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Hiking the wonderful Jeju Olle Trail

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Explore Jejudo Island on foot with the Jeju Olle Trail (제주올레길 Ollegil) – a beautiful way to hike around the whole island. With 27 official trails, including 7 sub-trails (including four trails on three smaller islands), it’s easy to choose your own adventure. Take on the challenge of a month-long through-hike or explore in bite-sized portions. Olle Trail has something for everyone. I’ve completed less than half of the trail so far (as of Oct 2023), some alone and some with friends, and I’ll be updating my progress as I go.

Check out the list below to see what I’ve done (there are some AllTrails recordings and Naver Maps to help guide you along the way). These entries are in trail number order, but I’ve been actually doing them very mixed up chronologically (as the date on each entry will show!).

Route / Course / Section / Trail Number
Course 1-1 (Udo Island) – April 13TH 2023

Route on Naver Maps: naver.me/5Nd17dOk

Fourth (and last) day on the island for this 4-day trip. I had toast and coffee (one espresso shot plus Americano in one cup) on the terrace overlooking the harbour at the Seom Guesthouse on Jeju; fantastic weather today! From Seogwipo Everyday Market, gate 7 bus stop (서귀포매일올레시장), take the 201 bus that goes to Seongsan Harbour Entrance (north: 성산항입구, 북) that heads east. BEWARE, not all the 201 busses stop at the harbour entrance, so ask the driver if this bus goes to Seongsan Entrance. You might have to wait a few to get the right one… This is my second post about Udo and I think the fourth time I’ve been? The first post is here.

It’s about a 8 minute walk to the ferry ticket office from the bus stop; fill in a paper form with your details, and take it and your ID card to the counter. Ferries seem to run about every hour(?), just make a note of the return times. I got to the island at about 12 pm. Because I didn’t fancy punishing my feet any more, I decided to use other means to get around the island and follow the Olle trail as much as I could. By the harbour, I rented an electric scooter from Hanbakwi (한바퀴). For the scooters you’ll need a driver’s licence (Korean or international). If not, you have push bikes and electric bikes, all at good prices. I rented it till 5 pm for 30, or 35,000 won. Electric bicycles were only 10,000 won! Long story short, getting around the island on a silent bike is one of the best ways to experience this little island.

I took the scooter west and looked for a place for lunch. There’s a lovely little restaurant called Udo Stonewall House? (우도돌담집) looking out to sea on the coastal road in a black stone building. There were seats out front under some shade and I got some bibimbap.

Back on the bike and headed further west and inland a bit to stick to the Olle trail. The trail is easy to find, but some parts are off road, not suitable for bikes; I just strolled a few metres of those bits! Then I went to the lighthouse, parked and hiked to the top. There are great views looking back to the larger island of the volcanic crater nearby. This was the first time I’d come to this part of the island.

My next stop was the smaller island of Byryangdo, accessible by bridge. This is a place where people camp to see the sunrise. Sites are protected by small stone walls. There are other types of accommodation there too.

After that, I went to Didibangbang (띠띠빵빵), a coffee shop with little terrace by the sea and had a coffee and muffin. From there, I made my way back to the harbour, stopping by a resort area I’d seen from up near the lighthouse. Then I dropped the bike off, got on the ferry, then bussed it to the airport. The bus was about an hour and a half. I got to the airport with time to spare for a bit of shopping. The flight was delayed for about 40 minutes, but all in all, an easy trip back home.

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COURSE 6 and 5 (and a bit of 4 – October 24th and 26th 2023

Course 6 (and bit of 5) – October 24th

Second day on the island for this 4-day trip. Trail 6 took me east from Seogwipo to the village of Wimi. I was actually going to do Course 6, plus about 4 km of Course 5 in order to get to a good guesthouse. I had a coffee at Seom Guesthouse but they didn’t leave any bread out for breakfast. Another guest called the manager and they told him, “no, sorry, there’s no bread”. Huh… Fortunately, I’d bought a pastry the night before and had that with my coffee on the terrace. Very pleasant. I had some things to take care of before I started the trail; I’d planned to hike up the south west part of Hallasan Mountain the following day (Nov 25th). I’d booked a SOCAR to get there and I wanted to find the pick-up location so I didn’t waste time looking for it tomorrow. Anyway, found it, then the start of trail 6 and off I set! This was about 9:30, so a good start.

