South Korea
Busan: how much to budget
Plan €1326 for 7 nights in Busan, return flight from London included, or €558 travelling cheap. On the ground that works out at €158 per person per day.
- From
- €53/day
- vs. London
- 76%
- Best month
- Sep
Your trip to Busan
Set the length, the number of travellers and the comfort level: the figures recompute here.
€1,326
per person, flight included
- on the ground
- €1,106
- flight from London
- €220
- per person per day, on the ground
- €158
InstantTripCost estimate
Full 7-night budget breakdown
Per-person estimate including flights from London, split across the six expense categories.
per person · Comfort
| Category | Budget | Comfort | Luxury |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flights | €187 | €220 | €330 |
| Hotel | €105 | €399 | €714 |
| Food | €168 | €399 | €945 |
| Transport | €56 | €126 | €315 |
| Activities | €21 | €98 | €378 |
| Misc | €21 | €84 | €280 |
| 7-night total | €558 | €1326 | €2962 |
Flight from London (annual median).
Unit prices
comfort
Enough to check the total yourself, line by line, at the comfort level you picked.
- €9
- Breakfast
- €16
- Lunch
- €32
- Dinner
- €6
- City ride
- €14
- Site admission
- €158
- A full day
Orders of magnitude derived from our measured ranges, not surveyed venue by venue. Prices vary by neighbourhood and season.
The three tiers
What a budget traveller, a comfort traveller and a premium traveller typically spend.
Budget
€47
per day, approx
- Hotel / night
- €15
- Meal
- €8
- Transit / day
- €8
Comfort
€132
per day, approx
- Hotel / night
- €57
- Meal
- €19
- Transit / day
- €18
Luxury
€282
per day, approx
- Hotel / night
- €102
- Meal
- €45
- Transit / day
- €45
Why visit Busan
Busan is South Korea's second city and the only one where you swim. Haeundae, Gwangalli and Songdo are three city beaches on the metro, free, open to anyone. One number spoils it: the swimming season lands squarely on the monsoon. July takes 252.5 mm of rain across 14.3 days, the wettest month of the year, and August is close behind. Swimming in Busan in high season means doing it between downpours.
The month that settles the conflict is October, and the data is blunt about it: it is the only month of the year above 20°C in daytime highs while staying under 5 rainy days. May is mild too but has 8 rainy days, September is warmer and has 9.7. One caveat: the international film festival runs in early October and fills the Haeundae hotels. Aim for the second half of the month and you miss the peak.
On price, Busan reads against Seoul. A dorm bed or a guesthouse room costs roughly what it costs in the capital, measured at €15. The gap opens on hotels: mid-range is measured at €57 and upmarket at €102, both well under Seoul's levels. So the tight budget gains almost nothing by heading south, while the traveler who wants a hotel room gains a lot.
Last reflex, the currency: Korea pays in won, not euros. Prices shown here are converted, and on the ground every card payment goes through an exchange rate. The country takes cards down to the buses, which makes a card with no foreign transaction fee pay off more here than elsewhere: it works on every ride, not just the big purchases. At mid-range comfort, plan roughly €158 per person per day excluding flights.
Weather & best time to visit
Average temperatures and conditions by month in Busan.
Best month to visitSeptember
Where to sleep in Busan
Choosing a district
Busan stretches some thirty kilometers along the coast, from the old port at Nampo-dong to the towers of Haeundae. Unlike a compact capital, the neighborhood you pick decides your daily commute, not just the atmosphere: metro line 2 runs the length of the shore and takes a good forty minutes end to end. Price mostly tracks the sea view.
Haeundae
The main beach and its towers, at the eastern end of line 2. The sea-view hotels are the priciest in town, yet a handful of guesthouses and hostels hold the street behind the beach: the only district where both ends of our measurements sit five minutes apart.
Seomyeon
Where lines 1 and 2 cross, so the best-connected point in Busan. No view, shopping arcades and late-night restaurant lanes instead, and journeys to the rest of the city cut in half.
Nampo-dong - Jungang
The old center around the port, next to the Jagalchi fish market and the film festival square. Yongdusan Park and its 120-meter tower sit above the district, and the bus to Gamcheon village leaves from here. Business hotels run noticeably cheaper than on the beachfront.
Gwangalli
The second beach, facing the Gwangan bridge lit up at night. A row of cafés and bars opens straight onto the sand, the mood is quieter than Haeundae and prices follow, a notch below for the same standard.
The hotels we measured
Accommodation picks by price range.
Kimchee Haeundae Guesthouse
guesthouse, decent (7.6/10) from 486 reviews.
Nol Guesthouse
guesthouse, decent (7.5/10) from 187 reviews.
Sohostel Korea
Hostel, well rated (8.4/10) from 421 reviews.
Ara Guesthouse
guesthouse, rated excellent (9/10) from 444 reviews.
Elysee Hotel
Hotel, decent (7.1/10) from 537 reviews.
