China National Day Extended North KoreaTour
North
Korea China National Day Tour - If you are travelling around China
during this time of the year and would like to have a break on the
golden week, this is a great chance. The application deadline for this
trip is September 1st. You are kindly asked to apply
by the application deadline. If you apply after the application
deadline we will be able to notify you within 24 hours if your
transportation means can be booked on time.
Please
bear in mind that the Mass Games usually officially take place from
August to September 9 (National Day). In the past they have been
extended until mid-October although the past two years they have only
been extended until the end of September. If you definitely do not want
to miss the Mass Games then we recommend you to go to North Korea
before September 9th.
It is possible for non-US travellers to
enter by train. Please contact us if interested in this option.
Day 1 - October 3 (Saturday)
- Depart from Beijing at 13.05 flight JS 152 Terminal 2, Beijing
Capital Airport
- Arrive in Pyongyang at 16.00 (Pyongyang time)
PM
- Arch
of Triumph
– gigantic marble structure that marks the arrival of the Eternal
President back to Korea after fighting for the anti-Japanese struggle
- Brief walk around the area, see the enormous mural of
President Kim Il Sung's speech upon arriving in Korea after the
liberation from Japan
- Mansudae
Grand Monuments - giant bronze statues of the Leaders Kim Il
Sung and Kim Jong Il
- Hotel check-in: Yanggakdo Hotel
- Welcome Dinner: KITC Restaurant, Pyongyang
Overnight: Yanggakdo Hotel, Pyongyang
Day 2 - October 4 (Sunday)
AM
- Breakfast: Yanggakdo Hotel
- Kumsusan
Memorial Palace - Mausoleum of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. The
most
sacred place in the DPRK, you are kindly asked to wear formal clothing.
We will fully brief you regarding your travel to North Korea

- Revolutionary
Martyrs' Cemetery - dedicated to National Heroes of the DPRK. It
has views of the whole skyline of Pyongyang
PM
- Kim
Il Sung Square - this
is the square we usually see on TV when parades and mass rallies are
held in Pyongyang
- Moran
Park -
tends to be busy with locals on Sundays and holidays. Do not be
surprised if you are asked to join in any dances that may be taking
place!
- Juche
Tower - chance to go up 150 metres and
have a panoramic view of Pyongyang or to relax by the Taedong River if
you would rather not go up the tower
- Pyongyang
Metro (extended ride) - the deepest in the world. Ride with
locals for several stops
- Party
Foundation Monuments - we will see
- Mansudae
Art Studio - see where DPRK paintings, statues and propaganda
posters
are produced. You will be able to meet the artists while they work and
it is possible too to purchase artwork.
- Evening departure
to Kaesong
- We will have a break on this 2.5 hour
drive. As we drive on the empty Reunification Highway, our guides will
give us a detailed explanation of the DPRK’s Reunification principles.
It will become dark as we approach Kaesong. Riding across the
pitch-black highway as we chat with our Korean guides is an interesting
and a little surreal experience. When we arrive Kaesong we will be able
to see the giant lit up bronze statue of President Kim Il Sung at a
distance overlooking the whole city, once capital of the Koryo Dynasty
- Check-in:
Minsok Hotel - The folk hotel is a traditional
courtyard hotel located in the old part of Kaesong. Given that there is
a clear night, which should be the case this time of year, walking
around the premises at night allow you to see countless stars which is
a stark contrast to the skies from Seoul only just 70 KM south (you can
see the difference from Kaesong as you look south). The statue of
President Kim Il Sung can also be seen from the courtyard hotel.
- Dinner: Minsok Hotel. If
you would like to try some dog soup
this is optional (€5) as is the ginseng stuffed
chicken (€30,
one chicken serves two people). Please let us know beforehand if
interested in the chicken a few hours before our arrival to Kaesong as
it will have to be prepared beforehand.
Overnight: Minsok Folk Hotel, Kaesong
Day 3 - October 5 (Monday)
AM
- Breakfast: Minsok Hotel,
Kaesong
- 38th
Parallel (DMZ) - chance to enter the famous blue negotiation
rooms where talks between North & South Korea have taken place. We
will tour Panmunjom, always escorted by KPA soldiers as is mandatory.
