Budget Hostel in Korea – Zaza Backpackers

Finally, the day has arrived for our travel to Korea. Months before our flight, I was already scouting for a nice accommodation. It doesn’t have to be an ultra cheap hostel nor a high end hotel, but one that fits our three criteria: cleanliness, affordability and good location.

All these I found in Zaza Backpackers Hostel. My officemate actually recommended Zaza to me and one look at the pics, I knew this is a good Hostel! It was clean, fits our budget (60k KRW per night) and has a very good location! It’s just a 3 minute walk to Myeongdong station (exit 3 and 2) and around 7 minutes walk to Myeongdong shopping center. It’s also near Namsan Park where you can take a cable ride to go to the N Seoul Tower. Not to mention they have fantastic reviews in Trip Advisor! That’s enough for us to book them!

If you don’t have a S. Korean VISA yet, check our guide here!

For travel guides to South Korea, Check out our 2015 6D5N S. Korea Itinerary and Expenses here! and our 2016 7D6N Winter trip here! For more recommended accommodations, click here or search here.

Booking and Check-in

We booked a Double room through email for our 5 nights of stay for a total of 300k KRW which you have to pay in cash upon arrival. They don’t require a down payment or credit card guarantee, but they do require you to re-confirm your reservation 30 days, 15 days and 5 days before your check-in date. If you failed to re-confirm, then your reservation will be cancelled and you can try to book again with them. Don’t worry, they respond to emails very fast! A big plus for me!

Book your stay here in Zaza Backpackers Hostel through Agoda! Or compare prices here

Upon checking-in, they gave us the keys to our room and two maps; the subway map and a map of Seoul City! How awesome! They also have free soap, shampoo, tissue and towel for you to use. And if in case they are not around the reception, then you can call them for your required assistance.

Also a week before our scheduled arrival in Korea, my office mate asked me a favor if she can send a package (CD and poster) and have it delivered to Zaza for me to pick it up upon arrival. Due to Korea’s efficient delivery system, her package arrived in Zaza 2 days before our arrival. So I asked Zaza if they can keep it safely for the meantime until we arrive. And as expected, after they gave the keys to our room, they also handed me the package without any damages. Two thumbs up for good service!

Room and Amenities

Now, let’s look at the room.

The bed is comfortable and there’s an outlet near it which is very convenient if you want to charge our phones and browse the net at the same time while lying in bed.

Please do note that the outlet is different in Korea. Click here for more details. We didn’t bring a travel adapter with us because my office mate told me we can borrow one from Zaza. And as expected, Zaza let us borrow one! So no need to buy if you really want to maximize your budget!

The windows are on the bedside if you want to take a peek at the streets from time to time lol. There’s also an electric hair dryer for you gorgeous women out there.

They have an inverter type aircon but there’s a little water drip when it’s turned on. We just put tissues to stop the leak. They have cable TV and we actually watched some Korean dramas and Western movies from time to time.

Klook.com

Besides the double size bed, there is an extra double deck bed where we put some of our things. It really helped with the clutter 😀

They have free breakfast every morning starting at 8am until 11am at the lobby. Breakfast consists of bread, peanut butter and jelly and coffee. We asked them if we can just take away some bread instead of eating in the lobby and they happily agreed. 🙂

For a complete list of their facility and services, check it here.

We actually forgot to relax at the rooftop. It must’ve been a good view. Maybe next time. 😀

Checking-Out

After checking out at 10AM, we asked if we can leave our bags for the meantime since our flight is at 9pm and we still wanted to do some Museum hopping on our last day. They happily agreed with this setup and even put “Zaza” stickers to mark our bags. How kind of them!

Book your stay here in Zaza Backpackers Hostel through Agoda!

Directions going to Zaza:

They posted a directions and map on how to go their hostel here.

Since we got lost on finding it (maybe it’s just us failing to be good navigators that time), I will tweak their directions a bit.

This is by Limousine Bus number 2015 (Bus stop 12A) from Incheon Airport:

1. Take bus number 6015 from bus stop 5B or 12A ( bus fare – 10,000 KRW each / one way )

2. Get off at Sejong hotel bus stop.. (This is the last stop and It will take around 1 hour 20 minutes. )

3. Walk 30 meters towards the crossing shortly after passing ‘ Myeongdong  Exit No.9’ (Don’t go in the subway, just walk pass it) and ‘Tous les jours bakery’. Once you’re in the Tous Les Jours Bakery, you must cross the road going to the other side where Pacific Hotel is located.

 

4. Turn right to Myeongdong Exit No.2 (Don’t go in the subway, just walk pass it) and Turn left at the corner between ‘chinese restaurant’ and ‘7 eleven store’.

 

5. Go straight 60 meters then once you’re facing the Pacific Hotel, go to your left and walk on that side.

6. Turn right at white exterior building ( DUBU restaurant near Mini stop) on the corner and you will see our sign on your right side.

Book your stay here in Zaza Backpackers Hostel through Agoda! Or compare prices here

Final thoughts

Zaza Backpackers Hostel is a budget friendly accommodation that offers good services, comfortable beds, clean rooms and most of all, friendly and polite staffs.

I wouldn’t mind booking with them the next time we go to Seoul. 4.5/5 stars!

Contact details:

Website:  www.zazabackpackers.com

Telephone:  +82.2.3672.1976

Email: webmaster@zazabackpackers.com

Address:  32-3, Nansandong-2ga, jung-gu, Seoul, Korea

You can also check our review of Hotel Maui here. That’s where we stayed for 7 days in our recent trip to Korea last 2016.

For more recommended accommodations, click here or search hotels/hostels here.

Related:

VISA

• Korean VISA Guide : How my wife and I got Multiple Entry for 3 years

Guides

• South Korea DIY Trip: 6D 5N Itinerary and Expenses
• South Korea Winter Trip 7D 6N Itinerary and Expenses
• 12 Budget Tips from first timers in Seoul, Korea
• Top 10 Things to do in Seoul

Accommodations

• Hotel Maui DDM – New Hip Budget Hotel in Seoul
• Budget Hostel in Korea – Zaza Backpackers
• Top Seoul accommodations as recommended by travelers

Sights

• Hangang River Ferry Cruise / Yeouido Park
• Korean Folk Village; Tradition, Nature and Fun
• N Seoul Tower; A Thoughtful View of Korea
• Ewha Womans University / Sinchon / Hongdae
• Nami Island; Walking in Nature’s Art
• Petite France
• Haneul Park; From wasteland to Heaven on Earth
• Temple Hopping in Seoul; Jogyesa – Bongeunsa
• Trick Eye Museum and other quirky places
• DMZ Half Day Tour
• Bukchon Hanok Village – Past Meets Present

Food

• Meat-Ing Cheap BBQ Buffet Hongdae Korea
• Seoul Food Trip / Two Two Chicken
• Seoul Food Trip Part 2 – Winter Edition