Korean Job Discussion Forums

[trixied]

i've got some friends who travelled to mongolia for a derby across europe they absolutely loved it and looking at the pics, seems like i'll be going there for august. anyone recommend a good travel agent to do packages (for 2 people) or should one buy the air ticket and then figure out what to do when you get there. 2-3 weeks i'm thinking.

thanks for the help!!

[Dermotk]

Anyone else thinking of going to Mongolia in August? My friend and i are seriously considering it.

[tukmax]

Hey, I'd like to bump this thread because I'm seriously considering going to Mongolia! I'd like some advice from people who know can help me!

When: September 15 - 30th, some time in between those dates. I could go from either 1 to 2 weeks. Is this too late in the season? Will I be limited to the south?
Where: Not sure yet, but I'd like to stay in a Ger tent, do the traditional nomadic stuff. Kharokhan looks interesting. Gobi desert too.
Who: Just myself. If I could meet other travelers to lower the cost that would be great!

I found a return flight direct from Seoul for $600. I'd like to keep the cost of this trip low as it will be the first trip on my Asia backpacking tour. (I'm returning to Seoul after the trip because a return ticket was pretty much the same price as a one way and flying somewhere else after was really expensive. I'll just take the ferry from Busan to Japan to go there next)

I emailed the top four best rated guesthouses on hostelworld about tour prices, details etc.

I'd like to get a feel for how much this trip will cost me and what parts of Mongolia people recommend.

Thank-you.

[mdsb87]

My GF and i have finalized all our bookings inc flights and tours. We'll be back from Mongolia in early August after a week there. I can let you know how our tour went and give you details about how to contact the tour crowd. I shopped around for ages to get something to fit our budget - there was a vast difference between some of the companies price wise so do some research! Will let you know how ours went in a few months!

[tukmax]

[420trader]

Definitely let us know how everything goes. I really want to go to Mongolia or Nepal before I leave for New York. I'd like to go ride (motorcycle) across the country.

[warmachinenkorea]

My wife and I want to do Mongolia this summer too. We like to do things together and not with strangers. Is it possible to get a Jeep and guide for us? We would do the capital for probably a day then go out for a few days.

What are some must sees?
What are some essentials to take with us?
How much cash would we need?

[travel zen]

There are plenty plenty jeeps and guides in Ulaan Bataar to rent from. I would stick with either the tourists boards in the city, or rent from the many hostels. Prices vary widely so shop around. Find a company that is vouched for by other travellers.

Must sees? I wanted to go to Khovsgol Lake in the west of Mongolia. There is the Gobi, the huge statute of Chinggis on the outskirts of the capital, Kharkorin and others to name a few. Bring a travel book that will tell you whats cool to visit.

Mongolia is not expensive. You can find a hotel for $30/night or a hostel for $5/night. Food can be as little as $3 a meal and up. There are expensive places to stay and eat if you want better 'quality'.

My opinion, if you go on tours and stay in hotels for a week, you should bring $2000 per person. On the tours, you should also bring toilet paper.

[is so delicious]

Hey peeps,

Count me as one of those interested in Mongolia. I'm very much thinking of going from somewhere between 7/29 and 8/7... which brings me to my first question... how much time is enough? More and more it sounds like Ulan Baatar is skippable... I do like hitting bars and meeting ladies, etc., but I can do that in Seoul and shouldn't plan my vacation around it. Maybe just a Saturday night or something. I am thinking of flying in on 7/29 (Friday night), maybe having some fun in the city for Friday/Saturday, resting up Sunday, then taking a tour from Monday-Thursday or Friday. Is that enough time? How long or how short can a tour be? I'd probably be okay with three-five days in the desert or whatever... as romantic as I find vast, empty landscape, I haven't really tested myself much on this vague obsession.

I am traveling alone and I think I don't mind spending the extra money to stay alone. I'm not one of those super outgoing expats anxious to meet other expats... this is more of a kind of self-examination/spiritual awakening sort of thing, and frankly it sounds awkward being out in this empty desert with a bunch of strangers. I understand I'll have a guide, but hopefully he'll know to leave me alone, ha ha.

Okay, this is getting long... just getting excited about this. Mongolia is one of the only places relatively close to Korea that I haven't checked out yet, and I am big into pretty landscape, empty deserts, etc, alternated with cheap/heavy city drinking. Glad to hear it getting a lot of love here.

So I guess I'm just curious if a three-five day tour is realistic or if most people on here are talking about weeks, not days. Also, what sort of prices I might be able to expect... I have an idea of what to expect for hostels and whatnot, but not for tours. And keep in mind I'm willing to shell out extra cash to be alone, though I guess I'm asking just how much extra cash it will take (horses are nice and romantic... and they'll save gas money, right??).

I've found tickets for about 750,000W, round trip. I expect to go out a night or two and do some drinking, eat a few good meals in the city, but I don't need any four star hotels or restaurants or anything. Can I hope to spend... less than 2,000,000W in total, tours included? Or am I way off (in a bad or good way?) here?

Sorry for the long post... thanks for any help!

[Kuros]

Here are some destinations in Mongolia.

Hustai Park

Kharakhorum

I enjoyed Mongolia. But unfortunately I went in May 2007, which was apparently the dry season of all dry seasons. Try to go in late May at the earliest.

[samd]

[mdsb87]

Ok guys my GF and I have just returned from our holiday and it was utterly brilliant.

We only had 7 days there so we chose to go with a pre arranged tour.

The company we used was AATM (Active and Adventure Tours Mongolia).

We were provided with a driver and a guide for just the two of us. It is cheaper to get a bigger group but IMO it's too risky to go with strangers as they could be incredibly annoying and ruin a precious holiday.

We needed to leave from Busan and return to Busan so our flights were more expensive than ppl who can fly Incheon return. We flew Busan- Gimpo - Incheon -UB - Beijing - Busan.

The company collected us at the airport and transferred us to our hostel.

We then left UB and headed out to the country. We spend two days with a nomad family ( the real deal not some touristy fake) where we helped with the farm and had delicious home cooked meals. We also did a full day horse riding with a nomad guide.

Then we went Ugii lake which was beautiful and relaxing after the two days with the nomads.

From there we went onto KharKhorum where there is an awesome Buddhist monastery and we stayed in a tourist Ger camp. There was traditional Mongolian music played there that night which is unmissable.

From Kharkhorum we went to Hustai NP again a slower paced day which involved going to see Takhi horse in the wild.

Then we returned to UB and onto the Giant Chinggis Khaan statue.

It cost 860 USD a head which was discounted from 890 because our plane arrived late and we couldn;t do a city tour. The company put in the Statue excursion FOC and that sealed the deal.

I highly recommend the company. The guide and driver were fantastic - all the help you could want but left you to yourself unless you wanted it which was really nice. The pace was varied to with busy days and more relaxing days.

You can contact Ariuna and she will make up a proposal for you by contacting her on this email address: [email protected]

Tell her what you want and she make custom trip for you quite fast.

http://www.tourmongolia.com is the website.

[travel zen]

Sounds like a good trip.

I love Mongolia and miss it much

[jc1257]

Thanks for the trip report. I hope to get there next year and this will help with the planning. Does the company have a prices on the website? I can't seem to find any.

[mdsb87]

I think they may have some prices for their set trips but we didn't go on one so I just asked for a quote from the off.

After a good bit of research this crowd were the best value and having been there now I can say they are very professional. The driver and guide were both young too which was good.