Complete Guide to the Busan Sky Capsule: How to Book & Ride the Sky Capsule

Busan Sky Capsule is one of the cutest things to do in Busan. In this guide, I will show you how to book the Busan Sky Capsule with a foreign credit card and other useful information on riding the sky capsule train.

If you’ve been researching things to do in Busan, then I have no doubt you have come across the colorful cute little capsule trains by the sea in Busan.

These sky capsule trains are one of the most popular tourist attractions in Busan, and for good reason. They are private, relaxing to ride in, super photogenic, and come with an amazing view. However, booking them with a foreign credit card is no easy feat, and I know friends that actually gave up trying to book the tickets with the official website and ended up doing a tour just to ride them.

I was able to book the Busan Sky Capsule tickets from the official website with my non-Korean credit card, although with some difficulty. So I will share with you how I was able to do it, as well as tips for riding the Busan sky capsule during sunset!

This blog contains occasional affiliate links, where I receive a small commission on sales of the products/hotels that are linked at no additional cost to you.

What is the Busan Sky Capsule?

The Busan Sky Capsule trains are a unique tourist attraction in Busan at the Haeundae Blueline Park. The park is a redevelopment of an old railway facility and has since become a popular tourist attraction and a social media hotspot.

These sky capsule trains are a series of small, private, and colorful train cars that allow the riders to enjoy an ocean view from an elevated track. It is an alternative to taking the Haeundae beach train or walking the Busan Green Railway in the same area.

How long is the Busan Sky Capsule train ride?

The Sky Capsule ride is a one way ride covering about 2km of distance. It takes about 30 minutes for this one way ride and during this time, you and your friends can take cute photos inside the capsule train.

Where is the Busan Sky Capsule

The Sky Capsule is located in Haeundae, along the coast east of Busan X the Sky.

There are two stations for Busan Sky Capsule:

• Mipo Station (full name: Haeundae Blueline Park – Mipo Station)
• Cheongsapo Station (full name: Haeundae Blueline Park – Cheongsapo Station)

Mipo Station is the one next to Busan X the Sky, and the Cheongsapo Station is further east.

The easiest way to get to Busan Sky Capsule is to just take a taxi (we used Uber but you can also use Kakao T). But if you prefer to take public transportation, then you should use Naver Map or Kakao Map to navigate to either station. Taking a bus would most likely get you closer to the actual station than taking the subway.

Which Busan Sky Capsule Station is better?

Since the Busan Sky Capsule is a one way ride, you will have to decide where to get on the capsule as it does matter and can affect the rest of your Busan itinerary.

Because of this, I did a ton of research to figure out which sky capsule station is the better one. On social media, everyone talks about taking the sky capsule from Mipo Station to Cheongsapo Station. Here are the pros and cons of each station.

Taking the sky capsule from Mipo Station

Pros

• Easier to access as it is close to Busan X the Sky and Haeundae beach
• You can technically walk there from the Haeundae subway station
• The capsule will be on the outside of the 2 rails with an unobstructed view of the ocean, but I don’t think it’s a really big deal

Cons

• It is way harder to get tickets from Mipo Station
• You will have to find a way to get back to Mipo Station after the ride
• You will be heading away from sunset when you go from Mipo to Cheongsapo
• There aren’t as much to do near Cheongsapo station when it’s dark (after sunset)

In my opinion, Mipo Station is best for those visiting during the day before 2pm. You can explore the Haeundae Beach area first, grab lunch, see Busan X the Sky before hopping on the train. Then afterwards you can continue to explore Cheongsapo Station area and go further north east.

Taking the sky capsule from Cheongsapo Station

Pros

• Tickets are easier to get than from the Mipo station
• You will be heading towards sunset on the ride
• Getting off at Haeundae beach means more restaurants and closer to hotels/ subway station
• The view going towards Haeundae Beach is nicer in my opinion

Cons

• You have to plan your itinerary around getting to Cheongsapo station at a certain time and find your own ride there

We took the sky capsule from Cheongsapo Station to Mipo station. Partially because I wanted to explore Haedong Yonggungsa Temple and Cheongsapo area during day time, so getting on the train at Cheongsapo station just made sense for our Busan itinerary.

