Jeju Island has just been provisionally named as one of the new 7 Natural Wonders of the World.
But how does one get there? It's pretty far from the mainland. I assume there are planes, but is it possible to reach the island by boat? Any prices available? And what is the best time of year to go there?
Jeju is actually a very mainstream destination for Koreans, if not so well known to westerners. It is very developed for tourism and until recently when Korea started to become a wealthy country it was the de facto destination for honeymooners. You might think of it as Korea's equivalent of Australia's Gold Coast or USA's Hawaii. For Korea it's far south, but it's not tropical.
As per being a top local tourist destination there are many ways to get there.
WikiTravel actually has a pretty decent section on getting to Jeju by boat.
And there is also an official page on ferries to and from Jeju on the Visitkorea site.
Departures from:
Busan (Korea's second-biggest city, at the south of the mainland)
Two vessels. Trips every day except Sunday. 10 - 12 hours.
Incheon (Where Seoul's International airport is, in the northwest of the mainland)
One vessel. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday only. 13½ - 15 hours.
Mokpo (At the southwest corner of the mainland)
Three vesslels. Every day of the week. 3 - 5½ hours (depending on vessel).
Wando (At the southern tip of the Korean peninsula)
Three vessels. Every day of the week. 3 -3½ hours.
Yeosu (About halfway between Wando and Busan on the south of the Korean peninsula)
One vessel. Every day of the week. 7 hours.
(The trip durations are compiled from several sources which do not completely agree so I've included a range from the quickest I found to the slowest.)
