How to travel from Beijing, China to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia independently.
I don’t know if any of you guys read or will remember this, but a year and a half ago I almost went to Mongolia. And I mean almost. But the night before my friends and I were going to buy our train tickets from Beijing we talked to a French couple who convinced us to travel to Kyrgyzstan first.
We had planned to hit the Stans after Mongolia, but the couple spoke so highly of Central Asia (and less highly of Mongolia, which they felt was too touristy and expensive) that we changed our plans. And then once we got to Central Asia we fell so deeply in love that we forgot about Mongolia altogether.
Well, until now.
The exciting part? Alicia and Bryce decided to come to Mongolia too!
After stocking up on warm clothes (Alicia and Bryce had only packed with balmy Southeast Asia in mind – apparently they hadn’t expected to take a detour to Mongolia? Poor planning.) we bought our tickets to Jining Nan and Erlian.
There is a direct train from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar that runs twice a week and only takes about 30 hours, but tickets cost $200. The direct train is of course the easiest way to travel from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar, but being the budget backpackers we are, we decided to take cheapest (and most fun!) route.
We instead took a 7-hour train to Jining Nan, where we spent a night, a 6-hour train to Erlian, where we spent another night, a 2-hour bus across the border, and then an overnight train from Zamyn Uud to Ulaanbaatar. The whole journey from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar, including two nights at hotels, ended up costing us each $54.
So we each saved $146, plus it was so much more fun than being on a train the entire time.
You can see our full itinerary of trains and buses from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar, including prices, at the bottom of this post.
Well, sort of. It was an experience at least!
The (Budget) Train Journey from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar
The scenery for the first few hours outside of Beijing was really beautiful, with dramatic mountains and canyons around every bend. But as we approached Inner Mongolia things started to get pretty bleak, with frozen deserts and towns consisting solely of power plants and apartment blocks for the power plant workers.
We only spent the night in Jining Nan, so we didn’t experience much of the city besides dinner at a restaurant and a night at a very grubby hotel, but it certainly seemed a bizarre place. In fact, a night in Jining Nan was sort of worth it just to experience middle of nowhere China.
And then we arrived in Erlian, which was an even stranger city. We stayed at Au Lian Hotel, which was really luxurious (and cheap!) and wandered through the frozen city to find some food. Again, it was strange to see such an impressive city set up in the middle of nowhere.
In fact, it was amazing to see how crowded China is even in Inner Mongolia (China is trying hard to lure people there) and then to cross over into a virtually empty Mongolia. The border crossing from Erlian into Mongolia was definitely one of those border crossings where I really felt like I was entering a new land.
The night train from Zamyn Uud (or Ude) to Ulaanbaatar was the highlight of the journey for me, with its coal oven, old fashioned carpets and curtains, and a private sleeping compartment for the four of us! It felt just like what I imagine train travel through Russia used to be. Oh wait, that’s probably because we were on an old Russian train.
And then we were in Ulaanbaatar! Really that sentence doesn’t deserve the exclamation point I gave it, because Ulaanbaatar is horrible. Like, seriously dismal. Before going I had heard it described as the bleakest city in the world, and while I had been ready to defiantly love it, sorry Ulaanbaatar, but no.
Well, we did eat some good food there. And there’s a bit of interesting street art going on in the city. But apart from that it was just cold, gray, and oh so polluted. When we went outside at night I could barely breathe from all the smoke in the air – I suddenly understood why some places ban burning coal.
Okay, confession: I was really sick during my stay in Ulaanbaatar, so it’s likely that my feelings for the city were totally tainted by feverish chills and that cough that I still haven’t quite managed to shake. Ugh, getting sick while traveling is the worst.
So maybe Ulaanbaatar isn’t that bad after all? Then again, Dan summed up his feelings about the dreary Mongolian capital with “every time I go outside this city manages to piss me off,” and he didn’t have so much as a runny nose. And I mean, it can’t be that he was just grumpy from having me constantly coughing in his face, right? Right?
Luckily we were soon heading to the countryside, where things would get a lot better. Gers! Mountains! Furry cows! Cheese!
