Tourist hotels
Tourists enjoy the best facilities in the country but you should not expect same level of comfort you may get in most developed countries. North Korea has been under strict trade embargo for decades and sometimes such mundane things like hot water in shower can be a problem especially outside of the Pyongyang. Please take it into account while you are planning your trip to North Korea.
  
Pyongyang
 |
Yanggakdo International Hotel 
- Location: in the middle of Taedong river on Yanggak island.
- Floors: 47
- Rooms: 1,000 rooms. Deluxe suites, and standard class rooms. International phone, tv, refrigerator in each room.
- Warm water supply : 24 hrs a day.
- Restaurants: 4. 2 Korean food restaurants, 1 Japanese and 1 Chinese food restaurant as well as a revolving bar/restaurant on the 46th floor. Tea-shop in the lobby.
- Other facilities: bowling, beauty saloon, casino, karaoke hall, hair saloon, billiard saloon, shop, bookshop, post office. Open air-grill and a golf track with a floor of space 9,000 square meters.
|
|
 |
Pyongyang Koryo Hotel
- Location: Pyongyang City Center, near the Railway station
- Floors: 45
- Rooms: 500. Deluxe suites, standard rooms. International phone, tv, refrigerator in each room.
- Warm water supply : 24 hrs a day.
- Restaurants: 5 restaurants of unique design, banquet-hall and dining rooms for private parties. Snack bars, revolving restaurant on the 45th floor.
- Other facilities : souvenir shop, ginseng shop, book shop, post offfice. Swimming pool, sauna, massage room, beauty saloon, 200 seat cinema, casino, karaoke hall, billiard saloon, conference hall, meeting rooms.
|
|
Myohangsan mountains
Kaesong
Wonsan
Hot Water
Hot water in the hotels located in the countryside is most of the time available only during 1 hour in the morning before breakfast and 1 hour in the evening before or after dinner. This is also applicable for 3 star hotels in Pyongyang (Haebansan, Chonnon, Sosan). 4 star hotels in Pyongyang (Koryo Hotel and Yanggakdo International Hotel) as well as Nampo Hot Spa Hotel (80 km West from Pyongyang) and Kumgangsan Hotel (Diamond mountains area) offer hot water supply 24 hours a day.
Internet Access
While it is in principle not possible to get any Internet access in the DPRK, from 2007 you can send an e-mail from your hotel in Pyongyang (this service is not available at countryside hotels). The costs is from 2 Euros and up depending on the message size. Please note that you will be sending e-mails from the hotel’s e-mail account and not your private e-mail account, so please ask your correspondent to put your room number as a message subject when he/she replies to you.
Overseas calls
it is very expensive to call overseas from North Korea, count on 4-5 Euros per minute, but it is always recommended to check at the reception the exact minute cost to your country.
It is allowed to keep mobile phones during DPRK trips. Laptops are ok to take in as well as MP-3 players and e-book readers.
Electricity
Electric voltage in North Korea is 220 V and electric sockets are of the same type as in Western Europe. Electricity shortages can occur from time to time, so it is recommended you bring a pocket lamp with batteries or an electric torch with you.
Food / Water
Drinking water can be purchased in plastic bottles at any hotel.
If you have any special dietary requests or allergy on any kind of food, please inform us on booking so we can arrange special meals for you.
Money / Credit Cards
Foreigners are not allowed to pay with or buy any local currency (North Korean Won). All transactions are made in Euros, US Dollars, or Chinese Yuan, but Euros are preferred. It is recommended to take with you Euros in cash (preferably in small denominations as sometimes it can be difficult to get change in the souvenir or book shops).
Credit cards are NOT accepted. All payments should be done in cash. There are no any ATMs in North Korea where you you can withdraw cash.
Health
Take with you all medicines that you normally use. It is a good idea to have some stomach medicines.
Clothing
If you travel between June and August you should have an umbrella for the wet weather.
Gifts
It would be nice if you took with you some little presents/souvenirs for the guides and local children. Men appreciate cigarettes (most Korean men smoke) and women like inexpensive cosmetics. Children like chocolate, ball-point pens, etc. Before departing Korea it is polite to leave a tip to the guides (there are 2 of them) and the driver.
We are going to provide you with more useful information when you book your tour and will be happy to reply to any of your questions.
|
