Solo in Busan: How to navigate and explore Korea’s southern gem

Looking for new places to see in Korea outside of Seoul? Head down south and chill out in Busan, South Korea‘s most famous port city, best known for its laidback atmosphere, happening beaches and amazing seafood. I’ve visited Busan twice – as a solo traveller and on a guided trip – and put together this guide on how to travel Busan solo including some tips on navigating Busan by public transport.

Why visit Busan?

Seoul is special to me as my first solo trip ever and I have visited it several times since, so in 2019 when I was looking for a new spot in Korea to visit and a great opening promo for a nonstop flight popped up, I booked a ticket on a whim and spent about a week exploring the southern region in South Korea in May.

Some of this time I spent in the South Jeolla or Jeollanam region in Suncheon and Yeosu, and I spent 3 nights in Busan without too much of a plan beforehand, even making a daytrip out to Geoje and Oedo Islands.

I visited Busan again in 2024 on a media trip in November 2024 in the early stages of autumn where we explored BuUlGyeong – Busan, Ulsan and Gyeongsan-nam over 9 days.

Busan is a big city but perhaps not as dense and crowded as Seoul can get. Things here are a little more spread out, and it generally feels a bit more chill overall. There’s also plenty to do but everything is quite spread out

How to get from Singapore to Busan

Fly nonstop SIN-PUS

I flew in 2019 via Silkair before it became a part of Singapore Airlines. As of 2024, Singapore Airlines does have a nonstop flight from Singapore’s Changi Airport to Busan’s Gimhae Airport 3-4 times a week.

In 2024, I flew Jejuair which has nonstop flights from Singapore’s Changi Airport to Busan’s Gimhae Airport daily.

Seoul to Busan

By Plane: Most airlines fly from Singapore to Seoul’s Incheon airport and from there you could take a domestic flight (1 hour) to Busan’s Gimhae Airport.

By Train: Alternatively if you prefer to travel by train or plan to stopover in Seoul, take the AREX Express Train from Incheon Airport to Seoul Station (1 hour), and then take the KTX high speed train from Seoul Station to Busan Station (2hr 15 min).

Jeju to Busan

There are some direct flights from Singapore to Jeju, so you could do an Open Jaw or throw in a domestic flight from Jeju to Busan (1 hour) or take an overnight ferry (12hrs ++).

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Things to do in Busan

The sights in Busan are fairly spread out, so I’ve divided it into different areas to help you plan your exploration. These are some of Busan’s highlights that I think are worth checking out.

Nampodong – South Busan

Nampodong is the downtown area of Busan where you’ll find major sights like the Jagalchi Market for fresh seafood as well as the Gukje Traditional Market, one of the largest outdoor markets in Korea.

BIFF Square is fun to walk around in day or night with lots of shops for retail therapy and hotteok street food stalls, and Bosudong Book Street is also in this area.

Go a little bit out of Nampodong to the famous Gamcheon Village on the slopes, a former slum area now a hip cultural village. If you hop on the subway you can also head further south district to where Dadaepo Beach is located.

Yeongdo – South Busan

Yeongdo is an island towards the south of Busan that you can easily spend a full day exploring. It’s close to Nampodong so you can visit that together.

Huinnyeol Culture Village along the west coast is a pretty stretch of cafes and shops along the Jeoryeong Coastal Walk.

To the south of Yeongdo is Taejongdae, a beautiful scenic coastal park. Hike the cliff trails and pop down to the beach side huts for some super fresh seafood. If you’re in the mood for adventure, the Taejongdae Flying lets you zipline across the water.

The east side of Yeongdo is home to the ARTE Museum, a video-art museum akin to the world renowned TeamLab experiences from Japan where you can experience light artworks in different exhibits. Next door is the P.Ark Cafe, an absolutely massive bakery/cafe complex over 6 floors with perfect coastal views.

Oryukdo Skywalk is also not too far away from Yeongdo and worth checking out especially for sunrise views.

Haeundae – East Busan

Read my detailed guide to Haeundae and the East Busan area

Haeundae along the east coast of Busan is one of its most famous areas. There’s lots of things to do in Haeundae, and because it is a bit of a distance away from the downtown area in the south – it takes about an hour’s journey if you take the metro, or half an hour by driving without traffic – you could possibly consider spending a night or two in Haeundae to save yourself the transit. Also, the nightlife here is pretty happening.

Haeundae Beach is the place to be, bustling with beach goers in the day and buskers at night. The Haeundae Traditional Market just off the central beach area is a good place for some local food including street snacks, live eel and other seafood goodies.

