Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
an jeep. The downside of a jeep (aside from being terribly uncomfortable) is the lack of
windows in the back seat.
Cutting costs
You can save money by using public transport to major regional gateways
- that is Mörön for Khövsgöl Nuur, Khovd for the west, Dalanzadgad for the south Gobi
and Choibalsan for the far east. Then, from these places rent a jeep and driver from the
market, though drivers outside Ulaanbaatar will have little experience of dealing with tour-
ists. You will likely need an interpreter to help communicate your plans to the driver and
negotiate costs. Finding an English-speaking guide in the countryside is difficult so bring
one from Ulaanbaatar (
Click here
).
Village hire
Villages are less likely to have vehicles for hire, as they may not be available
or running.
Return fare
Note that when hiring a vehicle in the countryside to take you to another rural
city, you will have to pay for the return fare because the driver will have to go back with an
empty van. This does not apply when travelling to Ulaanbaatar as the driver can find pas-
sengers there. The upshot is that it will cost almost the same to hire a driver to take you
from, for example, Ulaangom to Mörön as it would from Ulaangom to Ulaanbaatar.
Purchase
If you want to buy a vehicle, you will have to ask around (guesthouse owners
may have ideas on where to shop), or check out the
tsaiz zakh
(car market) in the north-
eastern part of Ulaanbaatar. An old Russian 4x4 could go for around US$3500. A good-
condition, used Ij Planeta - the Russian-made motorcycle you see all over the coun-
tryside - sells for around US$1000. These tend to break down often but people in the
countryside can help with repairs. A Japanese motorcycle will be more reliable. In mar-
kets the sign
zarna
on a jeep means 'for sale'.
Costs
On a long-distance trip, tour operators will have a per-day charge (US$80 to US$150 de-
pending on the vehicle). This may be more if they throw in camping and cooking gear.
For this price, petrol is usually not included. Some tour operators will build the cost of
petrol into the price.
Russian vehicles that you hire on your own (from a market) usually charge US$60 per
day without petrol. Russian jeeps have terrible fuel economy: you'll need 20L to travel
around 100km. Petrol was around T1650 per litre at the time of research.
Some drivers may want to charge a per-kilometre rate; in the countryside this is
around T700 to T800. Vehicle hire is more expensive the further you get from Ulaan-
baatar.
