Seoul, Gyeongju & Pyeongchang, 5 Nights

Met at Incheon and driven into the city, a little over an hour. Rooms are generally ready around two. After a rest, the stroll along Cheonggyecheon stream from Gwanghwamun is the easiest introduction to the city centre, with King Sejong's statue at one end and the lit stream bed at dusk. For dinner, a bowl of naengmyeon, cold buckwheat noodles, or Korean barbecue grilled at the table.

Jogyesa, the city-centre seat of Korean Buddhism, with its huge Chinese scholar trees and hanging lanterns, is the gentle start. Across the road, Gyeongbokgung, the first and largest of the Joseon palaces; the ceremonial changing of the gate guard happens several times a day, and the palace closes on Tuesdays. The National Folk Museum inside its grounds shows how ordinary Koreans lived. The afternoon is for Insadong's craft lanes or a ginseng centre, and the evening is free.

Gyeongju was the capital of the Silla kingdom for close to a thousand years, and much of it is an open-air museum. The KTX reaches Singyeongju station in just over two hours. The afternoon covers Daereungwon, a park of grassy royal burial mounds, one of which is open to show how the tombs were built, and Cheomseongdae nearby, a stone observatory from the seventh century. At dusk, Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond are floodlit and reflected in the water.

Up Tohamsan early for Seokguram, a granite Buddha in an artificial cave, and down to Bulguksa, the Silla temple of stone terraces and bridges; both have been on the UNESCO list since 1995. North to Andong for Hahoe, a village of the Ryu clan inside a loop of the Nakdong river, with tiled noble houses and thatched cottages still lived in. The long afternoon drive climbs into Gangwon province and Pyeongchang, which is cool even in summer.

A drive past the ski jump and sliding venues of the 2018 Winter Olympics, then east over the mountains to Seoraksan, the most visited national park in Korea. From the entrance the path to Sinheungsa temple and its great seated bronze Buddha is short and flat. The cable car to the ruins of Gwongeumseong fortress is optional and queues can be long in October, when the maples colour. The road back to Seoul takes about three hours; the evening is free.

Breakfast and check-out. There is usually time for a short walk near the hotel or a last round of shopping for Korean skincare, which many travellers leave room in their bags for. The transfer to Incheon takes a little over an hour, and the airport is large, so arriving three hours before the flight is sensible. Keep receipts and the purchases themselves handy for the tax refund desks before security.