This is the perfect Busan 3 day itinerary if you’ve never visited the city before.
I was initially quite overwhelmed by planning our Busan itinerary because the city is SO SPREAD OUT.
But with a little bit of planning, we managed to see a lot of what we wanted to see and do in Busan.
So if you’re struggling with the same issue and how to fit everything into your Busan 3 day itinerary, I hope this helps!
Gamcheon Culture Village
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Why is Busan so spread out?
If you’re curious about what I'm talking about in my intro, take a quick look at a map or see my screenshot below of all the places we tried to visit on our Busan travel itinerary.
Busan is a coastal city but it is incredibly hilly and very spread out, making public transportation a bit more challenging than it was in Seoul and also taking a lot of time between different areas of the city.
The reason for this dates back to the Korean War in the early 1950s. As people in the north of the country fled south to escape the conflict, many fled to Busan, leading to a rapid growth in the city’s population which there simply wasn’t the space for, being surrounded by mountains and hills.
So what happened was smaller villages popped up around the city, almost like satellite villages. But as the city continued to grow and expand its housing and infrastructure, these villages became swallowed up by the city, so now they’re more like neighbourhoods.
That’s why the Gamcheon Culture Village, the Dakbatgol Mural Village or the Huinnyeoul Culture Village are all called villages - they started out that way.
There is a metro system in Busan, but with only two metro lines (Green and Orange) getting around the city to all the sights can mean lots of walking from the nearest metro station. Or you can take a bus, but these take longer due to traffic.
This is ultimately why we decided to book a tour for our first day in Busan. I’m not that much of a tour person, but in situations like this where we were limited to just 3 days in Busan, having a tour with a minibus that took us to a lot of places on the outskirts of the city made it so much easier to make sure we crossed everything off on our list of things to do in Busan.
If you’re interested, I will go into more detail about the tour and what it included on Day one of this Busan itinerary. But here’s the link if you want to check it out.
How to get to Busan?
There are two main options for arriving in Busan, either by train or by air.
We visited Busan as part of a longer South Korea itinerary, so we flew into Busan Gimhae International Airport from Jeju Island.
From the airport, we took the airport transit into the city. You ride 3 stops on the Light Rail train to Sasang and then change to Line 2 (the Green Line) into the city. Google Maps does not work in Korea but Naver Maps or KakaoMaps will help you navigate this.
If you’re arriving by train from Seoul to Busan station, it’s around 2-3 hours if you take the KTX train from Seoul Station.
Where to stay in Busan?
We stayed in the Seomyeon area of the city, at the Arban Hotel which is close to the metro so we could easily get to and from the airport and around the city which was ideal to make the most of our short 3 days itinerary in Busan. The area is also great with lots of restaurants and bars as well as the metro being a main pick up point for the tour we booked.
The T-Money card works all over the country and so you can either buy one of these transit cards from the convenience stores or continue to use it on the metro and buses if you bought it in Seoul already.
The best Busan 3 day itinerary, South Korea
As I mentioned above, due to the layout of the city and how difficult it was to reach places in a short amount of time, we decided to book a tour for the first day of our Busan 3 days itinerary.
This tour visits a lot of the further out Busan attractions and having a minibus take us between these places was a massive bonus to see a lot more in one day than we would have on public transport.
Day 1: Busan City Tour, Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, Haeundae Blueline Park and Gamcheon Culture Village
Start your first day early with a city tour to see some of the main sights and those which are further out and more difficult to reach.
So we booked this incredible Busan city highlights tour. (make sure to select the option with the Blueline ticket if you want to do the same exact trip as me) which includes:
Haedong Yonggungsa Temple
Cheongsapo Daritdol Observatory
Haeundae Blueline Park
Huinnyeoul Culture Village
Gamcheon Culture Village
We also stopped for lunch at a fresh seafood restaurant in Haeundae which was amazing and the food was cooked on hot grills right at our table (the cost of this is additional)
The Haeundae Beach and Haeundae Market is also a popular stop in the warmer summer months and can easily be reached from Haeundae Station.