I also thought it would be easier to get to our hotel after the ride after sunset. I knew that Haeundae beach area was well lit and easy to access transportation options, so I thought it was a better choice for sunset.

How many people can fit in one Sky Capsule train?

Each sky capsule fits between 2 to 4 people, at the following price point:

• 2 people: 35000 KRW ($26 USD)
• 3 people: 45000 KRW ($33 USD)
• 4 people: 50000 KRW ($37 USD)

If you are one person, you still have to pay for a 2 person price. If you are a party of 5, you will have to split up into two capsules unless you have a young child.

Since the Sky capsule train cabins are private, you won’t be forced to share a cabin with random people. This is why you will have to pay for 2 people even if you are by yourself.

Haeundae Sky Capsule vs. Beach Train, what is the difference?

When you book your sky capsule train tickets, you may also see an option for the beach train. Don’t confuse the sky capsule train with the Haeundae beach train! They run similar courses along the ocean but they are very different attractions.

The beach train is an actual train that runs on the ground level along the beach (whereas the sky capsule is elevated above ground).

The beach train covers 6 stations (whereas the Sky Capsule only covers 2). Both the sky capsule and beach train start at Mipo Station in Haeundae, but the beach train goes further north east after Cheongsapo Station. There are 3 types of tickets for the beach train:

• 1 ride only: 7,000 KRW
• 2 rides: 12,000 KRW (meaning you can get off at one station, then get back on and ride one more time)
• all stops: 16,000 KRW (meaning you can get off at multiple stations then get back on)

The Beach train is not private, since you are literally on a train. All the seats of the beach train face the ocean. The Sky Capsule train has windows all around, so you can get photos from all angles.

Generally what people do is that they take the Sky capsule one way from Mipo Station then take the beach train back (or walk back). For a detailed description of the tickets and how you can combine the two, see more information on the official Blueline Park website.

How to Book Busan Sky Capsule Tickets With a Foreign Credit Card

Booking Sky Capsule ticket the official website – Desktop Version

The official sky capsule website is this and tickets are available on a Tuesday 2 weeks before the date of the ride. However I find this a little hard to track, so I would advise you just keep checking 3-4 weeks before so you don’t miss the ticket booking window.

On the website, click on “Make a Reservation” and then choose the station you want to departure from.

On the next page, you will choose your date and event time and input your information. The event times are 30 minute time slots and it tells you how many tickets are left for that time slot. Keep in mind that the 30 minute time slot is your boarding time (so if it’s from 5:30pm to 6pm, then you are expected to board during that time).

You will. have to choose a ticket type aka how many people. They do check tickets before you board, so be sure to book for the correct number of people! Then agree to all the user agreements and cancel/ refund policy.

Under “Amount”, be sure to choose “foreign credit card” and click on “Buy Tickets”, then a window will pop up, so be sure to enable pop up!

On the pop up window, agree to the payment terms and conditions. Next screen you will have to choose the credit card to use. Click on “other cards” then scroll all the way down to pick the credit card you have (like Visa, Master, Amex, etc) and click on “Submit”.

Don’t click on “Citi” even if you have a Citibank credit card. I tried and it did not work at all! Instead, just do “Other Cards” and pick the type as I mentioned above.

Once you click on submit, a small window will pop up in Korean, just click on “ok”, and it should direct you to the orange page, where you have to register for a browser extension. This will be a Chrome extension you install to your browser to help with making the payment. Once you install it, another small window with Koreans on it will pop up, and you can click on “ok”. I also installed the program from the orange window (the one with the word Security).

Once both of them were done, the payment page was no longer grayed out and I was able to enter my credit card information to buy the tickets with my Citibank Mastercard. Then I got a confirmation page and also an email with a link to access my tickets.