The trail headed east out of Seogwipo past some of the town’s historical attractions (murals, artist’s houses) then to the coast. The coast looked lovely in the early morning sunny weather. I passed a waterfall looking out to sea, and some cool craggy cliffs. I went through the carpark of one the Jeju’s famous waterfalls, Sojeongbang Waterfall (소정방폭포), somewhere I’ve been a few times before, and worth visiting if you’re in the area. The trail then goes through a resort garden where I found Honeymoon House (허니문하우스), a cafe. I got an egg tart and coffee with milk and sat on the terrace looking out to the sea. Very nice!

Out of the cafe and long more coast. There was more of the spectacular rocks and cliffs, and vast rocky pebble beaches. I passed tall hedgerows which I think were camelias and eventually got to Soesokkak Estuary (쇠소깍해변). I visited this place back in 2019 and it’s quite fun with canoes you can take up the volcanic river stream, and a black sandy beach. I had pork noodle soup at Jemini Guksu (제미니국수); delicious, and served by a robot server after ordering at a table kiosk!

This was actually the end of trail 6 and I’d made good time (about four hours with stops). I now had to walk four more km to get to my guesthouse in the village of Wimi (위미). The trail went inland and through mandarin farmland with views north to Hallasan. A farmer called to me, asked where I was from, then handed me three mandarins from his farm; great! Back to the coast and past a cafe I’d visited with Romana in 2020, and then into Wimi, a small harbour town. Since I was going to be hiking up Hallasan the next morning, I looked for supplies. I got breads at the local supermarket and some freshly made kimbab from another store. Then I checked into Wimi With Me Guesthouse (위미위드미 게스트하우스), a set of refurbished cottage buildings with a small garden.

After showering and a nap, I chatted to another guest (who I thought was another owner at first) who invited me to join him, his girlfriend, and the host for dinner at Seogwipo Everyday Olle Market. I was a bit unsure at first because I had to get up early, but after strolling around a bit I was feeling more energised. We took a bus into Seogwipo (where I’d just walked from!) and had food and beer where a bunch of food truck were set up. It turned out the guy was actually the cousin of the host and was staying for a few days. I had some fire-grilled pork and a Magpie beer, then left them there to enjoy their night, and took a bus back to the guesthouse. This was a good practice run, since I needed to take a bus back there early next morning to pick up my SOCAR. At least now I was sure of the best bus. After a can of beer and some Netflix, I slept. Quite a day of traveling from, and to, and from Seogwipo!

Continuing Course 5 (and a bit of 4) – October 26th 2023

Fourth and last day on the island for this 4-day trip. I got up early and was on the road by 7:30. Wimi with Me Guesthouse is about halfway along Course 5, and the rest of the trail is mainly along coastline. It was turning out to be much much hotter than I was expecting; the sun was low and also there was no shade where I was walking. There are a lot of rocky coastline sections where I had to walk very carefully and it was all very beautiful and breath taking. I managed to change into my shorts without getting caught; there were a surprising amount of other hikers! At one section, where people can only pass single file, a group of hikers passed me going in the opposite direction; I think they were honestly about two coach loads of people and they were led and followed by a tour guide. There were a lot of paved sections, too, also very pleasant to walk along with lots of shade.

I’d been looking for a place to rest and eat. Most places on the map app were showing 11 am opening times, and it was still too early. At about 11, I walked into Mother Cafe. They seemed a bit surprised to see me. They said it’d be about 30 minutes to get the food ready. There wasn’t really a menu, but they said ‘baekpan’ meaning a basic Korean meal with lots of side dishes. I was expecting perhaps one main dish of grilled fish, but what eventually arrived on my table was huge! See the photo… There was no way I’d be eating all of this and felt guilty. I chose what to eat carefully, avoiding the spicy looking fish soup. However, everything on the table was delicious, obviously home cooked with care.

Back on the trail, and then well into Course 4, I headed inland a bit. I stopped at Batti Cafe a small place to get some juice/tea, and sat in their garden with mandarin trees. It was very pleasant. I wasn’t in the best area to get a quick bus to the airport, so I had to start sorting that out now. I walked back to where I’d started to head inland and luckily found a bus route with only one transfer. I took about 90 minutes or so and was very comfortable. Flight was delayed 30 min.

