Authentic Korea by Bicycle

We cycle a total of 317 km over five cycling days. Our routes are a part of South Korea’s world-class 4-Rivers Bicycle Paths. While the entire network spans over 1,000 km and requires at least 12 days to finish, this tour has been designed to give you a satisfying taste of 3 out of 4 of the country’s bike paths! Days 2 & 3 combined entail the full length of the Bukhan River Bicycle Path; days 4 & 5 showcase the rural centrepiece of the Han River Bicycle Path; and day 6 is along one of the Nakdong River Bicycle Path’s dreamiest sections. Most daily distances are kept to less than 70 km, and the terrain is predominantly flat or mildly undulating. We employ two short vehicle transfers on days 4 & 5 to avoid backtracking and tough climbing, while also allowing us to take in more of South Korea’s beautiful interior.

But it’s not just about cycling. This tour has been carefully crafted to showcase Korea’s rich cultural heritage, starting with a guided visit to Seoul’s former royal palace and ending with an exploration of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Andong Hahoe Village. Food is a highlight of the tour, and you can expect to taste a wide variety of the country’s cuisine (hint: it’s much more than just BBQ and kimchi, though there’s plenty of that too).

Your guide’s expert knowledge of the area and terrain ensures you always know what is coming up in terms of distance and difficulty. This makes a tremendous difference, as does the constant supply of water and refreshments along the way.

Suitability: This is a moderately difficult tour that anyone with a reasonable level of fitness will enjoy. Daily distances are relatively consistent (min 56 km and max 75 km), enabling a leisurely pace to take in the sights while still getting in a solid couple of hours in the saddle. As the bike paths are situated in valleys, the terrain is predominantly flat, though the ever-present hills press up against the rivers at times, resulting in occasional climbs. These are typically short, rarely exceeding 1 km, with gradients mostly around 3–5%. The roads are entirely paved, so no technical riding is required, but good handling skills to navigate bumpier sections and occasional traffic will be helpful. The pace is leisurely with plenty of refreshment stops, so riders with less experience are more than welcome to join. While a support vehicle will always be on hand to provide refuge for weary riders, please note that it rarely follows the group directly due to the separation of cyclist and motorist infrastructure. Rendezvous points will always be communicated.

Biking Conditions: The riding on this tour takes place almost entirely on South Korea’s official bicycle paths which are, simply put, a joy. At times, these paths feel like dedicated cycling highways, with smooth tarmac and split lanes. Other sections wind through embankments, rural roads, or alongside main roads, where the surface can be bumpier with loose debris. A highlight for many is rattling over purpose-built wooden boardwalks, though extra caution is required as they can get slippery. While many of the paths are separate from motorised traffic, some sections merge with roads where vehicles, including cars and buses, are present. In the cities, we ride on a mix of bicycle lanes and urban streets where extra caution is necessary. Rainfall is not uncommon in South Korea at any time of year. We generally ride rain or shine, but based on the guide’s discretion or your level of comfort, modifications to the planned route can be made. It’s all part of the adventure!

Accommodations: Accommodations range from 3-star city hotels in Seoul to Korean-style pensions in smaller towns. These high-comfort, low-frills digs offer a clean room, hot water, and AC/heating, but don’t expect extras like a swimming pool, English-speaking staff, or a Western breakfast (sometimes there is no breakfast at all, and we’ll need to go elsewhere). Room sizes may be smaller, and beds can be firmer than you’re used to. A special experience is spending the night in a traditional hanok where there are private rooms but the facilities (including the bathrooms) are shared. Instead of Western-style beds, we sleep on thick mattresses on traditional heated floors. For larger groups, we may need to use more than one accommodation and, in case of limited availability, switch to an alternative property from the one listed in the itinerary.

Bikes

Because we know some people can't imagine going on a trip without their own beloved bicycle, they are not provided as standard on this tour. However, you can hire bikes locally for the price listed in the tour pricing section. We provide high-quality hybrid bikes from well-known brands. If you bring your own bike, please ensure it is in good mechanical order; we recommend a tyre width of at least 28mm (any type of bike is suitable as the roads are paved). We also have e-bikes available for hire, but these are limited in number and size — please email us to check availability.

