Budget Travel Korea | Seoul | Han River Live Music Cruise

This, like most other posts is a #latepost haha .. as I mentioned in my post on Yeouido Han River Park, one of the exciting things to do here is of course going on board one of the Han River cruises offered by Eland Cruise company. There are a few types of cruise that you can choose ranging from day to night with live music, guitar performance or even dining (buffet) cruise. 

The entrance to the ferry dock

The dock from afar

For me personally, I prefer the night cruise that showcases a live music show; it takes off daily at 7.30 pm. This one takes a total of 70 minutes to complete; cruising upriver to the east towards Banpo Bridge and from here it returns to Yeouido. Whenever I take my travelers on a Han River Cruise, it would usually be this one - the Han River Live Music Cruise.

The reason is simple, it's because we would usually get to enjoy the magnificent day view of Seoul city and the mountains from the N Tower Observatory Deck on Namsan Mountain; so the night cruise is for us to immerse in the almost romantic and very relaxing evening ambiance with the vibrant lights from the skyscrapers along the Han River. 

The infamous golden 63 building on Yeouido

It's truly an amazing experience as we also get to be on the river and actually view a few of  the bridges built across it that connect the north of Seoul to the south from up close.

Among the bridges that we saw during the cruise, this one has to be my absolute favorite but I couldn't find the name of this bridge lol.. maybe because it's dedicated only as the connecting bridge for the metro Line 1 - the dark blue line. 

I find the structure and color quite interesting and it's even more special when you get to see it as your boat cruises under it.

On the boat, you'll find that it is simply decorated with plastic cherry blossoms on the deck. Other than that, it has a wide space with a few benches for people to seat on; so you have a lot of room to choose from to enjoy the view of the river and the city on board.

Go to the bow area for some Titanic moments lol :D or walk along the port side or starboard to checkout either side of the river.

Made friends with some Korean school boys on a school trip ;)

Another reason why I prefer the night/live cruise is because we get to see the sought-after Banpo bridge Rainbow Fountain show from the boat! Many people (and couples) would sit along the bank near Banpo bridge at Banpo Hangang Park on the south end of the bridge and Yongsan on the north to view this daily fountain show (which is not available in winter btw). 

It's quite a romantic spectacle; the movement of the water from the fountains built along the bridge with colorful lights that accompany them, dancing away in the night sky ha ha..

Heading under the showers ^^

However, i gotta say that viewing the fountains from the boat is all that and so much fun! It's because at first, the boat will stop nearby the bridge and let us see the show from afar for a few minutes, and then it will go right under the bridge while all the fountains and lights still dancing so you actually get to experience the shower! Ha ha :P 

I find this part of the cruise very fun and amusing; of course the captain will announce for everyone to go under the shelters before the boat goes under the bridge but covered area is limited, so i would prefer to just enjoy that brief moment of fun instead :P

An empty deck after Captain's announcement to find cover ^^ - you can see the fountain shooting at the bridge in the back there

The Banpo Bridge Rainbow Fountain show only runs for 10 minutes from 8pm; afterwhich the boat will make its way back to Yeouido and it's in this last half an hour that you get to watch the live music show on the lower level of the boat.

Getting off the boat

Getting on one of the Han River cruises is definitely a must-do when you visit Seoul. You can purchase the tickets on the spot at Eland counters located near the dock but you may risk a sold-out cruise especially if you go on a weekend or holiday. 

Another way of securing your seats on the cruise is by purchasing the tickets online. You can either opt for Han River E-land Ferry Cruise (Day & Night) or Han River Ferry Buffet Cruise (Muslim travelers may want to choose the former option).