The Cheapest Way to Travel from Beijing, China to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia – by Train and Bus
The train from Beijing to Jining Nan took 7 hours and cost 58 CNY for a hard seat. We booked both the train from Beijing to Jining Nan and Jining Nan to Erlian at the main bus station in Beijing a couple of days before we wanted to leave.
In Jining Nan we stayed at a hotel across from the train station where we split a 4-person room for 35 CNY each (the room was pretty awful, with cigarette burns and cigarettes all over the carpet, but it served its purpose).
The train from Jining Nan to Erlian took 6 hours and cost 35 CNY for standing tickets – hard seats were sold out when we booked, but the train emptied after about an hour and a half so we didn’t have to stand for long.
In Erlian we stayed at Au Lian Hotel, where we split a lovely 4-person room for 54 CNY each. The hotel is a 10-minute walk from the train station, but we didn’t know this and took a taxi, simply telling the driver “Au Lian.”
We took a bus from Erlian across the border to Zamyn Ude, which cost 50 CNY per person and took about two hours.
We booked our beds on the train to Ulaanbaatar as soon as we arrived in Zamyn Uud (the train left a couple of hours later). A bed in a 4-person compartment cost 34000 MNT.
In Ulaanbaatar we stayed at Sunpath Mongolia, which was AMAZING – the staff were so kind and introduced us to the local culture. It was a highlight of our time in Ulaanbaatar, for sure. Check current prices for Sunpath Mongolia
I also highly recommend getting a visa for China through iVisa, which takes out all the hassle (I had some problems getting a visa independently on my first trip to China!).
What’s the bleakest city you’ve been to?
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p.s. Please, please do not forget to get travel insurance for this trip!
After being hospitalized in Beijing (on a previous trip there) I swear by travel insurance. I use World Nomads, which has the best reviews, and they helped me find a hospital when I needed PLUS when I filed a claim with them all I had to do was send my receipts and I had a check in the mail from them within a couple of weeks. So easy!
You can get a quote here:
becky hutner says
that does look depressing. even the beatles piece looks a bit sad. i don’t think i’ve ever been to a true soviet-style bleak city but i did a road trip through the southern US a few years ago & the endless bulk stores, malls & clusters of fast food chains by the freeway really got me down.
Silvia says
Yeah, these photos were of the brightest sites I could find of the city (back when I was determined to give it a glowing review) but they aren’t so happy. but you’re right, some areas of US are truly bleak – I would much rather be in Ulaanbaatar!
Stacie @ SimplySouthernStacie says
Try driving through South Georgia and Northern Florida – you will see a lot of bleakness! I guess not everywhere can be amazing and full of adventure though?
Silvia says
That’s so true! At least Ulaanbaatar felt foreign and exotic, whereas some parts of the US really get me down.
Polly says
Ulaanbaatar reminds me a lot of every other small-ish Russian city, so I guess I have a bit of fondness for it. However the awful pollution would get me – I loved Kyrgyzstan so much but the pollution in Bishkek just depressed me (and I got sick too!).
Silvia says
I think it was the pollution that really did me in with Ulaanbaatar. It’s funny, but after China and Mongolia, every city I’ve been in Russia so far seems soooo pretty! Though I’m headed to Omsk next, so I think that’s about to change, haha.
Justine says
You can’t win ’em all. I’m sorry you got sick! I agree that getting sick on the road is definitely the worst. It probably didn’t help that you were in the world’s most bleak city. It sounds like things get better. I can’t wait to hear about the countryside…and the CHEESE!
Silvia says
Mongolian countryside was exactly what I needed to feel better! Um, and cheese, duh.
Christie of The Butterfly Editions says
Looks like a fun journey! I’m desperate to get to Mongolia some day soon – we considered going there after China this January but we weren’t very well prepared for cold weather beyond our three weeks in China (I wore one outfit for pretty much three weeks straight haha) so quickly ventured back to Southeast Asia. So for now I’m going to have to vicariously live through your Mongolian travels! Can’t wait for the next instalment. Also, totally with you on being sick while travelling, there is literally nothing worse.
Silvia says
You probably made a smart choice – Mongolia was COLD! I hope you make it out there soon though!
