Exploring Jeju Island in a day is possible!

The initial plan was to keep two days to explore the entire Jeju at our own pace. But the flight I managed to book flies to Jeju late at 4.15pm and only reach at Jeju at 5.15pm which means by the time we reach, there is nothing much we can do except check into our hotel and sleep. That is a whole day wasted already. Fortunately, after intensive homework and advise from tripadvisor friends, I managed to hatch out a short and compact itinerary that allows us to squeeze in all of the places that we wanted to visit in Jeju. Since both my husband and I enjoys beautiful scenic views and nature, we decided to not to visit all the man-made places like Teddy Bear Museum, Jeju Loveland , Trick-Eye Museum, etc.

The list of places we visited are in the following order:

1.  Yongmeori Coast
2. Cheonjeyeon Falls
3. Stone cave near Jusangjeolli Cliff
4. Jusangjeolli Cliff
5. Jeongbang Falls
6. Seopjikoji
7. Seongsan Ilchulbong

Too bad we did not have time for Manjanggul Cave, Tokkiseom Island and Woljeongri Beach. They were my KIV (keep in view) places to go if we have time. But we had to return the car at 7pm and it was a race against time during the entire trip. However, we very much enjoyed ourselves and hubby and I feel as if we were in Running Man, trying to get to a place after another. We even managed to check in our hotel, pumped petrol in the car and return the car on time! Talk about mission impossible. Phew. Before leaving for jeju, I have some non-believer pessimistic people telling me there is no way I can visit so many places in one day and suggested that I give up some of them. Thanks to my strategic planning, we did it and enjoyed ourselves immensely. What an experience!

Our Island Tree Hotel is really close to Yongmeori Coast about 5-10 minutes drive, so we started our day with it and move on to the next location from the south of Jeju until we reach the northern part of Jeju.

However, luck and weather was not on our side as Yongmeori Coast was closed temporarily to tourists due to strong waves. We stayed there for about 20 minutes to wait for the 'ok' from the authority but no matter how many times we bug the guy, he kept saying no to us.. I was very disappointed as Yongmeori Coast is the place I wanted to visit the most out of the list. Hubby was surprisingly very patient throughout the day and kept calling the staff in Yongmeori Coast from other places along the way to ask if the place is open to public already as he knew how much I wanted to visit the place. In the end it was decided that the place will be closed for the day and we moved on.

Our second stop was Cheonjeyeon Falls. I picked this over Cheonjiyeon Falls as you get to visit 3 different attractions nearby with only a single entrance ticket. The first section is the beautiful turquiose clear pond also known as 'The pond of God'. Truly breathtaking... If you climb up the stairs they will lead you to the second section which is the waterfall. The water from the first waterfall divides into the second and third waterfalls, which then flow into the sea. The third section is “Seonimgyo Bridge” (arch bridge with 7 nymphs carved on the side) and it connects Cheonjeyeon with the Jungmum Tourist Complex. We took some pictures but did not proceed to cross the bridge.

We asked for directions to Jusangjeolli Cliff from the tourist info centre at Cheonjeyeon Falls as the number we had was not listed in the GPS. The lady gave us another number to key in the GPS but it brought us to another place. It was not Jusangjeolli Cliff as I have seen pictures of it before but we explore the place anyway as it is beautiful too. The beach is full of rocks of all sizes and I took the longest time to walk to the cave which overlooks the sea.

Next we drove around Jungmun asking for directions to Jusangjeolli Cliffs. A friendly local helped me to searched for it using her phone and we finally found it going in the opposite direction from where we were heading in the first place. Silly us! Jusangjeolli Cliff is so magnificent with its spectacular columnar volcanic rock formations. The water is again so clear and beautiful. We took some pictures, stayed a while longer to appreciate nature's fine works and finally went on our way in search of the next destination, Jeongbang Falls.

Jeongbang Falls is the only one in Asia that flows directly into the sea and is situated by a high cliff by the sea. The water was so cold and refreshing. Just standing below the waterfall can make you feel its magnificence  (and also very wet!). There was a stall near the waterfall where ahjummas sell raw seafood but we dare not try as the creatures are still wriggling and very much alive.

Seopjikoji was our next stop which is located at the east coast of Jeju. We had a longer drive to this place from Jeongbang Falls. The place was not as nice as I had anticipated and we only spend some time there before heading to Seongsan Ilchulbong. It is just as well that they did not charge entrance fee for the place. It is apparently the place where they filmed the drama "All In" but I have never seen it so it pretty much means nothing to me. All I know was Running Man had been to this place which is why hubby and I had decided to visit in the first place.

Last stop of the day is Seongsan Ilchulbong and it also the most effort-tolerance-reducing place out of all the places we have visited. Save the 'best' for last, hehe. We took 40 minutes to climb up and probably 10 minutes to climb back down. I have never sweated so much in my life. The view of the island from halfway up is beautiful and we also managed to watch the sunset as well. When we finally reach the top, the husband said he can't believe he climbed all this way to see a patch of grass. Oh well, at least the view of the sunset was worth it. Also the most beautiful part of the place was actually a hidden gem tucked away to the side of the hill. It is also the same place where you can catch the women divers 'haenyeo' at work. This place is also one of the new 7 wonders of the world. One down, 6 more to go~ :)

We drove to Yeha Guesthouse to leave our luggages then head to the car rental company to return the car. Then they ushered us back into the shuttle bus which took us to the airport where we were able to catch bus no. 100 and got off at Hankook Hospital which is just opposite the guest house. We then officially checked in and after a much needed shower after the many sweat-inducing-activities, we explored the restaurants nearby for our last meal in Jeju. The grilled mackerel we ordered was so good we ate every piece of flesh off the fish bone that the lady boss commented on how clean it was. Slightly mortifying.

 After a long day of running against time, it was finally time to rest our heads. The next day would be the day we travel to Busan!