This is part of our ongoing Seoul travel guide series — if you haven’t already, check out our posts on setting up an eSIM and navigation apps and the e-Arrival Card and K-ETA.
Seoul might be one of the easiest big cities in the world to navigate. Between the 지하철 (jihacheol), subway, buses, taxis, and bikes, you’re never more than a few minutes from your next ride — and once you get the fare logic down, it’s cheap too. Here’s the short version.
Subway: your main workhorse
Seoul’s subway is fast, spotless, and covers basically everywhere you’d want to go. Base 요금 (yogeum), fare, is ₩1,550 with a T-money card (a bit more for a paper ticket). Lines are color-coded and every station has English signage, so it’s genuinely tourist-friendly. Trains run from around 5:30am to just past midnight.
Curious about that pink monster card in the photo? We break down how it compares to a standard T-money card in T-money Card vs. Climate Card: Which Seoul Transit Card Do You Actually Need?.
Bus: fills in the gaps
버스 (beoseu), buses, cost about ₩1,500 with T-money and cover routes the subway doesn’t quite reach. Blue buses run the main trunk routes, green ones handle shorter local hops. One tip: tap your card both getting on and getting off — that’s how the free 환승 (hwanseung), transfer, discount kicks in when you switch between bus and subway within 30 minutes.
Taxi: fast, and cheaper than you’d think
A standard 택시 (taeksi), taxi, starts at ₩4,800 for the first 1.6km, metered up from there. It’s a solid option late at night or with luggage. Just know that fares jump 20–40% between 10pm and 4am, so a midnight ride costs noticeably more than the same trip at noon.
City bikes (Ttareungyi): cheap and everywhere
Seoul’s public bikes, 따릉이 (Ttareungi), are parked at thousands of docking stations across the city — handy for short hops or a scenic ride along the Han River. Rentals are inexpensive and bookable right from the app, no subscription required if you’re just visiting.
The easiest way to pay for it all
Get a T-money card (about ₩3,000, sold at any convenience store) and load it with cash. It works across subway, bus, and most taxis, and gives you the transfer discount automatically. For longer stays, Seoul also offers short-term unlimited transit passes if you’re planning to ride a lot in a short window — worth checking the current options once you land, since these details do shift from year to year.
That’s really all you need to move around Seoul like a local from day one.