Getting Around Gyeongju 2026: City Buses 10, 11, 12 and 700, ₩1,450 Fares, T-money vs Cash, Taxi Prices, Tasilla Bikes and the City Tour Bus

Most of 경주 (Gyeongju) is a city-bus ride away for ₩1,450 with a transit card (₩1,500 in cash, fares in force since July 1, 2025). Your T-money or WOWPASS works; Seoul's Climate Card does not. Two loop buses, 10 and 11, link downtown with 보문 (Bomun) and 불국사 (Bulguksa); bus 12 climbs to 석굴암 (Seokguram); taxis start at ₩4,500. A full day on buses costs under ₩10,000 per person.

The bus routes you will actually use

Route	Runs between	How often (about)	Use it for
10 / 11	Loop: Hwangnidan-gil public parking lot – Express Bus Terminal – Bomun – Bulguksa – National Museum	28 runs a day each, about 06:00–22:00	Downtown ↔ Bulguksa or Bomun
12	Bulguksa ↔ Seokguram	Hourly on weekdays, every 30 min at weekends	The only bus up to Seokguram
50 / 51	Loops: Gyeongju Station – bus terminals – Central Market	Every 10–15 min combined; last from the station 23:50	Station ↔ downtown
70	Gyeongju Station ↔ Dongcheon-dong	About every 16 min	Station ↔ downtown
60 / 61	Gyeongju Station ↔ Yonggang-dong via Daereungwon, Cheomseongdae, Hwangnidan-gil	About every 70 min	Station straight to Hwangnidan-gil
711	Gyeongju Station – Express Bus Terminal – Bulguksa	10 runs a day	Station → Bulguksa
710	Gyeongju Station – Express Bus Terminal – Bomun	12 runs a day	Station → Bomun hotels
700	Gyeongju Station – Bulguksa – Bomun – Gampo	4 runs a day	Station → Bulguksa, 50–57 min
203	Intercity Bus Terminal → Yangdong Village	10 runs a day	Yangdong (some runs stop at the entrance)

Route details come from route listings checked on September 25, 2026; timetables change, so check live arrivals in a map app. Two recent changes catch people out. Since January 14, 2026, buses 10 and 11 start and end at the new Hwangnidan-gil public parking lot, not the Express Bus Terminal. Since July 15, 2026, eight routes from the station (50/51, 60/61, 70, 700, 710 and 711) use ordinary roads instead of the expressway, so the station run can take longer than older guides say.

Bus 10 runs clockwise and reaches Bomun first; bus 11 runs the other way via the National Museum and is the quicker one to Bulguksa, roughly 40–50 minutes from downtown. At Gyeongju Station — formerly Singyeongju, about 8 km from downtown — take 50/51 or 70 into town, or 60/61 if one is due, because the direct 700 runs only four times a day. Buses into town take about 30 minutes.

1. 1
   Bus 11 from the Hwangnidan-gil parking lotVia the National Museum; roughly 40–50 min to Bulguksa, ₩1,450
2. 2
   Bus 12 up to SeokguramFrom the Bulguksa stop; first bus 08:40, hourly on weekdays, every 30 min at weekends
3. 3
   SeokguramFree since May 2023; open about 09:00–17:30
4. 4
   Bus 12 back downThe same loop brings you down; the last departure from Bulguksa is about 17:20 until Oct 5, 16:40 from Oct 6, 16:20 Nov–Jan — ask the driver for the return time
5. 5
   Bulguksa, then bus 10 or 11 backBulguksa is free; from here 10 continues via the museum, 11 via Bomun

Go up to Seokguram first while the buses are frequent, then do 불국사 (Bulguksa) on the way down. For which sights charge, see free vs paid sights.

Paying: card or cash

How you pay	Works on Gyeongju buses?	Adult fare
T-money	Yes	₩1,450
WOWPASS (T-money inside)	Yes (reported)	₩1,450
Mybi, Rail Plus, One Pass, Hanpay	Yes	₩1,450
Korean credit or debit card with transit function	Yes	₩1,450
Climate Card, 기후동행카드 (Gihu Donghaeng Kadeu)	No — Seoul only	—
Daegyeong Transit Card, Top Pass	No	—
Cash	Yes	₩1,500

Tap in when you board and tap again when you get off: transfers within 30 minutes are free, but only if the card recorded your exit. Foreign-issued bank cards are not on the list of accepted cards, so load a T-money card before you arrive (transit cards compared). Since April 1, 2026 (Seoul Shinmun), children and teens aged 6–18 ride free with a transit card; whether visiting children qualify has not been stated, so be ready to pay the cash fare (₩800 child, ₩1,200 youth).

