The Gobi desert

Book your guesthouse well in advance to get a private room and the one you want - dorm beds are easier to come by on arrival in UB though.

I went with Khongor Expedition in September 2011. They are not rock bottom but are very competitive www.khongor-expedition.com. They allowed us to modify the "package tour" as we liked. If you get 6 people, your trip can be $36ppd, all inclusive / food, driver and guide, etc. Gobi is really popular so you will have a good chance to fill the vehicle to share the costs. DIY will give you best flexibility and better food. But I don't think you will save that much on cost. The real budget way is to hitchhike, public bus, rent/buy a motorcycle and go.

There is a budget option where you can jam pack a van to go to the Gobi - I think it was through Golden Gobi guesthouse - I didn't pay much attention because the groups were too big.

We skipped the Gobi and went to the reindeer herders and it was the best! Our trip is detailed on our blog; http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/michellendave/5/1315506129/tpod.html

To find additional travel companions: Come up with a rough plan and post here on the thorntree. And send you idea to Khongor (or your chosen guesthouse) and they will post it on the wall and tell others about it. On arrival, post your notice at the Amsterdam Cafe.

2011 car rental from Khongor seemed to be the going rate;. You have option to hire/pay only for car. Regardless from the number of people who hire the car, the price for hiring a car will not change. It means the car price is the same as if 2 or 6 people will hire it 
Russian Jeep 58 USD per day 
Russian Minivan  64 USD per day 
Japanese Jeep or Japanese and Korean Minivan 70 USD per day
Gasoline estimates are on the Khongor site also.

Thanks a lot for the help. But it really didn't answer my questions fully. I really would like to know exactly if it is possible to go and just find a driver and a private guide from Dalanzadgad down there and then go out just the two of us. Obviously we could ask more to come along, but then I'm not sure it would be as special. So what I still REALLY would like to know is if it IS possible to just find a guide and/or a driver and go to the Gobi ourselves.

Again obviously we pay a bit more, but we really would like to keep the group small. So I'm just gonna ask some other questions:

1. Is it possible without using a travelling bureau, but just using a guide from a local guesthouse in Dalanzadgad (or anywhere nearby) to go to the Gobi desert?

Though your prices sound very reasonable and I might try to get in contact with these people.

1. What type of travelling bureau should I use to fly down south. (sorry forgot to type)

I really would like to know exactly if it is possible to go and just find a driver and a private guide from Dalanzadgad down there and then go out just the two of us.

Problem is finding a driver and English speaking guide on the ground which is possible but less likely unless it is prearranged as most guides will be committed to working with travel agencies and tour companies.

Is it possible without using a travelling bureau, but just using a guide from a local guesthouse in Dalanzadgad (or anywhere nearby) to go to the Gobi desert?

Have you been able to locate a guesthouse in Dalanzadgad? If so, then contact them and ask. If not, then it would seem unlikely that you can do this.

What type of travelling bureau should I use to fly down south.

What type? You need to book the flight and there are limited flights and few airlines in this part of the world. Identify the airline and contact them directly.

This website, by TT user tomongolia, offers lots of information which might be useful to you: http://tomongolia.blogspot.com/

Ruth

Heya Ruth,

Thanks a lot for the help! Now all I really need to know is where to book domestic flights. Got any tips on where to book planes :-)?

Find the companies that travel the routes you want and contact them.

Ruth

Those flies to the Dalanzadgad!
Mongolian Airlines Group
Eznis Airways
Aero Mongolia

Good luck

Agree with the others - you would be taking a risk just turning up in Dalanzadgad and hoping to find a good guide / driver. I'd recommend contacting Khongor Expeditions (I also used them recently and they were good). You can either drive down there with them, which takes a couple of days each way, or they will organise your flights and send the vehicle down to meet you. Obviously the second option is more expensive.

To give you an idea of times, I did a loop including the main Gobi sights (Baga Gazarin Chuluu, Bayanzag, Yolin Am, Khongor sand dunes), coming back up via Orkhon valley, Kharkhorin and Khustai - this took 10 days and wasn't too intense, although there were some long days involved. If you still wanted to at the end of that, Terelj can be done as a day trip / overnight from UB.

Gobi is too hot from mid June to end of August.

I didn't experience it. In fact it is the peak season to visit Gobi.