Geoje Panorama Cable Car & Oedo Botania Full-Day Nature Tour

The itinerary was well-planned, lunch was delicious and plentiful, and our guide Robin Kim was enthusiastic and helpful with taking photos.

They contacted me beforehand to say that the tour might not run as there weren't enough participants. However, two days prior, I received confirmation that it would proceed, along with information about the meeting point and places we'd visit. I was very satisfied, as these were all places that would have been difficult to visit alone.

While the scenery on Geoje Island was beautiful, the overall experience was not good. First, the driver of the 12-seater van drove through mountain curves without slowing down, and sped over speed bumps, causing the entire vehicle to bounce. He also made sudden stops. On the return trip, he drove faster and faster while talking on the phone with his wife. Furthermore, the itinerary didn't account for a lunch spot for tourists (either it wasn't planned or they didn't do their research). Most local shops were closed. After driving around, all tourists were dropped off at a convenience store for 30 minutes to get lunch. The two convenience stores in the area didn't have much left. Luckily, we found a hot dog stand nearby, pictured here, which was quite good. The itinerary also included Tongyeong Jungang Market. The guide mentioned during the morning introduction that going there would add 2 hours round trip, making the entire tour over 14 hours, and that the seafood wasn't as good as Jagalchi Market, suggesting we skip it. Everyone agreed, but if that's the case, it shouldn't have been included in the itinerary (we agreed to skip it because we were worried the driver would be too tired after 14 hours, especially given his aggressive driving). Finally, the scenery at Geoje Island, Geumgang Rock, and Botania Island was all beautiful. Unfortunately, the guide's explanations were too brief (for the same driver and guide, the guide for another Gyeongju tour provided good explanations). On the boat, the boat staff gave explanations in Korean. We clearly had a Chinese-speaking guide, but he didn't translate, so I had to rely on Google Translate myself. Botania is actually a private island with a story about its founders. I only found this out by seeing some photos on the island and looking it up online out of curiosity. For a tour group, there was too little explanation. If it was simply transportation, the driver's unsafe driving also made for a poor experience.

Thanks to tour guide Robin for playing multiple roles, and thanks for leading, explaining, and helping take pictures along the way.

The tour guide was very attentive and helped take a lot of photos. It was a fulfilling itinerary.

The tour guide was excellent, helping with photos and having great photography skills. They also provided good information about the attractions.

Austin was a very good guide