Vanessa @ The Travelling Colognian says
I am so sorry to hear that you were sick on your trip! Being sick while travelling is really too bad. I bet you wouldn’t have liked Ulaanbaatar more if you weren’t sick. Ulaanbaatar doesn’t look very appealing and although I am a big city person I am not tempted to visit Mongolia’s capital. But I guess when travelling across Mongolia you can’t avoid to spend at least one or two days there. Your overnight train journey looks so much fun from your photos. The pot noodles remind me so much of my own ones. I absolutely love overnight train journeys abroad especially when bunking with the right people. Great, that Alicia and Bryce decided to join you in Mongolia. I am looking forward to read more about your travels across the country.
Silvia says
Mongolia definitely isn’t worth a long stopover, though I guess it’s interesting to at least see it. And I love overnight trains too! Except when you’re next to people snoring loudly, that is the worst (though that happens a lot in hostels too!).
jennifer says
I am determined to like Ulaanbaatar! Although I will admit that while it is on my top 100 places to go (I am making a list!) it is probably #100 in terms of when I would like to go.
I am sorry you are sick, that cough may clear up as soon as you get out of burning coal land.
Silvia says
I think getting away from all that coal has definitely helped! I was bummed I couldn’t find a way to love UB, or at least like it, but I’m still in part blaming the sickness…
Sabina // Sabina Meets World says
Why take the short route when you can take the longer but cheaper way? I’m glad your several train rides worked out for you! I’m dying to visit Mongolia someday, although maybe I won’t stay for too long in Ulaanbaatar.
Silvia says
Our route was a lot more difficult, but definitely more of an adventure! Plus, considering how much cheaper it was, it really made the most sense.
Raphael Alexander Zoren says
Mongolia looks like an awesome journey, I’m sure you’ll love it! Be sure to take a Genghis Khan selfie!!!! 😀
Silvia says
Done! (duh.)
Amir says
I would say Arak in Iran was the bleakest one!
Silvia says
I just looked up Arak and it looks really pretty! Then again, you can never really trust Google image searches…
Amir says
I know!!! I also checked the Google now, they show it much greener than what I saw by my eye 🙂
There might be some cute historical places in the city, but there are several nasty industry there, mostly beside the city, mostly related to Steel and cement. Basically it is a center of heavy industry. So the weather is quite bad, and it is located beside the central desert of Iran, so not so much vegetation around. The water is also salty.
Silvia says
Yeah deserts always are fun to visit, but towns and cities there end up looking so bleak and often really dirty!
Patti says
I love that you’re eating ramen noodles on a Russian train. Perfect!
Silvia says
Haha good point. It was perfect!
Victoria@ The British Berliner says
I’m so sorry that you were ill. It’s the worst thing. I like your pot noodles though and train travel in developing countries, except when it isn’t! For example, the Indian train. Never again! It was the best adventure though and the whisky and cola some travelers forced down me helped a lot LOL!
Silvia says
Hahaha ugh train travel in India! I was groped so many times during the night so I agree, never again!
Chalsie says
I can’t believe how much money you saved! Bravo!!
Sounds like a real experience. Ulaanbaatar sounds super bizarre. Although you walked away from it not loving it, I’m really interested to see for myself! Isn’t that ironic, aha.
I really like train travel, there’s something strangely romantic about it. This could be because I absolutely hate flying. Although I put up with it to travel the world. I guess travelling far outweighs my discomfort.
Chalsie | The Workshop Co. x
Silvia says
There really is something so romantic about train travel, and I love flying (weird, I know)!
Jub says
Hey Siliva, Wasn’t aware you didn’t have to catch the train direct from Beijing. How did that go with your Chinese Visas? I though you needed to show the consulates your documents leaving China?
Alice says
Hi Silvia,
When was that exactly ? I plan to be around there in November or December and I’m not sure what to expect weather-wise and about the trains…
Alice.
Silvia says
It was the beginning of February! It was very, verrrrry cold, but since it’s so dry there there’s barely any snow, so you don’t need to worry too much about the trains. Good luck, and have fun!
Frencescar Lim says
Hi, this is Frenchescar from Singapore. Can I check with you, do you have to book all the tix in advance?
Matthew Parkman says
Sorry to hear because you got sick. But the surprising thing is how could you save a lot of money over there. Great!
Silvia says
You can!
