Recently Viewed
Semi-Gobi Tour: Experience Nomadic Culture and Traditional Mongolian Food in One Day
4.0
55 Ratings
Högönö-Taranaiin-Hüree
One of the best ways to experience and travel around Mongolia, if you are in a tight schedule. In this tour, you will see and experience Mongolian steppes, semi-Gobi, Bactrian camel, local nomadic culture, host family and traditional Mongolian food only in one day with a professional English speaking guide, driver and private vehicle.
One of the best ways to experience and travel around Mongolia, if you are in a tight schedule. In this tour, you will see and experience Mongolian steppes, semi-Gobi, Bactrian camel, local nomadic culture, host family and traditional Mongolian food only in one day with a professional English speaking guide, driver and private vehicle.
Duration:
11 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Elsen Tasarkhai (Sand Dune Mini Gobi) - You will have the opportunity to experience local nomadic culture in an authentic way plus ride a Bactrian camel with an astonishing view over the mountains in the beautiful semi-Gobi. We’ll start the day early in the morning in order to get much out of it. After a short drive, we’ll make a stopover to have…
- Elsen Tasarkhai (Sand Dune Mini Gobi) - You will have the opportunity to experience local nomadic culture in an authentic way plus ride a Bactrian camel with an astonishing view over the mountains in the beautiful semi-Gobi. We’ll start the day early in the morning in order to get much out of it. After a short drive, we’ll make a stopover to have some snacks, coffee or tea with a beautiful view. After arrival at semi-Gobi, we’ll visit the local family and get introduced nomadic culture. Then ride a camel (horse) over the sand dunes, which will be instructed by our host family. After riding a camel, traditional Mongolian lunch will be served. Then we’ll explore the surroundings and make hiking over the sand dunes. We’ll be on the road back to Ulaanbaatar after we enjoy the day in semi-Gobi. Plus snacks will be served on the way back to Ulaanbaatar. Transfer to hotels will be provided as well.
What's Included
- Private transportation
- Snacks
- Lunch
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- All fees and/or taxes
- Tea and coffee
- Camel or horse riding fees for an hour
- Bottle of water
- Private transportation
- Snacks
- Lunch
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- All fees and/or taxes
- Tea and coffee
- Camel or horse riding fees for an hour
- Bottle of water
Location
Elsen Tasarkhai (Sand Dune Mini Gobi)
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.0
(55 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
203khulanb
Jul 8, 2025
Mini Gobi experience near the mountains - These sand dunes offer a unique blend of desert and steppe – a perfect photo stop for travelers who don’t have time for the Gobi. Visitors enjoy riding camels, walking the dunes, and watching the sunset over the mountains. It’s also a nice contrast to the grassy plains nearby.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Trek00016709065
Jun 16, 2025
A day that calls for more - pure semi-gobi experience 🏜️🐎🐑🐐🐫 - Our tour to the Semi-Gobi Desert was a real highlight of our trip to Mongolia! We were picked up on time at our desired address and started with a 5-hour drive, which went by like flying thanks to the varied landscape, exciting conversations and interesting information – the time in the car was absolutely pleasant and entertaining!
On site, our adventure began with a rocking but very entertaining camel ride – including a photo shoot with a dreamlike backdrop. Afterwards, we enjoyed freshly prepared dumplings in a traditional Mongolian geer – a delicious and authentic experience!
After a detour to the sand dunes with beautiful views we unfortunately had to make our way back. One day is definitely too short – if possible, we recommend a two-day tour to have more time for this impressive region. Unfortunately, this was not possible for us due to time constraints.
Conclusion: A great organized excursion with unforgettable impressions, warm support and a touch of adventure. Very worthwhile – next time we stay longer!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Robert_w
Jun 8, 2025
Spectacular Mongolian steppes & Gobi desert tour - An outstanding day trip to the Mini Gobi Desert, about 280km south-west of Ulaanbaatar. It a long yet spectacular druve, with stops for great pictures, coffee and lunch along the way. The tour guide Urtaa and the driver were wonderful, could not have been more friendly and informative. Superb value!
