Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
to Hiroshima and Osaka. There are also services between the northeastern city of Sokcho
and Russia's far east port of Vladivostok.
Standard-class ferry tickets are usually slightly cheaper than air tickets for the same
route, but shelling out for luxuries like private cabins can make a boat trip cost substantially
more.
South Korea's cycling culture is still very much a work in progress. Cyclists have taken
heart from some remarkable improvements in recent years, especially in major cities, such
as the development of a 40-kilometer (24-mile) cycling trail along Seoul's Han River and
even the emergence of the nation's first “cycling capital” in the otherwise undistinguished
town of Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province. There's also a thriving community of moun-
tain biking enthusiasts who take to a diverse network of trails on the outskirts of cities like
Busan and Daegu.
That said, biking is still very much a form of recreation rather than transport—bike
routes in the middle of major cities are limited or nonexistent, and urban cyclists braving
the traffic in places like Seoul are a fairly rare sight, mainly because local drivers have little
regard for cyclists or their safety. While committed cyclists will be able to find some spots
to practice their craft, cycling can't be recommended as a viable form of commuting any-
where but in South Korea's very smallest cities.
