Mongolia and... maybe West China?

Thorn Tree forumCountry forumsNorth-East AsiaMongolia
Enter custom title (optional)
This topic is locked
Last reply was
1.1k
…
Send as an e-mail
Send as an e-mail
enpacerequiescat
enpacerequiescat

Hey guys,

My friend and I have 3 weeks this summer and we were thinking about Mongolia. We are thinking about probably making it out to western Mongolia, the Arhangai, either to the south to Gobi or to the north, or if we're crazy enough all the way out to the Olgii and Altai? We'd probably do a week tour with ger-to-ger, and find a way to fill the rest of the time.

Then recently we saw some pictures of Xinjiang, and also just fell in love with those pictures too!

So right now the problem my friend and I have is that we're both unfamiliar with the logistics, and both Mongolia and Xinjiang are really huge places. Could someone familiar with travel logistics in both places let me know what is feasible within a period of 3 weeks? Is it possible to do 1 week of Xinjiang and 2 weeks of Mongolia? How much time should we expect to be spent just on transportation within Mongolia or Xinjiang? Or is it wiser to spend our time in just one place? I just need to get an idea of how much ground we can reasonably expect to cover in 3 weeks.

Thanks!

View last reply
Report
1
longrider
longrider

Try the guys at info@adventuresmongolia.mn We did Bayan olgii, Uvs and Zavkhan provinces with them in 09. Even if you end up traveling without their services they'll give you sound advice.

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.
Permalink to this post
Report
2
everbrite
everbrite

Infrastructure in Mongolia isn't great but it is possible now to cross from Western Mongolia to Xinjiang, China at Bulgan Crossing.

Ruth

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.
Permalink to this post
Report
3
uighur3
uighur3

Hi there ,
Xinjiang is really a huge we have very amzing mountain landscape ,great historical sights ,stunning culture and big lakes or huge grasslands in short what ever you are expecting to see execet the sea .But if you plan good and do some cities in xinjiang in one week you could have overall tour highlight and can enjoy a great deal of xinjiang or about anceint silk road .you may visit kashgar ,hotan ,turfan and see the xinjiang museum in urumqi as well .this is all in southern xinjiang part which is for more culture ,history ,mountain ladnscape and sand desert . if you like to visit more green places northen xinjiang will be best choise .
Best Wishes!
kashgarguide team

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.
Permalink to this post
Report
4
normandy1942
normandy1942

xinjiang is fantastic and I spent almost 3 weeks there. to split between mongolia and xinjiang is definately an injustice to both places. travel between these places have to be definately by air. the space between is just way too big for land travel without incurring loss of days on the road.

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.
Permalink to this post
Report
5
kimlau
kimlau

I have used this company from recommendations here. I think they are professional in providing food and transport only. It sounded that they are really good for bike adventures as well.

But I find their services rather cold and impersonal in my opinion, and definitely the worst of all my tailored trips. Owner attends to his personal interest and preference instead of the customer's preference. I talked to other guides and find mine really out of place in providing suggestions.

The idea of having English speaking driver and guide, is that, they became more of a driver than a guide, and they use excuses like vehicle maintenance to reject your request.

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.
Permalink to this post
Report

This topic has been locked by a moderator.

Pro tip
Lonely Planet
trusted partner