We will see where the Korean War Armistice was signed. The KPA soldiers
tend to be keen on seeing what travellers views on the Korean War and
the Korean peninsula are and a visit here presents us with a unique
chance to interact with North Korean soldiers.

- Koryo
Museum, Kaesong - we head to the city of Kaesong which was
not destroyed by the Korean War and boasts an old part of town, to
visit what initially was a university during the Koryo dynasty. We will
be explained what life was like in Korea in the medieval ages.
- Kaesong
Stamp Shop - chance to purchase stamps, postcards (you can
actually send these from North Korea to your home country) and artwork.
PM
- Lunch:
Tongil Restaurant - reunification restaurant. You will be served 12
different dishes in covered up golden plated small bowls.
- Tomb
of King Kongmin and his Mongolian wife. We will see tombs of
generals
on the way there too. These tombs have undergone very little
restoration and therefore remain close to their original state.
- Victorious
Fatherland Liberation War Museum - see the North Korean
version of the
Korean War. This museum exhibits original weapons and vehicles used
during the first Cold War conflict. It was moved to a much bigger
building in 2013 and is now a truly impressive and detailed museum
fully explaining the DPRK version of the Korean War.
- USS
Pueblo - US spy ship captured in 1968. The only US vessel in
possession of another country and is proudly shown by the DPRK as a
trophy
- Dinner: Local restaurant, Pyongyang
Overnight: Yanggakdo Hotel, Pyongyang
Day 4 - October 6 (Tuesday)
AM 
- Breakfast: Jangsusan Hotel, Pyongsong
- Drive
to Mt. Myohyang - "Fragrance Mountain" is located in a
beautiful quiet
area of Korea. Chance to see a variety of landscapes when driving there
- International
Friendship Exhibition Centre - see where thousands of gifts have
been
presented to the Leaders Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il and Mother Kim Jong
Suk (wife and mother of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il respectively).
There is now too a new section for the Leader Kim Jong Un.
- Pohyon
Buddhist Temple -
initially built almost 1000 years ago (it has undergone restauration
several times), this used to be the centre of buddhim in this region of
Korea
PM
- Lunch: Chongchon Hotel, Mt. Myohyang
- Children’s
Palace - see the children taking extra curricular activities
and then
assist a truly amazing performance put on by them
- Dinner: Pyongyang Number 1 Duck BBQ Restaurant, Pyongyang
- Local
evening funfair - we ask for a visit here to be arranged not so
much for the rides
(which are great fun!) but more so because it is a great chance to
mingle with North Koreans. If you decide to take a ride rates vary from
1.5 to 5 Euros per ride.
Overnight: Yanggakdo Hotel, Pyongyang
Day 5 - October 7 (Wednesday)
AM
- Breakfast: Yanggakdo Hotel
- Pyongyang
Film Studios - see where movies in North Korea are filmed. If
lucky we might see a movie being filmed!
- National
Embroidery Institute
- absolutely stunning artworks are produced here. We'll be able to see
the workshops where these are produced while the workers are making
them. You can also purchase sewn pictures. The other interesting aspect
of the embroidery institute is that is right by the Ryugyong Hotel and it is
then when you realise how gigantic this building is!
- Kim Il Sung
University - chance to visit the top university in DPRK
PM
- Lunch: Restaurant in Pyongyang
- Drive
to the port city of Nampo
located on the west coast of the DPRK. We will drive on the Youth Hero
Highway, a highway built by university students at the end of 1990s.
Some of the guides that we have now worked with for many years were
actually involved in helping construct the highway. We believe that
knowing the local guides as well as their personal stories and views on
life in North Korea as well as on the rest of the world are a vital
part of the trip and truly believe that our long lasting and trusting
relationship with our Korean partners as well as our small groups help
this to be attainable.
