Small-Group Royal Palace and Seoul City Tour (hotel pick-up)

Name: Small-Group Royal Palace and Seoul City Tour (hotel pick-up)
Brand: Seoul N Tour
SKU: 30023P3
Price: 68 USD
Rating: 5 (1416 reviews)

Recommended by 98% of travelers

Badge of Excellence

Seoul, South Korea

Small-Group Royal Palace and Seoul City Tour (hotel pick-up)

High interest

Booked 5+ times today.

8 hours (approx.)
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Why travelers loved this

4.9

· Lorraine_H ·

Oct 2025

A great day touring Seoul on the north side of the Han River . BK was a great guide as we enjoyed the Gyeongbokgung Palace and Changdeokgung Palace, Insadong Antique Street and Namdaemun Market , Jogyesa Temple, the Blue House, the royal guard changing ceremony at Gwanghwamun Gate. We enjoyed each sto except the high pressure tourist stop at a Korean ginseng store.

· Mirjana_C ·

Sep 2025

Nice variety of sights. Comfortable pace and great guide named BK. Transport was comfortable and only 15 in the group. Flexibility was built in to choose and suit needs.

Overview

Explore the highlights of Seoul on a full-day tour with an informative guide. Highlights include Jogyesa Temple, the Blue House, the royal guard changing ceremony at Gwanghwamun Gate, and tours of Gyeongbokgung Palace and Changdeokgung Palace, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Take in traditional culture at the National Folk Museum, Insadong Antique Street, and at Namdaemun Gate and Namdaemun Market. Includes entrance fees and hotel pickup.

Full-day Seoul tour with Gyeongbokgung Palace and Changdeokgung Palace
View traditional shops and goods at Insadong Antique Street and Namdaemun Market
Learn about Korean dynasties when visiting two royal palaces
Includes all entrance fees, guide, and hotel pickup

What's Included

Hotel pickup in Central Seoul (Meeting time can be changed depends on each locations)
Local guide(English speaking)
Driver/Guide
Bottled water

Gratuities
Hotel drop-off (drop-off at the City Hall or Myeongdong only)
Lunch

Meeting and Pickup

You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

Pick-up is provided at most hotels in Central Seoul and subway stations. Please provide us with the name & full address of your accommodation in Seoul. Then we will inform you where & when you can meet us.

Meeting point

55 Ujeongguk-ro, Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea
If you don't want us to pick you up, you can meet us at 9 am at the front gate of Jogyesa temple where is the first attractive to visit.

End points

This activity ends in a different location. See details below:

Start time
.9:00 am

Itinerary

After morning pickup at your Seoul hotel, travel in a comfortable vehicle to Jogyesa Temple. Despite its location on a crowded street in Jongno district, the Zen Buddhist temple is serene and picturesque with colorful decorations and large golden Buddha statues.

Continue to the Blue House (Cheong Wa Dae), home to the President of the Republic of Korea. From the outside, view the Blue House along with Mt. Bukak in the background.

Head to Gwanghwamun Gate in time to watch the changing of the royal guards ceremony. Then tour the northern palace, Gyeongbokgung, the main palace during the Joseon dynasty.

Stop at the Korean Ginseng Center before sitting down for a Korean fare. In the afternoon, tour the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Changdeokgung Palace and explore Insadong Antique Street. Experience traditional culture in Insadong by entering a Korean tea house or browsing in the antique shops.

The final stop on your tour takes you to Namdaemun (aka Soongryemun), which was built in 1396 and is listed as Korea's most important National Treasure. Have time to check out the traditional Namdaemun Market before your tour ends.

Jogyesa Temple

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Gwanghwamun Gate

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Gyeongbokgung Palace

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

National Folk Museum of Korea

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Blue House (Cheong Wa Dae) (Pass By)

Cheongha Korea Ginseng Museum

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Insadong

1 hour 20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Changdeokgung Palace

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Namdaemun Market

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Near public transportation
Infants must sit on laps
Not recommended for travelers with back problems
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions

Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
Royal guard changing ceremony might be cancelled due to weather conditions
On Mondays, Changdeokgung Palace is closed and you will go to Bukchon traditional Hanok Village instead
On Tuesdays, the Gyeongbokgung Palace and National Folk Museum of Korea is closed, so you will go to Changdeokgung(including secret garden) and in the afternoon you will visit Bukchon Hanok Village instead.
This tour is proceeding with minimum 2 people
Starting from September 1, 2024, lunch will no longer be included. Due to the difficulty in providing a variety of lunch options, we have reluctantly made this change. Please understand that you will have free time for lunch in Insadong, where you can choose your own dining options.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 16 travelers

Supplied by

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Questions?

Visit the Viator Help Centre for any further questions.

Product code: 30023P3

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

4.9

based on 1,416 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

1289

We perform checks on reviews

Lovely tour

Trudy_H, Nov 2025

Well planned tour. Timing was good at each place and Joey was an informative, helpful and charming guide.

Our tour guide and drive...

