Caribbean Bay, a theme park located at the Everland Amusement Park in the city of Yongin Gyeonggi-do (Gyeonggi Province), opened its doors to the public back in 1996.  It was the first of its kind then and because of this, people from the metropolis who were looking for a different kind of recreation started flooding in from Seoul, South Korea.

It is very popular that it had more than a million visitors last year. Accessibility was no issue too because of buses that drop off passengers at Caribbean Bay, which is only an hour drive away from Seoul.  All you have to do is take the Gyeongbu expressway then exit at Singal Interchange.  From here, you can take the Yeongdong expressway and exit to Maseong Highway.  You will know that you have arrived when you pass through toll gates with a big sign that says “Welcome to Everland Resort!”.

Caribbean Bay is considered as Korea’s biggest amusement park and included in the top ten list of the world’s largest theme park.  It is known to offer superb indoor and outdoor water park facilities that can accommodate up to 15, 000 people. Facilities include a total of 12 indoor attractions and 11 outdoor attractions plus restaurants, musical shows like cultural performances and even accommodations should anyone feel like spending more time on the theme park grounds.

But the most popular area of the Caribbean Bay would have to be the largest Wave Pool.  This wave pool measures 104 meters long and up to 120 meters wide.  The great thing about this wave pool is that waves reach a height of 1.5 meters up to 2.4 meters that are already high and rough enough for you to give surfing a try.  Your admission fee actually includes all the necessary equipment that you need for surfing those waves.

Aside from the Wave Pool, you can also try the Water Bobsleigh which is a high speed water slide perfect for those thrill-seekers.  You can choose from three types of water slides like the high speed cave where you will be going through loops in the dark (135 meters), a dropping type (100 meters) and the free falling type (110 meters with a free fall from a height equivalent to a 10-story building).

In addition to the wave pool, there are other pools to enjoy.  If you are into diving then you must try the Diving Pool with water that runs 7 meters deep.  Another pool called the Bade Pool is where you can have your dose of hot water massage.  Of course, there are Kiddie Pools for the young ones.  You can also ask your kids to join you in the Lazy River, the longest lazy pool in the world, where you can just ride a floater and travel lazily along a 55-meter long artificial river.

You’ll surely feel safe within the grounds of Caribbean Bay as there are life vests available.  Safety vests are also required when one enters the Wave Pool.  As the management gives utmost importance to the comfort of the visitors, there are beach chairs and beach towels provided.  Lockers may also be rented for a small fee.

Make sure that you maximize your stay at the Caribbean Bay because the admission fee is quite high.  During low season, fees are 30, 000 won (US$ 21) for adults and 23, 000 won (US$ 16)  for children.  For peak season, fees are 65, 000 won (US$ 45) for adults and 50, 000 won (US$ 35) for children.  You can check the park’s guidemap to determine the low and peak seasons for each year.

After your visit to the Caribbean Bay, you will surely be tired and looking forward to a full night’s sleep warmly tucked in your hotel bed most especially if you are staying in a nice hotel like the Fraser Place Central Seoul. Or you can check out some more affordable hotels in Seoul.

If you are lucky, you just might dream about your day’s adventures at Caribbean Bay and re-live your day all over again.

HELPFUL INFORMATION:

Address: Gyeonggi-do, Yongin-si, Pogok-myeon
Contact Numbers:  +82 31  320 5000
Operating Hours:   9:30 am – 6:00 pm during weekends; 10:00 am – 4:00 pm during weekdays
Website:  http://www.everland.com (English, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese)
Tips:  It is highly suggested to get a Combo Pass if you plan to visit both Everland and Caribbean Bay in order to save.  The 1 Day Combo Pass can be purchased on the day that you plan to use the ticket and valid for one day single entry for both Everland and Caribbean Bay.

Posted in Korea, Things to do

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008 at 12:01 am and is filed under Korea, Things to do. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.