A Comprehensive Guide / Itinerary to Geoje Island / Geoje-do (거제도 ) by Public Transport (Haegeumgang Island - 거제도 해금강 /Oedo Botania - 외도 보타니아 / Windy Hill - 바람의 언덕 / Sinseondae Cliff -신선대 전망대 ) Geoje Local Bus Timetable Available!!!

Oedo Botania

If you simply want to see the Geoje Local Bus / Intercity timetable click here

The lack of information for Tourists to venture to this Island, south of Busan is the very reason why I am so compelled to write this guide to Geoje. Keep on mind that I write this guide based on my personal experience to Geoje, and I am really grateful if any of you, readers can improve this guide by adding any new information or anything that I may miss during the Geoje trip, so that the future travelers can plan their Geoje trip better.

First of all I would like to sum up my findings about going to Geoje self-guided / by public transport

1.   Geoje Public Transportation is infrequent, unforgiving, possible to get stranded.

2.      Lack of signage

3.      Buses are rare, not friendly for non-Korean speakers

Above mentioned, most are true, but does not mean that it cannot be overcome by A GOOD PLANNING IN ADVANCE. Since I was eager on using public transportation, I did some research about the Intercity timetable between Busan-Geoje and Geoje’s “infamous” local bus. For your information, Geoje has two main intercity bus terminal: Gohyeon Bus Terminal (고현버스터미널) and Jangseungpo Intercity Bus Terminal (장승포시외버스터미널). Choose carefully, because it will affect your itinerary and timeslot you have, especially if this is just a one-day-trip.

From now on, I will let my experience kicks in.

My starting point is Haeundae Beach in Busan. For your information it’s not a good starting point to Geoje due to its long distance to Busan Seobu Intercity Bus Terminal.

My hotel is within walking distance to Haeundae Station. It was 4.30 AM and I decided to enter the subway station.

Soon, I realize certain things that could slow down my journey. The station opens up at 5.00 AM. According to my Naver Apps (This is very useful in KOREA, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DOWNLOAD!), the first train would pass Haeundae Station at 5.19AM. Moreover, I realize that very early morning, the subway were occupied by one or two homeless. I know Korea is pretty safe but I don’t want to take a risk. I have to make an important call.

So, I decided to get out of subway, walking to a bus stop right above the subway, located in the middle of the main road. Bus 31 would come at 5:00AM and it will go straight to Busan Seobu / Sasang Bus Terminal.

And here it comes, it arrives at 4:50AM, 10 minute earlier than the said schedule. Awesome!

It’s  roughly a 60-minute-trip (faster than estimated time on my Naver apps), enough for me to take a seat, give up a seat to a senior Ajumma when bus started to get packed, take a seat again when the bus become less crowded. You can use Seoul T-Money in Busan. A single trip cost 1,200 W with a transportation card.

I get off at Sasang Station bus stop and navigate my way to the Busan Seobu Bus Terminal / West Bus Terminal. The Bus Terminal is literally next to Sasang Station.

It’s 6:04AM when I bought a ticket to Gohyeon Bus Terminal. I’m not Korean speaker, here a wrong pronunciation may cost you dearly. In order to avoid misunderstanding, I google “Gohyeon Bus Terminal” and its hangul counterpart, then shows it to a ticket vendor. It’s a little trick that would make your Korean trip easier. My friends once asked a KTX ticket vendor a ticket to Jeonju but they get a ticket to Singyeongju instead. If you wonder how far between Jeonju and Singyeongju....

도대체 - dodaeche!!!!

My bus would depart at 6.30AM. I have 25 minutes. Better get a decent breakkie now and what’s the better option than checking a small minimart inside the terminal? I settle with a nice cup of instant jajangmyeon. Slurrrppp....

Now the important part, I present you, Busan-Gohyeon timetable. Next on the right hand side, you can check Busan-Jangseungpo timetable.

Roughly translated, "comes between 20-30 minutes interval , after 07.30AM"

Each destination has their own designated platform, as for Gohyeon, it is Platform 15.

6.30 AM. Bus departs on time. Everything is silky smooth up until now. It’s time to enjoy the view. Leave the bustling city. Embrace the Korean countryside.

