Where to start in Mongolia
Jun 30th, 2006 | 09:34 AM
#1
Original Poster
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 246
Likes: 0
Where to start in Mongolia
I'm planning a 2-3 week trip to Mongolia in the summer of 2008. I have no idea where to start. I'm very active and want to ride camels, yaks and anything else that will let me see the country.
Any advice on where to get started?
Any advice on where to get started?
Sep 15th, 2006 | 05:57 PM
#2
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 14,440
Likes: 0
This is a very tardy reply, but since you are not going until mid 2008, you could probably still use the info.
Just a thought on timing--08 will be the Olympics in Beijing so transportation to China may be tight. There also may be more visitors to Mongolia who decide to venture out after the Olympics.
Your advance investigation is beginning when mine did. I started in about 2003 for a Summer 2005 departure. Here are travel agents that I looked into:
Nomads (be sure to google the one in Mongolia as there is one in Tanzania)
They have a very large presence in Mongolia from what I witnessed and have well organized small group trips to great locations. They are a leader in Mongolia.
Asia Trans Pacific in Boulder, CO has a trip that looked pretty good.
The leader in horse trips is Boojum. These trips are quite intense and they advertise you will be wet, cold, and hungry.
Absolute Asia had some great itineraries that you could mix and match. They specialize in individual trips, which I really liked. They were just a bit pricey for me and I thought they might be more upscale than my tastes. But I think they’d be a good choice.
Your interest in yak and camel travel paralleled mine. I wanted these two forms of transportation to be the basis of my trip. As a result I was drawn to Nomadic Journeys, which has several day to weeklong yak and camel trips in modules. Here is why, after research, I did not pursue the lengthy camel and yak trek (though I did ride both plus lots of horses, while in Mongolia). Mongolia is so vast that to truly experience it, I felt I wanted to see different areas. If I confined my travels to what a camel or yak (pulling a yak cart) could do, I felt I would not see as much as I wanted. I ended up deciding to incorporate these forms of animal transportation into my itinerary but not have them be the focus.
I got the Fodor's, Frommer's, Bradt, Rough guides and looked at operators. I ended up with Mongol Global:
Mongol Global Tour Co.
4141 Ball Rd. #187
Cypress, CA 90630
PH#: 714 220-2579
FAX: 714 - 276-6447
toll free (866) 225-0577
www.mongolglobaltours.com
[email protected]
[email protected]
Here is why I chose Mongol Global. I wanted to have some of the itinerary as a private trip. I was especially interested in the Przewalksi Horses or Takhis, as the Mongolians call them. There are herds in Hustai Nuruu Reserve, about 2 hours outside Ulaan Bataar so I wanted to spend a few days there. I also wanted to spend some days with a Mongolian family and wished to do that alone. Mongol Global is very good at individual itineraries and was able to plan those for me. (They planned a solo trip for me again in 06 to China) For the group part of the trip, I did the Gobi (and rode camels twice), Naadam, Lake Huvsgul (and did a yak ride on the yak), and the Altai Mountains. There were ample opportunities to ride horses and I probably did so about half a dozen times. A particularly interesting and scenic ride is in Terelj National Park, about an hour out of UB.
Mongol Global can arrange camel treks of a week or more in the Gobi and lengthy horse treks as well. My guide did both of those. You do not have to be an experienced rider.
If you are going in summer you will probably want to be in Ulaan Baatar July 11, 12, and maybe 13 for the Naadam Festival of horse racing, archery, and wrestling.
You might also want to take the 30-hour train ride from Beijing to UB that runs a couple times a week. You’ll most likely be traveling Beijing-UB anyway. I wanted to do the train but the schedule changed just a couple weeks before I left home. You might also want to consider a night on the Great Wall pre- or post-Mongolia.
Below is a link to the report I posted on the Great Wall and Mongolia, which contains additional links to photos. Feel free to email me too. You will not regret your decision to travel to Mongolia. Good luck
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34700041
Just a thought on timing--08 will be the Olympics in Beijing so transportation to China may be tight. There also may be more visitors to Mongolia who decide to venture out after the Olympics.
Your advance investigation is beginning when mine did. I started in about 2003 for a Summer 2005 departure. Here are travel agents that I looked into:
Nomads (be sure to google the one in Mongolia as there is one in Tanzania)
They have a very large presence in Mongolia from what I witnessed and have well organized small group trips to great locations. They are a leader in Mongolia.