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Course 7 – April 12TH 2023

Route on Naver Maps: naver.me/xiv5pXyp

Third day on the island for this 4-day trip. I had breakfast of toast, jam, fried egg and coffee on the terrace; lovely morning. There was a bidet in the shower room, so I was feeling comfortable 🙂 I set off just after 9 am. I was skipping Route 8 because the accommodation I’d tried to get at the end of that trail was fully booked. I was going to take a bus to the start of Route 7 and end up at Seom Guesthouse in Seogwipo.

The bus ride (531 or 633) took me close to the start of the Route 7 which was in an intensive farming area; not sure what the crops were as they were in plastic sheeting green houses. There were some mandarin trees around too. I walked along the narrow roads and then into a nice little village and the actual start of the trail. It hugged the coast and there were great black pebble beaches and hilly, forested paths.

Going inland a little, I saw a small demonstration heading towards a Korean naval base. There were signs nearby too, demanding “stop the militarisation and over-development of Jeju”. Back to the coastline and more forest. Some parts of the trail was detoured off due to reconstruction, so I had to bypass what looked to be a nice tributary section.

Eventually I was back to the coastline with lots of dramatic looking black rock beaches. The trail was rocky and slow-going here. I found a nice shady half cave on the beach for a snack stop. Back on road and into a tourist area with seafront properties. I passed a modern haenyeo area (the women diver fishers of Jeju), then I stopped at a coffee shop called Bunker House for a coffee and small pastry.

The next part of the trail got tricky as the path wasn’t super obvious. It seemed to say go back to the rocky beach but the was also a trail going next to the beach on higher ground. I wanted to avoid more rocky trail so took the upper trail. It soon kind of stopped and went into what seemed like hilly private forest; I kept going looking at my GPS position on Naver Maps. I was going onto unchartered territory here (a bit like yesterday!) and then came to a solid wall of vegetation of deep green leaved plants. So go back or continue? I looked at ground level and saw there was actually the remnants of a rocky trail so I pushed through the vegetation and put aside the thoughts of any bugs transferring to me… Finally I got out of the bushes and onto a trail and back to the road; and past a sign saying “Don’t enter here, it’s private”. Oops.

Back to the trail. I saw a lovely wall inhabited by succulents. Into the Seogwipo city area now and some of the most attractive part of the Jeju coastline. These are all well maintained trails. Just outside the city is a hill part that I contemplated skipping since I was getting tired. However I went up. Turns out I’d done this part of the trail before. After that I took the most direct route to Seom Guesthouse. It was as I remembered mostly (except no eggs for breakfast). I showered, rested then headed into town to get a burger. Unfortunately the Goofy Foot Surf Bar was closed today, so I went to 88 Burger instead. Had me another Magpie ale served in a can!

My feet were still hurting; not muscle pain, just sore due to my feet not being able to breath properly and feeling a little chaffed. I had a blister under one toe. Going to have to dump those socks I think! Back at the guesthouse I planned for tomorrow; bus to Udo Island and rent an electric scooter. I’d sourced a good bus stop to make that trip while getting my burger, so it was just a question of finding the most suitable, most frequent bus. There were two other guests in the room that night, both quiet sleepers.

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Course 7-1 – December 15TH 2020

Route on Naver Maps.

I did just the hill / oreum part of trail 7-1 and wrote about it in another post.

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COURSE 10 (AND BIT OF 9) – April 11TH 2023

Route on Naver Maps: naver.me/xcKJk7pk

Second day on the island for this 4-day trip. I left the hostel at about 10:30 and walked to harbour. There’s an island called Gapado which has part of Route 10-1 on it, but it was far too busy; I didn’t wait around so I’ll go another time. I decided to set off on course 10 (and maybe do section 9).

There was a lot of forest and rocky coast, very beautiful and a bit hilly. I was taking a break about every hour or so. The trail turned inland a bit and through farmland that contained a few historical sites related to the occupation of Korea, WWII, and the aftermath; there was an Imperial Japanese airfield with bunkers and aircraft hangers. There was also the site of the place where the UN forces had buried the residents of Jeju killed by them during the Jeju uprising.

