Incheon Airport to Seoul city centre: AREX trains, limousine buses, night buses and taxi fares compared

There are three ways from Incheon Airport into central Seoul: the AREX airport railway, limousine buses and taxis. All three leave from both Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, but where you board and how long the ride takes differ by terminal. T2 is the end of the line for AREX, so trains start at T2, call at T1 and then head for Seoul. Boarding the same train at T2 adds roughly eight minutes.

At both terminals the AREX station sits off the basement transportation centre. Leave arrivals, follow the railway signs, and you will find the Express train customer centre on that same level. Limousine buses to Seoul leave from outside exits 3 to 7 on the ground floor of T1, and from bays 11 to 35 in the middle of the basement transportation centre at T2.

Do one piece of arithmetic before you choose. Incheon Airport's own guidance says to allow one to two hours after landing for immigration when you book onward transport. On a flight that lands after 10 p.m., that hour or two is often exactly what costs people the last train. Plan around the time you will walk out of arrivals, not the time the wheels touch down.

Then weigh your bags against where you are sleeping. AREX is cheap and punctual, but changing to the subway at Seoul Station or Hongik Univ. can mean stairs and long passages. A limousine costs more and stops outside the hotel, and a taxi goes to the door. Which one pays off depends on your neighbourhood and how many of you there are.

The table below gathers AREX's own fares and timetables, the bus and taxi information on Incheon Airport's official site, and International Taxi's published rates, all as of October 2026. Train times are split into T1 and T2, and first and last departures are from T1. Limousine operators do not publish a ride time because traffic changes it so much, so the table does not invent one. Fares change, so check the operator's page again before you ride.

The Express train runs nonstop to Seoul Station with reserved seats. It costs ₩13,000 for adults and ₩9,500 for children, and you need a ticket before boarding. With 26 departures a day it runs every 30 to 65 minutes, so if one has just left, the all-stop train may get you there sooner. It suits anyone staying near Seoul Station or connecting straight to a KTX train there.

The all-stop train is an ordinary commuter line you tap into with a transport card. It costs ₩4,750 from T1 or ₩5,350 from T2 to Seoul Station, and on the way you can change at Gongdeok (Lines 5 and 6), Hongik Univ. (Line 2), Magongnaru (Line 9) and Gimpo Airport (Lines 5 and 9). Hongik Univ. is ₩4,650 from T1, which makes it the cheapest and quickest option for Hongdae and Yeonnam-dong. At rush hour you may have to stand, which is hard work with two large cases.

Limousine buses are coaches that stop at named hotel stops. Route 6001 runs past Seoul Station and Myeongdong Station to Dongdaemun, 6015 goes via Gongdeok and Euljiro to Myeongdong Station, and 6703 loops through the Gangnam hotels around Sinnonhyeon and COEX. On 6001 seats are first come, first served, there is no online booking, and you pay by transport card or cash. Your cases go in the hold and you sit the whole way, which makes it good value for families with small children or anyone who wants to avoid stairs.

If you are staying in Myeongdong or Euljiro, limousine 6001 or 6015 is the easiest choice. By train you would change to Line 4 at Seoul Station, and that transfer passage is long enough to wear you out with heavy bags. A solo traveller with one bag will save a lot by combining the all-stop train and the subway. Two or more people with big cases are usually happier paying ₩17,000 each to step off outside the hotel.

For Hongdae, Yeonnam-dong or Hapjeong there is little to think about. Take the all-stop train to Hongik Univ. Station and you are there for under ₩5,000. The same goes for hotels around Magok or Gimpo Airport. The Express train does not stop at Hongik Univ., so make sure you board the right one.

Gangnam, Samseong and COEX mean extra changes if you go by rail. A Gangnam limousine such as 6703 works better here. Note that 6703's first departure from T1 is 06:15 and it runs every 45 minutes to an hour, so an early morning arrival can mean a long wait. Look up the departure times on the airport's bus search page before you land.

If four adults are travelling together, or a family has three or four suitcases, compare against a taxi too. A limousine charges ₩17,000 per person, so four adults pay ₩68,000, while a taxi charges by the car, not by the head. Nine-seat jumbo taxis have their own stands: 7C and 8C at T1, 7D at T2. Whether it works out cheaper depends on the distance, so sketch the route to your hotel first and the choice gets easy.

The last all-stop train that reaches Seoul Station leaves T1 at 23:38 and T2 at 23:32. One more train follows at 23:56 from T1 and 23:50 from T2, but it terminates at Digital Media City. The last Express train goes much earlier, at 22:48 from T1. If your flight lands late, allow for a slow immigration queue and plan on a night bus or taxi from the start.

Four night bus routes run to Seoul: N6000, N6002, N6701 and N6703. N6701 goes via Mapo Station, Seoul Station and Euljiro 1-ga to Dongdaemun Design Plaza, reaching Seoul Station about 60 minutes after leaving T1. N6000 runs to the Express Bus Terminal in Gangnam, N6002 goes via Hongdae to Cheongnyangni, and N6703 passes COEX and Jamsil. N6000 and N6002 cost ₩17,000, while N6701 and N6703 cost ₩18,000.

Night buses are sparse. N6701, for example, leaves T1 at 23:50, 00:40, 01:40, 03:45 and 04:40, so missing one can mean a wait of more than an hour. Buy tickets at the ticket booth or a kiosk; N6701 and N6703 tickets are also sold in the T-money GO app. You board on the ground floor at T1 and in the basement at T2.

Taxis keep no timetable, but night surcharges apply. A standard Seoul taxi starts at ₩4,800, with 20% added from 22:00 to 23:00, 40% from 23:00 to 02:00 and 20% from 02:00 to 04:00. Deluxe and jumbo taxis start at ₩7,000 with 20% from 22:00 to 04:00. The airport does not publish the expressway toll, so check it separately from the meter fare on your receipt.

The all-stop train and limousine 6001 both take Korean transport cards such as T-money. AREX's fare table is based on prepaid and postpaid transport cards; a single-use card costs ₩100 more and carries a ₩500 deposit that you get back at your destination station. Overseas IC cards are a separate system and are not part of that fare table. Without a Korean card, buy a single-use card from the machines in the station.

The Express train is not a tap-and-go service. Book on the AREX website or buy at the Express train customer centre in the basement of the T1 or T2 station. Online-only discounts appear from time to time, but they cannot be combined with other discounts. Seats are reserved, so sit in the car and seat printed on your ticket.

International Taxi is an officially designated taxi with foreign language support, charging flat zone fares within Seoul. Standard cars cost ₩70,000 to ₩95,000 and deluxe or large cars ₩100,000 to ₩140,000, payable in cash or by Visa, Mastercard or Amex. If you pay by foreign card, choose to be charged in won rather than your home currency. The stands are 4C at T1 and 3C at T2.

On the way home, remember the City Airport Terminal at Seoul Station. Express ticket holders can check in, drop bags and clear departure immigration on the second basement level of Seoul Station. Check-in runs from 05:20 to 19:00 and closes three hours before departure for T1 flights and three hours twenty minutes before for T2 flights. Some airlines and routes are excluded, so ask your airline first.