Booked: Three Families to Korea Over March Break

Time’s flying and March Break is just around the corner. After our awesome family trips to Japan in 2023 and Hawaii last year, we’re gearing up for another Asian adventure – to South Korea! But since the kids absolutely fell in love with Japan last time, we couldn’t resist adding a few days there too. And thanks to a lucky flight deal, we’re also squeezing in a quick stop in Taipei so I can check out their food scene that has been on my bucket list forever.

The Trip

Spring’s actually a pretty great time to hit up Korea as the weather’s starting to warm up with sunnier days to explore. While April and May are usually the prime months, with two weeks of March Break, we couldn’t justify taking the kids out later. Only downside is we’ll probably miss the cherry blossoms, which usually blossom between late March and April.

We’re planning to travel between Busan, Jeju Island, and Seoul – mixing it up with some historic spots, diving into Korean culture, eating our way through local food scenes, and definitely squeezing in some shopping – a solid mix of sightseeing and fun activities to keep both the kids and adults happy!

We’re kicking off our Korean adventure with three days in Busan, Korea’s second largest city. Even though March isn’t exactly beach weather, we’ll take a walk along Haeundae Beach and hop on a Blueline Park capsule train for some views from above. Gwangan Beach is also a great spot to watch the sunset and bridge lights. 

We’ll take a day to visit the Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, Korea’s iconic oceanfront temple and Gamcheon Culture Village, often called Korea’s “Santorini” because of all its colorful houses stacked up on the hillside. To end off the day, we’ll head up to Hwangnyeongsan Mountain.

No trip to Busan would be complete without visiting Shinsegae Centum City, the world’s largest department store. Us moms will be sneaking off to Spa Land for some relaxation time in the hot spring baths, while the kids can role-play at KidZania, an interactive city for kids, before checking out the Sea Life Aquarium.

Jeju is basically Korea’s version of Hawaii, with laid-back island vibes and dramatic volcanic landscapes. We’ll be spending plenty of time outdoors, hiking Hallasan Mountain, Korea’s highest peak, and part of the gorgeous coastal trail called Olle Trail Course 7. There’s also black sand beaches, waterfalls, and lava tube caves to explore.

Other family-friendly attractions include the Jeju Stone Park with its collection of quirky stone statues, the cute Snoopy Garden that’s perfect for little ones to explore, and the creative technoart exhibit Arte Museum Jeju (think TeamLabs in Tokyo) makes an awesome backup plan if the weather turns rainy.

Seoul perfectly blends ancient traditions with modern metropolis. We’ll be spending a lot of time visiting food markets, like Namdaemun Market and Gwangjang Market for its street food while we meander around the Myeong-dong district.

On the cultural side of things, kids can dress up in a traditional hanbok when we visit Gyeongbokgung Palace and visit the traditional Bukchon Hanok Village. No trip to South Korea would be complete without learning about its division from North Korea, so we’ll be embarking on a tour to the DMZ (demilitarized zone) to learn about the Korean War, the truce, and reunification progress.

Beyond historic palaces and traditional markets, we’ll take a look at Seoul’s modern side through its futuristic landmarks, like the COEX Mall complex which features the famous Starfield Library and and the family-friendly COEX Aquarium, and the Seoul Sky Observatory for breathtaking views from the world’s sixth-tallest building.

Lotte World has the world’s largest indoor theme park and will be a good place for kids to expend their energy. For a bit of down time, we’ll visit an animal or character-themed cafe.

The great thing with travelling as a group is that parents can tag-team childcare to allow each other some adult time in Seoul. While moms have scheduled a pampering day to experience Seoul’s renowned beauty scene (think facials and hair makeovers), dads plan to check out the nightlife at Itaewon’s traditional Korean drinking spots (pocha), offering each parent some well-deserved downtime to explore their interests.

The Flights

When it came to booking flights, each family booked their own. While my friends booked their return flights through Aeroplan, I took a more varied approach.

The great thing about award tickets, other than the fact they save you money, is that they tend to be more flexible with their change and cancellation policies than with cash tickets, which allowed me to change our flights a couple of times to match some changes in our itineraries.

Initially, we had opted to just visit Korea, so I booked the following flights:

• Toronto (YYZ) to Seoul (ICN) direct flight on Korean Air booked through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
  • 3 x 37,000 points + $77 (CAD) taxes and fees in economy class
  • 2 x 100,000 points + $77 (CAD) taxes and fees in business class

• Seoul (ICN) to Toronto (YYZ) with a layover in Los Angeles with Asiana and Air Canada booked through Aeroplan
  • 5 × 94,100 points + $92.74 (CAD) taxes and fees in business class

The great thing about travelling within Asia, is that destinations are close to one another – so close that it was too tempting not to go back to Japan, a destination the kids still can’t stop talking about.

