Five Ways to See the Sea in Busan — an Island, Two Beaches, a Coastal Train, and One Indoors

1. Oryukdo — you stand and look. The islets where the South Sea meets the East Sea, from a skywalk at the cliff edge. You do not land on them.
2. Songjeong Beach — you go in. Shallow and gently shelving, which is why the surf schools are here.
3. Dadaepo Beach — you walk out, and watch the sun set. This is the side of Busan the sun goes down on.
4. Haeundae Blue Line Park — you travel along it. 4.8km of old rail line from Mipo to Songjeong.
5. National Maritime Museum of Korea — you see it from inside. Built out over the water, and the sea is its subject.

The fourth and the second are physically joined. The beach tram terminates at Songjeong, so riding Blue Line Park to the end puts you on Songjeong Beach.

Oryukdo, Songjeong, Dadaepo and the National Maritime Museum are free. Only Haeundae Blue Line Park charges.

And its fares are the one thing on this list worth reading in advance, because it has two vehicles priced on different units.

• The beach tram is per person, with the price varying by starting station and section.
• The Sky Capsule is per capsule, sold as two-, three- and four-seaters — so riding alone still costs a whole capsule.

The per-person cost of the Sky Capsule therefore rises as the party shrinks. Whether you are two or four changes the budget at this one place substantially, and at the other four it changes nothing at all.

The five are not equally exposed.

Oryukdo goes first. Its skywalk shuts in snow, rain or high wind. It is the only entry here you can travel to and be unable to enter.

The two beaches and Blue Line Park stay open but lose their point. A beach in the rain and a coastal train under cloud do not close; they just stop being worth the trip. That is truest at Dadaepo, where the sunset is the reason to go.

Only the National Maritime Museum is indifferent to weather. So when building a Busan itinerary from these five it is worth holding the indoor one back as the wet-day substitute — noting that it closes on Mondays, which makes a rainy Monday the weakest day this list has.

The five divide between Busan's eastern and western ends.

• East — Songjeong Beach and Haeundae Blue Line Park, joined by the tram and therefore a single outing.
• Middle — Oryukdo in Nam-gu and the National Maritime Museum on Yeongdo.
• The western end — Dadaepo Beach in Saha-gu.

Dadaepo is the side Busan's sun sets on and it is the opposite direction from the other four, so if sunset is the plan, give that day to the Dadaepo side. Staying east until evening and then crossing to the western end generally loses the light.