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The secretes of Mongolian public transport
Some tourist travel with an organised tour, some share the cost of a hired jeep, and few use public transport. It is true that there are no western style bus terminals (see photo on the left), there are no signs in English, and the time tables are somewhat flexible. Once you adapt to the Mongolian style of public transport you will find it rewarding. The people are friendly, and it is the cheapest way to travel.
Transportation to the country side
Buses go from Ulaanbaatar to all Aimag (province) centers. From the Aimag center you wait with others for a van to fill up going to a Sum (district) center. If you attempt to go to a tourist attraction that is not on the public transport routs, you will find jeeps or vans ready to be hired to take you to a specific location. Any private car can act as a taxi.
Public Transport Main Rout Map
To see detail (you can actually see the buses lined up at the stations)
zoom in (click +) and change to "Sat" (Satellite mode).
Click on blue lines for details (cost, timetable, distance)
View Public transportation in a larger map
Destinations in Cyrillic
To identify the proper van have the destination name in Cyrillic letters with you. The vans display a board with the destination on the windshield.
Example: for a van going to "Terelj" look for a sign saying Тэрэлж
Vehicle
Public transportation vehicles include buses, minibuses, vans and cars.
Buses leave at a set time, minibuses and vans leave when they are full.
Bus Stations
There are four main departure stations in Ulaanbaatar (Ulan Bator).
Zoom in to the maximum on the map to see the exact locations.
Tickets
For long distance buses you have to purchase the ticket the night before departure.
Cost
The fare to Olgii is 63,000 Togrog which is 1,700 km to the west.
For comparison - locals pay at least 400 Tugrug per Km to hire a jeep and driver, not including petrol cost. To hire a jeep to Olgii would cost 680,000 Tugrug. This is more than 10 times the cost of a bus ticket.
Travel time
It takes a 18 hours to get to the Gobi town Dalanzadgad, and 34 hours to get to Khoved in the west. The roads to most location are unpaved bumpy dirt roads.
River crossing like on the way to Moron is on a wooden barge.
The vehicles go non stop, with short breaks on the way.
Bus Atmosphere
Vehicles are packed full, with boxes of merchandise in between.
Featured Destinations
There are many routs, here is a sample of a few.
North (Khovsgol lake)
To go to Khovsgol lake take the bus to Moron.
Distance: 684 Km.
Cost: 28,500 Tugrug.
Departure Station: Dragon.
Departure Days: every day.
Departure Time: 15:00
Travel Duration: 20h to Moron + 3h Moron to Khatgal
In Moron you wait with others for a van to fill up-
going to Khatgal, the village on the southern shore of Khovsgol lake.
South (Gobi desert)
To go to the Gobi take the bus to Dalanzadgad
Distance: 575 Km.
Cost: 27,500 Tugrug.
Departure Days: everyday.
Departure Time: 8:00AM.
Tickets purchase: the evening before departure.
Travel Duration: 14-18h to Dalanzadgad
From Dalanzadgad hire a jeep to take you to the popular destinations.
Try and go with partners on the bus to share the cost of the jeep.
A good local driver living in Dalanzadgad - Demberel Tel: 976-95539304
West (Altai Mountains)
To go to the west take the minibus to Olgii
Departure Days: Everyday
Departure Time: 15:00-20:00 leaves when full
Distance: 1,709 Km
Cost: 72,000 Tugrug
Departure Station: Dragon
Travel Duration: 45h-55h to Olgii
Some tourist travel with an organised tour, some share the cost of a hired jeep, and few use public transport. It is true that there are no western style bus terminals (see photo on the left), there are no signs in English, and the time tables are somewhat flexible. Once you adapt to the Mongolian style of public transport you will find it rewarding. The people are friendly, and it is the cheapest way to travel.Transportation to the country side
Buses go from Ulaanbaatar to all Aimag (province) centers. From the Aimag center you wait with others for a van to fill up going to a Sum (district) center. If you attempt to go to a tourist attraction that is not on the public transport routs, you will find jeeps or vans ready to be hired to take you to a specific location. Any private car can act as a taxi.Public Transport Main Rout Map
To see detail (you can actually see the buses lined up at the stations)
zoom in (click +) and change to "Sat" (Satellite mode).
Click on blue lines for details (cost, timetable, distance)
View Public transportation in a larger map
Destinations in Cyrillic
To identify the proper van have the destination name in Cyrillic letters with you. The vans display a board with the destination on the windshield.
Example: for a van going to "Terelj" look for a sign saying Тэрэлж
Vehicle
Public transportation vehicles include buses, minibuses, vans and cars.
Buses leave at a set time, minibuses and vans leave when they are full.
Bus Stations
There are four main departure stations in Ulaanbaatar (Ulan Bator).
Zoom in to the maximum on the map to see the exact locations.
- Dragon (Songino Khairkhan)- buses going north and west.
- Teevriin Tovchoo (near Idre's guest house)- vans going north.
- Bayanzurkh- buses going south and east.
- Narantuul (Black Market) - vans going west and north.
Tickets
For long distance buses you have to purchase the ticket the night before departure.
