We Escaped Seoul for a Day — Nami Island Without a Tour 🇰🇷
- Jul 24
- 2 min read
Seoul is exciting.
There are people everywhere, trains arriving every few minutes, cafés on every corner and seemingly an endless number of places to explore.
But on our second day in Korea…
we left.
Not because we were tired of Seoul.
We just wanted to see what was outside it.
So we woke up early, took the ITX ourselves and travelled towards Gapyeong, around an hour outside Seoul.
Our destination?
Nami Island. 南怡岛.
No tour bus.
No guide holding a little flag.
No rushing because the timeboard said we had 47 minutes before departure. 😂
Just the two of us figuring it out as we went.
And honestly?
I think that made the day even better.
Getting to Nami Island Without a Tour
Nami Island is one of those places that appears on almost every first-timer’s Korea itinerary.
A lot of visitors come as part of organised day tours from Seoul, usually combining Nami Island with other attractions around Gapyeong.
We decided to do it ourselves instead.
That meant navigating public transport, checking maps every five minutes and occasionally wondering whether we were going in the right direction.
Basically…
travelling. 😂
But once you get outside central Seoul, the surroundings start to change.
The buildings become smaller.
There’s more greenery.
Mountains start appearing in the distance.
And suddenly Korea feels very different from the city we had been exploring the day before.
Taking the Ferry to Nami Island
Eventually, we reached the ferry terminal.
And this is where the trip really begins.
Because Nami Island is actually an island.
You cross the river by ferry, and within a few minutes the city feels very far away.
Then you arrive.
Trees.
Walking paths.
Beautiful open spaces.
Nature & fresh air.
People cycling around.
And almost immediately…
you understand why this place became so famous.
The Famous Tree-Lined Roads 🌳
You've probably seen these even without knowing they're on Nami Island.
Long rows of incredibly tall trees forming almost perfect corridors.
They’re probably the island's most recognisable sight.
And yes…
they look just as pretty in real life.
You walk beneath them and everything becomes strangely symmetrical.
Trees on the left.
Trees on the right.
A long pathway disappearing into the distance.
It’s one of those places where everyone suddenly becomes a photographer.
Including us. 😂
Riding a Rail Bike Through Gapyeong 🚲
The concept is hilariously simple.
You sit inside a small rail bike that runs along an old railway track…
and pedal.
That's it.
But somehow it becomes one of those activities that's way more enjoyable than it has any right to be.
Gapyeong Rail Park's route takes riders through the surrounding countryside and across the Bukhan River area, with mountain and river views along the way.
And thankfully, the experience was much more chill than I expected.
Because when I first heard rail bike, I pictured us aggressively pedalling for an hour like we accidentally signed up for the Tour de France.
Thankfully…
not quite. 😂
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