Sokcho Resort, Hotel or Pension — Which Kind of Stay Suits You

Guests ask this over lunch all the time.

“Where should we stay?”

The short answer: without a car, stay by Sokcho Beach, where the express bus terminal is. If you want water play with children, the large resorts in Daepo-dong suit you. If you are a group cooking for yourselves, pick a pension with a kitchen.

We have compared the areas of town separately in where to base yourself in Sokcho. This article is about which kind of place to choose.

We have no connection to any of these places

To be clear from the start: we have no affiliation, commission or referral arrangement with any hotel or resort in this town, and we do not want one.

So this is not only the good parts. There are no prices either. Room rates swing by several times between seasons and days of the week, and when they change nobody comes to update our article. Facilities and operations change too. Check each property’s own channels before you book.

The large resorts in Daepo-dong

Head south from Sokcho Beach and you come to Oeongchi and then Daepo Port, both in the Daepo-dong district. Since Cassia Sokcho opened in 2024 there have been two large resorts facing the sea along this stretch. Our guide to the areas does not cover it, so we cover it here.

• Lotte Resort Sokcho is on the beach at Oeongchi, between Sokcho Beach and Daepo Port. It has a hotel wing and a condo wing, and water facilities.
• Cassia Sokcho opened at Daepo Port in 2024. The rooms have kitchens, residence-style, which suits a stay of several nights.

Both face the sea head-on. Cassia Sokcho is right on Daepo Port, so you can walk out for sashimi in the evening.

The drawback is that they are away from the town centre, where the market is. With a car that hardly matters; we are about three minutes away by car. Without one, work out how you will get into town before you book.

What separates the different kinds of place?

Two things decide it: whether you have a car, and whether you intend to spend time inside the accommodation.

Three things the table leaves out.

A resort with a pool can easily swallow the whole day. With children that is the point, but if you were planning to see the town, plan less of it. We have set out a child-friendly route in Sokcho with children.

Ask whether a pension actually has a kitchen. Places sold under the same word range from a full kitchen to no cooking at all.

Ask what angle the “ocean view” is. A room facing the water straight on and a room where you lean out and turn your head are sold under the same label.

Which side works without a car?

The beachfront by Sokcho Beach. The express bus terminal is right beside the beach, so you can walk from the bus to your room with your suitcase, and the beach and restaurants are on foot. The market and Abai Village are over in the town centre, a little over ten minutes by car, so take a bus or a taxi for those.

If you are arriving on an intercity bus instead, the town centre around the intercity terminal is also an option, with the market close by.

The Daepo-dong resorts are better equipped, but without a car you will need a taxi or bus each time you go into town.

If your plan is an early start on Seoraksan, staying out that way helps, though that also needs a car. Coming in autumn, read it alongside the Seoraksan foliage guide.

Getting to us from wherever you stay

Wherever you end up, we are directly in front of Sokcho Beach, three minutes on foot from the express bus terminal, with our own car park.

It fits easily before check-in or after check-out, luggage and all. Current opening hours are on Find us.

If you are still putting the whole trip together, the one night, two days in Sokcho route may help.