From the airport to the city centre Mongolia

The new airport is located 60 km from Ulaanbaatar. To reach the Mongolian capital, there are not many options: you can either take a bus or a cab.

Bus. There are two bus lines from the airport to the city center. The Express: 1 runs daily and takes passengers to the State Department Store. There are only eight departures per day, unevenly distributed between 7:10 am and midnight. As for the Express: 2 line that goes to the Dragon Center, there are only three departures per day from the airport, at 9am, 3pm and 9pm.

Cab. You will have no trouble finding a cab once you arrive at the airport. However, be careful to take a licensed vehicle. The fare is about T$80,000, or US$25. The trip takes between 35 and 60 minutes depending on the time of day and the traffic conditions.

Arrival by train Mongolia

The Mongolian railway network consists almost exclusively of the Trans-Mongolian Railway, which runs 7,621 km from Moscow to Beijing and crosses Mongolia from north to south. The railroad serves the Mongolian cities of Sükhbaatar, Darkhan, Choir, Saynshand and Zamiin Uud. The journey from Moscow to Ulaanbaatar takes five days, from Beijing about 30 hours. So you can arrive in Ulaanbaatar by train from Russia or China and easily leave to these countries.

Except during the Naadam period (from July 11 to 13), trains are rarely full. It is usually enough to get the tickets a few days in advance once you are there. However, it is impossible to buy a return ticket for a foreign destination: only the one-way ticket is for sale. Be careful with the visa, which must be obtained in advance, as China and Russia do not issue them at border crossings.

Note that the Russian and Chinese borders were closed several times during the COVID-19 pandemic between 2020 and 2022 to prevent the spread of the virus. They are likely to be closed again, so be sure to be informed before planning your itinerary from one country to the other.

From China. For those who are in China and wish to reach Mongolia by train, the easiest way is to pick up your tickets at China International Travel Service (CITS) in Beijing. This is the government travel agency. Its offices are located at the intersection of Jinbao Street and Dongdan N. Street, one kilometer north of Dongdan Station. To come by train from China, it is strongly advised to take local trains to drastically reduce the cost of the trip. So you have to cut the trip in two and buy first a Beijing-Erlian, the Chinese city at the border with Mongolia which also appears on the maps as "Eren Hot". From there, take a cab to cross the border and then, once in Zamiin Uud, buy a ticket to Ulaanbaatar. There are night trains that will allow you to make this trip comfortably in a couchette. In these trains, there are only two classes: the first, which consists of compartments with two berths, and the second, whose compartments have four beds.

For those who want to make the whole trip at once, it should be noted that the border crossing is often long and difficult: the toilets may be closed in advance, for example. On average, it can take more than four hours to cross the border. It can be faster, but also much longer, and you have to be patient. Moreover, the Mongolian and Chinese rails are not the same width. So you have to make some adjustments on the cars each time the train goes from one country to another, which takes a good hour.

From Russia. The train line connects Ulan-Ude, in Buryatia, to Ulan-Bator, and makes the trip in about 15 hours, for the equivalent of 50 €. It is possible to buy a ticket directly at the Ulan Ude station.

For international trains (timetable as of August 2022, subject to change):

Ulaanbaatar - Beijing: departures every Tuesday and Saturday at 7:30 am, arrival the next day at 2:35 pm. Tickets start at US$ 250 in second class and US$ 300 in first class.

Ulaanbaatar - Moscow: Friday at 3:20 pm. It takes five days to reach the Russian capital.

Ulaanbaatar - Irkutsk: Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, at 3:20 pm, with the train n° 305. It is also possible to leave with the train n° 5 on Fridays at 3:20 pm which reaches Moscow. The journey takes about 35 hours and you should arrive the next day around 9:30 pm. The second class ticket costs about 150 US$, and the first class ticket about 200 US$.

Ulaanbaatar - Ulaanbaatar: departures at 3:20 pm every Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday with train no. 305, and on Friday at 3:22 pm with train no. 5. Tickets from 50 US$.

Ulaanbaatar - Erlian (Eren Hot): Tuesdays and Sundays at 20:45

For national trains (timetable and fares as of August 2022 and subject to change):

From Zamiin-Uud: daily departure at 18:05. The journey takes about 15 US$ and 15 hours.

From Darkhan: daily departure at 2:07 pm for about 5 hours of travel and 5 US$.

From Erdenet: daily departure at 18:30 for 13 hours of travel, price from 7 US$.

From Saynshand: daily departure at 19:40. It is necessary to plan almost 12 hours of travel and about 40 US$ for the ticket.

From Sükhbaatar : two daily departures at 7:05 and 20:55. The journey takes a little more than 9 hours and costs about 40 US$.

Traveling by train in Mongolia is always an interesting experience. The neighbors are generally curious and young people often take the opportunity to practice their English. The controllers are not necessarily well organized and you will have to show your ticket several times. Also, they do not hesitate to wake up the customers, even on their second or third visit!

