Ease of using subway from Incheon port to Seoul?

My husband and I have been pricing private tours from the port of Incheon into Seoul and are finding them very expensive when they include transport to and from the port. We are wondering about using the subway to get into Seoul. How far from the port is the nearest subway station? Is it easy to understand how to use the subway system when you don't read or speak Korean? I notice that some stations have multiple subway line interchanges. How easy is it to find yourself lost in those stations?

Thanks to anyone who can provide first-hand experience/answers.

Seoul, the city is huge - best way to get around is the subway, especially avoiding the highways around the morning & afternoon/evening rush hours ... even for some of the major "local" streets & avenues. We're just there a year ago on an escorted land-based tour ... commuters jamming the road, just like the greater Los Angeles freeway - just more orderly fashion & no honking.

Are you docking there for a day, overnight - do you know for sure which port/terminal? There are regular trains and then there are express/high speed train with fewer stops (about 1 hour into the city vs. 30 minutes or less, depending on where - ancient palace/wall musuem vs. the mega-shopping mall districts or DMZ, etc. - or, to just meet your local tour guide/driver)

Port of Seoul has 2 international pax terminal (#1 and #2 and they are far apart, either one are served by bus routes - along with taxis/motor coaches - that you will need to connect to the trains. Most likely, generally speaking, you want to take minimize your travel time - take a taxi (most speak no or little English, have address/names of place and phone # written out to show the driver and/or have a digital local map on your smartphone (offline, downloaded ahead is fine ...) to the train or "Metro" - regular ones, if necessary, transfer to the express/fast trains to your destination.

When asking for directions, the younger generation tend to have some command of the English language but best to show them the written details, and point & use sign signal to supplement as it's not uncommon for some to speak in their native Korean tongue. Metro/stations have good signage but with businesses, not always with English unless they cater to visitors & travelers - there are maps and look for a uniformed employees for help, they are easy to spot.

Standards of living and cost of living in Korean is high, very high - be prepared to pay $5 USD for a cup of "ordinary" coffee alone - think Tokyo, Paris & New York ... prices to match.

Do some of your pre-cruise planning & searches with Google and read up on Tripadvisors on places you plan to visit and/or on your must-see list first; and, review the distance to go - allow time to return to the terminal to not miss your ship. We spend 2 hours (if not more) in our mid-sized motor coach (about 30 of us) during the evening rush hour to get to one of the "famous" kitchen (from downtown, via highway, cross to other side of the river) hidden inside a shopping mall for its "Ginseng Chicken" special ... meal lasted about 30 minutes, duh ! doing a big loop instead of returning to our Novotel, just 30 to 45 minutes from earlier - and we could've eaten 2 blocks away at the night market & select/pay on our own.

Comfortable walking shoes are definitely a must - and, have extra room in your luggage, cosmetics (facial masks for skin care) are a best buy, dirt cheap & a steal but excellent: DW wanted to do a stopover at ICN airport just to grab some at the duty-free shops (practically same prices as in-town).

Never mind.

Thankyou mking8288 for your comments which I found helpful as I will be in Incheon on a cruise. Can you help with the following questions?

Can I get a taxi from the port to the subway station? How far is it? Is there a website where I can find out which dock the ship will use?

Thankyou mking8288 for your comments which I found helpful as I will be in Incheon on a cruise. Can you help with the following questions?

Can I get a taxi from the port to the subway station? How far is it? Is there a website where I can find out which dock the ship will use?

There are a # of online sites to do that, give this one a try - it has a good overview & links. You should be able to find your ship's schedule listed - both berth are nearly so I don't think you will have difficulties in finding suitable & reasonable ground transportation.

http://www.whatsinport.com/Inchon.htm

We're last in Seoul about 15 months ago, flew in and out of ICN Int'l Airport, which is world class in design, layout & being traveler's friendly - and, the industrial cruise port is nearby, about 20 to 30 minutes away - in the City of Incheon, where we also stayed overnight in a Ramada Hotel, before meeting our land-based escorted tour for a week, by a bilingual guide (driver spoke only Korean). This short, 20 minutes taxi ride in a 8 pax minivan with luggage cost about $45 USD - beautiful toll highway over the bridge connecting to the city via Incheon. Airport's 24/7 help desk staffed with multi-lingual help and they are very much focused of tourist-friendly & courteous.

Seoul, including the Incheon section, east of the city, has an extensive network of subway/trains, bus routes (express & locals) as well as highways - there should be plenty of volunteers & local help outside/at the cruise terminal, just like the airport - they will write out names, address & info to show to the drivers & buses for you to use. Cruise terminal should have free and ultra-fast WiFi (airport was 75 MB and inside the KA lounge, 100 MB - and they have 5G for compatible smartphones). The nearest subway train station is served by the "slower" trains making more stops but you can take that to transfer to the faster train into the popular shopping & musuem/historic places, many directly above the underground subway stations - it's a much more reliable way of getting around.

Being from NYC, I will note that their traffic around rush hours, which can last all days, are just as bad if not worst than NY or Los Angeles, but at least drivers are patient and yield, follow common sense rules & don't "honk" all the time, allow plenty of time to get back to the ship if you are there only for a day. Standard of living & prices are quite high, even for us being accustomed to big city costs here, a hamburger, fries & small soda cost almost $10 USD and a cup of ordinary coffee is $3 or $4.

This TripAdvisor link should help you with answering some of your questions - with more links: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g294197-i8161-k8156177-Incheon_Port-Seoul.html

Bring some yellow markers and black marker pens along, plus sticky mini-notes to circle, write & for reminders - train schedules are sometimes difficult to read, as it's mostly written in native Korean, English usage is limited at best, like this one (it's the last station on the "East" coast facing the Sea of Japan, a popular place to visit but 3 hours worth of motor coach driving from city center, too far for a day trip, or via the trains)

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/64025118/Travel/IMG150914_1242.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/64025118/Travel/IMG150914_1240.jpg

Entrance to one of the vast underground subway stations and shopping malls below the surface, and, outside one of the busier multi-story mall of small shops.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/64025118/Travel/IMG150917_1420.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/64025118/Travel/IMG150917_1354.jpg

It is, nevertheless, best to do a land tour to explore & see all these on a leisurely pace. The DMZ is just about 90 minutes bus ride to the border/restricted zones, and from various viewing vantage points - looking north & you can almost see what it's like living on the other side ... we are told many from the older generation remained seperated & still hoping for families split apart to be reunited.

Thanks mking8288 for your help