Later, I skipped the Songaksan outcrop or peninsula as I’d done it back in 2019. After walking a bit along the coast, I stopped off at Tropical Hideaway for eggs Benedict and another pint of Magpie. This place is accommodation with a cafe on the first floor with a view of the sea. I’ve had Sanbangsan in view most the time on this hike, slowly getting larger as I approached. There was more coastal walk along sand, rock, and both! There were clouds in the sky and I knew there might be a bit of rain later.

Once I got to the end of route 10, I had to decide; do route 9 (no, not enough time), bus it to the accommodation (would take about an hour and bus times weren’t showing reliably), or cut through a path that showed up on Naver Maps, but nowhere else. This is always a risky bet since there’s no telling if the trail would go all the way to where I wanted, but decided that would be the best option. I basically did route 9 BUT cut out all the inland part! I took one wrong turn; this was a narrow concrete road going up which then turned into rocky dirt road, then, fortunately back into concrete. At the top was a really nice piece of farmland. Had I been less tired, I’d have tried to get to the edge of the land to look from the cliffside. However, that probably wouldn’t have been a good idea as it was private property. The trail off the mountain and into the village I was staying at was a simple rocky path down through forest. At the exit was another twenty minute walk to the accommodation. My feet were not feeling in the best shape; I don’t think my cheap Daiso Everlast socks were suitable for such a long hike so will need to figure that out…

The Ocean View Jeju Guesthouse was luxurious by hostel standards! It was in a lovely spot next to the sea. The dorm was big with brand new facilities. On the second floor was a bar with a cool terrace. I showered, then walked (ouch) back to a Pizzarea 3657, a pizza restaurant I’d seen on the way in; pizza from wood fired brick oven? Glass of red wine? Yes please! After that, I went too the guesthouse bar and had a few beers before bed.

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Course 10-1 – Gapado Island – May 3rd 2024

Route on Naver Maps: https://naver.me/5Gyv74lY

Second day on the island for this 3-day trip. I had just got a bus from the entrance of the Eorimok Hallasan trail after hiking it in the early morning. I ran to make the 14:00 ferry. The ferry took only 10 minutes and as soon as I got off, I rented a bicycle with a basket on the front for 5,000 won; this is how I did Course 10-1, with my backpack in the basket!

It was a gorgeous place. The main crop of this island is barley which made the whole, mainly flat landscape golden in the fine weather! It didn’t take too long to cycle slowly around, and I stopped at Gapado Bomnalae (가파도봄날에) for some grapefruitade before heading back to the port.

Once back on Jeju, I walked from the harbour to The Lemon Tree Guesthouse. and checked in. After showring, went next door for fish and chips and Magpie IPA at Gla Gla Hawaii. This was my second time here (and I’d visit again the next evening, too!

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Course 12 – April 10TH 2023

Route on Naver Maps: naver.me/Gw5f7KUd

First day on the island for this 4-day trip. I got straight off the plane and onto the 8:40 102 bus to the south west of Jeju, then another bus a few kilometres up to Yongsu-hang harbour (용수항) the starting point of trail 12. I stopped at Bean2020 for a coffee (카페 빈2020). Good coffee and great location. I was too early for their homemade scones, sadly. There’s a rooftop looking out to the sea.

I started the trail properly then. I don’t have a stamp book. There’s an app version of the trail book where you can scan QR codes at the points but it cost 20,000 won for that; I just took photos instead! There’s a lot of beautiful coastline and the weather was fantastic. I now know that even though it’s relatively flat compared to my usual mountain hikes, I think doing more than one section at a time is a bit too ambitious, especially if you want to take your time and stop. For this reason I skipped doing trail 11 and took a bus to my accommodation at Guesthouse Spring Flower. It was basic but I had the room to myself. I showered and went to the harbour area and into town. I bought some food supplies for hiking tomorrow. Then I had fish burger with chips, then extra chips, plus two pints of Magpie IPA at Gla Gla Hawaii.