Review provided by Viator
Sik7uol
May 11, 2025
Urtaa, the great guide - Our guide Urtaa and the driver (should have asked how to spell his name) gave us a wonderful memory during our visit to Mongolia! They constantly checked whether everything is ok with us, providing explanation on Mongolian history, legend and culture. We really enjoyed a small picnic on a hill with nice coffee, camel ride, playing with baby goats, running on a desert, playing traditional board game in a car. Last but not least, massive kudos to the driver who drove us safely for 10 hours!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Pierre_c
Apr 21, 2025
Went beyond our Expectation with Urtaa and Tuadhuu . . . - I didn't expect this too much but it went beyond our family road trip. Urtaa the Tour Guide as well as his driver Tuadhuu did a great job. They waited after our breakfast and gave us Mongolian history and board game while on the road. The potholes didn't bother us and the short unique 2 hump Winter Camel ride on the Gobi where they belong was a great memories. Ger, baby sheep, cow, horses, birds, eagles, fermented milk teas and organic Mongolian foods were so awesome. I can tell you that animals are kind and well behaved becoz Mongolians are Good Shepherd and animal lovers. They're not cruel like those in the middle east whipping the animals. Just treat this as Road Trip from Ohio to Tennessee Smokey Mountain with lot of stopover for coffee, bathroom and photos, you'll enjoy it. Take the trip Spring to Fall to avoid risky icy road. So far, this once in a lifetime road trip in Mongolia is worth it. Thanks Urtaa and Tuadhuu. We appreciate the crew who made this happen.
Review provided by Viator
Jonty_s
Nov 12, 2024
Amazing Tour and Even Better Service - Ignore the negative reviews. - We thoroughly enjoyed the tour. I'm not just saying this, but Urtaa the tour guide is the most lovely, genuine person I have ever had the pleasure of being guided by. He makes a huge effort to make sure you are comfortable, and continuously provides great insight to the mongolian life.
The trip itself is great. Some people saying the drive is long clearly didn't research before embarking on the tour. Yes the drive is long, but when can you experience the Gobi Desert anywhere else? We had a great time and would highly recommend to anyone. It is a once in a lifetime.
Review provided by Viator
Kohei_s
Oct 6, 2024
Highly recommended guides - The guides are really friendly and basically took care of everything for us, from picking up to having meals and taking pictures. They even taught us how to play Mongolian horse chess. I had a great time joining this tour. Highly recommend.
Review provided by Viator
Dream32692404370
Jun 15, 2025
Needs improvement - The camel ride is authentic and enjoyable. But the experience could have been better if the camel guide was explaining about camels in Mongolia and its cultural importance while we were crossing the desert.
Also the ger exploration is too short and does not comprehensively give a view of the way nomads live.
Souvenir shops, restaurants, photo booth, cashmere wearing booth, etc may also be setup in the area for more activities.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Wander22606019272
May 21, 2025
They didn’t show up - They didn’t show up. I waited half an hour longer and the company said that the driver was on the way. I said I would continue and I waited for 2 hours altogether.
They still didn’t show up and the company didn’t respond to my text messages.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Davidkp9651ug
Apr 17, 2025
You get none of the experiences you pay for. Zero responses from management to compensate. - Unfortunately, I have to leave a 1 star review for this experience. The guide and driver were amazing and I would just give them 5 stars if I could. However, to start pick up was over an hour late. It was supposed to be at 8am and I was not picked up until roughly 9:30am. I looked past this as lateness happens the traffic in UB is really bad. The worst part and why I am leaving a 1 star review was I did not get to do anything that was advertised on the itinerary when I booked this tour online. The 1 hour camel ride was 20 minutes being lead around the property, there was no hike afterwards and there was no traditional Mongolian lunch with the family. When I tried to contact management about a partial refund due to not getting the experience I paid for I was ghosted with no reply to either of my messages. Definitely, not worth the $340 CAD I paid. I would avoid this tour bureau all together and save yourself a headache.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
More activities from this operator