Fabiana Santos says
Dear! Hi 🙂 got insipired by your blog. Im in China now and have two options:
1. Cross the border of Mongolia (Beijin-Erlian-UlanBator), go up to Ulan Ude, Irkutsk and then get a cheap flight to Bishkek (2 weeks each journey)
2. Cross the whole China all the way to Kashgar, and cross the border to Kyrgystan. (Im in shanghai, so thinking about going through Xian or down in Tibet – but dont want a private tour)
What would you recommend?!
Love, Fabiana
Silvia says
Ooh they are both such good options! My personal choice would be to cross China to Kashgar, but that’s because I really love traveling in China. The Mongolia – Irkutsk route is also really amazing (and definitely go to Lake Baikal if you do it!).
Renan says
Hi Silvia,
Do I need to book train tickets in advance? I am making a trip from Beijing to Moscow and I want to do it by train but I want to stop on a few cities along the way. What do you recommend?
Thanks
Renan
Silvia says
Sometimes the cheaper trains sell out if you don’t book a few days in advance – it depends when you’re traveling. Some people booked them online in advance, whereas I bought a few tickets at a time as I went a long (so usually just buying the tickets a few days in advance).
Kit says
Hi Silvia,
Is it possible to continue the train journey from Jining Nan to Erlian because I don’t feel like spending a night at Jining Nan?
Silvia says
Hm our train arrived late at night, so I’m not sure there is a night train to Erlian – you’ll have to look up the time table!
nancy says
really sorry for the sickness, and dark light of Ulaanbaatar. Actually not good an idea traveling to there cold seasons expect June July August. yeah, i agree that that hall picture of it. but still being nowadays is quite good, if we could talking about last 100 years history. By the way , really appriaciate to visited my country . if you have idea comeback , lets see there during the summer time, cheers 🙂
Bound2explore says
Thanks for sharing this. I’m trying to figure it out how to get to ulaanbatar from beijing when I came across your blog. Train looks so old but maybe it is worth a try one way.
Freddy Lozano says
Hi there,
I am reading that it is difficult to converse in English while purchasing tickets at bus stations or rail stations. Is this true from your experience? I did travel to Beijing for a short layover (12 hr) and I found that it was the case that English was not common at all even trying to catch a Taxi from the airport or even the help desks. Just wondering what your experience and possible suggestions are! thanks!
Silvia says
Yes, I couldn’t really use any English. Ask someone at your hotel or hostel to write down the bus or train you want to book and show the paper to the person you buy the ticket from. Though I believe in Beijing there is one window at the train station where they speak English – it should be marked.
Anon says
Hello! I am also planning a Beijing to Ulan Bator, and your route sounds like a lot of fun! However, I cannot find any info about “Jining Nan” when I search for it. All the results are for Jining, which appears to be a totally different city. Where is Jining Nan, and how do I look up train ticket information from Beijing to there? Thanks for the informative post!
Jordan says
The city is Jining, Inner Mongolia (集宁). Nan (南) is just Mandarin for south, as in ‘Jining South Railway station’. If you search for train tickets and schedules on trip.com, you’ll find Jining as Jining South. Hope this helps!
Freddy Lozano says
Hi there,
You’ve helped me in the past, and I hope you can help with this question. My partner and I are planning on doing a trip from Beijing to Ulaan Bator Mongolia on the Trans-Mongolian Railway, and are now pretty close to making our booking but have come into a bit of an issue. This whole time I’ve been under the impression that we would be able to use the 144 hour transit visa (visa exemption) as a way to fly into Beijing and then take the train to Mongolia visa free. But now that I am looking at things, I am getting mixed messages. I am reading that you have to fly-in to Beijing and fly out of Beijing, but that Trains are not included. Then, I am also reading that the exit port can only be in the region that is allowed in the 144-hour visa zone. So for instance, if you fly into Beijing, you would have to exit from Beijing region.
Anyway, any help you can offer would be great.
Given that you did this trip, I’d like to hear how you went about the visa process. I presume you got a proper visa through a Chinese consulate in your home country, but I would love to hear that you did the same thing that I am planning to do (here’s hoping!).
Love to hear about your experience and suggestions.
Victoria says
Please be aware that the 144 hour visa is restricted to the city you land in – you can’t even use it to visit Shanghai from Beijing for example. You have to stay within the administrative precinct district of the city of arrival (see below for details). So definitely can’t use it to travel across to Mongolia – you will be pulled up by Chinese immigration. You need to get a tourist visa for China if you plan to leave the district of arrival.