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Course 13 – May 5TH 2024

Route on Naver Maps: https://naver.me/5kLMz9EW

Third day on the island for this 3-day trip. I had breakfast of bibimbap at The Lemon Tree Guesthouse provided by the host. Then I caught a 255 bus nearby then changed to the 180-1(?) tourist bus that got me to the east trailhead of course 13. This is now the fourth time I’ve been to this Jeoji Oreum area; first time driving around in 2019, second time with Bry and Soph, third time on my previous solo trip where I did route 14-1, and today for route 13. The bus took only about 40 minutes! And the weather was good!

I went around Jeoji Oreum this time, rather than going up, as I’d done it before. This inland trail goes through a lot of farmland, the crops on this route seem to be barley and broccoli! The barley fields looked lovely and golden especially swaying in the gentle wind, similar to the landscape I’d seen on Gapado Island the day before while cycling route 10-1. I saw a group of harvesters packing up bags of huge broccoli into the back of a Bongo truck. We exchanged greetings. There were lots more golden fields, small forest and road trails. I saw an Olympic themed tower which I had to go up of course, plus the famous stone chair in a lily pond in one of the villages; I don’t know the significance of this attraction!

At the end of the trail, I stopped at Bean2020 for a coffee (카페 빈2020) for the second time in my life, this time for a grapefruitade and homemade scone. I walked to catch bus 202 that goes back to the harbour area. After a shower and rest, I wandered a bit north up trail 11 to Indi55 (인디55) cafe for a hand drip coffee with a view of palm trees and the see where I wrote this blog post up. Later, I got more Magpie IPA and fish’n’chips, plus some carrot cake at Gla Gla Hawaii.

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Course 14 – March 6th to 9th, 2022

Route on Naver Maps: naver.me/GMRvdUQo

Four days on the island: I had a few days off and had seen Bryan and Sophie were on Jeju hiking the Olle Trail. A few messages later, and I’d booked a flight to join them!

March 6th: I got to Jeju airport the afternoon of the 6th, then bussed it down to the Hallim area. I went for a coffee at Anthracite and relaxed a bit; it’s a coffee shop in an old stone warehouse and next to a place Romana and I had had cutlass fish in 2020! Then I met up with them at a convenience store. I checked onto an Airbnb before meeting them for a feast of grilled pork and makgeolli at Hallim Hangjeongyuk Mart (한림항정육마트). We had early nights and arranged to meet about 10-ish.

March 7th: I wandered the harbour area and into the village. I found Cereal (씨리얼) a brunch restaurant and had coffee and avocado toast. We met up soon after and set off on our way. They were each carrying huge backpacks due to them having moved out of their apartment; basically, they had all their things that they were taking to Canada after they’d finished the Jeju trail, so it wasn’t an easy hike for them!

We started along the coast in the very pleasant weather and made our way south. There were beautiful black rock beaches, then beautiful sandy beaches, followed by more black rock beaches. The sea was very clear and inviting, even though it was too chilly too take a dip. We passed Hyeopjae Beach, a place I’d visited in 2019 ; like last time, it was covered to protect it in the winter season. After some more rocky terrain, we walked into a cactus colony area; blue sea, green cactus and black rock!

We found our accommodation (the Blue Hawaii Resort. A bit pricy for a hiking stop, but a nice room). We had some food nearby at Akoun:d. After that, I walked alone to Geumneung Stone Park, another place I visited in 2019; it’s definitely worth a visit! On the walk back, I had a coffee at Cafe The Other Side (이면), a cool little place serving lovely hand drip coffee. I was accosted by a cute Jindo pup walking back to the hotel. Later, Bryan and Sophie stopped by my room for convenience store food, beers and snacks before bed.

March 8th: The breakfast at the hotel was pretty naff, not what I’d expected for the 60,000 won I’d paid for the night! We were on the road by 9:30 and back with the black rocks and cactus colony. It is a very beautiful part of the trail. We turned inland and up some dry streams and wooded trails and past the Jeju Beer Brewery, unfortunately, closed till later today, so we didn’t hang around. We got to our next accommodation Oreum Pension (오름펜션). The owner was adamant about not letting us in early! While Bry and Sophie sat at the convenience store, I dumped my stuff and hiked up Jeoji Oreum. There were nice views from the top; I could even see our accommodation.

