Essential Mongolia

• Shared accommodations in well-located superior tourist class hotels throughout the itinerary.
• Meals, as noted in the itinerary: 6 breakfasts, 4 lunches and 4 dinners.
• Restaurant tips for included meals.
• One arrival and one departure airport transfer. (Additional arrival and departure transfers available at additional cost.) MIR will arrange for travelers to be met upon arrival and seen off on departure, whether we make your air arrangements or not.
• Ground transportation throughout itinerary by private vehicle (size of vehicle depends on number of travelers in your group).
• Guided sightseeing tours and entrance fees as outlined in the itinerary.
• Services of experienced, English-speaking local guides, drivers, and other staff.
• Complete pre-departure information including detailed packing list, reading list, Touring with MIR handbook with country-specific information, maps, and travel tips.
• Assistance booking your custom flight arrangements (on request; please note that international airfare is not included in the land tour cost).
• Final document packet including luggage tags, final updates, and more.

• International airfare or taxes/fuel surcharges.
• Meals not specified as included in the itinerary.
• Single supplement charge, if requested or required.
• Baggage handling.
• Items of a personal nature (phone calls, email, laundry, alcohol, excess baggage, etc).
• Gratuities to local guides and drivers.
• Visa/passport fees, airport departure fees.
• Expenses incurred as a result of delay, modification or extension of a tour due to causes beyond MIR’s control.
• Travel and trip cancellation insurance.

Level 3: Medium, but Customizable

This ‘Essential’ itinerary, designed for private travel, features long days walking and standing, some long overland travel segments on rough roads or off-road conditions, and overnight accommodations in semi-rustic ger sleeping quarters. Walking surfaces vary and may include grass and dirt (possibly soggy ground), on dirt paths, across gravel and stony scrub, loose sand and pebbles, shallow streams, smooth stones, unpaved sidewalks and streets, uneven surfaces and steps, absent handrails, significant stair-climbing, and absence of elevators. While some of these challenges are inherent in the destinations and sites, this trip can be modified as needed for those travelers who are looking for a less challenging (or more challenging) program.

Two nights will be spent in the Gobi at the Gobi Dream Ger Camp, where the gers offer an en-suite toilet, shower, and sink. However, they are still stand-alone accommodations, connected by flagstone paths and with rustic heating systems (wood stoves) and limited access to electricity. If you rely on electricity for CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machines, or for any other reason, you must have your own battery or other back-up, or please reconsider participation.

There is a significant amount of touring on foot, and those travelers planning to take the program as written should be able to walk two to three miles a day, with some hiking, on a variety of terrain including through grass and dirt (possibly soggy ground), on dirt paths, across gravel and stony scrub, loose sand and pebbles, shallow streams, smooth stones, and the like. Overland drives in Mongolia will involve very rough and bumpy drives over dusty and unpaved tracks in basic vans, Russian jeeps, or other vehicles. During city touring you’re likely to encounter uneven surfaces and attractions accessible only via steep staircases.

Museums generally do not have elevators. Air-conditioning is a luxury and not available in facilities outside the capital or in vehicles. In Mongolia, the airline infrastructure is not as developed as it is in the west. Flight schedules change constantly, and there is a strong likelihood that the program will have moderate to significant routing and timing changes based on changing flight schedules.

Other challenges include overall shortcomings in the tourism infrastructure in remote Mongolia. Past travelers have also encountered challenges with plumbing, bureaucratic service, variety of locally available foods, and availability and quality of public restrooms.