Gyeongju & Yangdong Village Private Car Tour with Local Guide
Description
Explore Gyeongju, the ancient capital of the Silla Kingdom with over 1,000 years of history, on a fully private and customizable day tour. Enjoy a comfortable hotel pick-up and create your own itinerary with the help of your local guide. You can choose to visit famous attractions such as Bulguksa Temple, Daereungwon Tomb Complex, Gyochon Traditional Village, Hwangridan-gil, Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond, Yangdong Folk Village (optional), and many more. With 9 hours available, most travelers can comfortably visit 4 to 6 attractions, including time for lunch and short breaks. Learn about Korean history, culture, and local life from your private guide while exploring Gyeongju at your own pace. All vehicle and guide services are included. Guests only need to cover admission fees and meals. For lunch, you may enjoy free time at Hwangridan-gil or receive recommendations for authentic local restaurants, where you can experience some of Gyeongju's most famous traditional dishes.
Tour Options
Itinerary
This is 9 hours customizable private tour. You can visit anywhere in Gyoengju. Discover the rich history of Gyeongju at your own pace on a private full-day tour of its UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Get the personalized experience of a private tour in Korea Travel comfortably in a private air-conditioned vehicle Make the most of your limited vacation time in South Korea Visit multiple UNESCO World Heritage Sites in South Korea. Departing from Busan or Gyeongju, you’ll enjoy the flexibility to choose a round-trip or one-way tour. Bulguksa Temple (1h), Daereungwon Tomb Complex (1h), Gyeongju National Museum (1h), Cheomseongdae (30min), Hwangridan-gil road (1h), Donggung and Wolji (1h), Gyochon village (1h), Woljeonggyo Bridge (20min) * Times given in parentheses refers to approx. time taking at each place. They don't include transportation time.
Bulguksa Temple is a representative relic of Buddhist culture from the Silla kingdom. The temple was built during the 15th year of King Beopheung's reign (514-540) to wish for peace and prosperity for all. Starting in 1920, the temple has undergone continual restoration work. The temple now holds seven national treasures and a number of additional important heritages and was designated a World Cultural Heritage Site along with the nearby Seokguram Grotto by UNESCO in December 1995. and good for maple leaves tour.
Woljeonggyo Bridge located in Gyo-dong, Gyeongju was built during the Unified Silla period (AD 676-935), but was burnt down during the Joseon dynasty. Through historical research, the bridge was rebuilt in April 2018 to become the largest wooden bridge in Korea.
The tomb is thought to have been constructed between the late 5th century and early 6th century. Artifacts excavated from the tomb include a gold crown, gold cap, gold waist belt, gold diadem, and gilt-bronze shoes worn by the buried. The gold crown, in particular, is known as the largest and the most elaborate of all gold crowns unearthed in Korea.
The street is home to numerous restaurants, cafes, photo studios, and shops housed in traditional hanok buildings, making it popular among the younger generations in Korea. The street also demonstrates newtro aesthetics due to the remaining old and worn buildings built during the 1960s and the '70s.
Just like the Yangdong Folk village, the Gyeongju Gyochon Village is another traditional village of old hanok houses that offers visitors a glimpse into life during the Joseon period. One of the famous sites here is the Gyeongju Hyanggyo, a Confucian academy and shrine, where Korea’s first state-operated educational institute “Gukhak” was established in 682.
heomseongdae Observatory is thought to have been built during the reign of Queen Seondeok (r. 632-647) of the Silla Dynasty for observation of the movements of heavenly bodies. It is the oldest astronomical observatory in Asia and is widely regarded as a precious cultural heritage that gives us a clear idea of the level of technological development of that time.
Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond in Gyeongju are secondary palace sites of Silla. The palace, along with other secondary palaces, was used as the eastern palace where the prince lived, and banquets were held during auspicious events or to welcome important guests.