We went for a coffee after a rest. Later, we ordered pizza from a place in the same block (just in time; they don’t stay open late around here!) and sat in the garden before we went to my room to drink more and watch some music videos.

March 9th: We met for breakfast; grilled fish at Ddungbo Ajjossi (뚱보아저씨). Then we parted ways; me to wander around then get a bus to the airport, them to continue on their adventure. I took a bus to a place where I could make a good airport connection. I wandered that area and found a cool looking coffee shop called Muroi (무로이). The bus to the airport was easy enough and I got home by 4 pm.

End notes: This was an excellent way to ease into doing the Jeju Olle Trail; I got comfortable knowing what I could carry for a few days hiking, used the public transport on Jeju effectively (rather than just renting a car), and saw first hand how accessible the Olle Trail really is. It was these few days that inspired me to do the whole of the island on future trips and why I’m making this post; thanks Bryan and Sophie!

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Course 14-1 – October 23rd 2023

First day on the island for this 4-day trip. I was excited about this trip to Jeju, and returned to the place that I left Bryan and Sophie back in March 2022. That was near Jeoji Oreum at the end of course 14. I was going to the 14-1, a course that runs through a forest. I got up super early in Seoul, and cycled to Gimpo airport on a city bike (ddareunggi!); took about an hour! Good job too, because the airport was very busy and the train would’ve got me there a bit late for the first plane I think. I was on the first T’way plane to Jeju, off the plane by 7:40 and straight on a bus to the south west. It was two busses and took about 90 mins. I walked to the start of trail 14-1, stopping for some pork and rice soup at Jeju Pork Rice Soup (제주돼지국밥), then a coffee (with complementary kiwi from the owner!) at Saero (새로) near the trailhead.

Some of the flowers on the roadside were spectacularly red and yellow, like fire; I’d not seen anything like it. The trail took me through village roads and past plenty of farm growing cabbage. I walked up Mundoji Oreum (문도지오름) for some views of the plains, then into the Mureung Gotjawal Forest (곶자왈). It was a dark forest in places, supposed to be sub-tropical. The trail was volcanic rock and quite uneven, so care was needed. Through some gates, I encountered three ponies strolling along. I had to wait for a space to pass them as they were walking in my direction.

The trail eventually opened out to the Innisfree Green tea farm and cafe (이니스프리 제주하우스). I could hear lots of people chatting and laughing before I got there. I took a few pictures amongst the lush green fields, then started to plan getting to Seogwipo. I found a bus to a main bus intersection I’d used this morning and got some beef soup (한촌설렁탕 제주동광육거리점). From there, I got another bus to Seogwipo (about an hour), then walked to Seom Guesthouse (섬게스트하우스). I believe this is my third stay here. After a shower and nap, I walked into town and got a Vietnamese pork sandwich at Manbok Banmi (만복반미 올레시장점). I walked back to the harbour area and decided (finally!) to check out the bridge to Seom island that you can see from the terrace of my guesthouse. It was dark by the time I got there but I went over anyway just to say I’ve walked on the island! On the way back, I had a beer at Rode Marie, a place I’ve been to many times with different people in the past (Romana, my mother and my grandfather!). I had a can of beer on the terrace of the guesthouse, then watch Netflix and went to sleep; tomorrow, I’d be walked course 6.

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Map of places stopped at while hiking

I’m still updating this and haven’t added east of Jeoji yet.

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Trail information, maps

To find the Jeju Olle Trail routes, go to the main website. If you want to follow on a map app, I recommend Naver Maps. It’s good to create an account so you can save favourites like routes for future use. Once in the app, search in Korean for 제주올레길6코스; change the number as necessary! You can also search ‘jeju olle’ in English, though the results are less predictable.

Busses

I’ve been using the busses on Jeju a lot on my last few trips. They’re actually pretty good provided you take the time to study the website and apps that show the timetables. Knowing when and where a bus will stop here is a game-changer .It really opens up the possibilities for those who can’t rent a car, or who want to jump around the Ollegil courses like I’ve been doing.

Naver and Kakao maps have real-time information too. For best results, cross reference with the official Jeju bus website, as there are timetables and even real-time locations of the busses in service: Jeju bus website. You may need to use the Korean language version of the Jeju Bus website to get all the information.

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