One of the best ways to see Seoul is on a tour bus. Seoul has many great attractions, and if you’re unfamiliar with the city, a tour should help you cover the majority of them. Because the city’s major landmarks are connected by a circular route, you can get on and off the bus at any time on a single ticket.

Image via Wikimedia Commons - Wikiwater2020, Seoul bus 703 CRRC, CC BY-SA 3.0

On the tour, visitors can view important sites like Namsan Tower, Gangnam, Seoul Palace and more. You can also pick up on the layout of the city and be able to find your way around on foot. Here is everything you should know about taking a tour bus around Seoul:

There are two bus tours in Seoul – The Yellow Balloon City Bus and the Seoul Tiger Bus (which is red). Both buses have audio guides that give listeners a detailed account of the attractions and are available in many languages.

You have the option of taking the night or day tour, but you could also combine both, for a more rounded experience. On the night tour, you can experience the vibrant nightlife of Seoul, known as the city that never sleeps!

Seoul City Tiger Bus

The Seoul City Tiger bus offers a convenient route which is also more budget-friendly, and the bus is clean and comfortable.

There are four different routes – the Downtown Palace Namsan Course, Panorama Course, Night Course, and Around Gangnam City Tour. The types of buses used are one-story, double-decker open-top buses, and trolley buses.

You can view the most popular attractions and neighbourhoods in Seoul along this course. They include Deoksugung Palace, Namdaemun Market - the oldest traditional market in Korea with great street food and souvenirs, The War Memorial, The National Museum of Korea, Namsan Seoul Tower – where you can visit popular restaurants and cafes, Dongdaemun Design Plaza – a modern shopping complex located close to many hotels in Dongdaemun, and Changdeokgung Palace – famous for its secret garden.

This is one of the most popular parts of Seoul, due to its lively culture, modern buildings and luxury malls. Some of the main attractions along this route include Bongeunsa Temple, COEX Mall - Korea’s largest underground shopping mall, Lotte World – a fun theme park, Lotte World Tower and mall – a great place to view Seoul at night, Lotte World, Aquarium, and Seoul Sky Observatory.

The Yellow Balloon City Bus is one of the best tours for foreigners visiting Seoul for the first time. The bus routes will take you through many of the biggest attractions in the city, and you can get off the bus at any stop on a single ticket.

The three bus courses include Traditional Culture, Traditional Culture Night, and Hangang Jamsil. One of the benefits of this tour is that it will give you a glimpse into both the traditional and modern culture of Seoul. Expect to see several palaces and marketplaces along the way.

This route starts and winds off at Dongdaemun Design Plaza, situated in a neighbourhood with many hotels such as Travelodge Dongdaemun Seoul. The course will take visitors through Eulji-ro 3 ga - one of Seoul’s most popular tourist destinations, Namdaemun Market – great for souvenirs and traditional Korean food, Myeongdong – a shopping area, Insadong, Unhyeon-dong - a neighbourhood that combines traditional and modern Seoul, Gwangjang Market - one of the largest and oldest markets in Seoul and Dongdaemun Design Plaza - with its old flea markets and modern shopping malls.

Along this course, you’ll be able to view attractions such as Seoul Forest, Olympic Park, Jamsil Lotte World Tower – the tallest building in South Korea, Seongsu Station as well as the Gangnam area, popular with the trendy teens of Seoul.