The most closed country in the world can only be visited on an organised tour, escorted at all times by two guides: that is precisely what makes it an experience apart. Pyongyang and its outsized monuments, the deepest palace-metro in the world, the DMZ seen from the north, the Myohyang mountains and the omnipresent cult of the leaders compose a journey outside every norm. Be sure to check the entry conditions and official advice before making any plans.
Itineraries
The itineraries in North Korea are in the works: the day-by-day program, named hotels, tickets to book flagged in advance. Leave your address to be notified when they come out.
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Itineraries available in Asia
We don't sell an itinerary in North Korea yet. Here are the ones already on sale, for other countries.
Classic
Four days in Tokyo, one night in Hakone, five in Kyoto with a day trip to Nara, and a last one in Osaka, by train, subway and on foot.
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Classic
The northern island in two weeks: Sapporo, Otaru, the Furano hills, the Shiretoko Peninsula, the eastern lakes and Hakodate.
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Classic
Japan's hidden side in two weeks: Kinosaki Onsen, the Tottori dunes, Izumo, the Shimanami Kaido and the Iya valley.
See the itinerary
Module
Five days in Gyeonggi province: the cosmopolitan port of Incheon and the futuristic city of Songdo, the border island of Ganghwa and its dolmens, the UNESCO-listed fortresses of Namhansanseong and Hwaseong, the folk village and Everland.
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The right season
The tours run mainly from April to October. Spring and autumn offer the best climate, clear skies and 15 to 25 °C, with the great April celebrations and the reddened landscapes of October. Summer is hot and rainy, the season of the Korean monsoon. Winter, Siberian, drops below -10 °C and severely limits the programmes.
Quick guide
No free movement: group bus, chartered train or domestic flight, always with the guides. Entry is through Beijing, by plane or by the mythical 24-hour Beijing-Pyongyang train.
Tourists never handle the won: everything is paid in euros, yuan or dollars in small notes, in the designated shops. No bank card works, bring all the cash for the stay.
Korean, in a variant that has stayed very pure. The guides speak English, sometimes French. No spontaneous contact with the population is on the programme.
Your phone now comes in with you, but with no internet and no signal: load maps, dictionaries and offline reading before Beijing. Photos are checked on the way out, follow the guides' instructions.
The hotels reserved for foreigners, like the Yanggakdo on its island in the Taedong river: dated comfort, a unique atmosphere, and you do not leave the hotel without your guides.
Bow before the statues of the leaders, never fold or throw away a newspaper bearing their image, photograph the monuments in full: the rules are non-negotiable and your guides answer for you.
Must-sees
Pyongyang
170 m dedicated to the national ideology, facing Kim Il-sung square. The lift climbs to the flame for a total panorama over the capital.
Pyongyang
The esplanade of the great parades, lined with ministries bearing monumental frescoes. The symbolic heart of the country.
Pyongyang
A 50 m granite hammer, sickle and writing brush: the worker, the peasant and the intellectual united in the country's most photographed emblem.
DMZ
The blue armistice huts seen from the northern side: the mirror experience of the South Korean visit, gripping in its calm tension.
Kaesong
The former capital of the Koryo kingdom, its preserved traditional houses and the royal tombs around it, UNESCO-listed.
Chinese border
The nation's sacred volcano and its crater lake Chonji. The official birthplace of the revolution, reachable on some summer tours.
Pick a point on the map, or browse the list below.
Also on the map
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