Seoul to Nami Island in 2026: ITX Train, Shuttle Bus and the Ferry

Seoul to Nami Island is a train ride of about an hour plus a short hop to the ferry. The ITX-Cheongchun takes roughly 60 minutes from Yongsan to Gapyeong Station and costs 6,900 won; from Cheongnyangni it takes about 40 minutes and costs 5,700. Nami Island Korea sits in the Bukhan River and officially belongs to Chuncheon, but you cross from Gapyeong wharf, 1.5 km from the station, on a five-minute ferry. Admission, boat included, is 19,000 won for adults in 2026. Here’s how the train, the Gyeongchun Line subway and the direct shuttle bus compare, how to cover the last 1.5 km, what the ticket and the zip wire cost, and when the leaves turn.

How to get from Seoul to Nami Island: the options compared

The simplest way to reach Nami Island from Seoul is an ITX from Cheongnyangni, or the shuttle if you’d rather not plan. The train gives you the whole day; the shuttle gives you about five hours and spares you the seat booking and the last stretch from the station.

Seoul to Nami Island by ITX-Cheongchun

The ITX-Cheongchun is Korail’s express to Chuncheon, and it stops at Gapyeong. In early October 2026 the timetables showed 54 to 67 minutes from Yongsan and 36 to 48 from Cheongnyangni, with 18 trains a day each way on weekdays and 26 at weekends and on holidays. The first train leaves Yongsan between about 5:40 and 6:15 am, the last at about 10:30 pm.

A reserved seat costs 6,900 won from Yongsan and 5,700 from Cheongnyangni; the Yongsan fare was the same in October 2025. This isn’t the subway, so a T-money card won’t open the gate. You need a ticket, booked on the Korail+ app or letskorail.com the way we describe in our Seoul to Gyeongju guide. Seats can sell out at weekends and on holidays, and when they do, station counters sell standing tickets (4,800 won from Cheongnyangni), but not online.

Seoul to Nami Island by subway: the Gyeongchun Line

The Gyeongchun Line starts at Sangbong, where Line 7 and the Gyeongui-Jungang Line meet, and runs on to Chuncheon. Nami Island’s own directions put Sangbong to Gapyeong at about 50 minutes, and Korean Wikipedia says trains leave Sangbong every 15 to 30 minutes. Add the ride to Sangbong and it’s 1.5 to 2 hours from central Seoul. In return it’s the cheapest route, about 2,500 won on a T-money card according to Koreavisiting, with nothing to book. Seoul’s Climate Card Tourist Pass doesn’t cover it, because the trip ends outside the city.

The Nami Island shuttle bus from Seoul

The only direct Nami Island Seoul shuttle is a daily round trip run by the tour company Ktourstory, which you book through Klook, Kkday, Trazy or GetYourGuide. It leaves Hongik University Station (Exit 4) at 9:00 am and reaches Nami at 11:30. Trazy lists two more pickups: the Namsan Yejang parking lot near Myeongdong at 9:40 and Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station (Exit 9) at 9:50. The return bus leaves Nami at 4:30 pm and is back at Hongik at 6:50.

LocalsKorea puts the round trip at 31,300 won, and island admission isn’t included. Trazy asks for bookings by 10 am the day before. That leaves about five hours between arrival and departure, and the only return leaves at 4:30, so it suits a simple day out, less so anyone who wants the evening.

From Gapyeong Station to the ferry wharf

Gapyeong Station is 1.5 km from the wharf at 1024 Bukhangangbyeon-ro, Gapyeong-eup. The island says it’s about 20 minutes on foot and about five by bus 10-4 or taxi. Paste the address into Naver Map to see the 10-4 stop and the arrival times.

The City Tour Bus runs a single loop, route A, from Gapyeong Terminal through Gapyeong Station and Nami to Petite France and the Garden of Morning Calm. On the 2025 timetable, the latest we found, it ran eight times a day from the terminal in busy months such as October. A day pass only pays off if you’ll hop off at Petite France too.

Nami Island tickets, the ferry and the zip wire

Nami Island calls itself the Naminara Republic, with its own flag, banknotes and passports, and it sells entry as a “visa”. The Nami Island ticket includes the round-trip ferry, and the island is open 365 days a year.

Preferred means middle and high school students, people aged 70 and over, people with severe disabilities and national-merit holders. Child means age 3 to elementary school; under 36 months is free. The island also lists special rates for early-bird tickets (boats before 8:00 am) and evening tickets (after 6:31 pm from April to November), but its page doesn’t show the amounts.

Boats run from 8:00 am to 9:00 pm: every 30 minutes until 9:00, every 10 to 20 minutes until 6:00 pm, then every 30 again. From 18 September to 22 November 2026 the first boat leaves at 7:30 am every day, and the last runs at 9:30 pm on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. The motorboat runs from April to November, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, on demand for two or more passengers.

The other way in is the Skyline Zipwire, which opened in 2010 and carried its millionth rider in May 2026. A cable runs 940 m from a tower at the wharf to the island, and Wikipedia gives the ride as about 90 seconds. The Family course costs 55,000 won and the Adventure course 58,000, both with admission and the boat back included. Riders must weigh 35 to 125 kg and stand 140 to 200 cm. It runs 9:00 am to 6:00 pm in winter and to 7:00 pm in summer, weather permitting.

A day trip from Seoul: a timetable that works

Koreavisiting reckons a Nami Island day trip takes eight to ten hours door to door, with three to four on the island; it budgets 30 to 45 minutes for Metasequoia Lane alone. This is how we’d lay the day out.

Petite France costs 12,000 won for adults, or 19,500 with the Italian Village, and is open 9:00 am to 6:00 pm with last entry at 5:00, according to a listing updated in May 2026. The Garden of Morning Calm charged 11,000 won in 2026 and is open 8:30 am to 7:00 pm with last entry at 6:00. Koreavisiting puts Petite France 20 to 30 minutes from Nami and the garden 30 to 40, so we’d pick one rather than both.

Getting back to Seoul from Nami Island

The last boat off the island leaves at 9:05 pm on a normal day. The last ITX from Gapyeong leaves at about 10:30 pm for both Yongsan and Cheongnyangni, and the first at about 6:30 am, on early October 2026 timetables. We didn’t find the last Gyeongchun Line train, so check it in Naver Map. If you came by shuttle, the only bus back leaves the island at 4:30 pm.

When to go: autumn leaves, crowds and winter

Autumn is the peak season. The Korea Forest Service’s forecast of 22 September 2026 puts the peak for ginkgo around 30 October and for maple around 31 October, about 0.8 of a day later than the five-year average. Telltrip’s autumn guide says that by late October the ginkgo path at the island’s southern end is covered in yellow leaves, and that the red-maple garden known as Baekpung Mill is quieter than the main paths. Koreavisiting calls mid-October to early November the busiest window and says leaving before 9 am is the best way to beat the crowds, especially at weekends.

The island is open all year. The 2002 drama Winter Sonata was filmed in the area, and Wikipedia says it brought a wave of Japanese visitors. Our best time to visit South Korea guide has the month-by-month weather.

Landing at Incheon first? Our Incheon Airport to Seoul guide has the AREX fares and the night buses.

Heading to Japan after Korea? Two of our Japan guides are worth reading first: shrine etiquette in Japan, for the bow, the bell and the purification fountain, and eating while walking in Japan, where the rule is a custom rather than a law.

Looking for the rest? Every Korea guide we’ve published, from the K-ETA to the T-money card, is sorted by topic in our South Korea travel guide.

Data checked: 2026-10-06