Korea Road Trip Day 1: Nami Island (남이섬)

For the first time in a very long time, my boyfriend and I actually had the same consecutive days off. So we decided to grab our pup, Uyu, and hit the road on our first ever Korea road trip. Our first stop was Nami Island. We had such a great time with Uyu when we went in the autumn we thought it might be nice to visit again in the spring.

Typically, it only takes 1.5 hrs to drive to Nami from Seoul. Unfortunately we didn’t take into consideration that other people might have our same days off. This led to a grand total of 4.5 hrs on the road. A rude awakening, yes, but we did make it and it did not disappoint.

Despite the hoards of people waiting to ferry to the island, there was more than enough room on Nami for everyone. The island is spacious and, since it’s spring, it was particularly full of life. There were all sorts of birds, squirrels, bunnies and, of course, ostriches. We spent most of our day literally frolicking through forests and fields with Uyu. It was so relaxing, I wish we had gotten there a bit earlier to enjoy more time in the sun.

As for food, we had to grab some freshly streamed red bean buns and hotteok again. Believe me, they’re amazing!  This time around, we also got to have an actual meal there at a restaurant called Nammoon. We ordered a seafood pancake (해물파전) and hot pot bulgogi (뚝배기불고기). The portions were generous and came with a good amount of side dishes and deliciousness. After a long day of driving, it really hit the spot.

The whole trip was definitely worth the trouble just for some fresh air, beautiful scenery and some personal space. When you’ve lived in Seoul for as long as we have, these things are worth sitting in traffic for. It was also really good for Uyu, since it’s so hard to find empty grassy spaces where he can just run free like the majestic creature he is.

Even though we had just visited in the autumn, it was still a totally different experience. With the flowers in full bloom and all the greenery, it was almost like a completely different place. We even explored parts of the island we missed the first time. Apparently there is still more to see and this may be a trip we make at least once every season. Can’t wait to see what our next visit has in store for us!

• Ferry Hours
  • 7:30am~9:00am (every 30min)
  • 9:00am~6:00pm (every 10~20min)
  • 6:00pm~9:40pm (every 30min)
• Price
  • Foreigners: ₩8,000
  • Natives: ₩10,000
    • Round-trip ferry fare & tax included
• Address
  • 1024, Bukhangangbyeon-ro, Gapyeong-eup, Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do, Korea
  • 경기도 가평군 가평읍 북한강변로 1024
• Phone
  • +82-31-580-8114
• Website
  • https://namisum.com/en/