You will need to log in using your email and the passwords you set up earlier to access the ticket and take a screenshot of it.

Booking Sky Capsule ticket the official website – Phone Version

I know booking on the desktop is not an easy task, especially with the chrome extension and software installation. It’s ok if you are reluctant to do it, because there is an easier way to book! You can easily book it on your phone from the same official website.

For some reason, when booking on the phone, there is no such security requirement and you don’t need to download anything.

You pretty much follow the same steps as above, choose the type of credit card on the payment page, then the next page will let you put your credit card info. Nothing is grayed out and you don’t need to install anything. It is as easy as that.

Booking Sky Capsule tickets on Agoda

If the official website doesn’t work on mobile or desktop, then the next best option is to book your tickets through Agoda. This is one of the cheapest third party sites for the Busan Sky Capsule and would be my no.1 choice if I didn’t buy it from the official website.

You can easily choose the date, time, departing station and number of people when booking via Agoda. For some reason the price is cheaper than the official website by like a dollar or two.

You also get a full refund/ cancellation if you cancel your tickets 6 days before departure.

Booking Sky Capsule tickets on Getyourguide

Another reliable third party website to use to buy the Busan Sky Capsule tickets is from Getyourguide.

However I don’t prefer using Getyourguide for the Sky capsule train tickets because it costs almost twice as much and there aren’t many time slots available compared to Agoda or the official website. I would only use this as a last resort if you really can’t find anything else.

But with the high price point, it may be more worth it to book a Busan day tour with sky capsule trains included! This way you can get driven around from place to place and see the famous attractions in Busan.

Can you cancel/ change your Busan Sky Capsule train tickets?

If you are booking your tickets on the official Haeundae Blueline website, then you can log in with your email address and pass code to make changes or cancel your tickets.

• Up to 3 days before the event: no cancellation fees
• 2 days before the event: cancellation fee is 20% of full amount
• 1 day before the event: 30% of full amount
• Same day before start time: 50% of full amount

Can you buy Busan Sky Capsule train tickets in person?

Yes, it is possible to purchase the sky capsule tickets in person at the station. However you will run the risk of not getting the time slot you want. In general sunset tickets are sold out the fastest but you may get lucky! When we visited we saw people buying tickets at the ticket office for a same day ticket.

How long is the wait to get on the Busan Sky Capsule Train?

There is always a wait to get on the train, the typical wait is between 15 minutes to 40 minutes. You can expect a longer wait time around sunset from Mipo Station as that is the most popular time and station for the sky capsule train.

The time you pick for your ticket is the boarding time (for example, between 5:30pm to 6pm). However if you just show up at 5:30pm, you WILL NOT get on at 5:30pm, so always go early.

Can you pick the color of the sky capsule?

No, you will have to get on the next sky capsule train. The only way to “pick” a color is if you count the number of cars and let people behind you go first. There are some really cute ones with cartoon characters painted on them. Otherwise you will get one of the typical colors: yellow, blue, green, or red.

Can you book a return trip on the Sky Capsule?

Unfortunately sky capsule bookings are only for one way. You will be asked to get off once you arrive at the station.

If you want to take the Sky Capsule train back to your starting station, you will need to pay for a separate ticket and possibly wait in line again to board. Honestly I don’t think it would be a good idea to do a return trip, since there are other ways to get back to Mipo Station if that’s where you are going.

Things to do near Cheongsapo Station

If you are visiting Blueline Park during the day and riding the Sky Capsule from Mipo Station to Cheongsapo Station, there are some fun things you can do after you get off!

• Visit a cafe nearby (such as Cafe Rooftop Cheongsapo for a lovely view of the ocean or Simmian for its matcha drinks and desserts
• Stop by Cheongsapo Daritdol Observatory, a U shaped observation pier shaped like a blue dragon that protrudes out to the sea
• Eat fresh seafood at one of the restaurants nearby
• Explore the 2 lighthouses by the Cheongsapo station
• Take the beach train to Songjeong beach
• Take a bus to Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, the famous Buddhist temple on the cliffs with an ocean view

Our experience riding the Busan Sky Capsule train during sunset

During our most recent trip to Korea, we knew we wanted to ride the sky capsule during sunset. I had seen so many videos on Instagram of these cute capsule cars with the pink sky in the background. It is every Instagrammer’s dream and something we definitely had to do.