Interpretation of the 144-Hour Visa-Exemption Transit Policy
2018-06-08
Sanctioned by the State Council, Shanghai Municipality, Jiangsu Province and Zhejiang Province, Beijing Municipality, Tianjin Municipality and Hebei Province, and certain ports in Liaoning Province are to adopt the 144-hour visa-exemption transit policy available to nationals from 53 countries.
1. An eligible passenger can transfer via any of the following ports of entry including Shanghai Pudong International Airport, Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, Shanghai Port International Cruise Terminal, Shanghai Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal, Shanghai Railway Station, Nanjing Lukou International Airport and Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport, and stay within the administrative precincts of Shanghai Municipality, Jiangsu Province and Zhejiang Province for 144 hours.
2. An eligible passenger can transfer via any of the following ports of entry including Beijing Capital International Airport, Tianjing Binhai International Airport, Tianjin International Cruise Home Port, Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport and Qinhuangdao Sea Port, and stay within the administrative precincts of Beijing Municipality, Tianjin Municipality and Hebei Province for 144 hours.
3. An eligible passenger can transfer via any of the following ports of entry including Shenyang Taoxian International Airport and Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport, and stay within the administrative precincts of Liaoning Province for 144 hours.
zaidan says
Dear admin blogger, i am also interested to travel to ulanbaatar from bejong by train, anybody here could kindly advised me on traviling alone by train? backpacker? regards
adrian says
Hi. I will be in Beijing on the 4th of August 2019 to travel to UB around these dates. If you’ll be there let me know. adrianlm_22@hotmail.com
SARFARAZ NIAZI says
hi there can anyone help me as I had been read all above detail but I cannot found Jining Nan on the way to mangolia that is located other part of china please guide me and let me know and mail me .
many thanks
Jordan says
The city is Jining, Inner Mongolia (集宁). Nan (南) is just Mandarin for south, as in ‘Jining South Railway station’. If you search for train tickets and schedules on trip.com, you’ll find Jining as Jining South. Hope this helps!
Jordan says
To everyone a bit confused by Jining Nan — The city is Jining, Inner Mongolia, and the Nan is just mandarin for ‘south’, as in the south railway station. If you use trip.com for all your chinese train schedules/ticket bookings, it finds Jining as Jining South. Mandarin for the city and the station are: 集宁, 集宁南. I hope this helped! I live in Beijing if anyone needs any other chinese travel help.
Jordan says
To anyone wondering about the Jining Nan station; the city is Jining, Inner Mongolia (mandarin: 集宁). Nan is just the mandarin word for South, as in Jining south station. If you use trip.com to look for and book chinese trains, you’ll find the station as Jining South. Hope this helps!
Kyle says
I am thinking of buying a ticket from Beijing directly to Ulaanbaatar at a website called China ticket Online https://www.chinaticketonline.com/internationaltrains/ and they can deliver ticket to my hostel at reasonable price. However I don’t want to use direct train back to China because of my limited budget. How can I save money? Can I take a train from Ulaanbaatar to Erlian and then use Chinese train from Erlian to Beijing? I cannot find where I can book the ticket from Ulaanbaatar to Erlian. Anybody have done this before?
Thomas says
Hey guys! Thanks for the informative post. Did you get your Mongolian visa in Beijing? The visa centre are asking me for my ticket into Mongolia, and also to save a few dollars I prefer following your route into Ulaanbaatar but I cannot exactly book a bus ticket in advanced from Erlian to the border?
Any ideas?
Thank you!
Fred says
I just returned from Mongolia in September 2019. I went into Mongolia exactly as described by the author of this blog.
Guiding principle: travelling within China is cheaper than packaging the whole bundle from Beijing to Ulaan Baatar( UB). By train or bus, go to Erlian or Erenhot, the Chinese border city, then cross into Mongolia using public bus (40yuan) or private cars or jeeps( 70-100yuan). These buses or Jeeps will drop you at a town square which is beside the railway station. From, Zamin Uud, an evening train( sometimes two or three) goes to UB.
Mike says
Thanks for telling us your experience. We’ve always wanted to travel across Mongolia via the Trans-Siberian railway.