Mongolia/ Gobi tours

[Mr Svaso]

Hi people,

I am a solo-traveller from Italy, and Ialready was present on this forum a couple of years ago, when I traveled in the "Stan".

For next summer I'm planning the Transiberian Railway till Ulaanbataar, and I have idea to stay in Mongolia for a while at the end of August-early September.

I will travel alone but everyone advised me about difficulties to get around in this country...

Do you have to suggest a reliable independent driver to visit Gobi desert in a cheap way? Or also some good guesthouses/agencies that can easily arrange a 5 days tour?

Furthermore if someone will be in UB in the same period and he is interested to join a Gobi experience together, he can contact me to my mail directly: [email protected]

Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

[bwv812]

Most tours follow fairly similar routes, and they do their Gobi leg from Dalanzadgad, which you can reach independently from UB. You can try to arrange with a UB tour agency to join a tour in Dalanzadgad, and just do the Gobi section with them. Unless their tour is full, they will agree (but if they get extra members, you may be left out). You could probably do the same thing by going to Dalanzadgad and trying to arrange something there. All this is a little risky, but definitely possible.

[Mr Svaso]

Thank you so much for suggestions... Do you know eventually the cost per day to rent a driver with car in UB or Dalanzadgad? What about some agencies to suggest?
I am a little bit afraid to go to Dalanzadgad indipendently, because I could not go on, getting stuck over there...

[bwv812]

Almost all guesthouses have agencies or book tours, and all these budget tours are pretty much the same. You can probably just pick one out of Lonely Planet or whatever guide book you have, and assume everyone else has similar prices.

[jfdesfosses]

If you are adventurous....

Last year my GF and I bought motorcycles in Khovd and drove to UB, following a zig-zag pattern that led us to the GOBI. for 3 months, we bought the motorcycles new and sold them at the end, and cost us around 250$ US per motorcycle. You could rent some through CHEKE tours in UB as well, for about 13 euros a day.

Then you get to explore the Gobi solo as you wish, camping, and realy, it's easier than you might think.

I'll be back in UB for 3.5 weeks from Aug. 31st to Sept 23 to redo a motorcycle trip this summer. I was planning more on the northern Reindeer people itinerary, but might come back via the Gobi depending on how well things go .

You can contact me if you are interested in joining partly or completely. Or if you simply want more information !

Cheers

JF

[badarchin]

It depends on which part of the Gobi you want to visit. You can simply come to the eastern Gobi by train or bus, this is the city of Sainshand, from where you can make radial trips to the surroundings by passing or hired transport.
Or just live in the surroundings of Sainshand. It will be cheaper than commercial tours, but for the first time it is enough experience.