Young Pioneer Tours
Winter Ultra Budget Tour and Sinuiju Extension
Come join us as we show you an insight on how Pyongyangites cope during the early winter season, but more importantly this is not the “high-season” and gives you the chance to be one of the very few tourists in the country.
By making use of travelling from Dandong, which is the Chinese border city to the DPRK and is easily reachable from most of China, we are able to offer a great price that has you in North Korea for 2 nights and 3 days, which is inclusive of one full day of seeing all the main sites of Pyongyang such as Kim Il Sung Square, Pyongyang Metro, Korean War Museum, the large bronze statues and much more!
Stay longer with us on our must-see Group B option for the Sinuiju extension as you spend an evening at the DPRK border town opposite Dandong in China. Sinuiju is way off the beaten track and gives you an in-depth look into the rural life of North Korea by visiting a local kindergarten, touring a cosmetic factory, walking along the Yalu river that creates the natural border of China and North Korea, and more.
Our Group C option gives you the opportunity to fully explore Dandong city which offers many interesting glimpses into the inner workings of the Sino-DPRK Friendship. We’ll make our way north of the city and walk to the very end of the Great Wall of China, take a boat cruise down along the river, walk along the broken friendship bridge and visit the Korean War Museum in Dandong officially known as the Memorial of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
Please note: All travellers must have a re-entry visa into China as there isn’t enough time to apply for a Chinese visa in Pyongyang and the 144 hour transfer visa doesn’t permit rail use.
Friday 12th November
Morning
- Meet your YPT guide at 7:30am inside the entrance of the Dandong Railway Station to collect train ticket, DPRK visa and go through DPRK procedure.
- Board the 10:00am train from Dandong.
- Arrive in Sinuiju to go through DPRK entry procedure.
- Continue the train ride onto Pyongyang and enjoy the beautiful countryside along the way.
Afternoon
- Optional lunch on the train (50RMB extra).
- 6:45pm arrival in Pyongyang to be met by your guides.
- Evening city tour of Pyongyang, including us stopping at Kim Il Sung Square for a walk and pictures.
- Dinner at a local Korean restaurant on Ryomyong Street
- Check in and overnight at the Sosan Hotel.
Saturday 13th November
Morning
- Walk through Mansudae Fountain Park and see the mosaic pictures of President Kim Il Sung and the leader Kim Jong Il.
- Visit Mansudae Grand Monument – the two large bronze statues of President Kim Il Sung and Leader Kim Jong Il overlooking the city. (Optional extra- you can present flowers if you wish: 40RMB or 5 euros)
- Grand People’s Study House – library and academic centre for adult learners. This grand building is built in the Korean style and affords a great view over the central square.
- Foreign Language Bookshop – shopping central for books, pins, DVD’s, CD’s and periodicals in English and other foreign Languages, followed by a brisk walk to:
- Kim Il Sung Square – the central square of Pyongyang City.
Afternoon
- Lunch in the KITC restaurant to try the famous Pyongyang Cold Noodles or Korean Bibimap.
- Pyongyang Metro – ride 5 stops on the famous Pyongyang Underground!
- Exiting at the Arch of Triumph – the largest Victory Arch in the world, built to celebrate the triumphant return of Kim Il Sung after the anti-Japanese war.
- Visit the recently renovated Korean War Museum. Let the expert local guide show you around the enormous museum featuring dioramas, locally used weapons, tanks, etc., and captured American equipment!
- USS Pueblo – the only US Naval Ship still held captive by another nation.
- Juche Tower – monument to the everlasting Juche Ideology (optional 40RMB or 5 euros to go to the top).
- Visit Kwangbok department store – here we can buy locally made items and exchange our foreign currency into local DPRK Won!
- Taedonggan Beer Bar No.3 – three different microbrews on tap, 2 euros each.
- Dinner at the National Restaurant with performance!
- Overnight at the Sosan Hotel.
Sunday 14th November
Morning
- Check out of Sosan Hotel.
- Slow drive to Pyongyang train station stopping at a few interesting places in the city for last photos.
- Depart Pyongyang by train at 10:25am
- Optional lunch on the train (50RMB extra).
Afternoon
- Group A – arrive in Sinuiju at 3:30pm, go through immigration and exit to Dandong at 5:00pm where your tour concludes
- Group B & C – Arrive in the remote village of Dongrim at 2:30pm – Dongrim is the nearest town outside of Sinuiju, located south amongst the valleys of the east coast of the peninsula.
- Your local Korean guides will meet you as you step onto the platform
- Drive to Dongrim Hotel to check-in and prepare for afternoon hiking
- Hike to Dongrim Waterfall and explore surrounding valley of the mountain range
- Dinner and overnight at the Dongrim Hotel – a brand new swanky hotel with a swimming pool. sauna, table tennis, massage, bars, karaoke, tennis, basketball and volleyball courts.
Monday 15th November
Morning
- 1 hour drive to Sinuiju city on the way stopping at:
- Sinamri Co-operative farm – we’ll look out to where the locals grow rice, cabbage, chilli and cucumbers
- Tour the Pomhayanggi Cosmetics Factory and meet some of the local workers that produce some of DPRKorea’s most famous cosmetics
- Visit the mosaic images of the “Three Tigers of Mt. Paektu” Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Suk.
- Explore the large central square of Sinuiju and see the statue of President Kim Il Sung and General Kim Jong Il
- Visit the North Phyongan Province Revolutionary History Museum – This will go into detail about the history of the local province.
Afternoon
- Lunch at Myohyangsan Travel Company Restaurant which also features a great souvenir shop.
- Head to the local Folklore Park where there may be chances to engage in traditional Korean activities and some more modern activities too (extra charges apply for partaking 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 arts in six large halls – some very cool and eye opening art pieces here!
- Bonbu Kindergarten and performance – Famous for training the Children who perform in the skipping scene of the Arirang Mass games as well as its long history of training artistic performers. 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. Very few tourist are able to view the bridge from the DPRK side!
- Board the 4:30pm bus and go through Korean customs to Dandong
- Group B – tour concludes
- Group C – Dine and experience Dandong’s famous BBQ scene
- Overnight in Dandong
Tuesday 16th November
Morning
- Our YPT guide and driver will meet you in the lobby of your hotel
- Visit the most eastern part of the Great Wall of China at Tiger Mountain – This is famous for the ‘one meter hop’ as it is the narrowest point between China and North Korea.
- Head back into Dandong city and visit the Memorial of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea – with over 150 military hardware displayed such as Soviet tanks, jets, bombers and a Chinese steam locomotive. The memorial hall holds over 20.000 relics left over from the Korean War and gives a comprehensive view of the events that unfolded during the Korean War.
Afternoon
- Lunch at local Dandong restaurant to experience true Northeast Chinese (Dongbei) food – whole hearty dishes of meat, vegetables and tofu.
- Jump aboard a boat and travel down the Yalu River, the river that separates China and the DPRK. This will give you incredible photo opportunities to take of North Korea, Sinuiju Port, the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge and Broken Bridge that was built by the Japanese and destroyed by the Americans during the Korean War.
- After disembarking the boat, now is your chance to walk along the destroyed Friendship Bridge and see Chinese propaganda lead towards North Korea.
- Tour concludes with a walking tour along the Yalu River – let us know if you need assistance with hotel bookings in Dandong or travel back to Beijing
Tour Extensions
Want to extend your YPT adventure? Join one of our great tour extensions
