Kid-friendly Gangneung café with a sand play room: Gangneung Sand

When you go on a trip to Gangneung, you always end up buying at least one souvenir!!! On this Gangneung trip I visited the main branch of Gangneung Sand (강릉샌드), a famous souvenir snack, and I totally get now why everyone recommends it as a travel gift!

Where is Gangneung Sand Main Branch, and what are the hours and parking?

Gangneung Sand Main Branch is at 31 Seonggokgoyang-gil 5beon-an-gil, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do, and it is open 09:30-19:00. It is a café where you can eat in, and for parking you use the lot behind the shop, which is big!!

I visited the main branch this time, and the buttery smell that hits you as soon as you walk in is seriously crazy!!!!

The weather was really nice that day and it went so well with the main branch building! (Every time I see it, it feels like a building built with Santorini in mind..)

What is the inside of Gangneung Sand Main Branch like?

At the main branch you can order on the 2nd floor and also eat there! The moment you open the door, a nutty, toasty smell spreads everywhere, and you know how your expectations just go up, right!!!

Right when you walk in you see all kinds of award certificates! It made me trust the place even more!

You can order drinks at the main branch too~~ Gangneung Sand doesn't sell single pieces, by the way. Just so you know!

On the 2nd floor you can sit and eat with a coffee! There were more tables than I expected!

The 3rd-floor sand play area, great for kids

The 3rd floor of the main branch is a space where kids can play with sand, so it really looked great to come with children! The kids play while the parents have coffee and sand cookies, and it looked so nice!

How much are Gangneung Sand's coffee sand and corn sand?

I wondered what to order and ended up with the coffee sand and the corn sand!

• Coffee sand ₩16,000
• Corn sand ₩17,000

Is Gangneung Sand's packaging good for gifts?

The packaging is so cute from the start! A box design that reminds me of Gangneung's cherry blossoms! Even as the buyer, it's a gift I'd want to receive haha

On the corn sand, the lettering is yellow, so you can tell at a glance it's the corn one, and the coffee sand has its name in a coffee color, which I thought was clever! Each of the 6 kinds of Gangneung Sand is marked in its own signature color! Honestly, with travel gifts the taste matters, but the packaging matters too!! In that sense, I thought it would be a really good one to bring back as a travel gift haha

What do Gangneung Sand's coffee sand and corn sand taste like?

The coffee sand has a gentle coffee aroma that spreads, and it isn't just sweet, with a nutty butter flavor coming through, so it was perfect with coffee!!! Eating it with an Americano, I just kept reaching for more! The corn sand was honestly even better than I expected, with a nutty, sweet taste that people of all ages and genders will like!!!

Why Gangneung Sand makes a good Gangneung travel gift

Personally, I think Gangneung Sand would be fine as a gift for parents or to hand out as office snacks!! Best of all, it's just so good for taking as a gift! The packaging is pretty, it has a Gangneung feel, it's easy to eat without feeling heavy, and it pairs well with coffee, so it's a souvenir gift that's honestly not easy to get wrong.

If you're still thinking about a souvenir snack, or looking for a Gangneung travel gift for the people around you, I'd recommend Gangneung Sand. With that buttery-smelling shop, the game was already half won!