Semi-Gobi and Kharkhorum overnight private trip

We were so lucky that we stumbled upon this tour and that Iggy was available on the days that we were in Mongolia. We're in Mongolia for just 5 days so we do not have enough time to go far out. This overnight tour is perfect - we get to see the beautiful landscapes of the country, visit the old capital, visit a traditional ger and family, visited semi-Gobi desert and stay in a modern ger overnight (in a beautiful resort and our ger has its own toilet and hot shower!). We went for a day tour in Terelj National Park the day after, and we still enjoyed the sceneries and experience of this tour more. What made this tour special is the guide, Iggy. He suggested that we pull over whenever we see amazing animals so we can appreciate the sights more. He is so knowledgeable about all things Mongolia that I felt like I have a talking wikipedia the whole time and answers all out questions. He even stopped in a shop before we go to our accommodation so we can buy a cake for my friend who's celebrating the birthday that day. We met another 2 ladies in the resort and they were not that happy with their guide cause the guide was not willing to stop or change the plan a bit. This is how much a guide can make or break your trip! I've saved Iggy's number for my next Mongolia trip, and have shared it to all my friends who asked about the trip. Do yourself a favour and book this!!

I had 3 tour guides while in Mongolia and Iggy (Erden) was definitely the best. He speaks English fluently and went to Univeristy of Las Vegas. I booked the chinggis khan statue/turtle rock tour as well as the overnight semi gobi/karakorum tour. They were both great. For the overnight semi gobi/karakorum tour, my main concern was making sure my 70 year old mother was going to be comfortable and avoid injury. It was comfortable being guided by Iggy. Frequent restroom stops, detailed knowledgeable explanations especially all my questions about the nomads and Mongolian culture. I also appreciated how after I told him we had lunch 2 days in a row with nomads he chose a restaurant instead for lunch for us. The semi gobi was pretty much what was described - a small gobi closer to the city. We skipped the camel riding option because I didn’t want my mom to have any accidents. Then we visited a nomad family that was used to having visitors. It was nice seeing them collect cashmere from the goats and taking pics with the animals. The animals there were amazing. One of the options for accommodations was to stay with that family in their guest ger but I’m glad we didn’t because it didn’t look too comfortable. Then after that he drove us to karakorum which was awesome to see the ancient capital of the mongols. Iggy was great at explaining things. Then I was a bit nervous about the accommodations (because I thought it was going to look like one of the typical gers the nomads stayed in) but it was a really nice ger resort that was very comfortable with private bathroom and heating. As well as a really nice restaurant with nice food that was pre ordered for us by Iggy. It was the best meal I had in Mongolia. One of my favorite things at the resort was to borrow their traditional Mongolian costumes and walk around taking pictures. It was nice to spend a night there, then in the morning there was breakfast then Iggy came to get us and we headed back to UB. Good amount of bathroom breaks, then lunch was included on the way back, then got back to UB. Overall Iggy had the best explanations, timing, and quality - I felt comfortable and safe bringing my 70 year old mom along to experience Mongolia. Would definitely recommend him to others !

This tour was precisely what we wanted. We paid more for a private car and a ger with private bathroom, but it was well worth it! Everything was well organized, and we thoroughly enjoyed our excursion into the beautiful landscapes outside Ulaanbaatar. Our guide, Iggy, speaks outstanding English and is very knowledgeable, which is an enormous bonus - I say this as someone who has suffered through so many tourist excursions, smiling courteously whilst either trying desperately to make head or tail of the guide's explanations,or having simply turned off out of self-preservation. With Iggy, it was all straightforward and great fun! (He even drives safely). Thanks a million - it was a wonderful Mongolian experience.

Stunning landscapes, wonderful normadic hosts, and an outstanding driver guide who was eager to share everything about Mongolian culture and history. Would definitely recommend or do one of their longer trips if you have the time!

Highly recommend this tour! Our guide Munkh and the driver were so patient and considerate - we weren’t rushed at all. The host nomadic family we stayed with were very welcoming and even made vegetarian meals when we struggled with the meaty diet (so grateful). Camel riding felt much more ethical than at other tourist spots. Bonus of course seeing unreal views and animal spotting (like Mongolian vultures). 1 night was the perfect way to experience the nomadic lifestyle without spending days out to the gobi.

For anyone travelling to Mongolia I would highly recommend this trip. You can’t put a price on the experience of going out of the city and spending time with your Mongolian family. We had an amazing trip and our tour guide monkhmanlai and our driver were brilliant so informative and interactive. We could not have asked for 2 better people to be with.

My brother and I did this tour with Iggy as our private guide. Can’t say enough great things about our tour. First off Iggys English is excellent and was very informative. You really get a great sense of what the countryside is like outside the city of Ulan Baatar. Very interesting drive seeing all the roaming animals just doing their own thing and being in the road whenever they pleased. The nomadic family were very friendly and welcomed us into their home. That’s where we did the camel riding too. After that we hit the sand dunes to walk around and take some pictures. Great stuff and we got some great pictures too. Then we were off to Kharkhorin to see the Buddhist temple and spend the night in a Ger resort in the town. It’s a lot of time in the car, but i can’t recommend it enough. Everything was fantastic and really showed us a side of Mongolia we never would’ve seen if we had stayed in the city. Five stars all the way

An excellent way to get away from Ulaanbaatar and experience the countryside. Lunch with our Nomadic family was outstanding. The camel ride was scenic, and quite enjoyable. Our time at the sand dunes/desert was time well spent. The stay in the Ger was a wonderful experience. Iggy, our guide was Outstanding!

We can't say enough good things about our experience. Namja was a great guide - every detail was looked after, including bathroom breaks. And he and our driver were very willing to take some detours and stop for photos. We had a great time and never worried about a thing. Highly recommend this tour!

This guide is a real gem: knowledgeable in Mongolian history, kind, eager to please, flexible, willing to customize your tour, fluent in English, enthusiastic - the whole package. I’m a UN employee who was on mission, a woman touring alone. I did my homework, asked local advice, and sought the perfect tour guide - got lucky with Iggy. Strong recommendation. If I have the good fortune of returning to Mongolia, I’ll custom-plan a tour of both Ulaanbaatar and backwoods Mongolia with this guide. He arrived in an impeccably clean Lexus and I was lucky to have arranged a private tour, such that I could spend as much or as little time at each site.