Public transport Mongolia

Green, white, red... In Ulaanbaatar, the city buses do not all have the same color but are easy to recognize. Often crowded, they cover the whole downtown area of the capital and mostly go to the suburbs. Most of the stops indicate the numbers of the bus lines, but the individual stops they serve are always written in Cyrillic, with a few exceptions. For those who are lucky enough to identify their bus, it will cost T500 per ticket, a single fare

Since 2016, it is in principle no longer possible to pay the bus driver directly. There is a public transport card, the "U money card", which can be purchased in the wooden huts located near the major bus stops in the city. The card's logo is always displayed on the front of those that sell it or can recharge it. The card itself costs T 3,600, so you will have to put the amount of money you want on it to be able to use it and validate it at the bus entrance, the minimum being T 500.

It is recommended to be careful with pickpockets in the buses, especially if they are crowded.

The city center is not very big, so it is easy to go from one place to another on foot in most cases. However, buses are recommended for those who wish to go to the more distant sites, such as the stadium, the Bogd Khan's residence or the Zaisan memorial

From Dragon Station, the main railway station located in the west of Ulaanbaatar, you will find buses going to the west of the country as well as to its main cities. You can easily reach Darkhan (10,000 T, 3.5 hours travel time, departures every hour from 9am to 8pm), Erdenet (15,000 T, 7 hours travel time, 6 departures per day), Kharkhorin (17,000 T, 8 hours travel time, departure at 11am), Tsetserleg (23,000 T, 12 hours of travel, departures at 8am and 2pm), Möron (32,000 T, 12 hours of travel, departures at 2pm and 5pm), Khovd (65,000 T, 36 hours of travel, departures every day at 1pm) and Bayan Ulgy (80,000 T, 46 hours of travel, departures on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday at 3pm). In general, the price is the same in the other direction, and the departure times are identical (which is convenient), but check on the spot anyway

Bike, scooters & co Mongolia

In Ulaanbaatar, bicycle paths are rare or non-existent. Cycling in the capital is dangerous because of the heavy traffic and the nervous, even drunken, driving of some drivers. Cycling is therefore only recommended in the countryside, far from the cities.

With a driver Mongolia

There are many cabs on the streets of Ulaanbaatar. The official cabs are often yellow and have a white illuminated sign on the roof. In principle, they work with the meter. However, there is an alternative: unofficial cabs, which are much more numerous and easy to find. And for good reason: any private individual can engage in this activity. Official or not, you just have to hold out your arm at the side of the road for the car to stop. The fare is then based on the odometer, but it is more than recommended to agree on the price of the race from the start, before getting in.

By car Mongolia

Due to the condition of the roads and the frequent traffic jams in the capital, it is not recommended to rent a vehicle in Ulaanbaatar. However, for experienced drivers, it is possible to rent a 4x4 in "self-drive" to discover Mongolia independently. The 4x4 Offroad Mongolia agency (https://www.4x4offroadmongolia.com/) offers itineraries and a fleet of a few Land Cruisers well equipped and available to the most adventurous travelers. Be aware that this option has a price: a deposit of 3 000 US$ is required before departure and it can be very risky!

For those who do not wish to rent a car, it is still possible to rent the services of an independent driver and his car. The best solution is to go through a travel agency to be sure of the seriousness of the provider. You can also find drivers near the central markets in the capitals ofaimag.

Alcohol: In Mongolia, alcohol is not allowed while driving. Alcoholism being nevertheless frequent, the authorities took drastic measures but the alcoholic drivers are not rare. So be careful if you drive or if you travel by bike.

The jeep is the most convenient means of motorized transport to travel in Mongolia. The roads are indeed rare and often in bad condition, and the tracks are more often silted up or muddy, when it is not necessary to ford a river... The Mongolian drivers generally know the roads of their country very well and master perfectly their vehicle, even in these difficult conditions. A jeep with a local driver is therefore the ideal way to reach remote places and to discover all the natural wealth of the country. Most of the time, it is necessary to count at least 45 US$ for the services of a driver, and to add the gasoline expenses.

Accessibility Mongolia

The capital, even as it expands and modernizes, is woefully lacking in facilities that facilitate movement in wheelchairs and strollers. Streets and sidewalks, even in the city center, are not in good condition and often have potholes and cracks. In some parts of the city, the streets may not even be paved at all! These dirt roads and paths become veritable quagmires in rainy weather. As for the city center, it can quickly be subject to flooding because of the unevenness of the pavement.

In general, Mongolia is not equipped at all. Public transport, hotels, restaurants and sanitary facilities are not wheelchair accessible, which makes life extremely difficult. The best solution is to check with local tourist agencies or with some agencies that specialize in travel for people with disabilities. They may be able to set up customized trips