Korea's history spans over 5000 years. Due to its strategic geographical location, neighbouring China, Japan and Russia, the peninsula has often been the field of battle of foreign powers and as now inextricably enmeshed in the global political climate. Travel broadens the mind and no more so than in North Korea. There are no restrictions for you to visit and the United Nations, European Union and other agencies see tourism as a positive way of engagement. Very few journalists are allowed into North Korea so the amazing experiences you will embrace there are rarely publicised. It is not a country that many people visit, and there is virtually no information available about it.
Any contact we have with the Korean people has to be beneficial in breaking down barriers, particularly as many people outside Pyongyang have not seen let alone interacted with foreigners. On our tours amazing things happen such as tourists joining in folk celebrations with the Koreans on their day off. Tourists have experienced the most magical times including impromptu football matches with workers, playing with Korean children, being approached by Koreans who practice broken English on them. In the West we portray the Koreans as a very humourless and robotic people, however this stereotype is soon broken if you travel there, they are a very proud people and although their life is a struggle their humour and warmth is unsurpassed.
Information for travelling to North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea - DPRK). Guidepost Tours are Australian agents for Koryo Tours who have long been associated with travel to North Korea. Information relates to group tours, independent private touring and trips to special occasions such as the Mass Games and other important celebrations. This information is designed as a guide and every request for travel will be treated individually. Contact Guidepost Tours for more details.
Tourism season in North Korea runs from February to November. Tours run throughout the season, most of them coinciding with the dates of major festivals and commemorative dates in the DPRK. Group sizes vary greatly and can vary from 5 to 18 people. Contact Guidepost Tours for details of tour itineraries or to discuss your requests.
An independent tour is a great way to visit North Korea. You can choose your dates of travel, methods of entry and exir and also the itinerary can be tailored to suit your requests. We offer different standards of independent tours. Tours can be as short as 3 days and up to 8 nights. Contact Guidepost Tours for suggested itineraries.
On the way to North Korea why not spend a few days exploring Beijing or some of the outstanding sights of China. Guidepost have some local tour operators based in Beijing who provide excellent day tours and short regional trips. Contact Guidepost Tours for details.
Our first tour of 2012 kicks off over the Chinese New Year Holiday, perfect for anyone looking to avoid the holiday madness in the middle kingdom and for all others too! Wrap up warm for a chilly but amazing time among the first tourists to make it to North Korea’s highlights in the year Juche 101! Book now with Guidepost Tours. (Gpt-Koryo)
Come with us as we take part in the various events held to mark the occasion of Kim Jong Il's 70th birthday including an international ice skating extravaganza, the Kimjongilia Flower Festival (exclusive to North Korea of course!), and a Mass Dance event featuring thousands of Pyongyang citizens. We’ll also stay overnight both north and south of the capital in the mountains of Myohyang and down in Kaesong near the infamous DMZ separating North and South Korea. Contact Guidepost Tours for reservations.(Gpt-Koryo)
Anyone looking for a tax-free budget tour to North Korea need look no further than this one, featuring all the highlights of the DPRK capital city Pyongyang (staying in the rarely seen Ryanggang Hotel) as well as trips to Mt, Myohyang in the centre of the country (to see the stunning International Friendship Exhibition), and a day trip to the ancient city of Kaesong and the Panmunjom border area with South Korea. This is a short but intense and unforgettable trip to a fascinating and unknown country. (Gpt-Koryo)
Three short tours to choose from. April 15th 2012 is the biggest occasion in decades in North Korea – the 100th anniversary of the birth of national founder and eternal President Kim Il Sung. This will be a day celebrated in style and on a massive scale in the capital and this long weekend break to Pyongyang will put you right on the ground in the middle of the action. We’ll see a great deal in the time available including a Mass Games performance, the Kimilsungia flower show, as much mingling with the local citizenry as possible. Contact Guidepost Tours for prices and reservations. (Gpt-Koryo)
