Incheon & Gimpo Airport to GwanghwamunFrom the arrivals hall to the Jogyesa gate

A few small things to settle before you leave the airport.

1. Note your terminal. Incheon has two, and the bus stops differ; the AREX railroad serves both.
2. Count the time. Allow about an hour from landing to the arrivals hall, longer at peak times.
3. Get online. A SIM or eSIM, plus Naver Map or Kakao Map for the final walk.
4. Take a little cash. An ATM in arrivals gives you won for a T-money top-up or a taxi.

Only the routes that bring you in are drawn, and each one stops at Jongno, where the hotels are: the airport and night buses, AREX to Seoul Station, Line 1 from Seoul Station to Jonggak, Line 5 from Gimpo, and the taxi corridor. Tap a button to show one at a time.

Airport bus vs AREX vs taxi: fares, times and hours

Prices are per adult, with the subway leg added. Under each travel time is the walk from the stop to the hotels.

Times and fares are for 2026 and move: check the operator’s site or app on the day. After about 23:30 only a taxi, a private vehicle or the night bus below will do.

1. Walk outside to the limousine stops. Follow “Limousine Bus” signs from arrivals. Route 6011 boards at stop 5B on the first floor at Terminal 1 and at stop 31 on level B1 at Terminal 2. Check the route number on the stop’s display for 6002.
2. Buy a ticket at the ticket office. The operator’s site says tickets must be bought at the ticket office (notice dated March 2026). Queue there rather than counting on paying the driver. Hand your large bag to the driver and keep a day bag with you.
3. Ride. The bus runs through Hongdae and Hapjeong into Jongno; allow 70–90 minutes, more at rush hour. The bus shows the next stop in Korean and English.
4. Get off at the stop that suits your hotel. 6002 stops at Gwanghwamun and then Jongno 1-ga; 6011 stops at Anguk. Step 4 below says which is nearest to which hotel.

1. Buy a T-money card at the airport — at the convenience store in arrivals (GS25 or CU), with cash. You only need it for Line 1: the Express is a separate ticket and is not paid with T-money. Load at least ₩1,550, the Line 1 fare; ₩2,000 is a safe round figure. Card types and top-ups: Getting Around Seoul.
2. Go down to the AREX station at the basement level of your terminal and buy an Express ticket at the machine or counter. Booked online it costs about ₩11,400; a reserved seat is printed on the ticket.
3. Ride non-stop to Seoul Station — about 43 minutes. Racks sit at the ends of each carriage; you lift your own bags.
4. Change to Line 1 at Seoul Station, following the signs to Line 1 toward Cheongnyangni / Soyosan. The change takes about 10 minutes with bags. Tap in with a T-money card.
5. Ride two stops — Seoul City Hall, then Jonggak — and tap out. Walk to your hotel: 5 minutes to The Prima, 7 to Shilla Stay.

1. Buy a T-money card at the airport and load at least ₩7,000. The convenience store in arrivals sells and tops up cards, with cash. The Climate Card does not work on this line.
2. Go down to the AREX station and tap through the gate. Take the all-stop train (the commuter service), not the Express. It calls at 12 stations, including Hongik University (Hongdae). The first train is about 05:25 from T1 or 05:18 from T2; the last about 23:39 from T1 or 23:32 from T2.
3. Ride to Seoul Station (59–66 minutes) and tap out. Cars can be crowded in rush hour and have no luggage racks.
4. Change to Line 1, tap in, ride two stops to Jonggak and tap out. Tap out and back in within 30 minutes and T-money counts it as one trip, so Line 1 adds no new ₩1,550 fare.

1. Taxi: use the rank outside arrivals, or book through the Kakao T app. Regular taxis are metered; international taxis are set up for foreign-language help. You pay the airport-expressway tolls on top of the meter.
2. Private vehicle: book before you fly, with your flight number. The driver waits in arrivals with your name and the fare is fixed. Check the operator’s waiting-time policy if your flight is often late.
3. Show the hotel name in Korean. Do not rely on the English name: tap your hotel below so it stands out, then show the screen, or paste the Korean name into Kakao T.

이 호텔로 가 주세요. “Please take me to this hotel.”

The numbered orange dots are the four hotels. Blue rings are subway stations and coloured squares are bus stops. Each dotted line is the walking route along the streets from a hotel to its nearest bus stop, with its length.

Walking distance from each stop to each hotel

Walking distance along the streets, and the time at an easy pace with luggage. The best stop for each hotel is in bold.

Check on the day. Which side of the street a bus stops on changes with roadworks, and a bus can skip a stop. When the bus’s display shows your stop’s name in English, get off; if in doubt, ask the driver the Korean name of the hotel stop.

The last AREX trains leave about 23:30–23:40 and the daytime limousine buses stop about 23:00. After that you have one cheap choice and one fallback.

Gimpo handles Jeju and domestic flights, and short international flights, mostly from Japan, China and Taiwan. It is closer to Gwanghwamun than Incheon, and the best way in is the simplest one on this page. Choose “From Gimpo” on the map above to see it.

No limousine bus. The Gimpo bus routes head south and west of the city, so use the subway.