- Important points
- Choosing wings
- Hotel or apartment
- Transport subtleties
- The perfect trip to North Korea
The DPRK can hardly be called a country that is very popular with travelers, because in order to form an organized group, travel agencies sometimes have to collect applications throughout Russia. Independent travel to North Korea is officially prohibited, although as an exception, individual tourists are allowed excursions, but subject to certain conditions.
Why go to the DPRK? Partly to satisfy the nostalgic sentiments for the lost Soviet reality, but more - to contemplate the unique political system and the consequences of its domination on the territory of a single state for many decades.
Do not assume that North Korea is just a crowd of identical soldiers-citizens in uniform. The country in the Far East is also famous for kilometers of fresh flowers, manually planted along highways, and for bright, many-thousand-year processions, and untouched nature, and measured tranquility and safety at every moment of time.
Important points
- A Russian tourist will need a visa to travel to North Korea. Entry permits can be issued at the consulate or embassy of the country. Journalists of any nationality and citizenship are guaranteed a 100% refusal to enter, unless there is a special permit from the DPRK government among the documents submitted for a visa.
- North Korea has no internet access. A foreigner has the ability to send e-mail at limited points. Usually this is a special room in large hotels.
- Mobile phones are allowed to be imported into the country, but, due to the lack of a roaming agreement between the local cellular operator and foreign ones, your device will simply not work in the DPRK. Tourists can call abroad from international telephone points. They are also open in large hotels.
- Credit cards are not accepted for payment in the country, and therefore only cash should be taken to the DPRK. Foreigners can pay in euros, Chinese yuan and dollars.
- When planning your trip, keep in mind that in the case of an organized group tour format, you will have to shell out an average of $ 100 per day. If you dream of walking alone, every day will cost you twice as much.
Choosing wings
The bulk of foreign guests enter North Korea through the PRC. Air carrier Air Koryo has regular flights on the Beijing - Pyongyang route. You can also get from China on the wings of Air China. The direct flight operates several times a week, the round-trip ticket price is about $ 700, and passengers will have to spend 2 hours on the way. Considering also the cost of the flight from Moscow to Beijing, we can say that traveling to North Korea is a very expensive undertaking.
Hotel or apartment
Hotels for foreigners in the DPRK are equipped with stars on the facade, but this fact does not guarantee the standard service standards accepted throughout the world. For example, hotels outside the capital often deprive guests of hot water for most of the day. Power outages also occur regularly.
As part of group tours, travelers are accommodated in double rooms. Those wishing to spend the night alone will have to pay extra for this opportunity. The standard double room is a pair of beds and a bathroom. In a 5 * hotel, a telephone with international access will be installed in the room, and in the lobby you will be allowed to send e-mail from the hotel's address.
During the tour, guests have the opportunity to stay in picturesque ethnographic hotels, where they have to spend the night on a heated floor on mattresses.
North Koreans do not have the opportunity to rent their own apartments, and therefore tourists do not have to choose between private apartments or a hotel room.
Transport subtleties
A foreigner in the DPRK will not be able to travel independently around the country or its cities. The guides will organize transport, on which the traveler can move, according to the approved route of excursions.
The perfect trip to North Korea
During the organized tour, foreigners have time to see many local attractions. Every day is full of events and impressions, and the travel diaries of guests are replete with difficult-to-pronounce names and photographs of natural beauties and monuments of Korean reality:
- Monument to the Juche Ideas. Developed to counterbalance the Western Korean ideology, it promotes the possibility of each person having their own freedom.
- Rural landscapes of Hwange province. The trip is accompanied by a visit to the tombs of emperors and ancient temples.
- Pyongyang Metro. The tour continues at the local palace of pioneers and schoolchildren, where a festive concert is given in honor of the guests.
- Museum of the Revolution. The need for a long examination of the exhibits important for every inhabitant of the DPRK in the evening gives way to the opportunity to attend a circus performance.
- Mekhensan Mountains. A 170 km trip away from Pyongyang will give the tourist the opportunity to admire the magnificent landscapes, climb the mountain and feel the coolness of the most beautiful waterfalls.
- Exhibition of gifts to the leaders of the country and the fathers of the Korean people. Photography is strictly prohibited. The event is long, and everyone who has passed the test will be able to see the Bohen Buddhist temple in the afternoon.
- Pavilions of the Korean Film Studio. After a visit to local Hollywood, guests of the country can enjoy folk dances in Moranbong Park in the capital.
The programs of excursions and stay in the country may differ slightly, but the main points will be fulfilled without fail.
Free movement of a foreigner without a guide in the DPRK is impossible, and therefore group tours are the most popular type of travel here. You can come individually, but a couple of "guides" will accompany the guest one way or another, and you will have to pay 2-3 times more.
Usually, the route of movement around the city and country is drawn up in advance by the host side and dictated to the tourist. If you have a desire to see something else or deviate from the set route, you should notify the accompanying person in advance. Most likely, they will meet you halfway if the deviation is not associated with a state secret, but the guide will remain with you and you will still not be able to avoid being accompanied.
