Jeju Island, South Korea

Volcanic island with Korea's highest peak, haenyeo free-divers, and black-pork barbecue.

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Best time to visit

Month	High	Low	Rain	Season
Jan	8°	4°	73 mm
Feb	9°	5°	70 mm
Mar	12°	7°	104 mm
Apr	16°	11°	124 mm	prime
May	20°	16°	135 mm	prime
Jun	24°	20°	231 mm	prime
Jul	28°	24°	239 mm
Aug	29°	25°	226 mm
Sep	25°	22°	225 mm	prime
Oct	21°	17°	103 mm	prime
Nov	15°	11°	84 mm
Dec	10°	6°	65 mm

30-year averages (1995–2024) from ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo. Rain is the monthly total.

Serves travellers at Backpacker→Premium level. Typically around $100 a day on the ground.

Ranges are typical costs, not quotes. Check the real price before you book.

Hire a car. Buses do circle the island and reach the main sights, but they are slow and the good coast roads, oreum craters and inland tea fields assume you are driving.
getting around · editorial
Jeju International Airport, an hour from Seoul on one of the busiest air routes in the world. The airport sits on the edge of Jeju City, so the last leg is a short drive. Ferries from the mainland ports take most of a day and are only worth it if you are bringing a car.
getting there · editorial
Hallasan is the highest mountain in South Korea and its summit trails have entry cut-off times, close in bad weather and require booking ahead. Turning up at the trailhead in the afternoon gets you nowhere.
know before · editorial
Cards work everywhere, including buses and taxis. Tipping is not practised and offering it causes confusion. Keep a little cash for the fish markets and roadside haenyeo stalls.
money · editorial
The summer rains in late June and July, then typhoon season through August and September, when flights are cancelled at short notice. Chuseok and Lunar New Year fill every room on the island.
when not to go · editorial
Jeju City in the north for flights, food and late-night streets. Seogwipo in the south is warmer, closer to the waterfalls and the best coast walking. Jungmun is the resort strip. The west coast around Hallim is quiet and flat.
where to stay · editorial

Seongsan Ilchulbong
A tuff cone that came out of the sea five thousand years ago. Climb it for sunrise.
Cheonjiyeon Falls
Twenty-two metres dropping into a pool ringed by subtropical forest.
Manjanggul
Seven kilometres of lava tube, one of the longest in the world.
Hyeopjae beach
White sand of ground-up shell, with the island of Biyangdo out in front.
Jusangjeolli
Hexagonal basalt columns, formed when the lava cooled in the sea.
Udo Island
Fifteen minutes by ferry, and the side where the island slows down for good.

Eat Jeju black pork off the grill
Jeju black pork
Grilled at the table, with anchovy salt for dipping.
Jeju tangerines
Picked in November and December, and sold at the roadside.
Seafood brought up by the haenyeo
Sea urchin, abalone, octopus. Raw, at once, on the quay.

Watch the haenyeo, the diving women, come out of the sea
Watch the haenyeo come out of the water
Divers with no tank, many of them over seventy. UNESCO lists them.
Any oreum at all, late in the afternoon
There are 368 minor volcanic cones on the island. Climb one with no name.

Hallasan
1,947 metres, the highest point in South Korea. Nine hours, and the gate closes early.