Inclusions
Exclusions
What's it all about?
This is another of the big DPRK holidays!
As the weather starts to warm up, May Day gives us one of the best opportunities to relax, meet, and hang out with locals during the celebrations in the parks. North Koreans take this holiday very seriously and you will be expected to sing, dance, and play around with them during the festivities! There’s no better time to go.
Apart from the celebrations, Group A will be visiting all the must-see sights around Pyongyang city such as the Mausoleum, Korean War Museum, Kim Il Sung Square, the famous Pyongyang Metro, and much more! If you’ve got the energy to explore more with us, our Group B and C tour continues to the western city of Nampo. Here we’ll see more of the industrial side of North Korea and make use of a relaxing hot spring bath located privately in our own rooms. We’ll also stop by the recently opened Pyongsong city to visit the local school.
Group C will then continue up to Mount Myohyang -home of the very famous International Friendship Exhibition which is buried into the mountain. The exhibition displays a large collection of gifts given to the North Korean leaders from all over the world.
To add further spice to Group C tour we’ll be making our way all the way to Sinuiju on the Chinese border. We’ll take the domestic train from Pyongyang to Sinuiju and will stay at the Dongrim Hotel. We’ll then visit the Pomhayanggi Cosmetics Factory, Sinamri Co-operative farm, a local Folklore Park, and will finish off with a performance by the Bonbu Kindergarten.
Highlights
Mayday Tour
€995 - 1495
- Group A ► April 28th - May 4th (€995)
- Group B ► April 28th - May 7th (€1295)
- Group C ► April 28th - May 9th (€1495)
- Flights from Beijing are an extra €215 one way & €390 return.
April 28th - Beijing
- Meet your Rocky Road guide at 1:30pm at a hotel near Beijing Railway Station. During this meeting, we’ll go through the tour’s itinerary and receive your North Korean visas and tickets. It’s also a great chance to meet your fellow travelers and to discuss any other questions you may have about the tour.
- Train takers depart Beijing Central station at 5:25pm for the 24 hour sleeper ride to Pyongyang.
April 29th - Pyongyang
- Train group arrive at Dandong at 7:00am for Chinese border control then departs again for Sinuiju at 10:00am for the extensive border control from the North Korean side
- Flight takers depart Beijing Airport Terminal 2 on Air Koryo at 12.55pm (Group will meet at Air Koryo check in counter).
- Flight group arrive in Pyongyang at 3:30pm to a warm welcome from your Korean guides.
- Train group arrive at 6:45pm to an equally warm welcome before transferring direct to the hotel.
- In the evening your guide will show you around the hotel before taking you for dinner and to get to know your Korean guides.
- Dinner and overnight at the Sosan International Hotel.
April 30th - Kaesong
- Hit the road for the 3.5 hour drive to Kaesong and the DMZ.
- Koryo Museum – Korea’s first university and now a UNESCO museum of history and culture.
- The DMZ – tour Panmunjom with a friendly army officer who will give you the look around. You can even take photos with the army here!
Afternoon
- Lunch in Kaesong City – on the menu will be traditional Korean Pansangi, a series of dishes served in bronze bowls. (Optional extras- Dog Soup €5)
- Stop by Sariwon to view the city from the mountain top pagoda.
- Try locally brewed Makkoli in a local tea house.
- Stop by the Monument to the Three Charters of National Reunification that stands over the Thongil (reunification) Highway.
- Back to Pyongyang in time for dinner at the Duck BBQ restaurant.
- Overnight at the Sosan Hotel.
May 1st - Pyongyang
- Stroll through Mansudae fountain park taking in the Grand Peoples Study House and see the mosaic pictures of the leaders.
- Visit Mansudae Grand Monument – the two large bronze statues of President Kim Il Sung and Leader Kim Jong Il.
- Trip highlight – Mt Taesong Amusement Park – celebrate May Day by enjoying some sports and dancing with the locals. The amusement park also has roller-coasters and other rides for you to jump on and enjoy!
