Mongolia Tidbits - Including Getting There from Beijing
 

Living this summer in Beijing, a friend and I decided to go to Outer Mongolia for six days. It was great - a completely different climate from Beijing and yet only a two hour flight away. Here are some tips:

1. The cheapest way to get to Ulaan Baatar, for most people, will be to fly from Beijing. Tickets on the Beijing-Moscow train are hard to get, and will be more expensive than discounted air tickets if you buy from an agent (not so if you are in Beijing yourself 60 days in advance and purchase at the train station yourself the moment the go on sale with all of the other travel agents). Less convenient, you can take local trains/busses to the border with Mongolia and then local trains to UB. Hostels advertise this option for as little as $70 each way.

2. Assuming you want to fly, MIAT has hands down the best deals - at time of posting $290 all in for a "weekend special". $340 for a "one week ticket" and $411 for an open ticket, any day, changeable. You must call (or better yet, go in - their office right across from Beijing St. Regis) the MIAT office in Beijing at 86-10-650 79297 and specificaly ask for the "weekend" or "week" special. Air China was pretty constant at 4000 RMB (~$500) - we couldn't find any other discounts.

3. MIAT was a great airline: on time, good food, good service - no worries. Much nicer than Air China, having flown recently on them both China domestic and short-haul international.

4. Absolutely take a taxi (6000-7000 TG) from the airport to city centre. We tried the public bus, and the pickpocketing attempts started from the first minute we were on. Little kids shamelessly put their hands in your pockets and try to open your bags. The other passengers helped out, and we eventually didn't lose anything (an ipod was wrestled away by a fellow passenger from the teenager that stole it), but it almost crossed the line to violent crime. In the city, things are better, but still you need to aggressively and vigilantly guard your property. A complete annoyance.

5. Getting out of UB, you can save money by renting a non 4wd vehicle that can go to most places assuming its try. $50/day for sedan including petrol and driver. You can arrange this in advance with Khongor guest house, Zaya's guesthouse or any other LP listed establishment before you go.

6. UB itself has some good museums, great food, and is worth 1-2 days.

Another option if you want to avoid PEK airport (as I do) is ICN. If staying at a hotel in UB city pre-arrange for a ride from them from the airport. It will generally cost $20 USD. That's more than a "taxi" by about twice, but worth the peace of mind. If you've never been there before the throng of questionable people just outside baggage pickup can be intimidating. Oddly, the airport is the only place I've felt really vulnerable in UB.

Once in town any car is a taxi, just wave someone down. Generally it's $2-3 to get most places. But if the driver doesn't display immediate understanding of where you want to go, get out and try another. English is just beginning to take a foot hold there, and most people speak only Mongolian.

If you are not with a Mongolian national then under no circumstances should you get into a normal car acting as a taxi. It is fairly common for westerners to be driven out into the countryside, robbed and dumped. And if this happens between December and February you'll be stranded in -30C temperatures.

Apart from that I agree with deckman. Korean Air is the only civilised way to fly into Mongolia, and during the summer they have a daily service, even if the return back to ICN leaves and arrives at awful times of day.

Alternative Airlines sells MIAT tickets (amongst others)
 

I thought I would let you know that I priced some tickets PEK - ULN today. While expedia does sell some Air China flights into ULN they were well over $1000. Alternativeairlines.com shows the same routes for much less. They also sell MIAT tickets which is unusual. Problem does seem to be that they charged me for delivery and then issued an iticket. I am going to get to work on that one tomorrow.

This is a great thread. Im trying to find the best hotel in UB to stay in...is it the Kempinski? The web site still shows it as a four star-type property in comparison with other Kempinskis. Im on the CA flight from PEK...is there a departure tax at ULN airport? Anything in town that is a must-see?