Morning bus has lots of vacant seats

The trip took roughly an hour. Enough time to take a little nap. One way ticket Busan-Gohyeon costs 8,200 W. 7.25 AM I arrived at Gohyeon Bus Terminal (Gohyeon B.T).

Ok so why do I favour Gohyeon B.T over Jangseungpo? Yes, Jangseungpo is frequently passed by local bus (mainly number 10 and 11 from Gohyeon B.T ) and you can take a ferry there straight to Oedo Botania, one of the main attraction in the region. But, that’s where the upper hand stops.

Geoje is not only about Oedo Botania. Another must visit on the island are Windy Hill, Sinseondae Cliff and Hakdong Beach. If you can manage your time wisely on your one-day-trip, you probably can kill these four birds with one stone. AND THAT’S ONLY POSSIBLE IF YOU START YOUR JOURNEY AT GOHYEON BUS TERMINAL. In Theory, take bus 55 and it would take you to Dojangpo Ferry Terminal on the south eastern side of the island. There you can buy your Oedo ferry ticket,visit Oedo Island, take a ferry back to Dojangpo Port, visit Windy Hill and Sinseodae Cliff which are within walking distance from Dojangpo Port. If you still have some spare time, take bus 55 (Gohyeon Bus Terminal Return Route), get off at Hakdong beach, enjoy the beach and return to bus stop, take another 55 to get back to Gohyeon Bus Terminal

But this “55 route”(Can’t help but name it) is notoriously known for its infrequent service, lack of signane and even if you find one, it’s all in Korean. Real horror if you don’t understand Korean. Here comes the hard part

Gohyeon Bus Terminal - Busan Timetable

Before, getting out of terminal, I take a picture of return trip timetable. I know it will come in handy.

Now I am at the bus stop, or I could say a bus pool because the local buses are gathering here to pick up passengers and drive around the island.

Look there is an e-timetable. How convenient. So…where’s my bus 55?

If I check my Naver map, the bus only picks up passenger at Gohyeon Bus Terminal at 7.23AM only. I didn't see any upcoming bus on the schedule. Wait there’s no way, it only goes to Dojangpo once a day, doesn’t it? *Googling while Sweating Nervously*

Source: https://sweetyasblog.wordpress.com/2017/11/14/goeje-island-the-blue-city-of-south-korea/

Jesus Christ……

The monitor shows that bus 56 would come at 8.06AM. It would stop at Hakdong beach but after that you need to either take a taxi to continue down to Dojangpo Ferry Terminal or take a walk roughly one hour. My doctor said I have to reduce my cholesterol level. Perhaps, it’s time for the latter option?

When bus 56 arrived, I chose to enter the bus, showed my destination in hangul. (Perhaps, he can advise me to switch bus at certain point) The driver quickly explains that his bus is not the one I’m looking for. (In Korean of course) After a short chat, I decided to step down from the bus, and choose to have a faith that my “bus 55” eventually would come. Will it be a wrong call? I don’t know.

"Expect to have hope rekindled. Expect your prayers to be answered in wondrous ways. The dry seasons in life do not last. The spring rains will come again." - Sarah Ban Breathnach

And hope comes when you least expect it. With the power of google and random quote from Internet, my mental strength is replenished.
Still have around 45 minutes, let’s take a quick tour around the terminal

Korean Rice Burger!??? Too bad it's still closed

And the long-awaited bus has come. Unlike Busan, the bus fare is slightly more expensive. It cost 1,300 W with transportation card. Yes, Seoul T-Money also works in Geoje! For some reason, the driver is far more familiar with the word “Haegeumgang” instead of Dojangpo Ferry Terminal or Windy Hill if you ask him for the direction.

Oh by the way, didn’t I tell you that I did some research? Here’s the bus timetable that I downloaded from the official Geoje's local government website. I translated and highlighted a bit so that you get an idea how you can travel easily from Gohyeon Bus Terminal to Haegeumgang. But one question remains. Is it unreliable as what others suggested on Internet?

