Anglers traveling to Mongolia will want to fly into Ulaanbaatar (often referred to as simply, “UB”), the capital of Mongolia. The airport in UB is very small and easy to navigate. The airport code is: ULN. There are direct flights from Beijing, Seoul, Berlin, Moscow, Hong Kong, Istanbul and Narita. Most guests fly via Beijing or Seoul. After clearing immigration/customs, you'll be met by a member of Mongolia River Outfitter’s staff and transferred to your hotel. It’s approximately a twenty-minute drive from the airport to the hotel in the city center.
While in UB, a professional guide will be available to introduce you to the capital's very interesting monasteries, museums, performances, and shops. The guides are wonderful and will help make your visit to Mongolia's capital much more enjoyable.
Depending on your departure date your trip will either travel from the capitol to the river via charter flight or overland. Those who travel via charter will travel over land on the way back to the capital and those who travel overland will travel via charter on the way back. Trips traveling to the river by charter are ten days in total with seven nights in the field and those traveling to the river overland are eleven days in total with eight nights in the field. All trips are six days of fishing.
If you’re on an expedition that travels to the river via charter, we check out of the hotel after an early breakfast and drive about twenty minutes to the airport. You may leave extra bags at the hotel. Passengers will be traveling via fix wing Cessna Caravan. The flight path goes directly over the beautiful Khan Hentii protected area, a 2.4 million hectare forested wilderness. The flight out to the river from the capital takes a bit over an hour. From the airstrip, you will be driven about 3 - 4 hours up to the first riverside camp. It’s a beautiful 4x4 drive and will be your first look into the real Mongolia.
If you’re on an expedition that travels to the river overland, we check out of the hotel after an early breakfast and head out of town. You may leave extra bags at the hotel. Passengers will be traveling via comfortable 4x4’s. These are generally very kitted out Toyota Land Cruisers. The first half of the drive to the river is on pavement, this includes passing the massive Chinghis Khan statue! The second half of the drive is on dirt track. We’ll have a picnic lunch en route and the vehicles are equipped with plenty of drinks and snacks.
The drive from UB into the headwaters is a unique opportunity to see a remote part of Mongolia. Come prepared for a long drive and a real 4X4 adventure.
The outbound drive from UB all the way into the headwaters is a long trip. So we allow two days for the journey. One day being an extra “just in case” day. Sometimes your guide might decide that it’s best to stay in a spike camp or at the lower river camp and then head all the way into the headwaters camp the following morning. Having an extra day in the schedule takes the pressure off, gives you time to relax before you start the float, and allows for contingencies.
Return to UB: Your last morning at the river means rising at a decent hour, eating breakfast, packing your bags and preparing for the return to the capital city. You’re usually in town by early afternoon.
If you’re on an expedition that travels via charter, the airstrip is located about 30-minutes’ drive from the last camp. The flight back to the capitol takes a bit less than 90 minutes. Upon arrival, a MRO guide and driver will meet you at the airport and transfer you to the hotel.
If you’re on an expedition that travels overland, passengers will be traveling via comfortable 4X4, generally Toyota Land Cruisers. The first half of the drive is on dirt track. The second half is on pavement. You’ll have a picnic lunch en route and the vehicles are equipped with plenty of drinks and snacks. Anticipate arriving back at your hotel late in the afternoon with plenty of time to take a long, hot shower before heading out for dinner.
Departure: A Mongolia River Outfitters guide and driver will meet you at the hotel to give you a ride to the airport and will make certain all goes smoothly with check-in and departure.
Delayed Flights and Extended Stays: It is very common for fishing guests to arrive a day early and/or stay an extra night or two on their return. This is a good idea if you have a tight flight schedule. It rarely happens, but delays are possible on the flight back to UB.
Please let us know if you would like to extend your trip and we will help you make necessary arrangements. Nomadic Journeys operates trips all over
Mongolia. If you want to add a couple of extra days in UB with a guide visiting cultural sites, volunteer on a research project, or take a couple of weeks riding a camel across the Gobi, please let us know and we can easily arrange a private trip for you.
