Cycling Seoul to Busan

We ride a total of 556 km over 8 cycling days. We begin in Seoul with a fantastic cycling loop on premium mini velo e-bikes through the city centre. We don’t use regular bicycles in Seoul as these nimble little steeds are perfectly suited to the stop-and-go nature of exploring the city in 3 hours (plus getting up some steep hills!). The tour is then divided into stages based on South Korea’s west-to-east geography and its extensive network of cycling paths. Stage 1 follows the Han River Bicycle Path (days 2 and 3), Stage 2 takes us along the Saejae Bicycle Path (day 4), and stage 3 traces the Nakdong River Bicycle Path (days 5, 6, 7, and 8). South Korea’s cycling infrastructure makes this journey across the peninsula a joy to ride. The route is almost entirely point-to-point with just three short required vehicle transfers (see days 7 and 8 in the itinerary)

But it’s not just about cycling. This tour has been carefully crafted to showcase Korea’s rich cultural heritage, with visits to ancient Buddhist sites, a hands-on paper-making workshop, and plenty of unique stops at quirky cafes, war memorials, art installations, and more. 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 an active-level tour, and riders can expect to be challenged by both the route and terrain in various ways. South Korea’s hilly landscape means there’s plenty of ascent and descent each day, though only one challenging pass (see day 4) on the entire tour. Aside from the short 10 km city ride in Seoul, daily distances are fairly consistent, averaging around 70 km per day, with the longest stretches along the Han River Bicycle Path, where we reach 80 - 100 km. The roads are mostly paved, so no technical riding is required, but good handling skills to navigate rougher sections and occasional traffic will be helpful. Riders with less experience are welcome, and this is a fantastic intermediate-level tour to help push your boundaries — just be sure to prepare by building stamina for the distances and strength for the climbs. While a support vehicle will always be on hand to provide refuge for weary riders, please note that passenger seats are limited and it rarely follows the group directly due to the separation of cyclist and motorist infrastructure. Rendezvous points will always be communicated.

Biking Conditions: Our route primarily follows the Han River and Nakdong River Bicycle Paths, with a short stage along the Sajae Bicycle Path as well. 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. While many of the paths are separate from motorised traffic, some sections merge with roads where vehicles, including cars and buses, are present. On a few occasions, we’ll also go off-piste from the bike paths, usually when we need to get to a cafe or restaurant which aren’t always by the official route. 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 and Busan to Korean-style pensions in smaller towns. These high-comfort, low-frills digs offer a clean room, hot water, 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 some people can't imagine going on a trip without their own beloved bicycle, we do not provide them as part of 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 make sure it is a hybrid or gravel bike in good mechanical order. We also have E-Bikes available for hire, but they are limited in number & size - please send an email to us to check on 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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