I translated a bit so that you can make sense of the local bus timetable of Geoje. The green one is bus 55 Route from Gohyeon Bus Terminal to Haegeumgang. You can download this from Geoje's local goverment website.

For your Information, Hakdong bus stop is just on the left hand side of "Haegeumgang" bus stop (For Gohyeon-Haegeumgang Route)

The website’s timetable clocks at 9.05AM. My Bus left the terminal at 9.06AM. I would say that it’s pretty much accurate and so on time. At least on the day of my trip. Be mindful that if you are on one day trip in Geoje, it is highly advised to take either 6.25AM bus or this 9AM bus. The next bus would come at 11:05AM and it takes around one hour to reach Dojangpo Ferry Terminal. You surely don’t want to waste your precious time and want to spend as much time as possible at the places of interest.

Again, the fact that bus 55 operates only once a day, is officially debunked. Maybe it used to be like that in the past but that information is clearly outdated now. Even the Naver Apps failed me too at this point. Yes, it's true that the bus service to Haegeumgang is sort of infrequent but this can be tackled if you know the right time to catch the bus 55. 

Inside Bus 55

As the bus left the town of Gohyeon, now you have a rare experience of Korean countryside. Unlike Busan and Seoul, I started to notice that the passengers that enters/leaves are all seniors. Where were the local young Koreans? There was a time when a senior entered and tried to reach the very back seat of the bus. She looked very struggling to walk as the bus move. So she stopped and sit at the floor RIGHT NEXT TO ME.

Awkward situation it was. I gave up my seat to her. As more passengers left the bus, she called me and pointed out some vacant seats on the bus. Such a nice Korean grandma.

1 hour 40 minutes? Well my journey took 1 hour only

One or two stops before reaching Dojangpo Ferry Terminal, you will pass Hakdong Beach and there’s no way you are gonna miss a big sign on the left side. (Sorry missed the opportunity to take a photo) You can get off here, but better finish your Oedo Island trip first along with the other two attractions nearby: Windy Hill and Sinseondae Cliff.

Here we are. This is what the Dojangpo Ferry Terminal / Haegeumgang Bus Stop looks like. It's still 10:07AM

Make your way down to the port....

When you want to return back to Gohyeon. This is your bus stop.

But we are still not there yet. Make your way down, follow the small descending road until you see some shops and 7-eleven. There is a… small two-storey office building and on its right hand side is a parking lot. Enter the office, pay your ticket there. (Ferry Ticket 19,000 W + Oedo Admission Fee 11,000 W = 30,000 W) Don’t forget to bring passport if you are foreigners.

I board the boat at 10.40AM. Now this is important, once you get off the boat, you have only 90 minute on Oedo Island before returning to the same dock, and take the same boat that would bring you back to Dojangpo instead of the other port. Don’t get into the wrong ferry. And make sure you make every minute counts. I will not spoil the fun and I will let you find out what Oedo will offer to you. There are tons of pics and vlogs about Oedo on Internet. I just want to help guiding. Believe me this trip is worth it.

So What is Haegeumgang Island / River? Before your ferry arrives at Oedo Island, it will pass a beautiful rocky island along the way. Without a visible beach around the island, the rock goes up 116 metres into the sky while the island’s top apparently is covered with some minimum vegetations. The Haegeumgang Island is literally translated in English as “Sea Diamond.”

Did I say I wouldn't give any spoiler? Ok just consider this as teaser...

Around 13.00PM, you return back to Dojangpo. You can have lunch (Not many choice of eateries nearby) before moving on to the next attraction. I suggest, you go to Windy Hill first and then Sinseondae Cliff because the bus stop is close to the cliff entrance.

By the time I finished circling Windy Hill and going back up to the bus stop, it’s 15.00PM already. What on earth did I do? Let’s check the timetable on the bus stop.

1st timetable, marked "2019" (Is it the latest update?)

