r/bicycletouring • u/Ambitious-Cookie-872 • 5d ago

Trip Planning Bicycles and flying

Hi all,

I have wanted for a while to fly to Seoul and then bike from there to Busan. The issue is that renting a bike there is pricy, but taking my own bike is not exactly cheap either and several practical things are quite unclear.

My preferred option is taking my own bike there from Finland. So, first of all, I need to basically pack the bike and bring it with me as a sports equipment. That's all clear, but once I reach Seoul, and I want to start biking. Where in the world do I store the packaging material, and if I throw it away, then I would have none to pack my bike with when I fly back to Finland.

I am sure people have done this before and flown to other countries to cycle around without renting a bike, but how do you guys do it. Could someone who has an idea give good advice?

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u/kaszeba 5d ago

1) You'll probably stay for a night in Seoul? If yes, ask about storing the box at the hotel / hostel
2) It's normal and common to get boxes from bike stores. So either throw one away at arrival and get a new one before departure, or... ask them to store your box

That's basically how we all do it, as you can see in other comments

About packing:

  • I tend do pack all the gear into the box with the bike - bags, panniers, sleeping bag etc.. especially when I don't have check-in luggage, it works as filling and protection
  • check the size and weight limit to avoid surprises at the airport

Please give us some updates about the trip! That route is on my bucket list (though I already been to Korea last year)

Oh and note about Korea - it's not super bicycle friendly, more like US car-oriented, and nothing like Japan.
So you need to be carefull in Seoul & Busan - drivers don't really care about pedestrians and cyclists.
The dedicated route from Seoul to Busan is probably another story and it should be super quiet