Bike Repairs

Basic spares and tools are carried by the guide and on the support vehicle, though we cannot guarantee having spares for every conceivable problem. Carrying a basic tool kit, a spare tube and a pump while riding is recommended.

Safety

Wearing a helmet is required on all our biking adventures and is non negotiable. If you do not wear a helmet you will not be allowed to cycle. Your tour leader is trained in first aid and emergency rescue, but to a large degree you must be responsible for your own safety while riding. It is therefore compulsory that you take out travel insurance that will cover you for a mountain biking tour.

Guides

You will be led by a local English-speaking guide and if the group is 9 people or more we will add another guide to the tour. All our guides are well informed in the history, culture and religions of the area where you are biking and are skilled at passing that knowledge on to you. Your guide is also medically trained and an experienced cyclist, able to handle most minor repairs en route.

If this is the tour for you here's what you need to do to confirm your place:

FLEXIBLE BOOKING CONDITIONS

CONFIRMING YOUR BOOKING

Just complete our online booking form or send your booking details offline (email or post), and we will confirm your participation. No deposit is needed to confirm your place on a SpiceRoads tour.

You are advised to read our Booking Conditions in full before you make your payment and should you require further clarifications of any of the conditions below, please email us or call our office.

TRIP STATUS

There is a minimum number of participants (usually 2) required to enable the trip to go ahead. Once the minimum number is reached, the trip status will change from 'Available' to 'Guaranteed to Depart'. Once a trip is guaranteed to depart you are free to book your flights and make other travel arrangements. If the trip status is ‘Limited’ will mean we have only a small number of spaces available for booking. If you are unsure about the trip status, please email us or call our office.

BOOKING ONLINE

From the tour page, click the 'Book Now' link. All departures for this tour will appear, just select the date you'd like to travel. For the next steps, you'll need to know the names of the people travelling. If you wish you can also provide extra details such as passport numbers, height (for bike hire), or you can add that later by logging into Manage My Trip (we'll set up an account for you automatically if you don't already have one). Our system will contact you from time to time to fill in the missing information, as it will be required before departure. However, if the trip that you are booking offers a child discount, you will have to fill out the date of birth of each rider (so we can calculate the appropriate discount).

If you are having any problems please send us an email, or give us a call (+66 026 3295) and one of our travel specialists will assist you with your booking.

BOOKING OFFLINE

Just call us or send an email indicating which trip you want to join and we will happily send you a list of questions and process your booking for you.

DEPOSITS AND PAYMENTS

We do not require a deposit or full payment to book a place for you on a tour.

The balance of the tour’s cost (final invoice) will need to be paid 60 days before the departure date with fees for any bicycle rental(s), single supplement(s) and extra hotel nights.

In the case where a booking is made when there are less than 60 days until the tour departure date, the tour’s cost should be paid in full within 72 hours of receiving an invoice from SpiceRoads. Payment can be made by credit card using our online payment gateway or by bank transfer. When making payment online you will need to confirm that you have read these booking conditions during the "checkout" process, which equates to agreeing to the terms of services and stipulations as indicated in this document.

In all cases, tour fees need to be paid “in full” before participation in a tour. No person(s) will be allowed to join a tour without fully settling their invoice and receiving a confirmation number from SpiceRoads.

The exception can be made for last-minute miscellaneous fees that can be paid locally (visas, additional local hotel bookings, etc.) can be settled on the day of arrival.

FULL FLEXIBILITY FOR TOUR CANCELATIONS

If the tour is cancelled or postponed by SpiceRoads because we didn't make the trip numbers and the tour can’t run, we will make a full cash refund (by bank transfer or on your credit card).

If the tour is cancelled for any other reason, including due to Covid related travel restrictions, we will give you a full credit (with no deductions for admin or any other small-print item) to use on any SpiceRoads tour with no time limit. (Exceptions being flights, special permits and other non-refundable items and these will be advised when booking the trip).

Before paying for your tour, you can cancel your booking with no charge and up until 40 days before departure, you can change your booking to another travel date or move your booking onto another SpiceRoads tour with no charges.

If you need to cancel after you have made full payment, please see our cancellation policy.

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