2nd timetable, marked 2018"

What freaks me out is there were two timetables. One was created in “2018” while the other timetable seems like recently created in “2019.” There was a young Korean couple waiting for the bus as well, and I dare myself to ask about the timetable. Lucky I was, the young man spoke English decently. Apparently, they also wait for the same bus number 55.  This nice Korean fella guided me to pay attention to “2018 timetable”

On the left is the timetable between Gohyeon Bus Terminal to Haegeumgang. On the right is the timetable for the return trip. My next bus supposedly would come at 16.35PM. Is it really on time like my morning bus? For your information, the young couple that I mentioned earlier, eventually called a taxi instead of waiting for the bus. Not sure why they changed their mind. Hopefully his advice is proven true

At 16.40PM, the ray of hope, bus number 55 finally comes. Only 5 minutes late from the actual schedule. In my opinion, this still can be considered as punctual. Swap my T-Money and paid 1,300 W. At this point, you will realize that the “2018 timetable” is the same timetable that I get from the local official website.

Haegeumgang - Gohyeon Timetable

Oh by the way, you can also take bus 55-1 as well. However, it's rarer than bus 55...

I arrived back at Gohyeon Bus Terminal by 17:30PM. I bought a Intercity ticket back to Busan that REQUIRES ME TO BOARD AT 17.40PM. So I dash toward my bus. Paid 8,200 W for the return trip.

Quick Note:

 김해공항  = makes a quick stop at Gimhae airport, then proceeds to Busan Seobu Bus Terminal / West Bus Terminal 
신평역    = makes a quick stop at Sinpyeong station, then proceeds to Busan Seobu Bus Terminal / West Bus Terminal

Clear Sign = Directly goes to Busan Seobu West Bus Terminal / West Bus Terminal 

One more thing, when you take a bus back to Busan, please check if your route runs directly to Seobu Busan Terminal or make a quick stop at either Gimhae Airport or Sinpyeong Station. Make sure you don’t get off too early before you get to Busan Seobu/ Sasang Terminal.

At last, I left Geoje as the sun was setting down. The trip to Geoje-do is not as disastrous as what people suggest. I barely lost. Oedo Botanica and Windy Hill worth a long journey and left me a good impression. I probably would not miss Sinseondae Cliff if I didn’t worry too much about the other “2019 timetable” on the bus stop. Seems like putting Hakdong beach in the one-day-itinerary is also a challenging task (missed that place too) if you completely depend on public transportation.

Now with the Intercity timetable and Geoje local bus timetable at your hand, I wishes you luck and hope that you can manage your trip wiser than me.

So how much the whole trip cost me?

-        Busan Bus (1,200) 

-        Intercity Bus (8,200) 

-        Local Bus (1,300) 

-        Odeo/Ferry (30,000) 

-        Windy Hill / Sinseondae Cliff (FREE)

-        Local Bus Return (1,300)

-        Intercity Bus (8,200)

-        Busan Subway (1,200)

-        Total Cost ( 51,400 Won )

I check that some tours either cost you 80,000 W (Visit 2 places: Odeo & Windy Hill only/ no lunch) or 140,000 W ( Visit 4 places: Odeo, Windy Hill, Sinseondae & Hakdong Beach/ with lunch). One of my friends used the first tour package (79,000 W package) if I am not mistaken. The perk of tour is the pickup/drop off service. But they literally don’t provide any  substantial audible guidance once you are at the place of interests. You need to board the return bus to Busan no later than 15.00PM.

I haven’t used this method, but if you use taxi, The Naver app estimates the cost: 45,000 W. Let’s round it up to 50,000 W and somehow you have three other friends with you. Your trip back and forth (Gohyeon-Dojangpo) would cost 25,000 W. Your Transportation cost would jump high to 73,800 W per person. Yes, it’s getting more expensive and you almost spend your budget like those who followed the guided tour. But you still have a freedom on your own and you can save time, moving from one place to another. You don’t need to wait for the local bus and arrive at Dojangpo far earlier and it may be possible to visit 4 places in one day. Although theoretically speaking, sounds great, I do appreciate if someone who used taxi service, can verify my theory and points out that the taxi fare does not exceed 50,000 Won between Gohyeon and Dojangpo Ferry Terminal

Until now, I still cannot figure out the second “2019 timetable”, If any of you can make sense of it, please leave a comment. If situation allows, This "GALE TRAVELS" series may continue with new guide from around the world!