Asia Trans Pacific in Boulder, CO has a trip that looked pretty good.
The leader in horse trips is Boojum. These trips are quite intense and they advertise you will be wet, cold, and hungry.
Absolute Asia had some great itineraries that you could mix and match. They specialize in individual trips, which I really liked. They were just a bit pricey for me and I thought they might be more upscale than my tastes. But I think they’d be a good choice.
Your interest in yak and camel travel paralleled mine. I wanted these two forms of transportation to be the basis of my trip. As a result I was drawn to Nomadic Journeys, which has several day to weeklong yak and camel trips in modules. Here is why, after research, I did not pursue the lengthy camel and yak trek (though I did ride both plus lots of horses, while in Mongolia). Mongolia is so vast that to truly experience it, I felt I wanted to see different areas. If I confined my travels to what a camel or yak (pulling a yak cart) could do, I felt I would not see as much as I wanted. I ended up deciding to incorporate these forms of animal transportation into my itinerary but not have them be the focus.
I got the Fodor's, Frommer's, Bradt, Rough guides and looked at operators. I ended up with Mongol Global:
Mongol Global Tour Co.
4141 Ball Rd. #187
Cypress, CA 90630
PH#: 714 220-2579
FAX: 714 - 276-6447
toll free (866) 225-0577
www.mongolglobaltours.com
[email protected]
[email protected]
Here is why I chose Mongol Global. I wanted to have some of the itinerary as a private trip. I was especially interested in the Przewalksi Horses or Takhis, as the Mongolians call them. There are herds in Hustai Nuruu Reserve, about 2 hours outside Ulaan Bataar so I wanted to spend a few days there. I also wanted to spend some days with a Mongolian family and wished to do that alone. Mongol Global is very good at individual itineraries and was able to plan those for me. (They planned a solo trip for me again in 06 to China) For the group part of the trip, I did the Gobi (and rode camels twice), Naadam, Lake Huvsgul (and did a yak ride on the yak), and the Altai Mountains. There were ample opportunities to ride horses and I probably did so about half a dozen times. A particularly interesting and scenic ride is in Terelj National Park, about an hour out of UB.
Mongol Global can arrange camel treks of a week or more in the Gobi and lengthy horse treks as well. My guide did both of those. You do not have to be an experienced rider.
If you are going in summer you will probably want to be in Ulaan Baatar July 11, 12, and maybe 13 for the Naadam Festival of horse racing, archery, and wrestling.
You might also want to take the 30-hour train ride from Beijing to UB that runs a couple times a week. You’ll most likely be traveling Beijing-UB anyway. I wanted to do the train but the schedule changed just a couple weeks before I left home. You might also want to consider a night on the Great Wall pre- or post-Mongolia.
Below is a link to the report I posted on the Great Wall and Mongolia, which contains additional links to photos. Feel free to email me too. You will not regret your decision to travel to Mongolia. Good luck
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34700041
Oct 1st, 2006 | 05:38 AM
#3
Original Poster
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 246
Likes: 0
Thanks for the info - this will really help me. I have found a few tour operators that look promising, but it's always good to get personal feedback.
I was dreaming about a personalized trip. Was the price substantially higher?
I was dreaming about a personalized trip. Was the price substantially higher?
Oct 3rd, 2006 | 05:40 PM
#5
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 14,440
Likes: 0
SavTrav,
Here's something else to consider that I just learned from a Wilderness (CA travel company) catalog I received today.
Aug 1 is a total solar eclipse and there are all sorts of trips to Mongolia that incorporate this celetial event. They even have erected camps they call "Eclipse Camps."
Between the Olympics next door, Naadam, the eclipse, you could hang out in Mongolia the whole summer! Maybe after that amount of time you'd learn to like aruk, the fermented mare's milk.
Here's something else to consider that I just learned from a Wilderness (CA travel company) catalog I received today.
Aug 1 is a total solar eclipse and there are all sorts of trips to Mongolia that incorporate this celetial event. They even have erected camps they call "Eclipse Camps."
Between the Olympics next door, Naadam, the eclipse, you could hang out in Mongolia the whole summer! Maybe after that amount of time you'd learn to like aruk, the fermented mare's milk.