This is the Big One! The most comprehensive tour it is possible to run at this time. If you’ve ever wanted to go to North Korea and just couldn’t decide which tour was best for you, or what sights you wanted to see then why not simply choose all of them? Ideal for first timers looking to get it all done in one go, or for repeat visitors looking for a refresher trip as well as visiting some other places never before seen by tourists. Those intrepid travellers who join us on this utterly unique and life-changing trip will be in the DPRK on the most significant day in living memory – the 100th anniversary of the birth of the man known in North Korea as ‘Great Leader’; Eternal President Kim Il Sung. Contact Guidepost Tours. (Gpt-Koryo) SELLING FAST - limited spaces available
Visit and take part in the largest May Day festival in the country and meet and mingle freely with locals at leisure as well as taking a rare journey to the west coast side of the country to the port city of Nampo and various country spots and areas of industry and farming in between. A very unusual and rewarding journey taking in a wide-range of what North Korea has to offer including of course the famous DMZ. If you want to see Pyongyangers on a holiday in the spring weather as well as head to some fascinating areas outside the capital with the world’s only experts in DPRK travel then this is the tour for you! Contact Guidepost Discovery Tours. (Gpt-Koryo)
Make the most of Korea’s pleasant spring climate on this tour that makes its way around Pyongyang and Kaesong as well as a night to relax at a former sanatorium on the East Coast, a good mixture of what North Korea has to offer tourists combined with a quiet time in the country during a season with few other visitors. Contact Guidepost Discovery Tours. (Gpt-Koryo)
Ideal short break to take advantage of the Chinese holiday to get away for a few days, spring is a pleasant period in North Korea with clean air - one of the more welcome differences between DPRK and China! Also ideal for families this tour will see the best of Pyongyang as well as getting down to the DMZ to see what all the fuss is about! Contact Guidepost Tours. (Gpt-Koryo)
What better summer holiday than a trip to North Korea to get over to the rarely-seen East coast and to see tranquil beaches, deep countryside and the major industrial city of Hamhung, open to tourists only in the last year! Ideal for second time visitors as well as NK virgins this trip covers a lot of ground and gets to places far and wide around the country. Contact Guidepost Tours. (Gpt-Koryo)
This amazing journey to the remote but amazing parts of three different countries, through three time zones is a must for anyone looking for something a bit different for their holiday this year, for bragging rights for unusual destinations it is difficult to beat this tour, available only through Koryo Tours. Rason (the twin cities of Rajin and Songbong) is North Korea's least visited area, a free trade zone which is almost unknown to the outside world, Koryo Tours has been visiting here since 1994 and we find this one of the most fulfilling parts of the country to go to. But the area isn't just unusual and little-seen, it is also full of fascinating sights and experiences such as the only chance for tourists to visit a genuine North Korean market, a trip to hear how DPRK's free trade zone operates, visiting a Russian holiday resort and staying in beach huts, and the city of Vladivostok, closed to foreigners until the 1990's. Contact Guidepost Tours (Gpt-Koryo)
July 27th 1953 was the day the Korean War armistice was signed. This occasion is celebrated in North Korea as ‘Victory Day’ and is an annual major holiday. Be in both Kaesong and Pyongyang; the two most significant cities in the country, on this day to see how people spend their leisure time, mix with picnicking locals and attend a spectacular Mass Dance. Also visiting the highlights of the capital and the DMZ this is a perfect tour short tour to introduce the DPRK to the curious. Contact Guidepost Discovery Tours. (Gpt-Koryo)
Arirang Mass Games, the most spectacular event on Earth (and probably elsewhere) is due to begin on August second, be there to see the opening of this performance which is only possible in North Korea, truly memories you will take with you for the rest of your days and combined with trips to Kaesong, the DMZ, and a relaxing night on the West Coast it’s a trip suitable for anyone who wants to see something very special indeed. Contact Guidepost Tours. (Gpt-Koryo)
