Prep for summer and winter travel in Korea!

Having braved through the cold in December and then the HEAT in August, here are some personal tips I would share with my friends if they were to head to Korea during these months. Save this post!

🥵 Surviving the heat

1. Prepare a mini fan and a UV umbrella

- My friends and family called me crazy for choosing to travel to Korea in August and warned me about the heat. As a Singaporean, even I was absolutely DEFEATED by the heat. On the weather app, it showed that it felt like 39 degrees and it really felt like a huge oven if you were not under the shade.

- Some train stations do not have strong air-conditioning, understandably due to their 4 seasons, so having a mini fan helped! Popular places like Seongsu and Gyeongbokgung Palace are not sheltered, and it was a life saviour to have an umbrella.

2. Plan your outdoor activities

- The heat really gave me PTSD but it is definitely much more bearable after sunset. Highly recommend getting a yuzu drink from Mega Coffee as it doesn't get heavily diluted from the melted ice.

- Indoor for the day and outdoors for the night!

3. Choose a convenient accommodation

- We stayed at WECOSTAY Namsan (LOVED LOVED IT, 10/10 would recommend) with a washer/dryer to provide fresh laundry throughout our trip

- Directly connected to the train station, head back to deposit your shopping haul and a quick mid-day shower before heading back out for dinner feeling fresh.

4. Opt for light-coloured clothing

- Sweat stains can show up, and with unsightly white marks when it dries. Not a vibe for taking pictures. Please share tips on how to tackle this 😭

- Dark colour like black ABSORB the heat like mad, and it was a world of difference when I changed to a white top.

🥶 Surviving the cold

1. GLOVES

- It was too cold for me to even use my phone in the sub-zero temperatures. Get gloves with holes for you to use your phone! I tried ones that enabled touchscreen use, but it does not always work 100%.

2. Heat pack

- I forgot to purchase these in Singapore and got the 'army' heat pack sold in Korea. You can recognise it easily as there's a cartoon soldier on the packaging.

3. Winter boots 😭😭😭😭

- If you'll be there when there's snow (which means it'll be cold and SLIPPERY), do get waterproof winter boots if your budget allows for it. If not, I wore a shoe that was a size bigger to fit my fluffy socks and that worked too. But do take note that my feet still felt cold, and I had to be careful of snow/ice.

Travelling in August had less crowds and tourists around, but the heat is just 💀. But travelling in December with the Christmas vibes and experiencing snow is really 🫶. In conclusion, choose your battles and prep well for the weather!

#korea #travel #summer #winter