1. Tour Code: PT-GJ-2D
2. Tour Name: Highlights of Gyeongju (2 days / 1 night)
3. Level: Luxury
4. Type: Private tour
5. Price
| # of person | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices in USD | $1,200 | $1,260 | $1,500 | $1,780 | $2,020 | $2,300 | $2,540 |
※More than 7 persons: please contact us
6. Schedule: Daily departure
7. Tour Overview
Gyeongju contains a remarkable concentration of outstanding examples of Korean Buddhist art, in the form of sculptures, reliefs, pagodas, and the remains of temples and palaces from the flowering of this form of unique artistic expression. Gyeongju city and its surroundings have inherited traces of the glory that flowered and withered in the ancient Silla Kingdom (BC 57 – AD 935).
Our tour was created for tourists to avoid the hassles of public transportation and time delay. You can reach easily must-see tourist spots by private car without using up your strength.
8. Location: Seoul ~ Gyeongju ~ Seoul
9. Tour Highlights:
- Our quote is all inclusive. It means there is nothing you will have to pay us except the price in our quote. If you with us, there will be no extra charges, no hurry, no strangers in your group, and no forced shopping for a hidden commission.
- Discover the most refined Korean cuisines through our wide selection of restaurants. A unique selection of fine dining is our pride.
- We don’t use local guide and our guide will care you all through the itinerary.
- You don’t need to transfer to another public transportations because you will use our car during your tour.
- The itinerary can be customized to fit your preferences.
10. Inclusions
- Transportation by private car
- Accommodation at Gyeongju Hilton
- Meals
- English speaking guide
- Expressway tolls
- Payment
11. Terms and Conditions
Please refer to following detail page: Details
12. Itinerary
- Day 1
08:00 Meet in the lobby
08:00 ~ 13:00 Move to Gyeongju
13:00 Lunch at a restaurant, its building is aged more than 250 years old
14:30 Get an overview of Shilla dynasty at Gyeongju Museum
17:00 Royal Tomb of King Naemul
The royal tomb of King Naemul is one of approximately 200 Silla tombs scattered in Gyeongju City, and is adjacent to the west of Gyerim Fortress. It has an early five-tomb style with only a large round mound on the ground. Different mounds with the same style are scattered around this tomb, and the nearby royal tomb of King Michu also has the same type of mound. King Naemul was the 17th king of Silla, and since he died at 401 A.D., this tomb is about 1,500 years old.
19:00 Dinner with Galbi, grilled beef with marinade
20:30 Check in hotel
Meals: Lunch, dinner
Hotel: Gyeongju Hilton incl. breakfast buffet, or similar
- Day 2
08:00 Meet in the lobby and check out hotel
08:30 Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple
Bulguksa, the Temple of the Land Buddha, sits mid-slope on Mt. Tohamsan. Its construction was completed under the supervision of Prime Minister Kim Dae-seong in the 10th year of King Gyeongdeok’s reign of the Silla Kingdom (751). The temple manifests both terrestrial and celestial abodes: the mundane world as represented by Shakyamuni Buddha’s Lotus Sutra; the paradise governed by the Amitabha Buddha as described in the Book of the Constant Life, and the other paradise, the Land of Perfect Bliss of the Vairocana, the Resplendent Buddha, as described in the Avatamska Sutra.
Seokgatap and Dabotap are the most eye-catching of these architectural masterpieces. Dedicated to the Shakyamuni Buddha and the Prabhutaratna (the Buddha of Abundant Treasures), these two pagodas represent these Buddhas as residing in the temple, well exemplifying the Silla people’s desire to embody Buddhist ideals in the mundane world.
Tucked away on the eastern slope of the peak of Mt. Tohamsan is Seokguram Buddhist Grotto, a hermitage of Bulguksa, also known to have been built by Kim Dae-seong. This granite sanctuary sums up the religious enthusiasm, architectural technology, and immaculate workmanship of the Silla people, making it a rare landmark of world religious art.