Head eastwards along the beach to Mipo Blueline Park with the scenic train or take a stroll along its coastline. Dalmaji Road and its many hip cafes along the hillside is very picturesque, particularly in spring when the cherry blossoms are in bloom.

A little further north, Haedong Yonggunsa is one of Busan’s most beautiful temples with a unique location right by the sea instead of up in the mountains. It’s near a massive Lotte World theme park and Lotte Premium Outlets for those who need their entertainment and shopping fix.

Gwangan is a short distance to the west of Haeundae, and here you can enjoy the view of the massive and rainbow-hued Gwangalli Bridge from the sand. Also along the coastline is Millac the Market, a new cultural space with hip little boutiques and eateries right next to Millak Port and its famous live fish markets.

You could consider buying a Busan Pass via Klook [affiliate link] to see if there are any cost savings for your travels. They have passes that are per day or per number of attractions.

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Where to stay in Busan

For an easy and convenient commute, my vote for travellers to Busan is to stay in the downtown Nampo-dong area or in Busan Chinatown near the Busan train station. It’s near to Yeongdo and well connected by subway and the main bus and train stations are close by. On my solo trip to Busan I stayed in hostels in both these locations, though one of them doesn’t seem to exist anymore sadly.

K79 Guesthouse 게스트하우스

Haeundae Beach is not a bad option for you to stay in Busan as it’s quite vibrant at night and there’s plenty happening in the Haeundae area, but it does put you a bit further away from the Nampodong area and the markets – about 20-30 minutes by taxi on a good day if you don’t mind a little commute. It takes about an hour if you try to take the subway between Nampodong and Haeundae!

Location: K79 Hostel is located in the Nampodong area close to Gukje Market and within walking distance to Jagalchi and BIFF Square. You do have to walk a little to get to the nearest MRT station (Jungang), but if you use the buses, they can drop you very close to the hostel. You are just a few stops away from the Busan Train Station. [Naver Maps]

Facilities: This hostel is pretty fancy and clean. I stayed in a 6-bed dorm on the female level that was large and had its own curtains and plenty of storage space. The toilets and the showers were separate and they had a separate powder room area for you to dress up and put on makeup.

Cost: I paid about 19,000 KRW (~S$22) per night for a 6-bed female dorm. Prices on booking.com range from 25,000-28,000 KRW (S$28-32) last I checked.

Check out K79 Guesthouse on agoda.com [affiliate link]

Accommodation options in Busan Chinatown

Since the hostel I stayed in Mozzi Hostel seems to have closed, these are some nice looking accommodation options in Busan Chinatown that I didn’t stay at but that I would consider booking. [affiliate links]

• CatNap Guesthouse is a penthouse unit that has a great location near Busan Train Station though you have to climb some stairs
• Hostel Single Single is a nice compromise for folk like me who might not want to splurge on hotel rooms but like the privacy of a single room. Reasonable pricing if you don’t mind shared bathrooms.
• Dante House is a guesthouse with both dorm beds and private rooms with ensuite toilets.

L7 Haeundae by LOTTE

Room: L7 Haeundae belongs to the LOTTE hotel chain, but compared to its fancier counterpart, L7 has a modern style room – uncluttered, lots of wood and no carpets. This hotel opened in mid 2024, just a few months prior to our arrival.

Location: Located right by the Busan Sea Life Aquarium on Haeundae Beach, this location is super convenient as you’re across the road from the beach and 5 minutes from the Haeundae Market area. [Naver maps]

Facilities: There is a dining area with buffet breakfast in the morning, a 7-11 store on the ground floor and a rooftop swimming pool.

Cost: The double/twin rooms cost about 117,000 – 140,000 KRW per night which isn’t too expensive for a well located four star hotel.

Check out L7 Haeundae by LOTTE on booking.com [affiliate link]

Accommodation options around Haeundae Beach

If you are planning to spend a night or two in Haeundae, here are some places that I would consider booking – while I haven’t stayed there myself, these look like pretty good options [affiliate links]

• Blueboat Hostel Haeundae is close to Haeundae metro station and not far from the beach, a good budget option with dorm rooms and private rooms.
• MAMA Guesthouse is a little closer to the beach and has private rooms with ensuite bathrooms for very reasonable prices.
• MS Hotel Haeundae is right on the beach so you can see Haeundae Beach right from your room!

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How to get around Busan by public transport

Busan is quite easy to get around via public transport as the city itself is quite well-served by both subway metro lines and public buses, and taking a taxi or Uber in the city is also quite convenient for groups or going longer distances. There are also intercity buses and the train if you plan to do daytrips around the region.

Here are my tips on how to get around Busan on public transport.

