Backpacking Mongolia independently works well in Ulaanbaatar and the provincial towns, but the national parks almost always require a hired driver or a shared tour.
Dorm beds in Ulaanbaatar cost MNT 28,000 to 52,000 (US$8 to 15), and most hostels put together shared jeep trips where 4 to 6 travelers split a driver at MNT 350,000 to 500,000 (US$100 to 145) a day, plus food and ger stays. Buses link the capital to
Kharkhorin in 6 to 7 hours and to
Dalanzadgad in about 9 hours. Learning the Cyrillic alphabet takes an evening and makes bus boards and menus readable.
Three weeks lets you see Mongolia properly, covering the center, the Gobi or Khovsgol, and the far west. One week covers only the region around Ulaanbaatar.
In 7 days you can do
Ulaanbaatar,
Terelj,
Hustai and
Kharkhorin by bus and hired car. Fourteen days fits a 5 to 6 day Gobi jeep loop plus 4 days at
Khovsgol Nuur with a flight to Murun (about 1.5 hours). With 21 days, add the Kazakh west around
Olgii and
Altai Tavan Bogd, which needs at least 5 days including the 3 to 3.5 hour flight from the capital.
You can get around Mongolia without your own car, since buses and domestic flights connect the main towns, but most parks and lakes need a hired driver or a seat on a shared tour.
Buses leave Ulaanbaatar daily for
Kharkhorin (6 to 7 hours, MNT 25,000 to 40,000, about US$7 to 12),
Dalanzadgad (around 9 hours) and
Murun (12 to 14 hours). Domestic flights save days: about US$120 to 200 to Murun and US$200 to 300 to
Olgii. In the countryside, a jeep with driver costs MNT 350,000 to 500,000 (US$100 to 145) a day, which gets much cheaper split four ways.
The must-visits in Mongolia are the south Gobi, Erdene Zuu at Kharkhorin, Lake Khovsgol and, with enough time, the Altai mountains in the far west.
In the
Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park, the Khongoryn Els dunes rise to about 300 meters. A 5 to 6 day jeep loop from Ulaanbaatar or Dalanzadgad covers it.
Erdene Zuu Monastery is 6 to 7 hours west of the capital by bus.
Khovsgol Nuur is 2 hours from Murun and deserves 3 nights. In Ulaanbaatar, give a morning to
Gandantegchinlen Monastery while the monks chant.
Altai Tavan Bogd needs 5 or more days, including the flight to Olgii.
If you’re short on time in Mongolia, skip the far west and the eastern provinces, which take several days each and need flights.
Altai Tavan Bogd requires a 3 to 3.5 hour flight to Olgii at US$200 to 300 each way, plus a border permit and 4 or more days in a jeep. That makes it a poor fit for anything under three weeks. Eastern towns like
Choibalsan sit 10 or more hours from the capital.
Erdenet and
Darkhan are copper-mining and industrial towns that work as transit stops and little else. In Ulaanbaatar, the Military Museum is easy to drop in favor of the National Museum.
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