Taxis: what the meter says

Item or trip	Fare	Basis
Base fare	₩4,500 for the first 1.7 km	Official meter since Feb 1, 2026 (was ₩4,000 for 2 km)
After that	₩100 per 128 m, or per 30 s below 15 km/h	Official meter
Gyeongju Station → Hwangnidan-gil	about ₩17,000–20,000	Our estimate (2024 quote plus the 2026 rise)
Downtown → Bulguksa	about ₩15,000–20,000, plus any surcharge	Our estimate from the meter rate
Gyeongju Station → Bulguksa	about ₩25,000 or more	Our estimate

A night surcharge applies from 23:00 to 04:00. A separate out-of-zone surcharge covers trips beyond roughly 5 km of the Gyeongju Arts Center — Bomun and Bulguksa are outside it. Older reports put it at 55%; whether that rate still applies is unclear, so ask the driver before you set off. Split four ways, a taxi from the station is about ₩4,250–5,000 each, and you skip the wait for a bus.

Bikes, scooters and the city tour bus

타실라 (Tasilla), Gyeongju's public bike share, has about 100 stations and costs ₩1,000 a day, ₩2,500 for 7 days, ₩5,000 for 30 days or ₩30,000 a year, plus ₩500 per extra 30 minutes (the free time per ride is given as 150 minutes on the website and 90 in the app store — check the app). The catch: you need your own Korean mobile number, and foreigners sign up with an Alien Registration Number, so it is realistically for residents (getting a Korean SIM). Shared e-bikes such as Elecle do not operate here.

Visitors rent from private bike, e-bike and scooter shops around 대릉원 (Daereungwon), 황리단길 (Hwangnidan-gil) and the Express Bus Terminal. We could not verify their prices. Scooters need an International Driving Permit or a Korean license (driver's license rules). The flat core — Daereungwon, 첨성대 (Cheomseongdae), 동궁과 월지 (Donggung and Wolji) — is easy by bike or on foot.

The Gyeongju City Tour (operator site, tel. 054-743-6001) runs daily:

• World Heritage course: 7–8 hours, ₩25,000 adult / ₩23,000 youth and child, admission fees extra.
• Night Tour: 18:30–22:00, ₩20,000 / ₩18,000, admission included.
• Pickups at Gyeongju Station, the bus terminals and Bomun hotels; a tour runs only if 15 people book. Refunds: 100% up to 3 days before, 90% at 2 days, 80% at 1 day.

Commentary is in Korean only, per the operator; one reseller mentions an on-bus screen in English, Chinese and Japanese. If you do not need the commentary, buses 10 and 11 cover the same daytime ground for ₩1,450 a ride.

Luggage and help desks

Zimcarry runs a counter at Gyeongju Station (1F, left end of Exit 1, 09:00–23:00): suitcases ₩5,000 / ₩8,000 / ₩10,000 by size. It can also deliver bags to your hotel the same day from ₩12,000 (drop off 09:00–14:50, delivered from 16:00), handy for a Seoul → Gyeongju → Busan loop (luggage storage in Korea). Tourist information desks at Gyeongju Station, the Express Bus Terminal (054-772-9289) and the Bulguksa car park (054-746-4747) list hours of 09:00–18:00 (19:00 at the station). The 1330 travel helpline answers in English.

A one-day local transport budget

Plan (per person)	What it covers	Cost
Buses only	Station → downtown → Bulguksa → Seokguram → Bulguksa → downtown → station: 6 rides	₩8,700
Buses, staying downtown	4 rides, no station runs	₩5,800
Buses + shared taxi from the station	5 rides + a quarter of a ₩17,000–20,000 taxi	about ₩11,500–12,300
Buses + taxi alone from the station	5 rides + one taxi	about ₩24,300–27,300
City tour + station buses	World Heritage course + 2 rides	₩27,900

Buses only, 6 rides8,700

Buses + shared taxi (4 people)11,875

Buses + taxi alone25,750

City tour + 2 bus rides27,900

Bus fare ₩1,450 by card; taxi rows use the midpoint of our ₩17,000–20,000 estimate. Free 30-minute transfers can lower the bus total.

The Busan day-trip budgets in part 1 allow about this much for local buses. Getting to Gyeongju in the first place is in part 2.

Mistakes to avoid

• Missing the last bus 12 — the last run up from Bulguksa is about 16:40 from October 6, and the bus back down follows the same loop.
• Waiting at the station for bus 700 — it runs four times a day; take 50/51 or 70 and change.
• Bringing only a Climate Card — it does not work here.
• Not tapping off — you lose the free transfer.
• Booking the city tour for English commentary — it is in Korean.
• Planning around Tasilla without a Korean phone number.

Put it together with the day trip from Busan or the 2-day itinerary.