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Has anyone flown to ULN? What route did you take?

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Has anyone flown to ULN? What route did you take?

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Old Apr 8, 2014, 2:24 pm
  #16  
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: BKK
Programs: AA Plat, HH Diamond, SPG Gold
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Flying into ICN to connect to Korean Air or Miat, or LHR-HKG connecting to Hunnu or Miat are your best bets IMO. One alternative I haven't seen mentioned is the nonstop on Hunnu from BKK (offers only a couple of flights per week though).

In any case, I agree strongly with others who recommend avoiding PRC transits on this route unless unavoidable or too costly. Air China is not at its best on this route. You'll be far more likely to have a better experience with almost any of the other options.
aBroadAbroad is offline  
Old Jul 30, 2014, 5:08 pm
  #17  
 
Join Date: May 2012
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One option that has yet to be mentioned is flying via Moscow DME and then taking S7 to UUD (Ulan Ude), a mid-sized Russian town a few hundred miles North of Ulan Baator. From there, a night train or a days bus ride will get ULB. There's also a Mongolian consulate that can process a visa overnight

Not only will you earn avios all the way (S7 is a OW carrier, albeit only 25% on cheapo Y fares), but reward availability is invariably phenomenal on this route. A last-minute OW Y ticket costs $1007, or 12500 avios (with 4+ seats left), making an avios worth $0.085. Try getting that on a 241
idlingbye is offline  
Old Jul 30, 2014, 5:30 pm
  #18  
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
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Originally Posted by idlingbye
There's also a Mongolian consulate that can process a visa overnight
Thanks for the info. The above hopefully won't now be necessary: from 26 June 2014, for a trial period of 18 months, no visas are need for most European citizens, including UK and Ireland. Canadian and US citizens were previously allowed visa free entry. Transit visas are not needed for Russia or China in many cases too.
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Old Jul 31, 2014, 1:10 am
  #19  
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Flatland
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Originally Posted by laura711
Thanks Chris - will definitely bear this option in mind if the LHR-PEK route reward availability dries up. I've been to both Beijing and Seoul and my preference would probably be to spend a day in Beijing than Seoul... and save the 20k Avios points too, of course!
If you go via Beijing, I suppose you know you can spend 72 hours in transit without a visa? That would allow for visiting the main sights of Beijing if you wanted to.
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Old Jul 31, 2014, 2:01 am
  #20  
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 4,028
Originally Posted by nickyjames
I took the train there from Moscow. If you have the time to do it that way, it's a fantastic journey and something special about arriving to such a far flung place overland after so many days! Also flew onto Beijing from Ulaanbaatar on MIAT but definitely paid a lot less that Ł400.
I did the same a few years ago - flew to St Petersburg, spent a few days there, overnight train to Moscow, few days there, and then did the Trans Mongolian Railway through to Beijing, spending some time at each of the major stops (Irkutsk, Ulaanbaatar and Beijing). Took about four weeks overall and still put it down as the best trip I've ever taken. Cannot recommend it highly enough
darthlemsip is offline  
Old Jul 31, 2014, 7:27 am
  #21  
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 40
Like others, I have taken the train... but from London. While I did take 6 months to get to Ulaan Baatar, you can do it in 8-9 days with only 2 changes (it's harder for me to get home from work!):

London to Paris by Eurostar
Paris to Moscow by sleeper train (I think this is 3 days / 2 nights)
Moscow to UB by Trans-Mongolian Express

For more information on the train, google seat61 (the best site for long-distance train travel). But then again, this is flyertalk... no space for overlanders here

R
rl290 is offline  


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