Jeju: which types it suits

Jeju is a volcanic island with Hallasan in the middle and a coastal road looping around the edge. Black basalt walls wind between the fields, small volcanic cones called oreum rise all over the interior, and the headline sights, from Seongsan Ilchulbong to the pale-green water at Hyeopjae, sit on opposite sides of the island. It is common for one coast to be wet while the other is bright, so the weather quietly becomes your itinerary.

That suits people who want time alone and who pick the day's direction by looking out of the window in the morning. On the quieter stretches of the Olle trail or under the cedars of a forest path, you can walk a long way with no company but the wind, and heading for the woods when it gusts and the sea when it clears is simply the rational choice. Travellers hoping to cover a fixed route quickly by public transport, on the other hand, will find bus gaps and island distances a real wall.