Ulaanbaatar Travel Forum

Looking for advise on train travel between Ulaan Baator and Beijing.

I am in the process of organising a three week train trip from the Netherlands all the way to Beijing (we'll fly back). Obviously we want to make a few stops along the way, but we won't have a lot of time. I read somewhere that there aren't many trains between UB en Beijing and because August is a busy season it is advised to book train tickets ahead of time. What do you think? Should I use an agent to get tickets for the UB - Beijing stretch to make sure we don't get stuck in Mongolia waiting for a train? We do have a plane to catch in Beijing and we don't have much leeway. Is there an agent you would recommend? Or do you think we should be fine if we buy the tickets when we arrive in UB two or three days before we leave again. Are there alternatives to the transmongolian trains? (In case it matters - we want to depart UB on August saterday 18th or sunday 19th.)

Your advice is much appreciated.

Niekie

Never did that trip but I know that Eurocult in Utrecht is a good agency/travel agent for that part of the world. In the past they helped me very efficiently.

Hi Niekie

There are train leaves Ulaanbaatar to Beijing only twice a week and there is no alternative to Transmongolia. Train to Beijing leaves only on Thursdays and Sundays /this train is Moscow-ULN-BJS train/. I'm sure u have to book the train tickets at least one to two months ahead, because during the high tourist season /June to September/ it is always booked ahead and difficult to get. U better use an agent in UB to get the tickets. If u wish to have any other advice let me know.

It is true that the transmongolian train passes through UB only twice a week. And getting tickets on this train from UB to Beijing can be difficult. But there is an alternative. There is a train that leaves every evening for a chinese bordertown. From there you can either take an onward train (with a switch in Datong if i remember correctly) or take a nightbus to Beijing. In this case you haven't done the whole transmongolian trip but i can tell you, being on a chinese nightbus is also quite an experience.....

Thank you all for responding. We still haven't decided what we want to do. We will be traveling by train from our hometown in the Netherlands, so it would be a nice conclusion to our trip if we were to arrive in Beijing by train. On the other hand, taking the local train and nightbus option also appeals to me because it will give us more freedom and sounds like an adventure. I'll let you guys know what we decided.
Thanks for the input,
Niekie