Haedong Yonggungsa Temple
Haedong Yonggungsa Temple
Located on the outskirts of the city is this beautiful temple which is unique because it’s on the coast overlooking the beach and the sea. There is no entrance fee.
This was our first stop and we beat the crowds there, seeing this unique temple and the sea views was such a special start to the day!
Our guide gave us loads of helpful information about the temple grounds and the history, the 12 zodiac statues at the entrance and, my favourite part: the road safety shrine - which I left my offering at because I’m a nervous driver!
Cheongsapo Daritdol Observatory
Cheongsapo Daritdol Observatory
This is a glass floor observation deck which juts out over the sea with stunning views of the water, the coast and the city.
After this we had an early lunch with sea views and fresh seafood at Dohee-nae seafood restaurant which looks out over the water. The fresh seafood is cooked for you on a grill at your table and was so yummy!
Haeundae Blueline Park
Sky capsules on the Haeundae Blueline Park
I highly recommend you select the option to include this on your tour as this was one of the highlights of our day.
Haeundae Blueline Park is a raised track along the coast, with small pods or cars which run along the elevated track. The pods are super cute and the views are absolutely stunning.
You wouldn’t believe it from these photos but it was about -8 celsius on this day, but the sun and these views definitely made the cold easier to handle!
The ride lasts around 20-25 minutes and the views are stunning all the way. If you choose to do this independently, you can buy a return ticket. But when we arrived at the station in Haeundae, we realised why our tour does the ride in that direction - the queues in the station at Haeundae-Mipo going in the direction we just came from were HUGE! We didn’t have to queue at all!
PRO TIP: if you do the Haeundae Sky Capsule, I recommend boarding at the Cheongsapo Station NOT the Mipo Station.
Huinnyeoul Culture Village
The streets of Huinnyeoul Culture Village
Cafes in the village have a great view of Busan
This next stop felt like I’d stepped into a cute blue and whitewashed cliffside village in Greece. Except with city views across the bay it looked like one of the cities from a Pixar movie - almost unreal!
Full of cute street art, winding alleyways, boutique shops and cafes with an ocean view, this artistic village had a lot of character and without cars, it really did feel like you were in a small island village but just steps from the big city!
Gamcheon Culture Village
View of Gamcheon Culture Village from Avant Garde Cafe
I’ve had this on my Busan bucket list for years! So I knew I had to visit, but again, it’s not the easiest place to reach on transit, which is why I was so pleased to find it included on this tour.
Thankfully it did not disappoint, the colourful houses perched on the cliffside were epic, the incredibly vibrant streets, street art, cute cafes with epic views and general fun vibe of music and little shops and boutiques made this such a fun experience - it’s no wonder it’s often called the Machu Picchu of Busan!
If you’re planning on visiting Gamcheon Culture Village, either with the tour or separately, find some of the best views from the Avant Garde Cafe and Coffee It House. This was definitely a highlight of our Busan travel itinerary!
For dinner we were so exhausted after a full day of walking that we ended up wandering around our hotel and finding a Korean Chicken restaurant called Daily Beer. We got our dose of Korean fried chicken and were absolutely hysterical to discover that when we ordered a beer, they were served in 500ml Pyrex jugs - so fun and definitely a story to tell!
Day 2: Oryukdo Park and Skywalk, Gwangalli Beach area and Busan drone show
On day 2 of your Korea Busan itinerary, head over to Oryukdo Park, the easiest way to get here is by bus. Here there is a beautiful and dramatic coastal walk from Haeparang-gil to Igidae.
This total coastal trail takes around 2.5 hours to walk and you can grab a coffee from the cafe at the start. There are toilets along the way as well as plenty of rest areas and chances for stunning photos.
If you don’t fancy the full 2.5 hour walk, then head south from the park towards Oryukdo Skywalk. This is a free glass walkway over the water offering views of the coast, the island and the sea.