[Optional]Gyeongju Yangdong Village is Korea’s largest traditional village, showcasing the traditional culture of the Joseon dynasty and the beautiful natural surroundings. Thanks to its many cultural heritages, including treasures, national treasures, and folklore materials, the entire village has been designated as a cultural heritage site. Many people have visited this village to see its wealth of cultural heritages and scenic surroundings, including King Charles III, who visited this village in 1993. Seolchangsan Mountain and its four spines of mountains can be seen beyond the village. Approximately 160 old houses and 500-year-old thatched-roof cottages are nestled within the valley. Fifty-four of these homes are over 200 years old and have been excellently preserved in their original state, offering the opportunity to view a variety of unique traditional Korean houses in person.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Please leave the pick-up place you want. If your tour starts from or ends in Gyeongju, the service time will be 8 hours. Vehicle information and guide information will be provided two days before the start of the tour. We will contact though Whats app, Please make sure to install it. If your hotel is not listed in the booking options, please complete your reservation and send us your hotel name and address by message.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Reviews(28)
We had a fantastic tour with Alan! He was informative, friendly, and incredibly thoughtful throughout the day. He shared lots of interesting information about the places we visited and gave us great local tips that made the experience even better. One of the highlights was lunch: Alan took us to a traditional Korean restaurant where we had delicious duck, and it was one of the best meals of our trip. Everything was well organized, and Alan made sure we were comfortable and enjoying ourselves from start to finish. We would highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Korea. Thank you, Alan, for such a memorable day!
Alan was a fantastic guide. He was very knowledgeable about the sights and also history of Korea. Very patient with the elderly folks and helped us take lots of photos with great suggestions. He also recommended good food options. It was a truly pleasant trip!
Alan is a great guide, very comfortable car, great day altogether, very complete visit. He took us to a great lunch
Great intro to Korean history, religion and culture. Our guide, Mr. Kim, was outstanding: friendly and informative.
Mr Kim was amazing - from start to finish. He reached out in advance to coordinate. Car was immaculate and he suggested some modifications to our schedule based on the holiday. They were all spot on! He had tricks and tips to minimize wait times and maximize what we got from the day. Delicious vegetarian restaurant for lunch. Highly recommended!!
We wanted to visit Kyungjoo for a long time especially after we watched the tv show, Queen Sundeok. We wanted to visit every important spots with a specialized tour guide. Mr.Kim was our guide and he THOROUGHLY took us every must visit with a great explanation with his historical knowledge and passion. He also customized our trip per our interest and request and recommended some places that we couldn’t think of. Since he loves his work, it was such a pleasure to be with all day trip. Also, he planned the trip with the flow of the timeline and when to be best to be in a specific location. The final spot-Anapji- was the highlight of the day as the night lights around the pond was so besutiful. He managed the time so well to get out of the crowd, it was awesome!! Strongly recommend to have as your guide to Kyungjoo!! It was just awesome!! Thank you Mr.Kim!!
Best trip ever! Our guide Danny took such good care of us and was extremely considerate of my elderly parents needs. We all had a wonderful time visiting all the sites and Danny even acted as our own professional photographer. Thank you for such perfect day!
This tour was absolutely terrific! Our tour guide Mr. Kim was knowledgeable, friendly, and so kind. I booked the tour for my parents who are older and completely new to Korea in hopes to show them a little bit more about the country's history and culture. Suffice to say, the tour did not disappoint. We learned so much, saw things we wouldn't have been able to see otherwise (having a private car is a major bonus when going to places like Bulguksa and Seokguram), and got lots of great photos to commemorate the trip. The temples were so gorgeous and we particularly enjoyed the burial mounds at the Daereungwon Tomb Complex. Wow - what a unique piece of history! Mr. Kim: thank you for your patience and good humor in entertaining my parents for the day. I'm sure they'll remember their Korean lessons for the rest of their lives! Thank you again for such a fantastic experience!
Very good service. Jun was a very good reliable driver and he is also trying to give us some informations about each location we went. Overall I was very happy and satisfied. I will book with them again when I am in Korea next time.
For about 9 hours my three friends and I got to experience a lot of Gyeongju. Our guide Jun, was very relaxed, patient and flexible with us — allowing us to take our time in various areas while still providing us fun bits of cultural context and information. We thought it was worth the price we paid, being able to get picked up and dropped off at our accommodation was very convenient. The atmosphere of most of the areas was great. There were quite a few tourists about though particularly at Hwangnidan-Gil. It gave us an opportunity to try a lot of snacks though! Would say this tour is best if you want a chill but enjoyable experience. We saw a lot and had a great time. (And Jun took excellent photos of us, thank you!)