Cash flights between Japan and South Korea were around $250 (CAD) one-way or $400 (CAD) round-trip per person. Thankfully we were able to find the following one-way flights:

• Seoul (ICN) to Osaka (KIX) one-way on Korea Air through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club (and the same the same for the return flight)
  • 5 x 7,000 points + $22 (CAD) taxes and fees in economy class

We booked these flights almost a year out. Award seats on Korean Air can also be booked through Alaska Air Mileage Plan. If you only have Canadian credit card, then booking through Flying Blue is an option, but availability is hard to come by.

Just when our spring break plans seemed locked in, Starlux Airlines dropped a bunch of business class award seats. Starlux Airlines has a stellar business class experience, and scoring even one seat can be difficult. They also officially allow children between the ages of 5 and 12 to sit in a separate cabin from their parents without an unaccompanied minor service.

Just finding these seats wouldn’t have been enough to shake up our plans, but I had been wanting to check out Taipei’s bustling food scene. When these two opportunities lined up perfectly, I decided to make it happen and booked the following:

• Toronto (YYZ) to San Francisco (SFO) on Air Canada through Aeroplan
  • 5 x 12,600 points + $122 (CAD) taxes and fees in economy class
• San Francisco (SFO) to Taipei (TPE) on Starlux Airlines through Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
  • 2 x 75,000 miles + $18.10 (USD) taxes and fees in business class
  • 3 x 37,500 miles + $18.10 (USD) taxes and fees in economy class
• Taipei (TPE) to Osaka (KIX) on AirAsia on cash for $89 (USD) per person

For our flights within Seoul, we booked Jeju Air on cash as they were quite cheap, in the range of $50–$90 (CAD) per ticket.

The Hotels

Finding hotels that can accommodate families with four or five people in Asia isn’t always easy. Korea was no exception. This time around, I was travelling with friends who had kids of similar ages and who all had at least Platinum elite status with Marriott, which made choosing hotels a bit easier.

In Busan, we booked the Park Hyatt Busan, using a cash+points rate of ₩363,000 + 6,000 Hyatt points for a family suite instead of shelling out ₩500,000+ per night. My Globalist status allowed me to gift my Guest of Honor awards to my friends so they can enjoy free breakfast and a potential upgrade.

For Jeju Island, we picked the JW Marriott Jeju Resort & Spa over the Grand Hyatt, drawn by its coastal location and unique offerings. We scored an amazing deal at 40,000-50,000 Bonvoy points per night (versus $1,000+ CAD cash rates) and put my 35K free night awards to good use, with Nightly Upgrade Awards applied for a potential upgrade.

In Seoul, after debating between Le Méridien Seoul and JW Marriott Hotel Seoul, we chose the latter for its spacious rooms and its quieter location near Lotte World and COEX Mall, securing a one-bedroom suite with two doubles through another strategic cash+points rate of ₩341,000 + 66,000 Bonvoy points, which was much better than paying the cash rate of over ₩1,000,000.

Transportation

Getting around South Korea is pretty straightforward. We’re flying between cities, though there’s the option of the super-fast train between Seoul and Busan that takes just over two hours.

For city exploring in Busan and Seoul, we’ll be using public transit. A handy thing to have is the T-Money Korea Tour Card which is specifically for foreigners and work like tap-and-go cards for their transit system and can be bought at convenience stores like Ministop, and 7-Eleven. They can also be used at select stores and offer A digital version is available on Androids, but unfortunately not for IPhones.

We’ll be downloading a few apps to help our travels, including Kakao T for grabbing taxis, and Kakao Metro and Kakao Map since Google Maps doesn’t work well in Korea. Uber is another transportation option as well. 

As for Jeju, we decided to rent a car because the public transport isn’t as developed as the mainland, and having our own car will give us way more freedom to explore. Take note that driving in South Korea does require an International Driver’s Permit.

We are hopping around a bit and I am happy that luggage transfer services do exist between Busan and Seoul, which our hotel will be assisting us with.

Conclusion

We’re in the final countdown to March Break and I can hardly wait to experience all that South Korea has to offer, while the kids are excited to return to Japan, and for myself, to check out Taipei 😋.

Although points didn’t offset the whole cost of our trip, it definitely helped to reduce it. Booking on points also gave us the flexibility to change our flights when our plans changed. Flight redemptions through Aeroplan and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club can be great if you wish to fly with a Korean carrier.

When booking hotels, book early and recheck for price drops. A cash+points rate can sometimes offer better value over a straight points booking and open up opportunities to book better suites or rooms at a reasonable rate.

Happy March Break travels to all!