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How to get to Nami Island from Seoul, fastest: take the ITX-Cheongchun train from Yongsan (about 60 minutes) or Cheongnyangni (about 42 minutes) to Gapyeong Station (가평역), then a 5-minute taxi to Gapyeong Wharf, where the ferry crosses in about 5 minutes. Adult admission is now 19,000 KRW including the round-trip ferry, not the 16,000 KRW many English pages still quote. Last checked: November 4, 2026.
What is the best way to get from Seoul to Nami Island?
Take the ITX-Cheongchun if you want speed, the official shuttle if you want one seat from your hotel area to the dock, and leave the car at home on autumn weekends. Every option ends at Gapyeong Wharf (가평 선착장).
| Option | Seoul to the wharf | Cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| ITX-Cheongchun + taxi | About 60 min from Yongsan or 42 min from Cheongnyangni, plus about 5 min by taxi | About 5,700–6,900 KRW one way (not confirmed with Korail) + a short taxi | Most visitors; the quickest car-free route |
| Gyeongchun Line subway + taxi or bus | Roughly 1.5 hours from central Seoul | Under about 3,000 KRW with T-money | Tight budgets, no booking |
| Direct shuttle (Ktourstory) | Morning pickup at Hongik Univ., Myeongdong or DDP; one return at 16:30 | Round-trip fare on booking sites; admission not included | First-timers staying in Hongdae, Myeongdong or Dongdaemun |
| Day tour | Hotel-area pickup, fixed schedule | Package price; check whether admission is included | Pairing Nami with other Gapyeong sights in one day |
| Car | Seoul traffic sets the time | Parking 6,000 KRW per small car (up to 12 hours) | Weekday groups and families; not autumn weekend afternoons |
How do you take the ITX-Cheongchun to Gapyeong Station?
Board the ITX-Cheongchun at Yongsan or Cheongnyangni and ride to Gapyeong Station; seats are reserved, so book on the Korail website or the Korail Talk app and confirm the fare there. On autumn weekends, book a few days ahead and buy your return train at the same time.
The cheaper alternative is the Gyeongchun Line subway to the same station, starting at Sangbong (Line 7 or Gyeongui-Jungang transfer), with some trains from Cheongnyangni. No reservation is needed; confirm times in Naver Map.
How do you get from Gapyeong Station to the Nami Island ferry?
Take a taxi: Gapyeong Wharf is about 1.5 km from Gapyeong Station, roughly 5 minutes by car and around the base fare. Show the driver “Nami Island ferry (남이섬 선착장)”.
- Walk: about 20 minutes.
- Local bus 10-4: runs from Gapyeong Station and the Gapyeong Intercity Bus Terminal to the wharf.
- Gapyeong Tourist Circulation Bus, A course: stops in front of the Lot 2 ticket kiosk. Day pass 8,000 KRW adult, 6,000 KRW concession, bought on the spot. Its timetable changes by season.
Is the Seoul–Nami Island shuttle bus worth it?
Yes, if you are staying near Hongdae, Myeongdong or Dongdaemun and want one seat from Seoul to the dock with no transfers. The trade-off is a single fixed return at 16:30 from Nami.
Ktourstory runs the official daily shuttle. Pickup points:
- Hongik Univ. Station (홍대입구역) Exit 4
- Namsan Yejang Bus Transfer Parking Lot, about 5 minutes from Myeongdong Station Exit 1
- Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station (DDP) Exit 9
Insadong is no longer a stop. Morning departures fall between about 8:20 and 9:50 depending on the stop; listings disagree, so go by your voucher. The return bus reaches DDP around 18:00 and Hongik around 18:50.
The ticket does not include Nami admission. One reseller listing (WAUG) states the shuttle is for foreign visitors only, children under 36 months ride free, and refunds are full until 10:00 the day before; confirm the terms on the Klook page before you pay. Pick the shuttle if you want five to six hours on the island without reading a train timetable.
Official Seoul–Nami Island round-trip shuttle bus
Pickups at Hongik Univ., Namsan (Myeongdong) and DDP; return from Nami at 16:30. Admission not included.
How much is the Nami Island entrance fee in 2026?
Adults pay 19,000 KRW at the booth, and that price already includes the round-trip ferry. There is no ferry-only ticket and no separate rate for foreigners.
| Ticket (2026) | Price |
|---|---|
| Adult (general) | 19,000 KRW |
| Middle and high school students, age 70+ | 16,000 KRW |
| 36 months to elementary school | 13,000 KRW |
| Motorboat in + ferry out + admission (adult) | 29,000 KRW |
| Skyline Zipwire in + ferry out + admission | 55,000 KRW (Family) / 58,000 KRW (Adventure) |
Buy online before you go. Booking through the official namisum.com online booking page costs less than the walk-up price and gives you a QR code that skips the ticket booth. An October 16, 2026 visitor got the QR by KakaoTalk and walked straight in. There is also an early-bird fare: buy the ticket and board before 08:00 and you pay the 13,000 KRW tier.
If you prefer to pay in your home currency, Klook sells a Nami QR ticket. Compare its price with the official site and check the voucher’s entry instructions before you buy.
Nami Island admission ticket (QR entry)
Compare with the official namisum.com online price before you buy.
What is the Nami Island ferry schedule and closing time?
Ferries leave every 10–20 minutes from 09:00 to 18:00 and about every 30 minutes outside those hours, with no time slots. The crossing takes about 5 minutes.
| Schedule | First boat | Last boat |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | 08:00 to the island | 21:00 to the island / 21:05 back |
| Autumn 2026 (Sep 18–Nov 22) | Extra 07:30 boat daily from Gapyeong Wharf | Until about 21:30 on Fri–Sun and public holidays |
After November 22 the standard hours return; check namisum.com for any winter changes. The island is open 365 days and ferries run in the rain. Boats pause when dam releases speed up the current; the official homepage posts a popup notice.