Seokguram consists of an antechamber which holds reliefs of eight guardian deities and two Vajrapanis; a short corridor carved with four heavenly kings; and the main rotunda which enshrines in its center the seated main Buddha, Shakyamuni Tathagata (the Incarnation of Truth). Along the lower part of the circular wall are reliefs of an 11-faced Avalokitesvara, ten disciples, Manjusri, Sakradevanam Indra, Mahabrahmandah, and Samantabhadra. Above these at about eye-level are ten niches, each enshrining a bodhisattva.
The main Buddha under the vault of the rotunda wears a smile of serene benevolence which has been appreciated as the zenith of what man can achieve through stone sculpture. It is as if the Buddha is about to preach to us at any moment, to enlighten the good human nature innate within us. For its sheer culmination of Buddhist beliefs, aesthetics, and advanced engineering, Seokguram was registered on UNESCO’s World Cultural Heritage List, together with Bulguksa Temple, in December of 1995.
12:00 Lunch
13:00 ~ 17:00 Move to Seoul
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Hotel: None
Last updated: June 30th 2010
From the time of the quote/tentative itinerary being sent, Happymize was very professional. Always very prompt and thorough responses to all my e-mails.
I have travelled the world a lot (by myself, on group and private tours) and this was the first time ever I got an itinerary itemized by the hour (not just a daily summary giving no clue how much time where, how much time driving, etc. as others do): something that I always wanted yet only Happymize delivered on (without me even having to ask for it). So, from the very start my expectations were high. Throughout the tour my already high expectations were not only met but even exceeded! The cars were new, very comfortable, and always clean. The hotels were well chosen: conveniently located quality hotels.
The itinerary was truly professionally put together just how I wanted it, and there was flexibility to always change it on the spot as desired.
Most of all, we always felt like VIPs: the words “that is not included” were not in the guide’s dictionary – the tour was truly all inclusive, including not only all meals and entrance tickets (for planned and unplanned places), but also all refreshments and snacks along the way. That is something that made a huge difference: truly feeling like a VIP and not being nickel and dimed.
But best of all, this was not just a sights tour. It was not just a cultural tour. It was not just a culinary (food) tour. Not a single minute was wasted and it was a combination of all three: a sight-seeing, cultural and culinary tour – all combined into one! When we were not out seeing places or enjoying cultural experiences (with the very helpful insight and information always shared with us by the guide), the included lunches and dinners were truly wonderful: each meal something different, from traditional Korean to fusion foods, trying various different types of food and local specialties. The meals were not picked on a set budget (some were pricey – including an exquisite lunch in Gyeongju, others not so), but rather based on the quality and letting us experience various different Korean foods: from the three types of kalbi, to chicken stew, to fresh sashimi, to royal foods, and a lot more. There was always more than enough food ordered, to let us experience all the best that each restaurant has to offer. That is something that we could never accomplish by ourselves, as many of the restaurants we went to (in fact, most of the best ones) only have menus in Korean and only cater to locals.
All in all, to accomplish what we did in just six days with Happymize would have taken us at least two weeks by ourselves, and still we’d have never known where to go and what to order for the full kaleidoscope experience of the various Korean foods.
Truly well done and very professionally operated. Highly recommended.
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Tour: Highlights of Seoul, Hwaseong Fortress and Korean Folk Village, Highlights of Mt. Seoraksan, and Highlights of Gyeongju
Your careful planning of the seven days spent in your company allowed us not only to visit the most important hallmarks of your country, but – more importantly for us as experienced individual travelers – to see places which only an insider like you could lead us to, based on your historical, geographical, lifestyle and culinary knowledge and expertise.
We greatly appreciated your company, discreet guidance, flexibility in changing the program – be it due to our preferences and interests, be it due to changing weather conditions – and careful driving and reliable communication by email and SMS. We returned home with many pictures and fond memories and will not hesitate to recommend you and your company whenever an opportunity arises.
With best wishes for success and well-being, and the hope that we’ll meet again.
Singapore