3 Days on Jeju Island (Without a Rental Car)

laurenjones3112
Nov 26, 2025
6 min read

Jeju Island is a popular tourist destination known primarily for its oranges (best in fall/winter), beaches and nature, black pork, and female divers (known as Haenyeo). This island is known as the “Hawaii of Korea” and is a great spot to relax after time in the cities of mainland South Korea.

Note: We did not get our international driver’s permit early enough before leaving for South Korea so we did not end up renting a car on Jeju Island. We were a bit limited there without a car but between taxis/uber and public transit, we got everywhere we wanted to just fine.

Day 0: Travel Day

We arrived on Jeju Island midday and took a taxi to the south side of the island, where we were staying at the Grand Sumorum near Seogwipo. I really liked this hotel and its location, but I wouldn’t recommend if you didn’t have a car (like us). I would have stayed somewhere more central if we had known we would not have a rental car, either in Jeju City or the main part of Seogwipo.

We went to lunch down the street at a little seafood spot owned and operated by some Haenyeo women who dive nearby each morning. It was a great little restaurant with a view

of the ocean and even though I'm not huge on seafood, I loved the seafood ramen I ordered. We had some high hopes for a day of sightseeing but ended up reading in the hot tub of the hotel for a few hours and resting before heading out for dinner, which was much-needed after a busy few days in Seoul prior to this part of our trip.

We took the city bus over to Seogwipo to check out the night market there for dinner. Compared to the night markets in Seoul, I found I liked the Jeju Island markets much better. They had more interesting options, more variety, and lots of tangerine-themed food and desserts. If you go, you must get the fresh-squeezed juice. I think we each had two juices while walking around the market. Afterwards, we took the city bus back to our hotel, full of street food.

Day 1: Guided Tour Day

Since we didn’t have a car, we decided that the best way to see the east side of the island was on a guided tour. The tour picked us up in Jeju City (on the north side of the island) first thing in the morning-I believe the tour was from 9am-6pm. This tour was with Yeha Tours and was great! We got to see a wide variety of spots, several of which would have been on our list anyways had we rented a car. We started off with the lava tube caves in Micheon Cave Park, which included both a garden and a cave system that we could have walked around for hours. We also visited the traditional folk village of Seongeup, led by our bus tour guide who gave great insight into the island’s history. The tour guide took us to lunch near the folk village, which was another great meal of traditional Korean black pork, rice, and banchan.

I grabbed a coffee nearby before hopping back on the bus for an afternoon of lots of walking. For the afternoon portion, we were taken to a couple of beaches (Gwangchigi Beach and Hamdeok Beach) and to do a small hike up to the rim of a volcano (Seongsan Ilchulbong). The hike took about an hour round trip and was quite steep, but is definitely something I would recommend doing even if you are not on the tour, as the views at the top and along the cliff were amazing.

Finally, we went to the Haenyeo museum, where we learned about the traditions of the Haenyeo and how they have evolved over time. Typically, we would have seen a demonstration by the Haenyeo, but due to high winds all week on the island, they had been cancelling the demonstrations. I would definitely recommend both the demonstration and the museum if you are able to see both.

The bus dropped us back off in Jeju City, at the Dongmun Night Market. So for the fourth time during our South Korea trip, we did indeed go to the night market for dinner. Again, we found that this market was unique to the others and, although we were starting to get a little tired of eating street food for dinner, we were really happy we had been to so many, as they all had something different to offer.

Day 2: Tourism Day

Unfortunately, Maggie woke up not feeling well this morning, either from street food or just travel in general so I was on my own for most of the day.

A few of the top things I wanted to do while in Jeju were to go to the famous Osullac Tea Museum and do a couple of hikes on the south side of the island.

I woke up HUNGRY so I headed to the Osullac Tea Museum first thing. This museum

includes two different cafes (one operated by InnisFree), so I went to the main matcha-themed café for breakfast. This breakfast was INSANE! I am not a huge tea or matcha fan but these matcha and orange pastries were incredible, as was the iced matcha. I spent a few hours exploring the museum, tasting room, tea field, and, of course, the InnisFree store because I cant pass up an aesthetic skincare store.

I mean, look how beautiful these pictures are. The entire museum is insanely beautiful.

Next, I went down to the coast for a few more nature-y tourist spots. I went to the Cheonjeyeon waterfalls and the Daepo Haean Jusangjeolli cliffs. The waterfalls were so worth it! I barely saw anyone else, had a little orange popsicle, and went to a temple on the property. The cliffs were less worth it. It was a viewing platform with a LOT of people. So if you’re going to pick one, definitely pick the waterfalls.

Note: The Cheonjeyeon waterfalls are not to be confused with the nearby Cheonjiyeon waterfall, which is only one waterfall in comparison to the three that Cheonjeyeon offers. I would recommend seeing the three as it was a really lovely and secluded experience, including a beautiful temple and bridge.

Afterwards, I went to XXX, a traditional Korean restaurant. The food was great, as always! You really cannot have a bad meal on either Jeju or mainland Korea. Nothing beats rice, pork, and banchan. For the afternoon, I grabbed Maggie and we headed out to another iconic Jeju spot-an orange farm!! We went to Choenamdan Farm, which is the only place we went to that is not accessible by bus. This farm had both orange picking and black pig feeding so I was very excited. The farm was definitely kitschy but sometimes I just don’t care. We rode a little train (definitely for kids), picked tangerines (and ate lots), and fed

some little piglets. It was so fun! If you are on Jeju island in the fall or winter when the tangerines are in season, you must go to an orange farm! You can pick up to a pound of oranges so this may be better to do earlier in your stay on Jeju so that you can bring oranges back to your hotel to enjoy. As this was the last day on our trip, we each just took a few oranges with us to eat the next morning before our flight.

For our final dinner in South Korea, we wanted a sit-down meal. We went to the Arang Joeul Food Street in Seogwipo and walked around until we found a restaurant that was PACKED compared to all the others. My rule while travelling is to always follow the people!! So we had to try this place out and it did not disappoint. This was maybe one of the best meals we had while in Korea, especially the banchan. I got a spicy pork stew and loved every bite. It was a GREAT end to the trip.

We pretty much did everything we had planned to see in Jeju Island, other than a few cafes. If I had another day (and good weather) I would have planned a day to hike or trail run up to the top of the main mountain in the center of the island, Hallasan. However, 3 days was plenty to see the island and get some good relaxation time in when the sun came out. This is a great addition to any South Korea or Asia trip, as there are tons of flights in and out of the island.