Is the motorboat or zip-wire a way to skip the ferry line?
The motorboat is the paid line-skip. The zip-wire is a one-way ride in that replaces the ferry on the way in; you still take the regular ferry out.
Motorboat: the combo ticket (motorboat in, regular ferry out, admission) is 29,000 KRW for adults. If you already hold admission, the add-on is 10,000 KRW to Nami-naru or 15,000 KRW to Meta-naru. It runs 09:00–18:00 and needs at least two passengers. It is seasonal (about April to November), so do not plan on it from December to March. A Korean visitor on a rainy October 2026 day paid for the motorboat specifically to bypass a long boarding line.
Skyline Zipwire: it launches from an 80 m tower at Gapyeong Wharf and has operated since 2010; it is not new. You ride in only and leave by ferry. Family is 55,000 KRW and Adventure 58,000 KRW, both including admission and the ferry out. It runs from roughly 09:00 to 18:00; book on zipwire.co.kr. None of the Korean reviewers in this sample rode it.
When should you go to Nami Island to avoid crowds?
Go on a weekday or arrive before noon, and walk the riverside loop rather than the central avenue, which jammed in late October 2026 even as the edges stayed calm. These points come from 15 Korean blog reviews of visits between summer and October 31, 2026.
The official numbers point the same way. Korea Tourism Organization’s DataLab estimates daily visitors to Chuncheon, the city Nami Island belongs to, from mobile-network data. Over the latest 12 complete months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), Saturdays drew about 1.7 times as many out-of-town visitors as Wednesdays, Oct 2025 was the busiest month and Dec 2025 the quietest.
Foreign visitors follow a different calendar: they peaked in Dec 2025 at about 3,791 a day, the same month Korean day-trippers were at their lowest.
- Weekday vs Saturday. One reviewer who arrived around 12:30 on Friday, October 16 left around 15:30 without waiting for a boat in either direction. On Saturday, October 31, the line to leave the island around 15:40 stretched about a five-minute walk. It moved quickly.
- Time the foliage for early-to-mid November. On October 16 the ginkgo was only starting to turn and the maples were still green. Reviewers on both October 16 and October 31 said the following one to two weeks would look better, which points to early-to-mid November (as of November 4, 2026; check recent photos before you go).
- Eat on the island. The October 16 visitor waited about 10 minutes for lunch inside.
- Drivers: arrive before noon. The wharf has four lots. One October 2026 visitor found Lot 3 full and parked in Lot 1; the standard advice from drivers is a weekday or a pre-noon arrival. Small-car parking drops from 6,000 to 5,500 KRW with KakaoT pre-registration.
- Check the dock departure board. Look at the board at the island dock before you settle into a cafe, and leave yourself a buffer on weekends; a Korean visitor in October 2026 gave that board-check advice. Shuttle riders have one return bus, at 16:30.
- Buy the return ITX with the outbound. A sold-out evening train then cannot set your schedule.
- Do not cancel for drizzle. A reviewer who went in the rain in October 2026 said the mist made the island prettier, but electric bikes were not rented that day.
How long to stay: plan about 3 hours for a day trip; that covered lunch and a cafe for the October 16 visitor. Families who visited from summer to September 2026 preferred a night on the island, when the day crowds have left.
Nami Island Hotel Jeonggwanru
The only hotel on the island itself: you stay after the last day-trippers leave and walk the lanes early before the first ferry arrives.
- Restaurant
- Luggage storage
- Rooftop
- Breakfast available
On a mid-November weekday (November 18) the island hotel was about ₩3,300 cheaper on Trip.com than on Agoda for the same room search. Weekend nights in peak foliage sell out first; when we checked Saturday, November 14, Agoda showed no availability.
Price check: Agoda vs Trip.com
| Hotel | Agoda | Trip.com | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nami Island Hotel Jeonggwanru | ₩117,827 (~$88) | ₩114,526 (~$85) | Trip.com ₩3,301 cheaper |
Same stay on each site: Nov 18–19, 2026 · 1 night · 2 adults. Totals include taxes and fees. Checked Nov 4, 2026; USD at the Bank of Korea rate of ₩1,341.5 (Nov 4). Prices change daily — tap a price to see today's rate.
FAQ
Is Nami Island in Gangwon or Gyeonggi?
Nami Island has a Chuncheon, Gangwon address, but you reach it from Gapyeong Wharf in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi. Route yourself to Gapyeong Station, not Chuncheon.
Do foreigners pay a different Nami Island entrance fee?
No. Foreigners pay the same general fare as everyone else: 19,000 KRW for adults, including the round-trip ferry.
What is the best month to visit Nami Island?
For foliage, early-to-mid November. Korean visitors found the maples still green on October 16, 2026, and both mid- and late-October reviewers pointed to the following one to two weeks (as of November 4, 2026; check recent photos before you go).
What is the Nami Island zipline weight limit?
Riders must weigh more than 35 kg and less than 120 kg, and be taller than 140 cm and shorter than 200 cm. Book on zipwire.co.kr.
Does the Nami Island ferry run in winter?
Yes. The island is open 365 days, and an icebreaker clears the river when it freezes. After November 22 the regular timetable (roughly 08:00–21:00) should apply; check namisum.com for winter changes. The motorboat is seasonal and not a winter option.