As well as seeing the Arirang Mass Games around a major national holiday (Aug 15th, Liberation Day), the kind of show that makes the Olympic opening ceremony look like a school play, this tour also takes and internal charter flight to the sacred Mt. Paekdu, the highest point in Korea, highest crater lake in the world, and the birthplace of the Korean nation, a place of great significance that only a handful of western tourists visit each year, see the mountain itself as well as the stunning and unique scenery f this remote area and the ‘secret camp’ a former guerrilla base claimed as the birthplace of Kim Jong Il. Contact Guidepost Tours. (Gpt-Koryo)
Ideal for those with limited time and a desire to see both the remarkable Mass Games and get around the highlights of Asia’s most enigmatic city; Pyongyang. We’ll cover as much ground as possible on this short tour and you’ll be exhausted by the end of it, years of memories provided in just a few days! Contact Guidepost Discovery Tours. (Gpt-Koryo)
Get around the best of the country in a week including Pyongyang, the DMZ, the giant underground gift halls of Mt. Myohyang, and the incredible Guinness World Record-holding Mass Games, see something truly unique this summer on this tour. Contact GuidepostTours. (Gpt-Koryo)
The most comfortable hotel, business class flights, the best restaurants, the best guides and the most luxurious experience possible in North Korea tourism. Accompanied by DPRK travel specialist and film and documentary producer Nicholas Bonner, this exclusive tour is the most comfortable and intimate way to experience the country, a small group of no more than 12 people will experience the Mass Games from the VIP level seats, meet experts in various fields and see the best the country has to offer all at the highest standard available. Contact Guidepost Discovery Tours. (Gpt-Koryo)
This is the big one! Our longest, most comprehensive tour ever, going pretty much everywhere it is possible to go in North Korea, a no holds-barred odyssey taking in Pyongyang, and areas to the North South, East, and West of the capital, but that’s not all! We will also charter a plane and fly to the sacred and stunning moonscape of Mount Paekdu, as well as flying over to the remote and almost inaccessible North East Coast to see the industrial city of Chongjin and stay with local families in the beautiful surroundings of the Chilbo Mountains. In addition (yes there’s more!) we will get over to the city of Hamhung, open to tourists only in the last year, the second largest city in the country and see the stunning peaks and valleys of Mt. Kumgang, an area previously leased from the government by Hyundai Asan and run as a resort for South Korean tourists. Contact Guidepost Discovery Tours. (Gpt-Koryo)
Sept 9th 1948 was the date when the founding of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was declared following the withdrawal of Red Army forces who had been present since the liberation from Japan in 1945. This is one of the biggest days in the DPRK calendar and you can be there for the celebrations as well as getting down to the DMZ and up to the giant gift halls and stunning serene scenery of Mount Myohyang, and seeing Pyongyang in all its holiday finery. Oh and the course the Mass Games! Contact Guidepost Tours. (Gpt-Koryo)
Yet another chance to see the unforgettable Arirang Mass Games on this tour, as well as getting up to the mountains north of the capital for some stunning scenery and to see the halls of unusual and exotic gifts given to DPRK’s leaders over the last few decades, also taking in the DMZ and the capital Pyongyang this is a great introduction to the country for anyone. Contact Guidepost Tours. (Gpt-Koryo)
Escape the Middle Kingdom’s anniversary celebrations by heading to its nearest neighbour for a trip to see not only the Mass Games but also a very rare trip over to the East side of the country to the port cities of Wonsan and Hamhung (closed to tourists from 1945 until the last year), and see a rarely seen part of the most rarely seen country in the world. Contact Guidepost Discovery Tours. (Gpt-Koryo)
October 10th 1945 was the foundation date of the Workers’ Party of Korea, who have ruled the DPRK ever since then, this is the last major holiday of the year in North Korea and celebrations such as a Mass Dance can be expected. Contact Guidepost Discovery Tours. (Gpt-Koryo)
Our last tour of the year covers a lot of ground at the start of the Korean Winter, getting cold at this time but clear skies and fresh air keep it from being unpleasant. We will get to Mt, Myohyang, Kaesong, and all around the capital on this tour as well as hosting a party to mark the end of our 18th year operating tours to North Korea. You can be there too, just follow the simple instructions for the best winter break you’ll ever have been on! Staying in the Ryanggang (2 Rivers) Hotel in Pyongyang. Contact Guidepost Discovery Tours. (Gpt-Koryo)
.jpg)
