting the Gyeongbokung area, Ms Saria our guide are very insightful and she knows a lot of fun facts and history about the gyeongbokung palace, it was also nice wearing hanbok while strolling in the Gyeongbokung & Bukchon Hanok village area too

Amazing Experience : Hanbok day

It was a really fun day. Specially I got to wear a beautiful Hanbok and I could choose among various options. The best place I like was Palace and Hanok Village. I wish I could have just stayed at that place and would have got chance to explore the cafes in Hanok village.

It was Great experience!!

That sounds like an amazing experience! It's great to hear that you had the opportunity to learn about Buddhist culture at Jogyesa Temple and experience meditation. Overall, it sounds like it was a peaceful and enlightening moment. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Insa-dong - Jogyesa Temple - Gyeongbokgung Palace - Bukchon Hanok Village - Bukchon Korean Traditional Cafe

I had a very good time and meet different people, the tour was very calm and not hurried, which is very good, we managed to see everything, drink tea and coffee, the guide told the history very well and answers all the questions. I highly recommend this tour

Tour to recommend to friends and family

Hello! 3 things I liked about this Seoul tour. 1) It's small, so the guide takes care of it in detail. 2) There is no forced shopping, and you can get only the information you really need. 3) The traditional tea (I drank OMIJI tea) at the Bukchon Observatory is very delicious, and you can take a break with the best view. This is an honest review! I am so satisfied!

Amazing experience !!!

Amazing experience. Saira knows the best ways of getting around. Had an amazing historical story with beautiful views. Had my best time in Seoul.

Highly recommend if you don't have much time in Seoul

Amazing tour given by two junior guides. It was a private tour, which made it easier and more fun! Highly recommend if you don't have much time in Seoul. I was taken to Gyeongbokgung Palace, Bukchon-ro Street, Jogyesa Temple, Insadong Street, and Ssamzigil Shopping Center. I was offered time to shop if I wanted, but we just kept going because I wanted to get as much in as possible! The pace of the tour was perfect.

En riktigt minnesvärd upplevelse

Det mest minnesvärda från upplevelsen var vår trevliga guide Gina som visade ett stort engagemang, svarade på alla våra frågor och gav mycket rolig och intressant information om Seoul. Dessutom var det väldigt kul att få pröva att gå runt i Hanbok.

Muy recomendable

Muy buen tour, con mucha historia para aprender. Guía simpática y entretenida. Y si eligen arrendar traje, en mi experiencia, es más entretenido!