Navigation: Naver Maps

I usually rely heavily on Google Maps, but in South Korea, my go-to maps app is Naver Maps which not only gives you more accurate locations for Korea, it also gives you bus and train directions and timings, very helpful for the solo indie traveller trying to get around by public transport. 

There is an English map interface, but sometimes the spelling/spaces of the English names aren’t always accurate, so having the Korean Hangul name on hand to search is useful. If you search for a restaurant, it automatically brings up reviews and even menus + prices, but it’s all in Korean.

Tip: Copy and paste Korean hangul names into a notes doc when doing your research, as well as addresses in Korean. This makes it easy for you to copy the info into the search bar as needed.

Download Naver Maps from Apple App Store or Google Play store. You’ll need to sign up for a Naver account to use it but it’s free and easy to do, I highly recommend Naver Maps as an essential tool to navigate Korea.

Transport Card: T-Money Transportation Card

Pick up a T-Money card (2,500 KTW or S$3) at the for all your public transport needs – it makes it quick and easy to pay fares by tapping on the terminals at the front and rear entrances of buses and not having to constantly queue for tickets. You can even use it to pay for some taxi fares and convenience stores.

In addition, the transportation card rate is usually slightly cheaper than the cash rate (about 100 KRW cheaper for adults) and you can get transfer discounts within half an hour (make sure to tap out at the exit for buses). 

From what I can tell, both T-Money and Cashbee can be used throughout most of Korea, though T-Money is the most widely used, and Cashbee cards can be found mostly in Busan. One thing to note is that it seems you can only top up your card using cash only, both at the machines in the subway and at the convenience stores. More info here.

I bought a T-Money Korea Tour Card (4,000 KRW or S$4.60) from the convenience store at the airport light rail transfer station. On top of the standard T-Money functions, the Korea Tour Card also offers other attraction, tour and shopping discounts, though I didn’t really make use of them. The good news is your T-Money card doesn’t expire so you can always reuse on future trips.

If you just want to purchase a T-Money Card via Klook [affiliate link] and pick up your physical card at the airport on arrival. Sometimes they have bundles that include data plans and SIM cards as well.

For Android users, there is even a mobile phone version that you can use to make payments and top up with your credit card.

Call a taxi: Kakao T Rideshare app

Sometimes buses aren’t the most efficient way to get around, especially in more remote areas. Kakao T is a really useful app where you can easily book a taxi. You can key in the information or set location via map so you won’t even have to worry about communication issues with the driver and you can track the route on your phone. It has a whole host of functions but I’ve really only used it for getting a taxi.

In terms of making payment, you can select Pay Direct to Driver (because you won’t be able to link your credit card directly without a Korean ID) when you make your booking. Most taxis take credit card as well, so you don’t have to worry about handling cash either – my Wise card [referral link] and Trust card worked in most places all across Korea.

Uber is another rideshare option that you can consider in Korea.

Download Kakao T from Apple App Store or Google Play store. You’ll need to download Kakao Talk and sign up for a free Kakao account to use, and you can use your own phone number (no need Korean number) as well to verify the account.

Stay connected: eSIM or SIM card with phone number

I cannot stress how important it is to have data when trying to navigate in South Korea as you will need it for maps and translations, or trying to hail a rideshare.

eSIM cards: If you don’t already have an existing roaming plan, my current go-to option for data overseas because you can easily install a data plan without removing your existing SIM card, and you have internet access the moment you touch down and there’s no need to worry about where to pick up a physical card. Cons are that it doesn’t usually have a Korean phone number which may be an issue with making restaurant reservations or taxi drivers trying to call you, but it’s not a big issue in my opinion.

Klook has plenty of eSIM card options for Korea that are quite affordable. I tried this Korea eSIM with unlimited data from Klook [affiliate link] and it worked very well for me. You can also check out eSIM sites like Airalo [affiliate link] that cover multiple locations within the app.

Prepaid SIM card: SIM cards are usually the cheapest option with a variety of plans/time-periods available and you can often pick up in both Korea (mobile stores and at the airport), or Changi Recommends has several Korean SIM card options that you can pick up at the Singapore airport. Get this option if you need a local Korean number, but check as not all SIM cards offer domestic calls/texts. Klook has a KT-Olleh 4G LTE unlimited data-only SIM card [affiliate link] that allows you to top up 11,000 KRW (about S$11) for some voice calls.

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Have I missed out on any of Busan’s must-sees and must-dos? Tell me what I’ve missed about Busan in the comments.

Exploring the southern region of Korea? Take a day trip out to Geoje and Oedo Islands, or check out my post about Suncheon and Yeosu in the Jeollanam region, or see all my South Korea posts.