Dmz

Hello all.My wife and I are on Ovation of the Seas April 14th.

One of our ports of call is Incheon, Seoul, South Korea.

We arrive at 9am and depart at 9pm.

I would like to do the DMZ/JSA tour, RCL do not do this. All the ones I have seen online start too early.

The latest is 11am and the time from Port to City is too long to realistically make it.

Has anyone been able to do this?

Many thanks

Tours of the dmz.....wow, just wow. Seems like yesterday I was there with nothing but some claymores and foogas pits between me and the NK's.

I wonder if they still issue 5 rounds of ammo.

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I would suggest contacting the tour companies directly and see if you can work something out.

We did a USO tour in 2014 that we arranged with the Seoul office through their website. It was extremely interersting and quite extensive. We visited the building that straddles the actual border in the JSA area where meetings are held occasional between the North and South/USA. We were also taken into the tunnel discovered in the 1990’s which was dug by the North well into the South amen was believed to be part of an invasion plan that was possibly thwarted by the discovery. We also toured a number of observation posts where you could look overnight into NK. We were accompanied by USA army officials who explained what we were seeing and the history of each area. At the JSA we were under continuous observation by soldiers on the NK side including one using binoculars

Very interesting!!

I would suggest contacting the tour companies directly and see if you can work something out.

I tried that, the best I got was to try and catch them up at the DMZ. Trouble is, how to do that?

I was just hoping for a tour that either started from the Port or a little later in Seoul.

Meant to write......

....dug well into the South which was believed to....

Sorry.

We visited the building that straddles the actual border in the JSA area where meetings are held occasional between the North and South/USA.

I've also been in that building - back in the 90's - weird standing in North Korea...

Back to the topic of whether or not someone could make a tour -- possible, but might be tight. looking at google maps, Incheon is three hours from the JSA, so you are looking at 6 hours minimum for travel.

What's the next stop of the cruise? If you miss the ship, could you get to the next port easily?

The question I would ask is "is this a once in a lifetime thing" - if it is, you may want to roll the dice and go for it - but have a backup plan

Just random thoughts for OP:

traffic in and around are as bad and as congested as big cities here in the US, if not worst ... except, drivers are polite & patient, no horn honking & alternate merging with lane reductions, etc.

Being an extended day stop at the port, I would suggest finding a tour ahead of time that can come and pickup at the port and go straight, save the trouble of ground transport logistics ... and, return everyone to the cruise terminal afterward. In other words, a customized tour, that's a bit more costly but planned out, see if there are others on the sailing (and, Roll Call - interested & committed to go) - finding a van-load of 8 to 10, maybe 12 to do this should make it worthwhile for the tour operator.

We did Seoul & the "East" Sea 3 years ago on an escorted, deluxe 4 nights-5 days land tour - there're almost 30 of us from the US and Canada - visiting the DMZ was one of the many memorable stops ... we're at the Peace Bridge, saw the shot-up railroad's locomotive engine car (10,000+ 50 cal. & cannon rounds fired into it) & touch it, the viewing platforms, the memorial hall with the bell and inside the welcome center with the musuem & video intro, etc. Also visited the War Musuem in the city after seeing the palaces & president's house, etc. We did not, however, get further into the JSA - logistics & getting the paperwork, etc. among the reasons. Fully armed military forces (baby faced SK soliders with SAM pointing, not cool) on moving patrol, just 90 minutes north of the the city ... one of my grand-uncle served then on the frontline and came home, pretty moving 70+ years later.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5w7bm77argxnepm/SK%20East%20Sea%20-%20Coastal%20tour%20-%20military%20on%20patrol.jpg?dl=0

Work into the plan for a restroom & lunch stop along the way for that 2.5 to 3 hour drive - maybe a hotpot (Shabu Shabu style) meal. We're there during the time where the highly restricted & secured border area were on high tension & alert (like these days) and said to be closed for escorted tours, cancelled & re-routed elsewhere ... don't be surprised. Our bilingual tour guide & driver had bottled water for us en route on the motorcoach (also, make sure you don't end up with the shopping tour as part of the extra stops ...)

When we visited there we stayed a couple nights in Incheon near the airport ask I recall. We rode the train into Seoul each day and it seems to me it only took 40 minutes or so.

I've also been in that building - back in the 90's - weird standing in North Korea...

 

Back to the topic of whether or not someone could make a tour -- possible, but might be tight. looking at google maps, Incheon is three hours from the JSA, so you are looking at 6 hours minimum for travel.

 

What's the next stop of the cruise? If you miss the ship, could you get to the next port easily?

 

The question I would ask is "is this a once in a lifetime thing" - if it is, you may want to roll the dice and go for it - but have a backup plan

Thank you, some good points made.

Personally for my wife and I the drive is not a problem but I can see how others maybe fazed by it.

The next port of call is disembarkation two days later in Beijing and that will present a whole host of issues if we do not get there by the method our visa will state-ship.

I may have to dampen my expectations, although I have emailed one of the tour company's to see if they will do a private tour from the Port and how many people they can take. A high cost shared by many is better than a high cost shared by two.

... A high cost shared by many is better than a high cost shared by two.

More reference reading for you to look at your plan & options - just in case:

http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/ATR/SI_ENG_2_2.jsp

https://thriftynomads.com/visiting-north-koreas-dmz-border-a-how-to-guide/

When we stayed inside the big city's @ the Novotel Ambassador, our tri-lingual tour guide would pick up the group about 7:30 AM and make the first stop as breakfast ... then, get underway. Without actually doing the JSA, our visit with 2 stops at the DMZ while driving north & back along the border/river was probably about 4 to 4.5 hours. If you are to do both DMZ and JSA, a much tighter & stricter schedule is a must ... and, the visit is subject to same day cancellation, as it is under military command & with the tension these days ...

Traffic congestion is another big unknown factor if a tour operator can work up a customized plan leaving from the Incheon terminal & can get the group in time for the afternoon JSA tour session. If you opt to skip the JSA stop - much easier and getting you back to ship by 7 or 7:30 PM (PM rush hour) is doable - still be rushing.

Or, return & do a land-based tour and see more, lots of historical sites & landmarks to see. BTW, cosmetic items are a best buy ... DW loved it and could easily stuff a big suitcase full, even at airport's duty-free prices at Incheon.