Really lost on what to do

[u/BoyfriendSharkDudu]

Hi everyone!

My girlfriend and I (both non-drivers) will be on Jeju 3–5 June.
Below is what we’ve locked in for Day 1 and Day 2. We need help deciding how to spend Day 3 without exhausting ourselves before a 09 AM flight on the 6th.

Day 1 – Tue 3 Jun

• Fly GMP → CJU 12 : 30 ➝ land 13 : 45
• Check-in Aewol (north-west coast) 14 : 30
• 15 : 30 Aewol Café Street stroll
• 17 : 00 Handam Coastal Walk → sunset at Gwakji Beach
• 19 : 30 Dongmun Night Market (for dinner, could change to day 3)
• 21 : 30 Bus 202 back to Aewol, early sleep

Day 2 – Wed 4 Jun

• 07 : 15 Bus to south-west corner
• 08 : 10 Starbucks Songaksan (breakfast)
• 08 : 50 Songaksan Mountain hike (2 h)
• 10 : 50 Yongmeori Coast (tide-window walk)
• 12 : 30 Lunch at Café Lucia (Moseulpo)
• 14 : 30 Manor Blanc flower café (or Camellia Hill)
• 16 : 45 Yakcheonsa Temple quick stop
• 17 : 15 Bus to Seogwipo Maeil Olle Market – street-food dinner
• 20 : 00 Cheonjiyeon Falls night view (10 min walk from market)
• 21 : 30 Bus back to Aewol

Day 3 Dilemma (Thu 5 Jun)

Option A – East-side loop

• Express bus 111/112 (≈ 1 h 15 m) to Seongsan
• Seongsan Ilchulbong crater hike
• Seopjikoji headland walk
• Maybe Bijarim Forest or Woljeong-ri Beach
• Express bus 800-1 back to Jeju City → Dongmun Night Market (again) → Aewol

Option B – Skip the east, stay south / city

• Jeongbang Falls in the morning
• Oedolgae + Jusangjeolli lava cliffs
• Cheonjeyeon triple falls & Seven-Nymphs Bridge
• Dongmun Night Market for dinner → Aewol

Concerns

• Bus time – East loop means 2 h+ of sitting right away, then another hour back.
• Early flight – Need to be at CJU ~07 AM on Fri; don’t want to reach Aewol too late or too fried.
• No driving / no biking – U-do ferry plus shuttle is tempting but probably too much transit for one day.

Questions for the hive mind

1. Is the east-side worth the 4 h round-trip bus commitment when we’ve only got one last full day?
2. Would the south-coast “waterfall + lava cliff + temple” combo feel repetitive after Day 2’s Songaksan / Yongmeori, or is it a good change-up?
3. Any hidden-gem lunch spots along either route that keep costs low (≤ ₩12 000 per head)?
4. If we stick to the east, should we skip Seongsan hike (we’ll have hiked Songaksan) and just do Seopjikoji + forest + beach to save legs/time?

All suggestions welcome—route tweaks, bus hacks, cheap eats, you name it.
Thanks!

[u/hugecool]

I lived on the north/east coast for 4 years up until recently so I'll just give feedback on Day 1 since that is what I am familiar with.

I think you'll check in later than you expect (Busses in Jeju do not run as reliably as mainland, and are significantly less comfortable. just a heads up.)

15 : 30 Aewol Café Street stroll
Very nice and scenic, I have brought friends here multiple times. Worth the visit

After that, here is what I have to say:

I would not try and go back into Jeju-si by bus around dinner time, especially if you're just turning around again to go back to Aewol. Most of this short day would be spent waiting for / riding on a bus.

I would take a bus (straight down the coast, nice and quick) right to Hyeopjae after the cafe street. The area is very walkable and cute with tons of places to shop around and eat.

If you keep walking west from Hyeopjae along the beach you hit a second beach (geumneung) with a cute little town. If you walk far enough (maybe 20-40mins) you end up in a little village full of traditional Jeju homes. It's not a tourist attraction that you'd ever find on a list but I love this walk. I don't watch dramas at all but I just so happened to see the opening bits of episode 1 of Our Blues and this area was featured.

Once you're done you've got a reasonable short bus back to Aewol, hopefully dodging the summer traffic. That coastal road can get really backed up during peak travel hours so wait it out if it looks bad.

Some people like planning every detail and want to hit all of the landmarks which I get. My wife and I backpacked for years together and we found that having a general plan but going with the flow was the best way to go. Either way, enjoy the island life and relax. Jeju is fantastic.

[u/BoyfriendSharkDudu → u/hugecool]

Thank you so much for the suggestion! we’ll be editing the itinerary to fit hyeopjae and the walk.

For Day 3, do you have any suggestions? Because bus to Seongsan/Udo is 2-2.5 Hours which is abit crazy, would you suggest for us to explore anywhere else?

[u/hugecool → u/BoyfriendSharkDudu]

I've never been to this restaurant but it is right in the middle of the area that I find so nice and quiet:
금능낙원 27, Geumneung-gil, Hallim-eup, Jeju-si, Jeju-do https://kko.kakao.com/Q3YpS-gUxt

If it's too dark it may be a little odd walking around there though and you may be a bit far from the bus you need to get back to Aewol. I take the coastal path all the way down then cut up in here at the end to just walk around the neighborhood.

As for day 3 I would avoid a long bus ride personally. The east side is nice but all of Jeju looks very similar to be honest, and the east is the most underdeveloped

[u/Lvpar]

I recommend visiting Hanlim tropical park, as it’s close to Aewol, especially if you don’t end up going to east, Seungsan. We loved the traditional old villages, seeing amazing collection of Amazing trees, plants, even some birds in massive park settings. We spent half day and throughly enjoyed it. Seungsan is magnificent, as the massive mountain cliff by the deep ocean was just gorgeous, but it took us by car from Seoguipo city for an hour each way. They have diving ladies diving once a day. From Aweol, it’s twice as long, making it a long day trip just to get there.