2 independent reviews for Mongolia adventure vacation, small group
Reviews for Mongolia adventure vacation, small group
Frances Sinclair review 23 Sep 2024
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Too many to say one particular but transport in Land Cruisers turned traveling from a chore into part of the trip. Soaring vultures, black kites, eagles, buzzards, falcons, choughs plus foxes, ibexes, deer, gerbils. Wide open steppes, mountain passes, sandy strips - such variety of terrain. Food was excellent with plenty of fruit/veg as well as meat & veggie options. Climbing small sand dune was a pleasurable challenge & walking Vulture’s Mouth in the rain was less enjoyable.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
It isn’t easy, although Land Cruisers make traveling easier so it matters less if you’ve been lying awake with jet lag or waiting for a Siberian storm to pass than if you were on a bus. Toilets were NOT my worst nightmare but I was always prepared for them to be. Take toilet paper even though you might not need it and biodegradable wet wipes make it less unpleasant when using bins. Make packing easy - you’ll do it every day, sometimes still half-asleep. Take warm clothing for cold/wet/windy nights where there might be nothing between the bed and a poorly attached ger wall. Mongolian culture is very hospitable so be polite. The word for ‘thank you’ sounds like ‘buyer la’ although it’s a guteral ‘l’. Brace yourself for litter in beautiful places.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Modern vehicles are likely to have less emissions than older but otherwise not sure about impact of Land Cruisers. Food was good & healthy and some was definitely grown locally but they also import a lot from China for their own use. Servings were ample & some on the trip requested smaller portions rather than waste it, also there was some ‘sharing’ once we got to know each other. Accommodation was powered by solar panels, usually with generator power in the communal areas which sometimes was restricted hours. Many had no heating & we only had 1 wood-burning stove lit despite sub-zero temperatures. Tour guide & drivers were Mongolian and upfront about the country benefitting from tourism income. Some food stops were international chains but most were local corner shops, markets & stalls at tourist attractions. Tour group were good at refilling water bottles from large plastic ones but some hotels still used individual-sized ones.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Brilliant. Tour guide was pleasant, caring & knowledgeable with good English skills. Mongolia is beautiful and varied with welcoming people who are trying to hold on to their old nomadic ways.Christine Williams review 31 Jul 2019
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Nademm Festival, finding a herd of Taki horses, climbing the Gobi desert when it was cool and pouring with rain, seeing yaks and hundreds of horses. Our guide was so informative, he was great. I found the Mongolian people very nice.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Just enjoy the tour3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Hopefully yes, there was still a lot of plastic drinking bottles when we went to meals.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Great vacation, only blip Aeroflot lost our luggage from Moscow to Ulan Bataar which meant we had to wait till the next day to collect from the airport and forgot to put our luggage on from Moscow to Heathrow. It was delivered to my door the next day.Holiday Reviews
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