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Where to sleep while cycling in Korea.

The sun’s gone down. A chill creeps down from the darkened mountains above. What’s that sound? Howling! A wolf? Wandering spirit? It’s time to find a safe, warm bed.

But where?

Find three guides to sleeping while cycling in Korea. Learn about motels, hotels, camping and more.

How to find and sleep in Korea’s low-priced and plentiful motels. 

A guide to Korea’s accommodations, from hanoks to saunas.

Tips for bikepackers planning to camp along Korea’s cycling paths.

A list of places to stay along Korea’s national bike paths.

Want to soak in a love motel hot tub? How about pampering yourself in an expensive resort? No. What about a cheap hostel and guesthouse to suit the budget-conscious?

Wait! You’re a bikepacker? Find a guide listing the dos and don’ts while camping in Korea.

First, let’s explore how to plan your route. You don’t want to end up in pitch black farm fields, no bed in sight.

Find the Finish Line

Before you hop on our bikes, make a plan! First, three questions.

  • Where do you start?
  • How long can you cycle?
  • How long do you want to cycle?
The top section of the Skybay Hotel Gyeongpo, showcasing its white facade, distinctive gap, and curvy lines against a clear blue sky.
The top section of the Skybay Hotel Gyeongpo, showcasing its white facade, distinctive gap, and curvy lines against a clear blue sky.

Now, open a map. Find cities that fall within your range. Do these towns have places to sleep?

Suanbo (수안보; map) is a remote little outpost on the Saejae Bicycle Path. They have plenty of beds for tourists. But those tourists are there to visit famous hot springs. A room will run you ₩120,000 ($100) a night.

Once you find your finish line, pin two or three accommodations on your map. After a ten-hour ride, don’t find out all the rooms booked.

Korean Maps

Welcome to Korea. Hangul (한글), Korea’s writing system, adorns every street sign, timetable, and app. So it makes sense to search for accommodations with it.

If you type “motel” into Kakao or Naver Maps, you’ll get results. Piano Motel, V Motel, Design Motel. But that’s only because the business listed their name in English. 

Now let’s type in “모텔.” That’s “motel” in Hangul. Whoa! There’s more. A lot more.

Not only are we searching for a business name, we’re scanning the motel category.

A motel and cafe in the form of a ship near the city of Pohang in South Korea.
Not only can you find motels in all parts of Korea, you can find interesting tourist attractions like this ship cafés near Pohang along Korea's East Coast.

Learn more about Korean maps here. You’ll find out why Korea neutered Google and some more tricks about using Kakao and Naver Maps biking.

Quick take. Kakao Maps is the best for biking. Naver Maps is great for everything else.

Want to skip learning Korean. Tap on the links below and you’ll open Kakao maps. Zoom in to find accommodations.

The Hot Spots

A picture of the Ramada Inn in the city of Sokcho along Korea's East Coast Bike Route.
You can find familiar hotel brands in Korea, like this Ramada Inn in the city of Sokcho along Korea’s East Coast Bike Route.

Like people, motels hate being alone. They huddle around bars, nightclubs, and noraebongs (노래방; karaoke bars).

Why? They don’t call them love motels for nothing. Many rent out their rooms in three-hour chunks. Huddling around adult watering holes snags more customers than in a family neighborhood.

Pensions and resorts hang near beaches and natural wonders. Hotels set up shop in big cities. And hostels lend beds on the top floors of walk-up buildings in tourist hotspots.

Logistics

You picked a place. Good. Where are you eating dinner? Breakfast in the morning? How far is the bike path?

In Daegu City (대구시; map), the Cross-Country Route kisses the western border of the city. If you book a motel in the center city, you’ll need to ride forty-minutes in and out.

You picked a place right on the bike path? Good. But it’s in a fishing town that caters to wealthy tourists. Your dining options feature 80,000 ($75) for a plate of snow crabs or a GS25 convenience store with half-a-day-old gimbap.

Try to pick accommodations with plenty of grub spots near the bike path. This saves time. You don’t want to waste half your morning searching for breakfast.

To Book or Not to Book

Find your perfect accommodations? You could use Korean or foreign booking apps like Booking.com or Airbnb. But there are pros and cons. Let’s run through them.

To Book

Advanced booking has advantages.

  1. You can receive discounts on Korean booking apps like 여기어때 or Yanolja depending on the time of year.
  2. Holidays flood Korea’s roads. Vacationers book every room. If you don’t book a room during the Chuseok or Seollal, pack a tent. You and your bike may need to sleep under the stars.
  3. It creates an endpoint. You’ll know how many kilometers you cycle. And you can budget your time. Thirty minutes for lunch. An hour for a detour.

Not to Book

Advanced booking has disadvantages.

  1. Long bike trips are unpredictable. Flat tires and weather can leave you fifty-kilometers behind schedule. Prepare to pay full-price for an empty room.
  2. Korean booking apps boast the best selection of accommodations. But they don’t provide an English-language option and require a domestic phone number and credit card to book.
  3. Want flexibility? Don’t book. Korea’s bike paths offer endless sightseeing detours. If you want to explore, don’t chain yourself to a room.