Wando Island

Wando is joined to the mainland by bridge and is the hub of the far south-west: the ferry port for Cheongsando, Bogildo and the Jeju route, and the centre of an aquaculture industry that produces the large majority of Korea's abalone - the bays are gridded with black floats marking the rafts, and the fish market and restaurants run on it. The island's other distinction is botanical: the Wando Arboretum protects the largest remaining warm-temperate evergreen broadleaf forest in the country, camellia, evergreen oak and laurel of a type that once covered the southern coast and has almost entirely gone. Myeongsasimni on Sinji-do, linked by bridge, is a long firm beach of fine sand. Jeongdo-ri has a designated evergreen grove by the shore. A tower on Sanghwangbong gives the view over the islands, and the seaweed and abalone are the reason to eat here.

What you actually see

• The abalone rafts - black float grids across the bays.
• The evergreen forest - the arboretum's warm-temperate woodland.
• Myeongsasimni beach - the long sand strip on Sinji-do.
• The island view - the archipelago from Sanghwangbong.

When to go

April to June and September to October. Summer brings beach crowds to Myeongsasimni; ferries to the outer islands are weather-dependent year-round.

Honest expectations

Ferries to Cheongsando and Bogildo are cancelled in rough weather with little notice. Getting round the island needs a car or patience with buses. Abalone is not cheap even here.

Nearby

Cheongsando and Bogildo are by ferry; Haenam and Ttangkkeut are on the mainland.