Incheon Airport to Seoul: AREX, Airport Bus or Taxi

Train fares are adult fares on a transit card. The express runs from 5:24am to 10:48pm from Terminal 1.

Which is the fastest way into Seoul?

The AREX express. It runs nonstop between the airport and Seoul Station, every 40 minutes or so, with an assigned seat on every ticket. From Terminal 1 it takes 43 minutes and from Terminal 2, 51 minutes.

Tickets are sold in the AREX app and at machines and counters in the Transportation Center on the basement floor of both terminals, and AREX takes foreign credit cards including Visa, Mastercard, American Express and UnionPay. You scan a QR code at the gate and should be on the platform three minutes before departure.

The adult fare is 13,000 won. AREX lists a normal fare of 18,500 won to Terminal 1 alongside it, without saying how long the lower price will last, so check before a later trip. Creatrip sells an express voucher for foreign visitors, exchanged at the station kiosk, and listed it below the station fare when we checked on 13 September 2026.

Transfer · Creatrip

AREX express train ticket, Incheon Airport to Seoul Station

A one-way AREX express voucher for foreign visitors, exchanged for a ticket at the station kiosk or online. Non-refundable once bought.

Check availability on Creatrip

The express also pays off on the way out. Holders of an express ticket can check in, drop bags and clear exit immigration at the City Airport Terminal under Seoul Station, from 5:20am to 7pm, for same-day international flights on Korean Air, Asiana, Jeju Air, T'way, Air Seoul, Air Busan, Jin Air and Eastar Jet.

When is the all-stop train the better choice?

When you are staying in Hongdae, Gongdeok or anywhere off Seoul Station. The all-stop AREX stops at Hongik University Station, for Line 2, and at Gongdeok, for Lines 5 and 6, before Seoul Station, where it meets Lines 1 and 4 and the KTX.

It is also a third of the price. On a transit card the fare to Seoul Station is 4,750 won from Terminal 1 and 5,350 won from Terminal 2, and the journey takes 59 and 66 minutes. A single-journey card adds 100 won and a 500 won deposit returned at the destination. Trains leave Terminal 1 every five to ten minutes at busy times.

Our pick for most visitors not staying at Seoul Station is the all-stop train with a T-money card bought on arrival, because it stops where the subway lines to those areas meet it, at a third of the express fare.

Related guideWOWPASS vs T-money vs Climate Card: Which Transit Card to GetT-money is the default transit card for Korea. A Climate Card pass beats it on Seoul-heavy trips. WOWPASS only earns its fee as a prepaid shopping card.

When does the airport bus make sense?

When a route stops close to your hotel and you would rather not carry bags through the subway. Airport Limousine routes into Seoul cost 17,000 won for adults, and K Limousine routes 18,000 won. The main routes reach Myeongdong (6015), Dongdaemun by way of Seoul Station and Myeongdong (6001), Hongdae and Gwanghwamun (6002), City Hall and Gwanghwamun (6701) and Gangnam and COEX (6703).

Buy a ticket before boarding. At Terminal 2 every route needs one, and K Limousine routes take only paper tickets from the counter. At Terminal 1, routes 6001, 6002 and 6015 also accept cash or a transit card. Each passenger can bring two bags, each under 28 inches and 20kg, and extra bags cost 8,000 won each.

Seoul buses leave from outside exits 3 to 7 on the Terminal 1 arrivals floor and from the Transportation Center on the basement floor of Terminal 2.

What if you land late at night?

Plan on a night bus or a taxi after about 11:30pm. The last express train leaves Terminal 1 at 10:48pm, and the last all-stop trains to Seoul Station leave Terminal 2 at 11:32pm and Terminal 1 at 11:38pm. Later all-stop trains terminate short of Seoul Station.

Night buses keep running. N6000 goes to Gangnam Express Bus Terminal, N6002 to Hongdae and Dongdaemun, N6701 to Seoul Station and Dongdaemun Design Plaza, and N6703 to COEX and Jamsil, with departures from before midnight until the early morning.

A Seoul taxi from the rank starts at 4,800 won on the meter, with no boundary surcharge for a trip into Seoul, and the airport expressway toll for a car is 3,200 won. At night the meter adds 20% from 10pm to 11pm, 40% from 11pm to 2am and 20% from 2am to 4am. For a fixed price, International Taxi charges 70,000 to 95,000 won for a standard car depending on the Seoul zone, booked at least 24 hours ahead and payable by card. To call a taxi from an app instead of queuing at the rank, Naver Map and Kakao T for visitors covers which apps work without a Korean number.

Related guideKorea eSIM With a Phone Number: Which One to GetTourist eSIMs from SK Telecom, KT and LG U+ cost the same for five days. What differs is the data cap, the Korean number and where you have to switch it on.

Once you are in the city, where to stay in Seoul compares the areas each option serves, and the Seoul travel guide covers the rest.