Muuido (무의도) Island- A Weekend Beach Get Away

While I am a city girl to my core I found myself needing a break from the bustle and crowds of Seoul. With a three day weekend fast approaching I decided that a beach vacation sounded perfect. However, having just moved to Seoul and having yet to get paid for the month I didn’t have the funds or the time to make the trip to Busan. In our search for affordable and close options, my friends and I discovered a little island off the coast of Incheon that sounded just what we needed.

Muuido Island is a small island snuggled next to the city of Incheon and a close bus and ferry ride from the Incheon Airport. Muuido is surrounded by two other smaller islands as well. It’s a small island with not much to do but perfect for a three-day getaway. Muuido isn’t a popular destination among tourists so there are not many (if any) directions in English. We were the only foreigners on the Island as it was completely inhabited by older couples and young Korean families enjoying the summer sun.

Before we left we decided to go to the large NoBrand in the Incheon bus station. While Muuido does have some restaurants and drugstores there are no large grocery stores to buy more specific items from. We decided that we would bring our own personal grill on our trip and brought that along with sausages and vegetables ahead of time. The grill turned out to be a fantastic idea. Getting to Muuido form Incheon airport is relatively easy. From Incheon station or Dong-Incheon station (Seoul Subway Line 1), we took the city bus No. 306 bound for Eurwang-ri and got off at Geojampo. We walked 10 min to the Jamjinnaru Ferry Terminal, Yeongjongdo Island. The ferry comes every 30 minutes on weekdays and every 15 minutes on weekends. The ferry is a cheap 3,000 KRW and was only a quick five-minute ride. When we arrived at the beach there was a 1,000 KRW / person entrance fee.

While you can rent air-conditioned housing the most popular housing on the beach is the beach cabins. There are 30 of them on Hanagae Beach and they come with traditional Korean styled sleeping sized bedding. They can each house about four people. The beach cabins cost 10,000 KRW per person with a non-refundable key deposit of 30,000 KRW. The cabins are first come first serve so getting there early in the day is advisable. You cannot rent them ahead of time. The housing while small is affordable as well as being extremely cute and homey. The floors of the housing are soft and have electricity however no air conditioning.

The water at the beach when we arrived was the most beautiful turquoise I’ve ever seen and the sunset was a beautiful mix of lavender, orange and pink hues. While not so far from Seoul and nestled right next to Incheon Hanagae Beach felt miles away from any city. Over Hanagae Beach, they have a long zip line that you can pay to fly over along the beach. Other activities on the beach include horseback riding, hiking and renting ATVs to ride. You can also rent inter-tubes along the beach as well as an overhead tent. We opted to rent an overhead tent, as we stayed on the beach and in the water all day this proved to be a necessity.

While there are restaurants on the beach I would highly recommend bringing your own grill of some sort. Eating and drinking on the beach proved to be one of the highlights of the trip. While I do love the city it was a nice break from the hustle and bustle and allowed us to fully take advantage of our three day weekend. If you want a break from the city that doesn’t break your wallet Muuido is a lovely option.