Private DMZ tour(Tunnel / Observation) with hotel pick up
Description
Korean War was stopped on 27th of July 1953 after signing armistice agreement, since then, DMZ buffer zone was drawn to prevent any kind of fight from happening. This tour allows you to understand what happened after Korean War, from 1950s to present days. It is a DMZ tour but we don't get to go inside the DMZ, DMZ is the border and heavily minded area, we go into the military zone which is outside the DMZ and visit 3rd infiltration tunnel dug by North Korea and observatory to see and understand the DMZ and division. By the way, this is DMZ tour not JSA, JSA is the place where the armistice was signed and where the president of the USA went to shake his hand with the Leader of North Korea in 2019, this specific tour, please look for JSA tour. Please bring the passport since we are going into military zone We hope to meet you all.
Tour Options
Itinerary
First we will travel for 1 hour to arrive at Imjingak from our pick up point in Seoul. Imjingak is the place built after first talk between South and North Korea in 1972. It became the place for longing the unification of Korea and there are places to see, we will see places listed below before joining the DMZ tour bus. 1. Freedom Bridge - it is made for soldiers to cross the river 2. Rusty locomotive - relocated after being stuck in DMZ for half century 3. Imjin-river train bridge - Train bridge blown up doing the Korean War
We take the DMZ tour bus to go visit 3 places. 1.) 3rd infiltration tunnel, 2.) Dora observatory to look at DMZ from the distance, 3) Quick stop at the supermarket in the Unification village DMZ is heavily mined area, only special soldiers can go inside to make sure there is no violation of agreement between South and North Korea. Unfortunately tourist can only see it from observatory that is located outside the DMZ to understand the situation of the division. DMZ is 2km to South and North each from the demarcation line and this line stretches from West to East for about 250 km Let's hope someday we can pass though DMZ as we did in late 2000s (North Korea tours from South were available then)
Camináremos por el túnel para llegar al tercer túnel de infiltración excavado por Corea del Norte, dijeron que 30,000 soldados norcoreanos armados pueden pasar en 1 hora si se completó.
One of many observatories to witness the tragic border of Korea. Here, you can also witness the progress of cooperation between South and North Korea. After tour, it will take 1 hour to drive back to Seoul and you will be dropped off at where you get picked up.
After the DMZ tour, we will head to a museum about North Korea, where you will have a chance to meet a defector and interview them.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
We pick you up anywhere you are within Seoul, please let us know where you are staying.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Not recommended for those who are claustrophobic
- Not recommended for those who have difficulty walking
Reviews(57)
What a great private tour with Miae. She picked us up at our hotel in Seoul in a very nice air conditioned van and drove us to the DMZ area. The first stop was a lookout where you could look across the river into North Korea just a few kms away. You could take pictures here. We then proceeded to a stop to transition to a bus to enter the civilian area of the DMZ with other people and Miae joined us. They do check passports on the way in and out. It was helpful having Miae with us to guide us and translate. The 3rd infiltration tunnel was interesting. Wear comfortable shoes as it is a challenging walk and pretty steep. The Dora Observatory was the highlight for us and provides great views of North Korea and DMZ. You are not allowed to take pictures here or most places once you enter the restricted area of the civilian area of the DMZ. The bus made a quick stop in a village for snacks and souvenirs. Once we got back to the large “staging area” we got off the tour bus and back into Miae’s van for the 90 minute drive back into Seoul. There were opportunities to use restrooms and buy snacks along the way. We really enjoyed the tour with Miae and all of the information she provided along the way. Highly recommend!
Personalized DMZ experience. You will become better acquainted with a Korean citizen, and learn more about the local culture.
After comparing and contrasting all the different DMZ tours (and their itineraries), and narrowing down what our party of 7 wanted to see, I ended up on this exact tour. Our guide was Juno Lee. He was fantastic! He picked us up at 7:30a from our hotel in Gangam district (which was out of zone for many of the other tours; AND we didn’t have to venture out earlier in the morning on the subways to meet a bigger tour group at a subway entrance/exit). Juno drove us about 1.5-2 hrs north-ish to the DMZ Ticket area (had an official name, but can’t remember the name of the park). He took our passports to buy tix while we went and grabbed some Dunkin Donuts and pastries upstairs. Then he gave us a 15min overview of the area and history. Then we boarded a large bus filled with similar smaller tour groups. Road the bus into the DMZ area and all the other sites. The tunnel hike was a HIKE!! Lock all your belongings and jackets and hats in there!! It’s not a walk in the park, and was a bit strenuous. They are currently building an ADA access point to get down to the tunnel; so maybe wait on visiting if that’s something you’d need. Once the large bus tour finished and dropped us off back at the ticketing area, Juno took us into the North Korea Museum to meet a defector (which I don’t think was on the itinerary, and bc of the cold and snow, we were initially not looking forward to it…but it was SO COOL. Would recommend!). I highly recommend this tour. Bring snacks and water (though they do stop at a shop at the end of the bus tour, so you can buy some snacks then).
This was a fantastic, eye-opening tour with an excellent friendly guide, one of the best tour guides we've had touring around the world. My husband and I learned so much. We highly recommend this tour and want to commend our guide, Miae Hyun for giving us the royal treatment. Going on private tours is so worth the extra money! You can see more of what you want to see and have someone dedicated to you! A++
Miae was delightful, knowledgeable, funny, & helpful. Absolutely everything one could want in a tour guide
We booked a private DMZ tour with Miae at Top Korea Travel, and it exceeded every expectation. From the moment we met her, she was incredibly kind, patient, and welcoming to our family. Her knowledge of the area’s history was impressive, and she shared information in a way that was both easy to understand and deeply meaningful. Throughout the tour, she made sure we were comfortable, answered all of our questions, and never made us feel rushed. She also took fantastic photos along the way, capturing special moments we wouldn’t have been able to get on our own — something we truly appreciated. Thanks to Miae, we walked away with a much deeper understanding of the DMZ and its history. Highly recommend booking with Top Korea Travel and requesting Miae — she made our experience unforgettable.
My wife and I did the private DMZ tour with Juno, which was one of our favorite activities during our trip to South Korea. Juno was a great guide - friendly and incredibly knowledgeable about the Korean War and North Korea, especially since he has visited himself. The tour lasted nearly 8 hours, including hotel pickup and the drive north. It felt like the perfect length - not too long, but also not rushed. We also had a delicious lunch at a bulgogi restaurant. Highly recommended!
From the start Miae was professional, knowledgeable and friendly. We thoroughly enjoyed our day trip with her as our guide and the DMZ tour was one of the key highlights of our trip to Seoul. Would definitely use DMZ tours again!
The DMZ tour was one of the most memorable parts of my trip to South Korea. It offered a unique look into the Korean conflict and the ongoing division between North and South Korea. Highlights included the Third Infiltration Tunnel and Dora Observatory. Our tour guide was excellent: knowledgeable, respectful, and engaging. She shared historical context and stories that made the experience even more meaningful. Our private tour was well-organized and informative. Pick-up and drop-off at our hotel was very helpful. Highly recommended for anyone visiting Korea.
Our tour was amazing and extremely interesting! Juno was wonderful and provided expert insight and knowledge in such an unfamiliar area to us. Our family has been talking about it ever since!
