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Seoul in April
Good month: April is at the start of the recommended season (April – May, September – November). Against it: Fine Dust Days. Plan around: Cherry Blossom Crowds. Cherry blossom festivals and Lotus Lantern Festival (Yeondeunghoe) can fall this month.
The season runs to the end of May, next month. Jangma: the Summer Monsoon usually starts in July, 3 months away.
4 days in Seoul in April · from ₹43,407 for two
Stay, food & local travel; getting there extra
The weather in April
What the season does to Seoul this month.
Heads up
Fine Dust Days
Fine dust and yellow dust from the west are worst from late winter to spring: on bad days the sky is hazy and the air-quality index tells people to stay indoors. Check AirKorea or a weather app each morning and carry a KF94 mask (sold in every convenience store).
Before you book April
Closures, crowds and rules at Seoul this month.
Heads up
Cherry Blossom Crowds
Peak cherry blossom (late March on Jeju and around Busan, early to mid-April in Seoul and Gyeongju) brings huge weekend crowds to the famous spots and higher hotel prices. Go on a weekday morning, and book rooms early.
What’s on in April
Timing a trip around these changes what you pay and what you can book.
Cherry blossom festivals
Blossom opens on Jeju and around Busan (Jinhae's Gunhangje festival, the biggest) in late March and reaches Seoul (Yeouido, Seokchon Lake) and Gyeongju (Bomun Lake) in the first half of April; peak bloom lasts about a week and the forecast moves with the weather. Weekends at the famous spots are packed and nearby hotels double.
Lotus Lantern Festival (Yeondeunghoe)dates shift yearly
Before Buddha's Birthday, a lantern parade of tens of thousands runs down Jongno from Dongdaemun to Jogyesa on a Saturday evening; temples across the country hang lanterns for weeks. Jogyesa's lantern canopy in Insadong is free to see.
What it costs
For two sharing a room; 4 days on the ground, getting there not included.
Budget
₹43,407 for two
- Room a night₹5,040
- Food a day, each₹2,808
- Main sight entry, each₹220
Mid-range
₹1,00,232 for two
- Room a night₹11,520
- Food a day, each₹6,480
- Main sight entry, each₹220
Luxury
₹2,32,683 for two
- Room a night₹27,360
- Food a day, each₹15,120
- Main sight entry, each₹220
What April does to prices
- Peak cherry blossom (late March on Jeju and around Busan, early to mid-April in Seoul and Gyeongju) brings huge weekend crowds to the famous spots and higher hotel prices.
- Weekends at the famous spots are packed and nearby hotels double.
Totals cover the room (taxes included), food, local transport, entry and a 10% buffer: the figures the planner opens on. These are typical rates; Tourisma has no month-by-month rates for South Korea yet, so they don't move with the month.
Getting there
Fly into Seoul (ICN)
Flights from India: from 8 cities, one way from ₹25,000
Fly into Busan (PUS), 326 km away
Then: Train · 3h (KTX from Seoul Station / SRT from Suseo)
Flights from India: from 4 cities, one way from ₹28,000
Routes compared
Entry rules
Visa needed before you fly for up to 90 days, about ₹4,500
- Apply for a C-3-9 short-term tourist visa at the Korea Visa Application Centre (run by VFS Global) for your state, about a month before you fly: ₹3,400 visa fee plus ₹1,100 service charge. Allow about 10 working days; express processing is not offered at the Delhi and Kolkata centres.
- Before you land, fill in the free e-Arrival Card online (or the paper card handed out on the plane). Use only the official Korean government site.
- At immigration in Incheon or Busan, show your passport with the visa; your fingerprints and photo are taken. You can stay up to 90 days on a single-entry tourist visa.
Carry: Passport valid for at least 6 months, with blank pages; Visa application form and a recent 35 x 45 mm photo on a white background; Bank statements for the last 6 months and income-tax returns (ITR); Letter from your employer granting leave, or proof of your business or studies; Confirmed return flight, hotel bookings and a day-by-day itinerary.
Most Indian tourists need a visa before they fly: there is no e-visa or visa on arrival for a regular tourist trip, and the K-ETA is not for Indian passports. Tour groups booked through designated agencies have the visa fee waived until 31 December 2026. Jeju Island has its own visa-free rule for direct international arrivals, which one source says covers Indians; confirm with the Korean Embassy before relying on it.
Checked 2026-10; confirm with the embassy before you fly.
Elsewhere in South Korea in April
Also in season this month.
- Andong · good month
- Busan · good month
- Daegu · good month
- Gyeongju · good month
- Jeju City · good month
- Jeonju · good month
- Nami Island & Chuncheon · good month
- Seogwipo · good month
Nearby in Seoul & Around:
Want this as a real plan?
Seoul in April, day by day, priced for your group.