Afternoon
- Lunch at Moran Hill chicken Restaurant.
- Walk to Moran Hill park to join the locals for dancing and singing! This is a wonderful opportunity to take photos of the locals celebrating May Day holiday.
- Special celebratory events – yet to be confirmed, but we will take part in whatever may be scheduled.
- Ride the Pyongyang Metro! See three of the stations and Exit to:
- The Arch of Triumph – This celebrates the victory over the Japanese and the triumphant return of Kim Il Sung to his home town.
- Juche Tower – the tallest stone tower in the world, it represents the Juche Ideology. Central to the teachings of the DPRK(optional extra €5 to go to the top).
- Monument to the Party Foundation – The hammer sickle and brush built in 1995.
- Overnight at the Sosan Hotel.
May 2nd - Pyongyang
- Kumsusan Palace of the Sun – the Mausoleum for President Kim Il Sung and General Kim Jong Il.
- Revolutionary Martyrs’ Cemetery – burial site for many of the Anti-Japanese Revolutionaries, also offers beautiful views over the city.
Afternoon
- Lunch at the Korean Hot Pot Restaurant.
- Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum. This incredible museum features dioramas, captured weapons, the Victory Monument, and the USS Pueblo: the only American military vessel captured by another nation.
- Kim Il Sung Square – The central square of Pyongyang City and a popular meeting point.
- Foreign Language Bookshop – right next to the square and the best place for pins, stamps, books and other souvenirs!
- Visit Kwanbok department store. Here we can shop with the locals and have access to the local North Korean currency!
- School Children’s Palace – (extra-curricular centers) we’ll first tour some class rooms and then watch the amazing performance.
- Dinner at KITC restaurant – very famous for its delicious Pyongyang Cold Noodles and Korean Bibimbap dish!
- Kaeson Funfair (extra charge).
- Overnight in the Sosan Hotel.
May 3rd - Pyongyang - Group A Departure
- Group A Flyers depart Pyongyang at 8:30am on Air Koryo, landing in Beijing at 9:55am local time.
- Group A Train takers depart at 10:25am for Beijing, arriving at Beijing Railway Station at 9:00 am on the 4th of May.
Group B & C continues;
- Morning walk through central Pyongyang along the Taedong River.
- Visit Mansudae Art Studio, This is where the country’s most important art work and statues are created. We will also get to meet some of the local artists too.
- A gentle walk and BBQ picnic lunch on top of Ryangak hill – a mound located just outside of Pyongyang to enjoy the magnificent views.
Afternoon
- One hour drive to Nampo City – a city located on the west coast of North Korea.
- Kangso Mineral Water Factory.
- Friendship glass factory.
- Dinner and overnight at the Ryonggang spa resort, complete with a private mineral spa bath in each room! Here we also have the option to try North Korea’s famous BBQ clams for €5 extra.
May 4th - Nampo
- West Sea Barrage – A terrific example of socialist construction, the barrage was built to control the rising Taedong river and produce fertile farmland.
- Chongsan Co-operative farm – a great example of the DPRK farm model.
Afternoon
- Lunch and drive back to Pyongyang.
- Next we’ll head to the shooting range which has been renovated and equipped with rifles, pistols, archery and automatic rifles! (Extra charge).
- Walk along Future Scientist Street at dusk as the skyscrapers light up.
- Head to Gold Lane Bowling alley to play and mingle with some locals.
- Dinner and beer bar
- Overnight in the Sosan hotel.
May 5th - Pyongyang
- Visit a North Korean Film Studio – We can tour the film sets and try on some costumes!
- Visit the Three Revolution Exhibition – This showcases the three main revolutions of the DPRK. The ideological, technical, and cultural.
- Lunch
- Munsu Water Park – Indoor and outdoor sections with 13 waterslides! The waterpark is more of a leisure cente and also features a café, bar, ping pong, billiards, gym, massage and hair salon. All extra costs – swimming €10 which includes your very own North Korean speedos. It’s a wonderful place to mingle with local people and take photos!