Yet another stunning coastal view of Busan.
For the afternoon, head over to the Gwangalli Beach area. I honestly had no idea that Busan was such a stunning coastal city with beautiful city beaches right there by the modern skyscrapers. But our tour guide told us the day before that the city is nicknamed the “Miami of Korea” thanks to its beaches, clear blue water, vibrant colourful city, skyscrapers and sunny weather. I can definitely see the resemblance!
Gwangalli Beach is a gorgeous sandy city beach with amazing views of the skyline and the Gwangan Bridge.
Gwangalli Beach at dusk
Grab some fresh sushi from Millak Live Fish Sashimi Market and enjoy it on the beach while spending an hour or two in the sun or maybe having a swim.
A local told us about the Millak Sashimi Market after we mentioned we wanted to visit the famous Jagalchi fish Market but wouldn’t have time. He said lots of locals come to Millak Market to get sushi and enjoy it on the beach - I’m sure Jagalchi market is a great experience too if you have time, but this was a great local tip to fit into our Busan 3 day itinerary!
If sushi isn’t your thing, this area by the beach is packed with fun cafes, restaurants and bars. We had some drinks at Bronx Brewing Co, then went for dinner and drinks at Gorilla Brewing.
If you’re here on a Saturday, stay in the area and don’t miss the Gwangalli Drone Show. This happens every Saturday at 8pm and 10pm and involves 300 unmanned drones flying in display formations over the bay. Such a cool experience that I’m gutted we weren’t in town at the time but definitely recommend it!
The show lats around 10 minutes and happens at 8pm and 10pm Mar-Sept and 7pm and 9pm in Oct-Feb.
Day 3: Dakbatgol Mural Village, Nampo Area, Samgwangsa Temple
Hopping around a few more areas of the city on the last day to make sure you cover all the best places to visit in Busan.
We visited another cultural village which was easier to reach on public transport called the Dakbatgol Mural Village. This village is famous for the murals and artwork covering all the surfaces and you can get yourself lost in the maze of colourful streets and houses.
We were also on the hunt for the famous Dakbatgol Mural Village street cable car. This is a cable car for local elderly residents to ride up the steep sets of steps in the village. However if the cable car is free and no locals are waiting, you’re welcome to use it and it’s free to use.
Stairs of Wishes in the Dakbatgol Mural Village
I had so much trouble finding the actual location of the Dakbatgol cable car, so if you’re looking for the location it’s here: Somang Stairs of Wishes.
A lovely local lady helped us find it, showed us how it worked and even offered to take pictures of us riding it - so cute!
After the village we walked around the Nampo area of Busan. Here there are loads of shops and restaurants. Check out the BIFF Square and walking street: Gwangbokdong Fashion Street as well as Yongdusan Park. This is also the area to see Busan Tower.
From Nampo we took the number 81 bus which took us almost directly to Samgwangsa Temple. This is a Buddhist Temple complex and during festivals it is covered in stunning colourful lanterns and there are city views too.
There are multiple buildings and the colours are so stunning, regardless of whether there are lanterns. The temple itself is also surrounded by greenery where apparently there are walking trails although we didn’t check them out.
Have longer than 3 days in Busan?
If you’re in Busan for longer and are looking for more Busan attractions and things to do, check out:
Songdo Cloud Trails, Songdo Skywalk and Songdo Marine Cable Car
Spa Land Centum City
Sea Life Busan Aquarium
Haeundae Coastal Train
Busan Museum of Art
Taejongdae Park
Summary: Busan itinerary: 3 days for first time visitors
I hope this itinerary for Busan in 3 days has helped you to plan your trip, especially for first time visitors - we certainly felt like we got a great taste of the city and Busan honestly exceeded all of our expectations.
While I’m not usually a tour person, it was definitely the right decision to do a tour to make sure we saw all the things to do in Busan and the places to visit which were not as easy to reach - the places we visited on the tour were probably the highlight of our trip!
