Yangyang floating café boat ride for a water-shy husband: Cafe Dunchi

Cafe Dunchi (카페 둔치) is a floating café on the Namdaecheon river in Yangyang, and a great place to visit there because you can ride an electric boat, which is a fun, unusual experience 😃 I never get the chance to ride an electric boat, so on this Gangwon trip it was my number one pick!! This is an honest review from a trip with a husband who is afraid of water and a little one on her very first boat ride, and everybody had a good time 👏

How are the parking and restroom at Cafe Dunchi?

The parking lot at Cafe Dunchi is quite big, and you can drive right in to the inner end. I didn't know that and thought there was no road, so I parked pretty far away, haha.

There is no restroom inside Cafe Dunchi, so use the one near the parking lot 😃

A Yangyang floating café on the water

Cafe Dunchi is said to be the only floating café in Gangwon, and it really does float on the water 👏 From here you can take in the sea, the mountains and the Namdaecheon river in one view, each of which looks different through all four seasons.

To get into the café you walk along a short wooden deck, and it was shady, so it felt nice and cool. My 27-month-old had never seen a river or ridden a boat, so she found everything amazing. I think we were right to come~

Coffee, desserts and the atmosphere at Cafe Dunchi

Cafe Dunchi says it uses carefully selected beans from Gangneung, the coffee city 👏 The beans are supplied in small amounts and often, which keeps the taste fresh and clean. Desserts like yanggaeng (sweet bean jelly), cookies and almond tuiles are made by hand with care, they say. I suddenly want old-style patbingsu (red bean shaved ice)..

The inside of Cafe Dunchi is really, truly big! There are lots of green plants and plenty of tables for a group, so it would be good for a big party too 👏 It also seems like a good place to come just for coffee even if you don't ride the boat!! Since it's a floating café I worried a bit that it would sway, but it was stable! (I didn't feel any movement~)

You can see the whole Namdaecheon view at a glance, a real treat for the eyes 👏

We ordered a vanilla latte and a strawberry smoothie. Cold, sweet drinks in hand, off we go to the electric boat 🤩

How much are the electric boat and yellow-sail boat at Cafe Dunchi?

The Namdaecheon electric boat (motorized) is ₩28,000 for up to 4 people or ₩35,000 for up to 6 people, for 30 minutes. The yellow-sail boat (황포돛배, motorized) takes 20 minutes and seats 12: ₩6,000 for children, ₩8,000 for teens and ₩10,000 for adults.

• Electric boat (motorized), 30 min: up to 4 people ₩28,000 / up to 6 people ₩35,000
• Yellow-sail boat (motorized), 20 min, 12 seats: child ₩6,000 / teen ₩8,000 / adult ₩10,000
• No boarding if you exceed the passenger limit!
• Dogs don't count toward the headcount!

This is the boat spot run by the Namdaecheon Water Leisure Experience Center 👏 The round boat is the 6-seat electric boat I rode 🤩 I feel like it's safer to take a boat with room to spare for your group!

Does a 27-month-old wear a life jacket too?

You must wear a life jacket to ride the electric boat at Cafe Dunchi 👏 Even the 27-month-old wore an infant life jacket. At first she threw a fit and refused, which was awkward, but when she saw all the adults wearing them she copied us, and I was so relieved 🤣 (Dogs don't wear life jackets)

Even with just 4 adults + 1 dog it felt snug~ This is the boat my group rode~ The boats set off one after another so they wouldn't bump, and while steering we kept a proper distance from each other too!

Is the electric boat hard to operate?

The electric boat at Cafe Dunchi is super easy: you only press the forward and stop buttons 👏 (You're told not to touch the other buttons!) The wheel only turns right or left, and the range isn't wide, so even a child could drive it!! The boat moves reeeally slowly, so there's no need to worry about it going too fast.

You can drink your Cafe Dunchi drinks while riding the electric boat. I think that's the biggest plus 🙏 They say you can connect Bluetooth too, but it was only a 30-minute ride so we didn't bother~

Depending on the season you can apparently see salmon and dace returning to the Namdaecheon leaping above the surface, but maybe because it was so hot, we only felt the calm water 🤩

Would we go back to Cafe Dunchi with a child and a dog?

The day I visited Cafe Dunchi was a bit cloudy but very hot 🌤️ Riding the electric boat in Yangyang's cool breeze is a different experience from everyday life, so I think it's worth trying once when you travel here. The child and the dog both had a great time, so I'd like to visit again in another season!