How Much Time Do You Have?
Travel in Mongolia takes longer than I expected. Every tourist I met who was on a guided tour complained about the long hours spent driving. The only reason I wasn't complaining was because I had a private driver (my friends' brother) and could request to stop whenever I wanted. The distances between tourist sites are long, and are on very bumpy and slow roads. If you prefer to travel slowly, keep this in mind. If you have time, plan to stay somewhere for 2 or 3 nights-- maybe a place with beautiful hiking, or at a ger camp with a family you feel a connection with and would enjoy getting to know better. This 'free' day will help you have more fun. It's hard to sit in a bumpy van for 7-10 hours each day for a week or more, since your body gets tired...it's similar to sitting on a long plane ride with constant turbulence.
After 9 days I was so relieved to get out of the car and onto a horse trek. I really needed to be outdoors and without an engine moving me from one place to the next.
Travel in Mongolia takes longer than I expected. Every tourist I met who was on a guided tour complained about the long hours spent driving. The only reason I wasn't complaining was because I had a private driver (my friends' brother) and could request to stop whenever I wanted. The distances between tourist sites are long, and are on very bumpy and slow roads. If you prefer to travel slowly, keep this in mind. If you have time, plan to stay somewhere for 2 or 3 nights-- maybe a place with beautiful hiking, or at a ger camp with a family you feel a connection with and would enjoy getting to know better. This 'free' day will help you have more fun. It's hard to sit in a bumpy van for 7-10 hours each day for a week or more, since your body gets tired...it's similar to sitting on a long plane ride with constant turbulence.
After 9 days I was so relieved to get out of the car and onto a horse trek. I really needed to be outdoors and without an engine moving me from one place to the next.
Tour Itinerary
There are many tour companies, and tours can be arranged from your home country or in UB through any guesthouse or directly with a tour company. Tours, drivers, guides, and anything else can easily be arranged. However, if you choose not to have a guide (a person who is bilingual in Mongolian & your language and cooks food for you), you will communicate directly with your driver. These are some challenges you can look forward to:
- No advice on good places to visit off of the regular tour. Bring a road map! You can buy a map half-way through a Gobi Desert tour, if you are visiting Erdene Zuu monastery. The giftshop sells them. That's also the only place you will find WiFi. The drivers do know good ger camps, and the tourist highlights for you to visit, which will be listed when you book your tour.
- Driver's generally speak very very limited English, and in the countryside, bilingual people are not always available. Bring a phrasebook, good hand gestures, and a smile! I found my little Lonely Planet Phrasebook to be invaluable. Even basic questions may be difficult to ask otherwise.
Driving Tours
If you go in a Russian van, the bench seats in back are not comfortable. I would definitely NOT recommend these for anyone who can afford a more comfortable ride. The buses are perfectly comfortable, but don't go on dirt roads, which is were most tourist sites are located. The seats face each other -- 1 seat faces forward, and the other seat faces backwards, so your knees will touch the person's across from you. To make things even worse, the windows in the back are very small. If you get car sick easily, take medicine!!! Thank god that when I was in the van for those 3 days, the driver's nephew insisted I sit in the front passenger seat beside the driver the entire time. Unfortunately, the sweetheart nephew got carsick sitting in the back seat. Poor guy!
The roads are bumpy in any vehicle. Russian vans have good shocks, so you bounce a lot! Sometimes your head will hit the ceiling. There are no seatbelts. Russian vans can be repaired easily, so are very common. Toyota Land Cruisers are more comfortable, but are more difficult to repair if they break, since the engine has a computer.
Most of the Russian vans are extremely well maintained-- the drivers look over their vehicles each evening, because a days drive can loosen the bolts. And, the drivers are amazing! They see roads in the countryside where I only see grassland. And, they can 4WD like I've never seen before! You would not believe the gullies and hills and rivers they drive through cautiously and expertly. I met various tour groups, and only one had a bad driver who got lost, and a van that broke down many times. Usually the driver and van are very good.
There are many tour companies, and tours can be arranged from your home country or in UB through any guesthouse or directly with a tour company. Tours, drivers, guides, and anything else can easily be arranged. However, if you choose not to have a guide (a person who is bilingual in Mongolian & your language and cooks food for you), you will communicate directly with your driver. These are some challenges you can look forward to:
- No advice on good places to visit off of the regular tour. Bring a road map! You can buy a map half-way through a Gobi Desert tour, if you are visiting Erdene Zuu monastery. The giftshop sells them. That's also the only place you will find WiFi. The drivers do know good ger camps, and the tourist highlights for you to visit, which will be listed when you book your tour.
