3 days in Busan is a good amount of time to enjoy the city and see all major places without feeling you missed something big you wanted to see. It also gives you the flexibility to even get out of the city and do a day trip, if you are very short on time.
See the detailed tips and itineraries for visiting Busan.
Day 3 highlights: Beomeosa Temple, Oryukdo Skywalk, Igidae Coastal Walk, Gwangali Beach and Bridge, Drone Light Show
You will again use transportation most of the day, although you could walk all the way from Oryukdo skywalk via Igidae walk to Gwangali beach (use Naver maps for directions). I will give detailed information about transport below.
Beomeosa Temple
Entrance Fee: Free
Transportation: After grabbing coffee at one of the cafes near your hotel (see suggestions per each district in my post dedicated to Busan cafes), get on metro line 1 and get off at the Beomeosa station from exit 5 or 7. Then get on bus #90 to reach the temple. Make sure to consult Naver maps for timings and details.
This Buddhist temple is not often included in Busan itineraries. It’s certainly not close to any other main areas of Busan, it’s located on mount Geumjeongsan (Golden Well Mountain) and would take you at least an hour to get to. Despite this, I believe it should have a place on a 3-day itinerary.
Established in the 7th century, during the Silla dynasty, it was destroyed during the Japanese invasion and rebuilt. So most of the current structures are of 18th century. The temple holds a number of National treasures, including stone pagodas.
Beomeosa, as some other temples is also an educational hub, providing information about Buddhist practices. So if you are interested, you can enquire about their templestay program and stay overnight or longer.
Note: If you like hiking and have the whole day to spend here, you can also explore the Geumjeongsan Mountain trails and even take the Geumgang Park Cable Car.
Oryukdo Skywalk and Igidae Coastal Walk
Entrance Fee: Free
Transportation: From Beomeosa get back to the metro line 1 and head to the Busan station. Take bus #24, 27 or 131 to Oryukdo skywalk. Make sure to consult Naver maps for timings and details.
Note: Keep in mind that the skywalk is closed on rainy days.
Oryukdo skywalk is the first of its kind opened in 2013 in Busan (it was then followed by Songdo Skywalk in 2015 and Cheongsapo Observatory in 2017). This is also still the highest skywalk in the city. It’s shorter than its contenders but offers wonderful views of the surrounding Igidae coast and the islets nearby.
If you have been following my suggested itinerary for 3 days in Busan, this will be your third glass skywalk in the city. But each of them offers different perspectives and being on the glass floor is so exciting. If you aren’t so excited about this though, you can skip one or two of the suggested skywalks 😊
If you are relatively fit and don’t mind a lot of stairs, from Oryukdo you can embark on the Igidae coastal walk of 4.7km. Here is the trail you will be following:
Keep in mind that the direction from Oryukdo is slightly more uphill than the reverse, so you may want to do reverse. However, given that the skywalk is open only until 6pm and you may want to get to Gwangali Beach in the evening, starting from Oryukdo is the most optimal for this itinerary.
Along the trail you will find a number of observation points, as well as enjoy the natural beauties of the Igidae cliff – forest and beautiful flowers (depending on the season). It should take you about 2-3 hours to Gwangan Bridge area.
If you aren’t up for this long walk, then you can hop on a bus to head to Gwangali Beach.
Gwangali Beach and Gwangan Bridge Drone Show
After Igidae coastal walk you can continue your walk to Gwangali Beach, which should be pretty quick. If you are visiting during springtime, you will find a cherry blossom street along the route. If you don’t want to do so, you can hop on a bus #20, 24 or 27 to Kyungsung University metro station.
Gwangali beach area is one of the most popular. The beach is known for its art installations and musical performances in the evening. Besides, it has great views of the Gwangan bridge.
Gwangan bridge is beautifully lighted every evening, however, on Saturdays you can also catch a drone show here. Throughout March to September the show happens at 8pm and 10pm, while October to March, at 7pm and 9pm (each show lasts about 10 minutes). The show is fascinating with 1500 drones making various figures.
Suggestions for additional days in Busan
This is all for the 3 days in Busan. If you have more time, here are a couple more things worth visiting:
- Ahopsan Bamboo Forest;
- Dongnaeeupseong Fortress Site;
- Seokbulsa;
- Samgwangsa;
- Tejongdae park;
- Hwangnyeongsan mountain with lovely views over the city.
If you are here on a rainy day and can’t do much else:
Busan doesn’t offer all that much to culture lovers on a rainy day, but you can still find some activities:
Museum 1 (price is 18,000 won per person): This wouldn’t be my first choice in a city full of outdoor activities and walks, but we had to find some indoor activities, when it rained cats and dogs. I am not much into modern art, so I am not the one to explain its benefits, but the main lighted room was fun, as you can see from these photos.
Shinsegae Centum and Lotte Department Store: These two malls are interlinked and if you would like to go shopping, they are a good place to start. They even have their own Trevy Fountain 😀 We walked around a bit on a rainy day, as we couldn’t get out much.
Sealife Aquarium.
If you are visiting Busan during springtime cherry blossom season, definitely consider switching some of the day 3 activities to these:
- Jinhae: You shouldn’t miss this gorgeous place offering cherry blossom heaven. Jinhae holds cherry blossom festival every spring and attracts significant number of visitors, so if you want some peace and quiet, it definitely is not for you. You can easily access Jinhae by taking a bus from Seobu Intercity Bus terminal.
- Samnak Ecological Park: This park is stretching inbetween the river and the canal provides wonderful opportunity to see cherry blossoms.
- Oncheoncheon Stream: Another area along the canal with cherry blossom trees lined and with cafes nearby.
- Dalmaji-gil Toad (see details in day 2 itinerary).