Booking the tickets

Exactly a month before the date we wanted, I went on the official website hoping to grab a ticket ASAP. To my surprise, the tickets were not released then! It seems like it’s only released on a Tuesday 2 weeks before the day you want, so I marked my calendar and checked back two weeks later.

For whatever reason when I checked back there were dates further out than I had expected. I don’t think I did my calculation correctly but no worries, there were still 20+ tickets left for the 5:30 – 6pm slot we wanted (sunset is around 6pm in Busan in early October).

Our train was from Cheongsapo Station to Mipo as it just made sense for our itinerary that day.

Waiting for the train

We visited on a random weekday and arrived about an hour before (after visiting Haedong Yonggungsa Temple). For simplicity’s sake (also to minimize travel time), we just took a taxi (via Uber) and got here a bit earlier than expected.

Since we were too early, we just walked around the station, checked out the 2 stores and the coffee shop at the Cheongsapo Station. We saw the two lighthouses outside of the station but it would cut it too close for us to leave the station and visit those.

We finally got in line at around 5:10. The line didn’t seem very long and the worker there said maybe it would take 15 minutes. However since the capsule trains move very slowly, it actually takes a while for people to get on even if the line doesn’t seem too long. We ended up waiting for about 25 minutes before getting on, so we got on around 5:35pm.

The Ride

Unfortunately we had a very cloudy day that day, despite it being quite sunny earlier. Even though sunset wasn’t for another 20 minutes, the cloud made the sky super dark and there were no pink cotton candy like sky at all.

Getting good weather is always a gamble, but I did see photos of people who visited during the day and it was really pretty. So if you are not dead set on getting the sunset slot, it may be better to just go during the day when the sunlight can hit the cabin.

The inside of the capsule was larger than we had expected and there were windows all around. Due to the bad lighting, it was actually nicer for us to take photos with our backs facing the departing station. The ocean was on one side and trees on the other side (not too much to see there).

Even though 30 minutes sounds quite long, for those who are focused on taking photos it is not that long. We ended up taking up the entire 30 minutes just taking photos with both our phones and cameras.

Personally I think the best view came when we were approaching Mipo Station, with the city light tinkling in the background. As we approach the station, you will also have the Busan X the Sky building in the background directly above the station.

Soon we arrived at Mipo Station and ended our short but sweet journey.

Our tips to booking and riding the Busan Sky Capsule Train

• Book your tickets online early to get your desired time slot

• Arrive at least 30 minutes before when you want to get on the train

• Screenshot your ticket including the bar code. Don’t try to log in and get your tickets when you are there in case you can’t log in

• Go when it’s sunny if you can, otherwise sunset would be the best time to go

• Plan your itinerary first to see when/ where you will be before buying the sky capsule train ticket

• Remember the train ride is only one way, so have a plan on what to do once you get off

• Bring a wide angle camera lens if you want to take photos with a camera. Otherwise iPhone camera is wide enough

Is the Busan Sky Capsule Worth it?

It’s definitely worth visiting the Busan Sky Capsule if you can get tickets from the official website at $26 for 2 people. It is a fun and relaxing experience and can be very romantic for couples!

Logistically it can be inconvenient since you have to prebook your tickets, so you will have to plan your day around it. Haeundae is also very far from the rest of Busan, so be prepared to spend at least an hour on the road if you are coming from Gamcheon Culture Village or the BIFF area.

Read my other Korea Blogs

• Complete 3-day Jeju Itinerary
• How to buy the KTX train tickets
• The Ultimate 2-day Busan Itinerary
• 10 day South Korea Itinerary
• The Best 3 Day Seoul Itinerary
• How to rent a car and drive in Jeju

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