Would recommend this tour to anyone who wants to experience a different side of South Korea. At Yeongyang, the air is definitely fresher, more crisp, and with an abundance of greenery.
The ride from Busan to Yeongyang took around 3 hours with a rest stop in between (snack time!). Our tour guide, Mr Dony, supplements nuggets of information of the Korean landscape, history and culture along the drive.
We had ample time to tour around each of the attraction points, which we even did a little hike up (Mt.) Ilwolsan. Besides the nature, we were also exposed to the history and significance of chill peppers to Yeongyang through one of its exhibition halls, which were interesting to learn about. Finally, we visited Doodle Village, a beautiful hanok village that is still very well maintained until now.
Arguably the highlight of the tour, lunch was served with a table full of food and side dishes. The vegetables were sourced from the mountains (hence 산채정식), and it was intriguing to experience the difference in tastes and textures.
Overall, this felt like a ‘healing’ trip. We were so well-taken care of throughout the entire time, thanks to Dony and his team’s efforts in making sure we’re comfortable all the time.