- Driver's generally speak very very limited English, and in the countryside, bilingual people are not always available. Bring a phrasebook, good hand gestures, and a smile! I found my little Lonely Planet Phrasebook to be invaluable. Even basic questions may be difficult to ask otherwise.
Driving Tours
If you go in a Russian van, the bench seats in back are not comfortable. I would definitely NOT recommend these for anyone who can afford a more comfortable ride. The buses are perfectly comfortable, but don't go on dirt roads, which is were most tourist sites are located. The seats face each other -- 1 seat faces forward, and the other seat faces backwards, so your knees will touch the person's across from you. To make things even worse, the windows in the back are very small. If you get car sick easily, take medicine!!! Thank god that when I was in the van for those 3 days, the driver's nephew insisted I sit in the front passenger seat beside the driver the entire time. Unfortunately, the sweetheart nephew got carsick sitting in the back seat. Poor guy!
The roads are bumpy in any vehicle. Russian vans have good shocks, so you bounce a lot! Sometimes your head will hit the ceiling. There are no seatbelts. Russian vans can be repaired easily, so are very common. Toyota Land Cruisers are more comfortable, but are more difficult to repair if they break, since the engine has a computer.
Most of the Russian vans are extremely well maintained-- the drivers look over their vehicles each evening, because a days drive can loosen the bolts. And, the drivers are amazing! They see roads in the countryside where I only see grassland. And, they can 4WD like I've never seen before! You would not believe the gullies and hills and rivers they drive through cautiously and expertly. I met various tour groups, and only one had a bad driver who got lost, and a van that broke down many times. Usually the driver and van are very good.
I like this tour website for the photos. They give a good idea of what you will see. The tour itineraries themselves seem relatively standard, regardless of the tour company. There are a limited number of decent roads and tourist sites within range of the capital. the most important thing on any tour is the people you are traveling with.
http://www.megmongolia.com/
http://www.megmongolia.com/
NOrth
If you have limited time, and want to visit Lake Khuvsgul (north of country), consider flying. Plane tickets could be bought a day or 2 in advance for $75 USD each way ($150 round-trip). From the city in which you land, you take a bus 3 hours to the lake. At the lake, there are tour companies which will take you horse trekking to see reindeer herders, canoeing on the lake, and more. This will save you a 10-hour van ride each direction. I did not visit this part of the country, but in conversation with another tourist, we realized this would be a great way to travel. Traveling north by van costs about the same as a flight, including gasoline and drivers salary. Also, if you have a driver, you'll have to pay the daily salary even when not using the driver when you are horse trekking.
What's in the north? The lake and related water activities. This lake is a very large freshwater lake. From here you can go horse trekking an visit the people who herd reindeer. It takes about 2 days by horse to reach the reindeer herders, and I understood that you cannot reach them by motor vehicle. Also, I asked a guide which part of Mongolia is his favorite to visit. He most enjoys the north, because the gers are beautiful.
What's in the north? The lake and related water activities. This lake is a very large freshwater lake. From here you can go horse trekking an visit the people who herd reindeer. It takes about 2 days by horse to reach the reindeer herders, and I understood that you cannot reach them by motor vehicle. Also, I asked a guide which part of Mongolia is his favorite to visit. He most enjoys the north, because the gers are beautiful.
South
Gobi Desert involves a lot of driving. A lot. Hours and hours each day, if you want to move between locations. I recommend selecting at least one place to spend 2 nights. You may get one or two camel rides, if that interests you. It's an additional $5, or so. I had never been on a camel before, so this was a highlight of my trip. You sit between the 2 humps of the bactrian camel. This region is dry. Take sunscreen and a hat. Drink a lot of water. Ask someone to pour some water over your head and wash your hair in the afternoon, and it will dry in a couple of minutes!
east
East of UB is the region which Genghis Khan comes from! Go!!!!
west
In the far west, the Kazakh people still hunt using Golden Eagles. There are hiking and horse-trek tours. To get here by public transportation is long-- around 24 hours. Outside of towns, it may be difficult to be self-sufficient as a tourist. Check out The Young Adventuress blog I have a link to on the NEWS page.