How much does it cost to travel to Seoul? (2026)
Budget, mid-range and luxury daily estimates for Seoul, in USD and KRW.
Daily and weekly costs
| Tier | Per day (USD) | Per day (KRW) | 7 days (USD) | 7 days (KRW) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BudgetHostel bed, cheap meals, public transport | $65 | ₩92,000 | $455 | ₩650,000 |
| Mid-rangeThree-star hotel, restaurants, some taxis | $155 | ₩220,000 | $1,085 | ₩1,500,000 |
| LuxuryFour- or five-star hotel, dining out | $335 | ₩480,000 | $2,345 | ₩3,300,000 |
Every amount in this table is an estimateestimate, derived from the World Bank price level for South Korea rather than quoted by any seller.
How this is calculated
A US baseline of 90, 210 and 450 USD a day for the three tiers is multiplied by the price level of South Korea (0.5738933071029917, World Bank 2025) and by a city-size factor of 1.3, then rounded to the nearest 5 dollars. Local amounts use the World Bank exchange rate of 1422.44083333333 KRW to the dollar, rounded to two significant digits.
These are modeled estimates, not quoted prices. Read the full formula on the methodology page.
Sample prices in Seoul
Typical prices, every one an estimateestimate rather than a quoted price.
Hostel dorm bed
Estimated nightly rate for a shared dorm room in a budget hostel.
$20
Budget hotel double room
Estimated nightly rate for a simple private room.
$55
Cheap casual meal
Estimated cost of a meal at a local eatery or street stall.
$8
Mid-range restaurant meal
Estimated cost of a sit-down meal with a drink.
$28
Local transport day pass
Estimated cost of unlimited subway and bus travel for one day.
$5
Coffee
Estimated price of a regular coffee at a café.
$4
Museum or palace admission
Estimated entry fee for a typical attraction.
$12
Tourist SIM card
Estimated cost of a prepaid data SIM for a short stay.
$18
Where the money goes
At the budget level, $65 a day typically covers a dorm bed or basic guesthouse room, cheap meals, and local transit passes. Moving to the mid-range tier of $155 a day allows for a private hotel room, sit-down restaurant meals, and occasional paid attractions, while the luxury tier of $335 a day supports higher-end lodging, dining, and taxis instead of public transport. Over a full week, these differences compound into totals of $455, $1,085, and $2,345 for the three tiers respectively.
January, November, and December are the cheapest months to visit, coinciding with the off-season when hotel rates and crowd levels drop. All figures above are estimates based on current cost data and can vary depending on individual travel habits, season, and how far in advance lodging is booked.
Cheapest months by climate demand: Jan, Nov and Dec.
Keep reading
More on Seoul
Sources
- GeoNames city database — CC BY 4.0, fetched September 14, 2026
- World Bank price level and exchange rate — CC BY 4.0, data year 2025
AI-written interpretation reviewed against the data above — claude-sonnet-5, generated September 21, 2026. Every number on this page comes from a dataset named here; the formulas are public.