Toyoko Inn Busan Jungang Station
Hotel, well rated (8.3/10) from 2,056 reviews.
Urbanstay Seomyeon
Hotel, very well rated (8.5/10) from 2,276 reviews.
GnB Hotel
Hotel, very well rated (8.5/10) from 1,380 reviews.
Plea De Blanc Hotel & Residence
Hotel, well rated (8.3/10) from 2,061 reviews.
All observed hotels in Busan
24 properties, nightly rate for a 2-night stay arriving 15 October 2026.
| Hotel | Category | Rating | From / night |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kimchee Haeundae Guesthouse | Budget | ★ 7.6 | €9 |
| Nol Guesthouse | Budget | ★ 7.5 | €10 |
| Sohostel Korea | Budget | ★ 8.4 | €12 |
| Midpoint Guesthouse | Budget | ★ 8.5 | €13 |
| Dynamic Guesthouse | Budget | ★ 8.7 | €13 |
| AIRPORT Guesthouse | Budget | ★ 8.8 | €14 |
| Kimchee Busan Downtown Guesthouse | Budget | ★ 7.7 | €14 |
| FUNWAVE guest house | Budget | ★ 9 | €14 |
| Ara Guesthouse | Mid-range | ★ 9 | €19 |
| Elysee Hotel | Mid-range | ★ 7.1 | €28 |
| Toyoko Inn Busan Jungang Station | Mid-range | ★ 8.3 | €36 |
| No25 Hotel Yeonsan | Mid-range | ★ 7.6 | €40 |
| Hotel Marcher | Mid-range | ★ 8.4 | €45 |
| Toyoko Inn Busan Haeundae 2 | Mid-range | ★ 8.6 | €49 |
| Central Park Hotel Busan | Mid-range | ★ 7.1 | €53 |
| Cont Hotel | Mid-range | ★ 8.2 | €55 |
| Urbanstay Seomyeon | Luxury | ★ 8.5 | €56 |
| GnB Hotel | Luxury | ★ 8.5 | €59 |
| Plea De Blanc Hotel & Residence | Luxury | ★ 8.3 | €59 |
| Grab The Ocean Songdo | Luxury | ★ 8.8 | €66 |
| Centum Premier Hotel | Luxury | ★ 8.3 | €72 |
| Central Seven Hotel by Kwon Busan Seomyeon | Luxury | ★ 7.7 | €76 |
| Shilla Stay Busan Gimhae Airport - Noksan | Luxury | ★ 8.9 | €87 |
| Felix by STX Hotel & Suite | Luxury | ★ 8 | €87 |
Eating in Busan
Concrete benchmarks to set your meal budget, from the morning coffee to dinner.
Busan's two cheapest dishes come from the same episode: the city served as the provisional capital during the Korean War, and the memorial that tells the story is still open to visitors. Dwaeji-gukbap, a pork and rice soup, and milmyeon, wheat noodles born of a buckwheat shortage, are refugee dishes that became the city's signature. They are everywhere, around 9,000 to 10,000 won a bowl. At that price, the mid-range night measured at €57 is a week of lunches.
Jagalchi market, the largest fish market in the country, works differently: you pick the fish on the ground floor and have it prepared upstairs for a service charge. That is the expensive meal in town, worth doing once. Otherwise the ssiat hotteok stalls on the film festival square, seed-stuffed griddle cakes, feed you for coins.
Moving around Busan
Transit, distances and the smart moves so you don't pay the tourist tax.
Four metro lines cover the city, plus the Busan-Gimhae light rail that reaches the airport. That is a rare advantage: the airport sits inside the city, and you get there for the price of a ticket where most large destinations force a dedicated shuttle on you. The transit card, Cashbee or a T-money card bought in Seoul, costs less than a paper ticket and gives free metro-to-bus transfers within thirty minutes.
The metro day pass costs 5,000 won, a fraction of the mid-range night measured at €57: transport is not what decides the budget here. A single ride runs around 1,500 won depending on the zone. From Seoul, the KTX takes about 2h30 and the coach takes twice as long for roughly half the price. The international port also runs ferries to Japan, Osaka among them: the Japanese coast is about 190 km away, which no other Korean city can offer.
Things to do in Busan
Recommended activities and tours.
Yongdusan Park
Yongdusan Park (Korean: 용두산공원) is a park located in Jung District, Busan, South Korea. The 120-meter-high Busan Tower is located here.
Park
Busan Modern History Museum
The Busan Modern History Museum (Korean: 부산근대역사관; Hanja: 釜山近代歷史館) is a museum in Busan, South Korea. The building was originally constructed during the Japanese occupation of Korea for the Oriental Development Company an organisation used to support Japanese colonization of Korea.
Museum
Busan Museum
Busan Museum (Korean: 부산광역시립박물관) is a museum located in Busan, South Korea, open since 1978.
