Disclaimer: I am not in anyway sponsored by any company to write this as this post will most likely contain several brands but PLS SPONSOR THIS BROKE TRAVELER (lmao desperate)
Plane tickets
Simplest way in booking tickets would definitely to look at the various ticket comparison sites! I still do book my tickets with the original flight websites but these comparison sites give you a good gauge on which airlines you should narrow your search to!
And of course it definitely pays to book your tickets early to get those early bird deals! As well as to keep a lookout for plane ticket deals as even premium brands like Singapore Airlines do periodically have your 2 to go / early bird deals! Still remember a few years back where their offer was as low as $499 for a return flight to Seoul! (But that is incredibly rare now)
These kind of rates that I will be mentioning will most likely not be available during your peak periods like school holidays and stuff so do not be too delusional/happy ;; well as a uni/poly student who is broke as heck, this is perfect because loads of sem breaks dont end up in that same period as the mass holidays!
Simple comparison would be like this! A deal of below $600 for tickets to Seoul is incredibly affordable for Singapore Airlines because their usual price would be easily above $600!
What I find aggravating sometimes is how budget flights may actually turn out to be more expensive than normal commercial planes which offer baggage + entertainment + food!!! Especially if they both do encompass a transit.
For my previous trip to Seoul, I had gone aboard Thai Airways at an incredibly reasonable $460++ with 30kg baggage + meals + in flight entertainment! Super great deal in my opinion as budget flights can actually sometimes set you back easily to $400+ with no baggage / meals / entertainment! Vietnam Airlines is also a great contender for such flights at affordable pricing but do take note these flights generally do include a long transit depending! As you do not want to end up having too short of a transit and missing your flight! And well, these airports may not be the best to end up in for more than 10 hours.
Accommodation
Airbnbs in Seoul have gained immense popularity with travelers as there are plenty of aesthetic houses! What I love about Airbnbs is that it allows you to have the various amenities a house has! Especially like a washing machine if you are staying for longer periods and a kitchen where you can maybe cook!
Airbnbs are also way more affordable than hotels in popular areas and some being extremely convenient as well!
Locations recommendation to stay in would definitely be Hongdae (Hong Ik University) / Edae (Ehwa Women's University) for the younger travelers and Myeongdong / Dongdaemun if you love shopping and Seoul Station! Definitely stations near these locations are also desirable along with those that are an interchange station for the trains because that would mean it would be easier to get around.
Areas like Edae, Hongdae and Sinchon are also extremely near each other where it is actually possible for you to walk to each station from the other
Well for my previous trip to Seoul, our airbnb wasn't in the best condition so it was pretty disappointing!!! Another reason why Airbnb would be if you are travelling in a big group and everyone wants to stay together! Our trip consisted of 9 people and the Airbnb we booked had 4 rooms! Would do up another posts on my whole trip soon and will link it here!
But for the most part, I did enjoy my Airbnb the previous previous time I was in Seoul as it was clean and up to expectations! Guess we were just unlucky
Other options for cheap accommodation would be to check out hotel comparison sites! Similar to Airbnb, majority of such sites can put a price limit on your search results! Hotel comparison sites sometimes do have apartments and a wide variety of guesthouses and hostels!
Guesthouses will be great if you would like to interact with the owners and tourists from all over the world! These places would be a great way to meet new friends!
I personally would like to recommend a hostel I stayed in on my previous trip! The AN Hostel
Attractions
Alright, for attractions we had generally booked our tickets on other sites as they are usually at a discounted rate and the 3 major providers we compared were Klook, KKday, Changi Recommends.
We also did pick up some coupons from KTO (Korean Tourism Organisation) in Singapore for Nami Island/ Petite France!
These sites do sometimes have packages like for example Everland + Shuttle (Since for everland, you will need to travel out of Seoul to YongIn) And for different ticket providers, there are various pick up locations so do keep notice of those!
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| KKDAY |
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| KLOOK |
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| Changi Recommends |
Each of these websites differ in prices but do look at the fine print! For Klook wise it comes with Free Churros for visits during certain periods and Changi Recommends comes with some other free admission along with the Everland ticket so do look carefully to decide which you would like to purchase! These sites usually do also have various promo and referral codes! (Okay I shall go make an account and put my referral codes here HAHAHA or sponsor me pls!!!!111!!!)
Prices also differ for various locations and does not necessarily mean Changi Recommends usually have a higher price and Kkday the cheapest!
These sites do also offer Wifi Egg packages which are mostly essential in my opinion! Internet is always recommended la! They do have those prepaid cards too so whichever floats your boat!
WiFi Eggs would be recommended for large groups and definitely a life saver for my group because the Airbnb's WiFi was a failure and we were too tired of calling the owner's employee to come fix it.
Special Tip for my K-pop fans out there in Singapore, Singapore's Korea Tourism Organisation does give out music show tickets for SG fans travelling to Korea and tbh I feel it is super worth!!! Because SM does tours for Mcountdown and it can cost more than $100 for that when you can stand a chance to get free admission courtesy of KTO! Especially when these music shows requires balloting/queuing!!!
Example of their posts
Link to their FB: https://www.facebook.com/Koreatourismorganizationsingaporeoffice/?ref=page_internal
Special Tip for my K-pop fans out there in Singapore, Singapore's Korea Tourism Organisation does give out music show tickets for SG fans travelling to Korea and tbh I feel it is super worth!!! Because SM does tours for Mcountdown and it can cost more than $100 for that when you can stand a chance to get free admission courtesy of KTO! Especially when these music shows requires balloting/queuing!!!
Example of their posts
Even for non-kpop fans, KTO does periodically have free T-money, coupons and various perks if you are travelling to Korea! Worth checking out their FB to see if there are any freebies you can get to lessen your spending!
Hopefully this post was informative and helpful enough!