- Chongsan
Cooperative Farm -
see how Koreans work and live in this model cooperative farm. We will
have the chance to visit a farmer’s home and walk around the fields
- Check in: Ryongang
Hot Spa Hotel
- resort of cottages located in the outskirts of Nampo. Each room has
it's own spa bath tub with natural hot water (which happens to be
salty). It is said to be beneficial to one's health and the Koreans
recommend not to exceed 15 minutes in a row soaked in the water!
- Dinner: Ryongang Hot Spa
Hotel / optional clam BBQ. The
clam BBQ is arranged after dinner. Petrol is used to BBQ the fresh
clams. The cost is 5 Euros per person but optional so you can watch and
enjoy the night in the open skies even if you are not a big fan of
seafood!
Overnight: Ryongyang Hot Spa Hotel, Nampo
Day 6 - October 8 (Thursday)
AM
- Breakfast: Ryongang Hot Spa Hotel
- West Sea Barrage - 8
km long barrage that seperates the West Sea and the Taedong River; a
source of pride in the DPRK
- Nampo
Orphanage if opened. If a trip here cannot be arranged we may
visit a local mineral water
factory.
- Drive around the city centre and back to Pyongyang.
Nampo is an interesting city and change can be seen here with an
increasing number of Sino-Korean factories and warehouses. Being a
major port city in North Korea it also has a lively vib to it.
PM
- Lunch: City restaurant, Pyongyang
- Kimilsungjia
Kimjongilia Flower Exhibition Hall -
flowers dedicated to the Leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il are
exposed here and it interesting to see locals come. Sometimes the
national media is there too interviewing representatives of workplaces
who have donnated a bunch of flowers
- Walk
by the Taedong River where many locals gather to play games,
fish, etc
- Golden
Lane Bowling Alley - chance to have a bowling
and / or pool game and see locals enjoy their Sunday evening. For those
feeling nostalgic of the 90s, it's also possible to play retro arcade
videogames.
- Relax at the Diplomat's Club
after a long trip around North Korea
- Farewell Dinner: City Restaurant, Pyongyang
Overnight: Yanggakdo Hotel, Pyongyang
Day 7 - October 9 (Friday)
AM
- Breakfast: Yanggakdo Hotel, Pyongyang

- Drive
to Pyongysong - referred to a satellite city given its proximity
to
Pyongyang (around 30 to 40 minute drive away) this mining city has only
just been opened up to tourism (we have had travellers stay there
overnight in the past but 2013 is the first year when our travellers
have actually seen sites there).
- Paeksongri
Revolutionary Site - this is where Kim Il Sung University was
moved to in the Korean War
- Visit
a local factory - you will either go to the Paeksong Food
Factory or
the Taedongdang Textile Factory. Not many travellers have had the
chance to see a factory in one of the capital's "satelite" cities.
- Pyongsong
Central
Square - a bronze statue of a young Kim Il Sung overlooks the
square
whereas the local history museum holds the Party's symbol and the giant
logo reads "One United (People's) Heart" referring to the unity of the
country
PM
- Lunch: Jangsusan Hotel, Pyongsong
- Pyongsong
Kim
Jong Suk Number 1 High School - the headmaster of the school
will show
us around. You can join in the classes and speak in English to the
students if you wish, a great chance for them to practice their
English!
- Three
Revolutions Exhibition Hall - you will be able to see
achievements made
by Koreans carrying out the the Three Revolutions of ideology,
technology and culture. There are halls showing works related to the
Juche Idea (central to DPRK politics) heavy industry, agricultural and
light industry machinery. There is also a planitarium.
- Walk
around new street - Part of the new skyline built in 2012, you
will be
able to have an evening stroll and visit a supermarket which locals
frequent.
- Dinner: Local restaurant, Pyongyang
Overnight: Yanggakdo Hotel, Pyongyang
Day 8 - Ocotber 10 (Saturday)
AM
- Breakfast: Yanggakdo Hotel
- 10.40 am train to Beijing - please inform us if you would prefer
to fly out
PM
- Stopover at Sinuiju train station bordering China
Overnight: train
Day 9 - October 11 (Sunday)
Arrive in Beijing at 08:31 am
End of our China National Day North Korea Tour