3-Day Busan Travel Guide for South Korea

For Personal Reference I planned this trip quite last minute—booked flights and hotels only a week before departure. Plus, it was a weekend during the summer travel peak, so hotel prices were more than double the usual rate 👊🏻! 💰 Money & Payment Exchange Rate: 1 CNY ≈ 190 KRW. Three of us exchanged 1,000,000 KRW (around 5,000 CNY), which covered most of our transportation, meals, and small purchases over 3 days (this amount isn’t a strict reference, though!). Cards: Brought a Visa card for hotel bookings. Many stores accept Alipay and WeChat Pay too—super convenient 📱! 🏠 Accommodation We stayed at two hotels: Ravie De Haeundae: Has direct views of the beach 🏖️—it’s just a 2-3 minute walk away! There’s a pedestrian street right downstairs; people were still out shopping until 1-2 AM. Eating and buying things couldn’t have been easier. The Sky Capsule Train is nearby, but we didn’t have time to ride it 😟. Wyndham Grand Busan Songdo: A bit more out of the way, but there are plenty of restaurants and convenience stores downstairs. It’s a 5-minute walk to the Songdo Marine Cable Car (11,000 KRW per person for a round trip). There’s a park across from the cable car station worth exploring—taking the ride is totally worth it 🚡! 🚗 Transportation Transport Cards: I got confused by all the card recommendations on Xiaohongshu, so I didn’t buy any. Using cash worked perfectly fine the whole time (though cards would be more convenient—we didn’t take subways/buses, so can’t comment on that). Rides: Downloaded Uber, which was super handy! Note: Some locations need to be searched in Korean to show up. Using a Korean data SIM card lets it auto-locate. Cash-only taxis are easy to hail; binding a credit card gives more ride options, but even without it, you’ll have enough choices 🚕. 🗣️ Language Downloaded Papago for translation! For daily shopping and dining, basic English + simple Korean is totally enough. Shop assistants and restaurant aunts speak English, and some even know simple Chinese. Every Uber driver had Papago—we chatted the whole way using the translator 😂! ⛲️ Attractions Gamcheon Culture Village: It’s one of those “since we’re here, we have to visit” spots. Noon gets really sunny, so bring sun protection! There’s a small shop at the village entrance with a super cute big dog 🐶. The sea breeze is nice and cool—great for buying small souvenirs like fridge magnets. Songdo Marine Cable Car: Highly recommended! The views are amazing. There’s an ice cream shop on the 1st floor after you get off—delicious 🍦! Gwangalli Bridge & Gwangalli Beach: The coastal area was packed with people—like Nanjing East Road during summer. There’s a beach, and boats under the bridge set off fireworks now and then (super pretty 👀), but it’s too crowded—wouldn’t really recommend it. Nampo-dong: Another pedestrian street! There’s a “Kpop Friends” store with K-pop albums inside. It’s great for buying small jewelry, bags, and other little items 🛍️. 🛍️ Shopping We visited Lotte, Shinsegae, and Shilla Duty-Free—here’s the lowdown: Lotte Department Store: Seemed less crowded (maybe because we went on a Friday). No Chanel counter here. Shinsegae Department Store: Super busy, but has a more complete range of products. There’s a separate building for sports brands (you can buy Adidas, but stock is limited and prices are just so-so). Floors 7-8 and B1 have restaurants; B2 has brands like Emis and MLB. Luxury stores have long lines—no MCM counter. There’s a small dinosaur-themed rooftop garden on the top floor 🦖. Shilla Duty-Free: Cosmetics are cheaper when ordered via their app than in-store. You can place orders online and pick them up at the airport when you leave ( has clear guides on pickup and tax refunds ✨). 📝 Final Thoughts Busan is way nicer than I imagined! It has both mountains and sea—the sea breeze is so refreshing. The people are friendly and take care of their appearance. Communication was hassle-free (you hear Mandarin everywhere), and safety is 100/100 💯. #BusanTravel #SouthKoreaSummerTrip #3DayBusanItinerary #BusanShopping #KoreaTravelGuide