Nami Island (남이섬) is one of the most visited tourist spot in Korea because of the popular K-Drama, the Winter Sonata. Admittedly, I haven't watched the drama but I was curious and excited to visit Nami on my 4th visit in Korea because of the beautiful scenery and romantic vibe of the place :)
A lot of people plans their trip to Nami based on the season because the place transforms into an entirely "different look"! During winter you'll have (snowy trees), spring (cherry blossoms), summer (green leaves), or fall (maple leaves). When we visited last December, it was already winter season but unfortunately we were not able to see snow but nonetheless it was still amazing.
Going to Nami Island requires 1 full day because it's quite far from the city. It is located in Gapyeong County in Gyeonggi Province, 90 minutes away from central Seoul.
How to get to Nami Island?
1. There are several ways to reach Nami Island from Seoul. One is via bus and the other is train which is more economical and faster.
If you plan to travel via bus, there's a bus station at Jamsil (in front of Lotte Mart near exit no. 4-Jamsil Station line 2) or in Insadong (near West Gate of Tagpol Park). The shuttle bus is about KWN 15,000 for round trip or KWN 7,500 one way. It departs in Jamsil/Insadong at around 9:30 am and goes back from Nami at around 4:00 pm daily.
We traveled to Nami via train because we're budget travelers and train is way faster than bus! The train will take a total of 60 minutes to get to the station where Nami is located at and you'll take a taxi or bus from there going to the island. Note though that you'll need to transfer multiple times riding the train but everything is close to each other and you can all pay by using T-Money card.
In order to go there by train, go to Wangsimi Station (Line 2) and transfer to a different line called Kyungchun Line going to Mangu Station.
After arriving at stations going to Kyungchun line (e.g. Wangsimi or Sambong) alight and follow the "Transfer" Sign going to Gapyeong Station.
Alight at Gapyeong Station in the Kyungchun Line. Go to Exit 1. You can ask where the bus station is going to Nami Island.The picture below is just in front of the bus station.
2. Next, ride the bus going to Nami Island but in case you're running late or the line is too long, you may opt to ride the taxi and just divide the cost among your friends and family. There is an information center there so you can ask about bus details. I highly recommend though to just take taxi since Gapyeong to Nami island only cost us 2,400 KWN which is about 100 Pesos combined for the 3 of us and it also saved us a lot of time! The bus only travels once every hour so once you miss it, you'll need to wait for another hour.
Line to Bus station, (the Bus going to Nami arrives at 9:15AM and comes once every hour).
3. We finally arrived at the parking lot of Nami Island. The taxi did not enter the compound anymore because of the parking fee so instead, we were directed to walk from there.
Zip-Wire and Bungee Jumping is also located in Nami Island. We really wanted to try bungee jumping at that time but you need to reserve a slot and you need to come to the Island very very early to secure your slot. Oh did I mention that Zip-Wire is your alternative "transportation" going to Nami Island? You may ride the Zip-Wire instead of riding the Wharf but this is a more expensive option.
4. Pay the entrance fee. These are the prices: KWN 10,000 for regular, KWN 8,000 or PHP 320 for foreigners so don't forget to bring your passports with you when you visit this place and FREE for children age 36 months or 3 years old and below.
Line to the Wharf is almost always long but do not worry because there's a ferry every 10-20 mins. and the ride is only 5-10 mins. long.
Ferry Schedule:
Every 30 minutes after first ferry at 7:30 (departure - Gapyeong wharf)
Every 10-20 minutes between 09:00-18:00
Every 30 minutes until last ferry at 21:45 (departure - Nami wharf)
Nami Island is a UNICEF Child Friendly Park and it has been designated an “Easy Place” by The Human Rights Forum of Persons with Disabilities in Korea (PWDK) due to the ease of access offerings for all visitors. Nami Island is not just for couples but also for families with children or elderly with them. The entire island is so big, feel free to explore and have your picture taken because almost all corners are picture-worthy!
You can rent bikes inside the Island to explore the entire area fast :)
Bike Rental Fee:
Single - KWN 3,000 (30mins), KWN 5,000 (1hr)
Couple- KWN 6,000 (30mins), KWN 10,000 (1hr)
Family- KWN 10,000 (30mins)
Electric Tri-Way- KWN 10,000 (30mins), KWN 18,000 (1hr)
Sky-Bike- KWN 2,000 (for 12y.o. and below), KWN 3,000 (13 y.o. and above)
There are bag locker rentals in the island for those visitors with bulky bags. You can rent these lockers for KWN 1,000 to 1,500 and it is located near the entrance.
We didn't do much activities in Nami aside from taking selfies and shoe-selfies with dried leaves! However, you can explore the entire island which will take you at least half a day but we decided to leave earlier for us to visit Pettite France within the same day as well.
A tiring day deserves a scrumptious meal! This restaurant is near the entrance of the Zip-Wire. This dish is called Dalk Kalbi or Spicy grilled chicken and vegetables perfect for the cold weather!
Disclaimer: This is an old post from my Blogspot account dated August 28, 2016.
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