A Long Layover Doesn’t Have to Mean a Boring Stay at the Airport
Having a connecting flight often leads to a boring time at the airport. Either you play safe by sitting for hours by your boarding gate or overstay at a dining spot within airport premises. Unless you want to splurge or you desperately need something to buy, there is no keen interest to search and stroll for hours, hopping from one cookie-cutter commercial establishment to another. But if you’re in South Korea’s Incheon International Airport, it doesn’t have to be that way. You can avail of any of the free transit tours offered to tourists while waiting for your connecting flight.
Tour Options
You can choose from different packages available for the day by going to the airport’s transit tour desk. However, the final choice primarily depends on the number of hours you can allot for the trip. Layovers in Incheon can be anywhere between 1 to 17 hours. The longer your stay, the more places you can visit.
During a tour, it is possible to change your tour plans and convert from a transit tour to a self tour. If so, make sure you know your way around and you’re willing to spend for your own transportation needs. To be safe, make sure you’ll be back at the airport two hours before your next flight.
Distance from the Airport
As a general guide, the areas to visit in the different tour packages are based on their distance from the airport. For those with one, two, or three hours of free time, the Incheon International Airport Tours are within 10 kilometers from the airport, while the Incheon City Tour is within 20 kilometers from the airport.
The longer tour packages may include itineraries passing by the subway’s Gimpo Airport Station, which is within 30 kilometers from the airport. A couple of trips also include itineraries passing by the Digital Media City Station, Hongik University Station, Gongdeok Station, and Seoul Station where tourists avail of the Seoul City Tour. These areas are from 40 to 50 kilometers away from the airport. The said stations are also known as transfer stations to other subway lines going to different places around Seoul and other nearby areas.
Entirely Free or Minimal Cost
The tour bus and tour guide are free for all transit tour packages. However, if you’re going to attractions including some museums and palaces that require minimal fees, you will be required to pay an entrance fee of about $3. If you’re availing of a longer tour that is about four to six hours worth, you may have to pay a relatively cheap lunch for about $7. Travel insurance costs about $3.
