Welcome back! So this post is going to cover the things I did on my second day in Geoje. This is mainly focused on Gujora Beach and travelling to Oedo Island by boat. Oedo Island is a must see in Geoje, an island turned garden with beautiful views, magical gardens, and an interesting history. It’s such a charming little place and one not to miss. This post will give information on travelling to Oedo Island, and things to do in the area before you go. I hope you’ll find it informative and it helps you plan your trip! Click here to skip right to the information about the boat to Oedo. Click here just to see stuff about Oedo Island.
Gujora Beach, Cafe, and Brunch (구조라해수욕장)
So we actually got up a bit later than anticipated (if you read my previous post then blame the wine haha), but our plan for the day was still to take the boat to Oedo. You can get the boat to Oedo from several different ports on Geoje, but we wanted to check out a famous cafe and the beach at Gujora as well. As they also have a boarding terminal for Oedo there we thought why not make a day of it?! To make up for the late start we booked a Kakao Taxi to the terminal, which cost around 13k and took about 20-25 minutes. The taxi dropped us off at the terminal and we stopped in to buy tickets first to make sure they didn’t sell out. Full ferry information is available further down the page.
As we hadn’t eaten yet our first stop was food! I always need bread after a big night out so was desperate for a sandwich. A lot of places in Gujora seemed to be seafood based and i wasn’t having any luck with Naver either. We decided to have a walk down the seafront by the terminal as a last ditch attempt at finding bread. Thankfully, the last cafe on the strip also did sandwiches, yay! We tucked into some lovely carbs and got an orange juice for healing vitamins. The food was yummy and the owner was so lovely, so I would recommend dropping by here if you visit the area. Here’s the link for Naver, and Kakao.
Next we decided to check out Oedo Nursery (Naver link, Kakao link), a famous dessert cafe in Gujora. My only regret visiting here is that I didn’t take more pictures! It is definitely one of the most beautiful cafes I’ve visited in Korea. The inside is covered in plants with a big airy roof and cute decorations everywhere. They also had a seaview patio with stunning vistas of the ocean and cute seating. As you leave you can also wander through their garden, where they have a private greenhouse that said you can hire it for parties. I would have taken more pics but the place was overloaded with people doing Insta shots so I just snapped a few and gave up haha! I was too tired to fight for a spot myself but regret it now. But before I finish talking about the cafe don’t forget the main event… the dessert!
Oedo Nursey has some of the fanciest looking desserts I’ve seen ANYWHERE! They are carefully crafted into all sorts of shapes and designs, and at 10k each while pricey, aren’t rididuclous. We had our hearts set on the cactus tiramisu, but unfortunately they had none available that day 😦 (even more reasons to go back). We instead got a Mondol Rainbow and a Mondol Chocolate. These were the two most exciting looking cakes they had ready, but I mean even the regular cakes were super fancy looking but we wanted to try the special ones! The chocolate one had a chocolate shell and a kind of mousse inside, it was pretty yummy! However, the rainbow one was the best, as when you cracked it open this yellow sweet goo came oozing out. It looked like we’d cracked a dragon egg! It was really delcious too and my favourite of the two we tried. I have no idea what was inside but it tasted good ha!
Now we were nicely full we decided to have a walk on Gujora beach (Naver link, Kakao link). We walked the full length of the beach down to a rocky outcrop where we climbed up for pictures and chilled for a bit. The beach itself is nice and you can swim or rent tubes. They also had paddle boarding but we didn’t have time to try today. I would definitely come back here to spend longer on the beach (but for my favourite beach in Geoje check Day 3!). We then walked back to the terminal but as we were still early, we followed the coastline around and passed by a cute little rocky beach, then stopped off at the lighthouse before heading back to get the ferry.
Taking The Ferry to Oedo Island
The ferry to Oedo leaves roughly every hour starting from 9.30am and departs from the terminal (Naver here, Kakao here). Apparently during weekends and holidays the tickets sell out fast, so if you are travelling at a peak time plan to get there early so you can reserve and then just spend time in the area until departure. The cost isn’t cheap, at 32,000 per person (this includes return ferry ride plus entry to the island garden). However, I thought it was definitely worth it after we went. The whole trip takes around 3 hours so it’s a good way to spend your day!
They will ask you to arrive 10 minutes before departure time, and this gives everyone time to get on the boat and got through the safety instructions (all in Korean but they had videos too). The boat was pretty big with ample seating, it had a roof area too that we were allowed to go up to several minutes after setting out. If, like me, you are prone to seasickness I would recommend getting some medicine in advance. They sell it on the boat for 1,000 a bottle but I got some at the pharmacy before hand for 500. While the boat ride wasn’t too rough there were odd moments that upset my stomach a bit! You can ask for 멀미약.
Overall except for the odd bump the boat ride was pretty pleasant. On the way there they take you on a tour to see the cliffs of some other islands which were super pretty. Also if you bring snacks the seagulls will fly up close to the boat and you can throw food to them! The boat ride there took around 30 minutes. Once you arrive on the island you will be given a clipon pass with your boat name, as you aren’t allowed to board other boats for the return. They told us the return time which gave us about an hour and a half to tour the island.
Oedo Island
50 years ago Oedo Island was barren and barely inhabited, however after a Korean couple named Lee Chang-Ho and Choi Ho-Suk settled on the island they began to cultivate rare plants to create a botanical garden. Over 30 years they worked to make this beautiful little paradise and now the island is home to over 3000 plant species. The gardens and the island are both stunning, with wonderful views over the ocean and several varieties of garden to explore. Do expect some walking, inclduing uphill. The island is dotted with maps showing you the routes and where to find attractions such as the Venus Garden, Flower Garden, Eden Chapel, and Stairway to Heaven.
Of course there are hundreds of great photo zones to soothe your Insta needs, but honestly the island is breathtakingly beautiful and wonderful to just meander around and enjoy the sites. Going at 4pm meant we also got the golden hour light, great for photos, and it was much cooler than earlier in the day. As it was the last boat the island was also a lot quieter than usual, so we could really relax and enjoy the peaceful atmosphere. An hour and a half was enough to time to leisurely enjoy the garden and take in all the sites, while still being back in time for the return ferry. The ferry back is direct and only took around 20 minutes. We grabbed a coffee at the seafront then made our way back to Okpo for the evening.
Special mention! We got back to Okpo quite late and needed to rest a little at the motel, but after an hour we were starving. We decided to head out for some galbi and found a spot a short walk from us open until 2am. I didn’t take any pictures of the food because I came in tired and hungry thinking “galbi is galbi” however I ended up wanting to recommend here because of the wonderful service we received. The staff wanted to help us out with the cooking because we were foreigners, and with how tired we were we were happy to let them! After one staff member went home, the store owner came to help and chatted with us. Her daughter is dating a foreigner so she was telling us about them and trying out her English, and was very happy that we had stumbled on her restaurant. The food was cheap and delicious, and the service excellent, so I would recommend dropping by if you’re in the mood for galbi. Naver link here. Kakao link here.
Join me at Visit Geoje Day 3 to see my top beach recommendation, banana boat, and the best lobster sandwich you’ll ever eat! By for now!
Dig In Daegu 