- Dinner at a local restaurant with a performance by the waitresses.
- Overnight in the Sosan Hotel.
May 6th - Mt Myohyang - Group B Departure
- Group B flight takers depart at 8:30am for Beijing on Air Koryo. (Arriving at 9:55am local Beijing time.)
- Group B train takers depart at 10:25am for Beijing on train K28. (Arriving at 9:00am on the 7th.)
Group C continues;
- Drive out to Mt Myohyang – 2 and a half hours north of Pyongyang.
- Visit the famous International Friendship Exhibition – two large gift houses holding the gifts presented to both Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il from people, governments and institutions all over the world.
Afternoon
- Lunch at the Hyangsan Hotel – a five star deluxe hotel situated between the mountain ranges.
- Drive back to Pyongyang and stop on the way at Ryongmun Cave – one of the most famous cave complexes in North Korea.
- Drive back to Pyongyang.
- BBQ dinner in downtown Pyongyang
- Walk along the newly constructed residential Ryomyong Street with it’s highest building being 75 storeys!
- Overnight in the Sosan Hotel.
May 7th - Dongrim
- We’ll say goodbye to our North Korean guides in Pyongyang and depart by train at 10:25am, arrival in the town of Dongrim at 2:00pm. Dongrim is the nearest town outside of Sinuiju on the Chinese border.
Afternoon
- Our new local Korean guides will meet us as we step off the train.
- Check into Dongrim Hotel.
- Walk to Dongrim waterfall and explore surrounding valleys.
- Dinner and overnight at the Dongrim Hotel – a brand new swanky hotel with a swimming pool. sauna, table tennis, massage, bars & karaoke.
May 8th - Sinuiju
- Drive to Sinuiju city (1 hour)
- Visit the Sinamri Co-operative farm where the locals grow rice, cabbage and other vegetables.
- Tour the Pomhayanggi Cosmetics Factory and meet some of the local workers that produce some of North Korea’s most famous cosmetics
- Visit the North Phyongan Province Revolutionary History Museum.
Afternoon
- Lunch at a local restaurant.
- Head to the local Folklore Park where there may be chances to engage in traditional Korean activities (extra charges apply for taking part in the local games – these will vary from game to game) or you can simply walk around and enjoy the scenery and watch the locals
- Visit the Art Studio which holds over 250 pieces of DPRK fine art in six large halls – some amazing art pieces here!
- Bonbu Kindergarten and performance – The performance here is the best of any Kindergarten in the country.
- Explore Amnok park and walk down to the Amnok River (Yalu River) and see the original Korean/Chinese Friendship Bridge bombed by the Americans during the Korean War.
- Take the 4:30pm bus and go through Korean customs to finish tour in Dandong, China.
- Board the 6:30pm overnight sleeper train from Dandong to Beijing.
May 9th - Beijing
- Arrive in Beijing Railway Station at 9:00am.
What else?
Tour Notes
We will take care of every detail of the North Korea visa application as well as getting you to Pyongyang and back from Beijing. We’ll also help you with your China visa application by supplying an invitation letter. If you are planning to apply for the 144 hour China transit visa on arrival then we will send you your DPRK visa and flight ticket to Pyongyang so you can apply on arrival in Beijing.
You’ll be in the experienced hands of our expert English speaking North Korean guides and Rocky Road Travel guide. Your itinerary may change slightly but we will always go above and beyond with added extras to the itinerary such as visits to local cafes, bars and amusement parks.
Before & after each tour we will add you to dedicated email and social media groups so you can share photos easily with your travel mates. Let us know if you want to opt out of this.
To book simply get in touch below to start the conversation today.
Group A - €995
April 28 - May 4th, 2021.
Group B - €1295
April 28 - May 7th, 2021.
Group C - €1495
April 28 - May 9th, 2021.
Flight option
€225 one way from Beijing or €400 return.
Dates don’t work?
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