Izala_M, Nov 2025

Our tour guide and drive were both amazing. There were only 3 of us on this tour so I felt more intimate. Highly recommend.

I really enjoyed this...

Diana_W, Nov 2025

I really enjoyed this cultural tour wirh Mr. Young. He explained us very well the insights of Korean history. I strongly recommend this tour.

Daebak tour with Mr Young!

Pearl_M, Nov 2025

Mr. Young was an excellent guide. We have great value for what we paid - visited 2 palaces, folk museum, Insadong, Jogyesa temple, ginseng farm, Namdaemun Market. Bus was comfy as well. Thank you for the wonderful and cultural experience.

Brief introduction to Seoul

Eleanor_W, Nov 2025

Full day tour of the temple, 2 palaces, ginseng museum/shop and local market. Quite a bit of time spent in transfers as traffic can be heavy. Ginseng stop probably not necessary, so just treat it as an educational exercise. Good general overview for first timers.

Wonderful

Mimi_T, Nov 2025

A great way to see Seoul in a day! Mr. Young was wonderful . It was nice to be driven all around Seoul in a nice comfortable bus and be picked up from my hotel as well!

Good full tour. Guide is a luck draw

Cynthia_M, Nov 2025

Well organized and enough time at the locations. Tour was good and would recommend. Unfortunately our tour guide, did not seem well versed on history. We felt that all the discussions were about the terrible drama around the royal family. At no point did she talk about S. Korea as a country. We had some ‘dead’ time on the bus and the time was not used to teach either.

Great experience and tour...

Jocelyn_S, Nov 2025

Great experience and tour of several highlights in Seoul. I learned a lot from the historical details and information that Guide Young presented at the Palace and National Korean Museum. The amount of time there was just right. The Monday tour brings you to Bukchon Hanok village and I would recommend this. Lunch was in Insa-dong. If you want to have time to shop and explore this cultural area, you should plan to come back. Final tour stop was Namdaemun Market. I appreciated the hotel pick up and the drop off nearby. Thank you, Mr Young, for a wonderful day!

Fantastic tour guide

Danilo_N, Nov 2025

The places visited covers a lot of history about the Korean Peninsula including the other countries showed colonizing interests.

The highlight was the...

Phyllis_R, Oct 2025

The highlight was the changing of the Guards Royal palace.Wasted alot of time at courtyard of house in Seoul talking about history of this residence. The trip to the market was very brief so could not get into shopping. In conclusion,not worth the money. Usually I am impressed with Viator but this trip to Korea & Japan their guides & tours were sub par.

Great Guide Young

Kee_T, Oct 2025

Our Guide Young was fantastic in organizing and timing during the tour. He gave us brief history and was humorous on tour introduction.

Good tour!

Thasanai_M, Oct 2025

It was a good long tour. We get to see a lot but on the end they drop us off at the shopping mall we have to find a way to get back ourself.

Great city tour

Marlee_W, Oct 2025

Our guide Mr Young was very knowledgeable and funny. I had a great day exploring Seoul and learning about the history. We had plenty of free time to wander and explore as well.

Great Value,great day

Leslie_G, Oct 2025

Good value. Full day seeing 2 important palaces,National Folk Museum, gingsen store with tour and talk,Namdaemun Market. Touring around Seoul the guide Soukee pointed out interesting sights and was full of information. Lot of steps and walking involved. Great value especially with prompt hotel pick ups.

Seoul - City Tour

Vinod_S, Oct 2025

Despite it being a wet, rainy day, our guide Mr. Young made it a wonderful experience. He gave us some good information about the history of Seoul against the backdrop of the many palaces, temples and old neighborhoods that we were able to visit on the tour. Would recommend !!

Wonderful tour

Michelle_C, Oct 2025

Lua was very informative and knowledgeable about the history and culture. We had a wonderful tour. It is a great deal for a full day trip seeing highlights of Seoul. Highly recommended!

Sookhee was lovely and...

Tudor_T, Oct 2025

Sookhee was lovely and very knowledgeable, can learn a lot about Korean history on this tour particularly the royal family

Great adventure with lots of important history and symbolism explained

Jennifer_H, Oct 2025

Mr. Young introduced and explained many historical facts about each site that we visited. Greatly appreciated that he was able to facilitate getting us to many sites, especially the changing of the guards at the Palace in spite of the rainy day. The packed itinerary was well planned, and he ensured that everyone was punctual, and he gave great tips for where to take the ‘best photo’. If you have limited time in Seoul, this tour that will introduce you to many of the city’s highlights. Small group tours are the way to go! Kudos to Mr. Young for making this a great adventure.

Great for solo travels

Marjorie_C, Oct 2025

Our tour guide Ms Jung was very knowledgeable and patient with the group. She made sure we all had a great time and went out of her way to make sure everyone was engaged. We managed to cover the highlights without feeling rushed but definitely be prepared to walk! Was easy to go as a solo traveler as well.

Highly recommended! Sook ...

Celda_S, Oct 2025

Highly recommended! Sook was very very patiently waiting for all of us!!!!!👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍😒👍👍