During our Grand Japan Windstar cruise last fall we ended up spending two nights and three days in Busan, South Korea while we sought shelter from the impending Typhoon Trami which was heading toward our next two ports of call - Kagoshima and Nagasaki in southern Japan. Because of the storm, our captain headed north instead to find shelter in the Seto Inland Sea where we would make our way to the Sea of Japan and sail to Busan. Busan was always on our itinerary but only scheduled for one day. So, after skipping stops in Kagoshima and Nagasaki we found ourselves with plenty of time to get to know Busan, the second largest city in South Korea.
To Windstar’s credit, the crew and excursion team managed to take the unexpected detour in stride. The captain managed to secure a very convenient berth in the port of Busan even though we had arrived two days earlier than scheduled and the excursion team managed to add four additional excursions including a day trip by bullet train to the city of Seoul.
We opted not to sign up for the trip to Seoul because it would have made for a very long travel day (2-1/2 hours each way on the train). Instead, we used all three days in port to explore Busan and we were glad we did because we fell in love with the city’s vibrancy, friendliness and culture.