Things to do in Pyeongchang
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Pyeongchang
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Ski season at Yongpyong, Alpensia and Phoenix, normally late November or early December to mid or late March, coldest and busiest from late December to February.
Quiet melt season, cheapest rooms, sheep return to pasture from May, best for temples and lower trails.
Cool highland summer, ranches at their greenest, July monsoon rain, water park season at Alpensia.
Buckwheat bloom and Hyoseok Festival in September, Odaesan autumn colour in mid October, Kimjang Festival in Jinbu in November, first snow late November.
What's on
- Pyeongchang Trout Festival late December into January
Ice fishing and winter food stalls on the frozen Odaecheon river in Jinbu.
- Daegwallyeong Snow Festival mid February
Snow sculpture and winter events in Hoenggye, the county's main ski season festival.
- Hyoseok Culture Festival early to mid September
Buckwheat fields in full white bloom in Bongpyeong, with food stalls and literary events around Lee Hyo-seok's village.
- Pyeongchang Highland Kimjang Festival early to mid November
Hands on kimchi making with highland cabbage in Jinbu, with local food stalls.
Best things to do in Pyeongchang
Alpensia Ski Jumping Centre
The 2018 ski jump towers you can ride up by monorail, with the clearest Olympic legacy view in the county.
Woljeongsa Temple
A temple founded in 643 behind a nine story stone pagoda, reached by a silent fir forest path.
Lee Hyo-seok Culture Village
Birthplace village of the writer behind When Buckwheat Flowers Bloom, in the valley the story describes.
Bongpyeong Traditional Market
A small village market built on buckwheat: flour, noodles, pancakes and crepes cooked to order.
Where to stay in Pyeongchang
Alpensia village
luxury and families who ski gently
Ski in convenience for the small Alpensia hill, with the InterContinental and the Olympic sights on foot.
Yongpyong base and Hoenggye town
serious skiing and widest food choice
The main ski base, with Hoenggye's pensions, hanwoo restaurants and the budget branded hotels nearby.
Jinbu
KTX arrivals, temples and hiking
The station town for Woljeongsa and Odaesan, with the quietest evenings in the county.
Bongpyeong
Phoenix resort, buckwheat and summer valleys
The south western cluster, for the Hyoseok sites, the noodle houses and a second, smaller ski resort.
Best restaurants in Pyeongchang
Yongpyong Hoegwan
Hoenggye's hanwoo barbecue institution, where you grill premium Daegwallyeong beef yourself.
Migayeon
Buckwheat only noodles made daily, with beef tartare noodles and mountain herb side dishes.
Bongpyeong Hyundai Makguksu
One of Bongpyeong's best known makguksu houses, pure buckwheat noodles in a clean cold broth.
Jinbu Traditional Market
Market town eating in Jinbu: valley trout, mountain vegetable bibimbap and potato pancakes.
Outdoor things to do in Pyeongchang
MONA Yongpyong Ski Resort
Korea's largest ski resort with 28 slopes, the county's best and most expensive full ski day.
Phoenix Pyeongchang Snow Park
The 2018 snowboard and freestyle venue, a younger, park focused resort above the buckwheat valley.
Alpensia Ski Resort
Six gentle slopes in the Olympic village, the calm choice for first timers and young families.
Balwangsan Cable Car
A 7.4 km round trip gondola to a 1,458 m summit and skywalk, the best non skiing view here.
Daegwallyeong Sheep Ranch
A 40 minute pasture walk at 920 m with sheep feeding, the classic Pyeongchang summer stop.
Daegwallyeong Samyang Ranch
A vast highland ranch with a tractor train circuit, sky deck and ridge wind turbines.
Odaesan National Park
The Seonjae Trail valley walk from Woljeongsa to Sangwonsa, with Birobong summit for fitter hikers.
Best hotels in Pyeongchang
InterContinental Alpensia Pyeongchang Resort
The county's only true luxury hotel, a full service resort in the Olympic village at the slopes.
Kensington Hotel Pyeongchang
A large garden resort hotel near Jinbu, best placed for Woljeongsa and Odaesan hiking days.
Phoenix Pyeongchang Hotel
The Phoenix resort hotel in Bongpyeong, for its slopes in winter and the buckwheat valley in summer.
Ramada Hotel and Suites by Wyndham Pyeongchang
A branded budget base near Hoenggye with a resort shuttle, below the big resort hotels on price.
Is Pyeongchang expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | ₩90,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | ₩180,000 a person |
| Splurge | ₩350,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- MONA Yongpyong Ski Resort: weeks ahead
- Phoenix Pyeongchang Snow Park: a few days ahead
- Alpensia Ski Resort: a few days ahead
- InterContinental Alpensia Pyeongchang Resort: weeks ahead
- Kensington Hotel Pyeongchang: a few days ahead
- Phoenix Pyeongchang Hotel: a few days ahead
- Book resort hotels, Yongpyong rental gear and lessons weeks ahead for ski season weekends and Korean holidays.
- Woljeongsa templestay places are limited and book out in autumn colour season.
Is Pyeongchang safe?
- Monitor peninsula developments and avoid large demonstrations, which can occur with little notice.
- Peninsula tensions can change with little notice. Crime against foreigners is rare. Police 112, fire and ambulance 119, tourist hotline 1330.
- Rural roads are unlit and icy in winter and Daegwallyeong pass wind and fog can close viewpoints; off piste areas at Korean resorts are fenced and closed.
Pyeongchang travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Coming for the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium, which was temporary and demolished in September 2018.
- Booking a Bongpyeong hotel for a Yongpyong ski week, or the reverse, and commuting between clusters daily.
- Visiting the sheep ranch in deep winter expecting grazing sheep, when the flock is in the barns.
- Day tripping from Seoul in ski season and missing the best snow and night skiing.
Getting around Pyeongchang: public transport and more
- KTX from Seoul Station or Cheongnyangni to Jinbu takes about 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 50 minutes; Jinbu Station is 20 to 30 minutes by bus or taxi from Hoenggye and the resorts.
- Pyeongchang is a county in three clusters, Hoenggye and Daegwallyeong, Jinbu and Odaesan, and Bongpyeong, each 20 to 40 minutes apart by road.
- A rental car is the biggest quality upgrade here; without one, base in one cluster and use resort shuttles and taxis.
- Use Naver Map or KakaoMap in Korea; Google Maps directions are unreliable here.
Who Pyeongchang suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Pyeongchang your trip
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