Museum
Provisional Capital Memorial Hall
The Provisional Capital Memorial Hall (Korean: 임시수도기념관; Hanja: 臨時首都記念館) is a museum in Bumin-dong, Seo District, Busan, South Korea. The building was used by the President of South Korea, Syngman Rhee, when Busan was the provisional capital of South Korea during the Korean War.
Museum
Busanjinseong
The Branch Wall-fortress in Busanjin (釜山鎭城), also known as Maruyama Castle (丸山城, まるやまじょう) and Konishi Castle (少西城), is located at Beomil-dong, Dong-gu, Busan, South Korea. The existing wall-fortress remains were constructed by the Japanese military during the Imjin War.
Castle
Busan Citizens Park
Busan Citizens Park (Korean: 부산시민공원) is a public park in Busanjin District, Busan, South Korea. It was formerly an Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) base and United States Army camp (Camp Hialeah).
Park
Busan Museum of Art
The Busan Museum of Art (Korean: 부산시립미술관; Hanja: 釜山市立美術館) is a museum in Busan, South Korea.
Art museum
Busan Marine Natural History Museum
The Busan Marine Natural History Museum (Korean: 부산해양자연사박물관) is a museum displaying exhibits on marine natural history of Busan and located in Dongnae-gu, Busan. It was opened on June 10, 1994.
Natural history museum
Places referenced on Wikidata. Admission prices vary by season - check each venue's official site.
Paying less in Busan
What moves the needle
What each decision takes off the €1326 total, strongest lever first.
- − €735
Travel cheap rather than mid-range
Hostel or entry-level hotel, local canteens, public transport. Accommodation is where the gap opens up.
- − €316
Stay five nights instead of seven
Two fewer nights also removes two days of meals, transport and sightseeing.
- − €199
Travel as a pair
The room is shared, nothing else is. Travellers themselves name this as the strongest lever.
Differences computed from our own measurements, for a 7-night mid-range stay, excluding flights.
6 tips on the ground
- October is the only month above 20°C in daytime highs while staying under 5 rainy days. July, the swimming month, has 14.3 of them for 252.5 mm: shifting the trip changes both the weather and the hotel bill.
- The three beaches, Haeundae, Gwangalli and Songdo, are free and on the metro: a full day at no cost, which no other large Korean city allows.
- Yongdusan Park and Busan Citizens Park are free to enter, and the city's municipal museums charge little or nothing. Only the ride up the 120-meter tower is paid.
- The gap between a dorm night, €15, and a mid-range hotel, €57, is the heaviest lever of the trip, well ahead of food and transport combined.
- A bowl of dwaeji-gukbap or milmyeon costs 9,000 to 10,000 won and makes a full meal: two a day is enough to hold a tight budget.
- A Cashbee or T-money card costs less than a paper ticket and gives free transfers within thirty minutes; the 5,000 won day pass pays off from the fourth ride.
FAQ
FAQ - Busan
- How much does a week in Busan cost?
- For seven nights, plan roughly €371 per person on a budget (guesthouse or dorm around €15, gukbap, free beaches, metro day passes), and around €1,106 at mid-range comfort with a hotel near €57 a night, excluding flights.
- What's the best month to visit Busan?
- October, by a distance: it is the only month above 20°C in highs that stays under 5 rainy days. July and August are the warmest, up to 28°C, but they are also the two monsoon months, with 252.5 mm in July. Winter is dry and cold, around 3°C on average in January, with lower rates and empty beaches.
- Is Busan an expensive destination?
- No, and it measures cheaper than Seoul and cheaper than Tokyo on our cost index. The entry-level night is measured at €15, mid-range at €57 and upmarket at €102. The line items that weigh elsewhere are light here: the beaches are free, the metro covers the city for a few thousand won a day and street food costs coins. The heavy line item stays the flight from Europe.
- Cash or card in Busan?
- Card works everywhere, including buses and the metro through Cashbee or T-money. Keep some won in cash for the Jagalchi stalls and street stands, which often stay cash-only. Bring a card with no foreign transaction fee: paying in won with a standard card usually costs 2 to 3% more on exchange, on every transaction.
At a glance
Wikidata, Wikipedia and Open-Meteo data
- Population
- 3.5M
- Area
- 770 km²
- Elevation
- 30 m
- Language
- Korean, Korean Sign Language
- Currency
- ₩
- Avg. July temp.
- 24°
- Avg. Jan. temp.
- 3°
- Rainy days / year
- 93
inhabitants
Won
22° - 27°
0° - 7°
About
Busan in brief
Busan, officially Busan Metropolitan City, is the second most populous city in South Korea, after Seoul; it has a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. It is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, with its port being South Korea's busiest and the sixth-busiest in the world. The surrounding "Southeastern Maritime Industrial Region" is South Korea's largest industrial area. The large volumes of port traffic and urban population in excess of 1 million makes Busan a Large-Port metropolis using the Southampton System of Port-City classification.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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