Cost
The fare to Olgii is 63,000 Togrog which is 1,700 km to the west.
For comparison - locals pay at least 400 Tugrug per Km to hire a jeep and driver, not including petrol cost. To hire a jeep to Olgii would cost 680,000 Tugrug. This is more than 10 times the cost of a bus ticket.
Travel time
It takes a 18 hours to get to the Gobi town Dalanzadgad, and 34 hours to get to Khoved in the west. The roads to most location are unpaved bumpy dirt roads.River crossing like on the way to Moron is on a wooden barge.
The vehicles go non stop, with short breaks on the way.
Bus Atmosphere
Vehicles are packed full, with boxes of merchandise in between.
Featured Destinations
There are many routs, here is a sample of a few.
North (Khovsgol lake)
To go to Khovsgol lake take the bus to Moron.
Distance: 684 Km.
Cost: 28,500 Tugrug.
Departure Station: Dragon.
Departure Days: every day.
Departure Time: 15:00
Travel Duration: 20h to Moron + 3h Moron to Khatgal
In Moron you wait with others for a van to fill up-
going to Khatgal, the village on the southern shore of Khovsgol lake.
South (Gobi desert)
To go to the Gobi take the bus to Dalanzadgad
Distance: 575 Km.
Cost: 27,500 Tugrug.
Departure Days: everyday.
Departure Time: 8:00AM.
Tickets purchase: the evening before departure.
Travel Duration: 14-18h to Dalanzadgad
From Dalanzadgad hire a jeep to take you to the popular destinations.
Try and go with partners on the bus to share the cost of the jeep.
A good local driver living in Dalanzadgad - Demberel Tel: 976-95539304
West (Altai Mountains)
To go to the west take the minibus to Olgii
Departure Days: Everyday
Departure Time: 15:00-20:00 leaves when full
Distance: 1,709 Km
Cost: 72,000 Tugrug
Departure Station: Dragon
Travel Duration: 45h-55h to Olgii
East (the steppe)
To go to the east take the bus to Choibalsan
Departure Days: every day
Time for bus: 8:00
Time for Minibus or Van: 9:00-10:00 leaves when full
Distance: 661 Km
Cost: 28,000 Tugrug
From Station: Bayanzurkh
Travel Duration: 12h
Center (Erdene Zuu)
To go to the center take the bus to Kharkhorin
Departure Days: every day
Time for bus: 11:00am
Time for Minibus or Van: 15:00-18:00 leaves when full
Distance: 370 Km
Cost: 17,000 Tugrug
From Station: Dragon
Travel Duration: 6h
15 comments:
How long to the trips take? The range of times and typical duration would be good.
Although many services are daily I imagine that they are often cancelled if there are not enough passengers?
Thanks for your comment,
I have added travel durations.
Buses are not canceled, vans and cars leave only when full.
It rarely happens that no car leaves, passengers will wait for the next day.
In cases of severe weather trips might be postponed.
Vielen Dank für den guten Sachen
Is there a bus connection from Ulaanbaatar to Tosontsengel, Zavkhan?
Thanks
To get to Tosontsengel in Zavkhan, take the bus from the Dragon bus station in UB, going to Uliastai. Uliastai is Zavkhan's capital and located 1100km away from Ulaanbaatar. At the Uliastai market look for a van going to Tosontsengel which is 180km away on a good road.
Is there a bus connection from Erdenet, Orkhon to Moron, Khövsgöl?
And from Moron to Bayanzurkh, Khövsgöl?
Many thanks.
Hi
The public transport in Mongolia is a star system. All transportation goes from the center of the country UB to Aimag/province centers and from province centers to sum/district centers. In the small towns look for vans near the market.
Хех, сколько коментариев-то :) Ну отставать не буду-не сочтите за спам-но сайт понравился. Удачи в развитии.
Question: is it easy to transport your bicycle on the bus ??
Hi
Merchants load crates on the bus. So try and pack your bicycle in a box, similar to the way you would for a flight. Take off the wheels, dismantle the paddles, turn the handle bar sideways. This will enable you to make the package as small as possible, and minimum damage to your bikes.
Dan
Hello, I was wondering: is it possible to take a bus from Khovsgol area to Altai?
Thanks
Not directly.
You should return to UB, and take the bus from UB.
Mongolia, thanks so much your updated detail on this blog.
I'll visit UB this May and would like to ask you about transport.
I'll take a bus from UB to UU.
1. Which bus station I should go?
2. Where I can buy the bus ticket?
(I've followed your post in lonely planet of exact location) However, I worry I can't find it out. Could you please tell the address in Mongolian? (In case I get lost, I still can point to stranger ask a help ^^")
Thanks a lot!!!
Hi
The location of the bus station in UB going to Ulan-Ude in Russia changed.
It is now near the train station.
To buy the tickets go inside the train station booking hall, go upstairs, go to the small window to the left of Tenger Travel, which is opposite the train ticket booking windows. Bus ticket cost is about 45,000 togrog. Bus leaves at 7:30am from the train station.
Have a nice ride
Dan
Hi, Dan
Thanks your info on the bus location!
I feel more secure to the transport arrangement!^^
Have a nice weekend!
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