Our traveler's feedback

I have been visiting countries along the ancient Silk Road for some time now and this year I wanted to go to Mongolia. My earlier trips have been with big-name tour companies that specialise in small group tours. As I researched Mongolian tours I started reading about the company Discover Mongolia. I wrote them an email and got a wonderfully personalised response within a few hours, along with follow-up emails providing more information about their tours and about the country. Because of this, I decided to support this Mongolian tourism provider. This was the best decision I could have made!

I chose the '16 day discover Mongolia tour with local Naadam festival' and an additional day to visit the Chinggis Khaan statue. I wanted to see as much of the country as I could in the time I had available and this tour allowed me to do that. Originally I wanted to go to the national Naadam festival in the capital city, but I am so glad that I opted for a local festival instead. This meant I got to enjoy the festival activities up close and was not stuck in a stadium seat or caught in huge crowds. Instead, I was only a few feet from the wrestlers, stood alongside as the young riders finished their 25k horse race and joined with Mongolian families as they cheered for their local heroes.

Several things about the Discover Mongolia tour that impressed me.

(1) It truly was a small group tour. There were three of us plus the guide and the driver in a 4x4 van that could comfortably fit eight.

(2) The quality of the tour surpassed my expectations and my experiences of tour group travel. The guides and the drivers made all the difference to this tour. Oyuna was our country guide and she was so knowledgeable, delightfully humourous and responsive to our group, which consisted of three very different strangers. We had interests outside the planned schedule: I wanted to see petroglyphs, another person was interested in archery, while the third member of our group wanted to spend more time with nomad families. Oyuna made it happen for us. Our driver Nyama was also very impressive. With no formal roads, no road signs nor GPS, this wonderful man took us safely through the most amazing rugged terrain. His lovely personality and sense of humour added another dimension to our journey. Marla was a great guide in the city of Ulaanbaatar and my personal guide for the Chinggis Khann statue, and she tailored our experience to match our personal interests and desires too.
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(3) The company demonstrated that it puts the customer first. I had booked an additional day with a full itinerary to be added to my trip. Towards the end of my 16-day tour in Mongolia, I realised I wanted to change the activities of this last day. One day out from this date, Discover Mongolia tailored a new schedule taking my interests into consideration at no additional cost and with no problems.

(4) What I came to appreciate about the Discover Mongolia company was their desire to be the best tourism provider in Mongolia. This was obvious by the level of support and training they gave to their staff so customers receive quality experiences. In addition, we met Dalai, management staff from Discovery Mongolia, who joined us at the local Naadam festival and took the opportunity to gather our individual comments about the trip.

The final thoughts that I want to share are for the benefit of potential customers. Mongolia is a beautiful country with lots of varied experiences to offer so do your research and choose a tour that matches your interests. Mongolia is a developing country and Discover Mongolia offers real-life adventures so be prepared for this, and enjoy the challenges and savor the experiences that may possibly place you out of your comfort zone.

Would I take another tour with Discover Mongolia? Yes definitely!

Having dreamed of visiting Mongolia for years, I finally decided to make it a reality. I knew I wanted to see as much of the country as I could, and being a horse person, I wanted to include the Naadam Festival. After extensive research I found the perfect tour with Discover Mongolia.
The pre-trip information was excellent, power plugs, what to pack, FAQs, and tips for tourists. Additional questions were quickly answered by email.
The first and last days of the tour were spent in UlaanBaatar with our delightful guide, Marla. This included trips to The National History Museum, a monastery, and War Memorial, and on the final night, front row seats, to a live performance.
The second day we flew to the Gobi and met our guide Togos and driver Nandin, they would be our companions for the next two weeks. Off to our first ger camp. The accommodations are basic, but comfortable and clean, the staff hard working and eager to please, this was a common thread throughout the trip. There's something magical about sleeping in a ger, I found it deep and restorative. While I don't consider myself a foodie, I couldn't help taking pictures of every course, every meal (3-4 at lunch and dinner). The presentation was beautiful and the taste even better, fresh and delicious, this too was prevalent throughout the trip.
As we headed north from the Gobi, the landscape changed daily. Mongolia is a vast, beautiful country, no better way to see it than drive. 5 in total, we were very comfortable in our incredible 4x4 Mitsubishi "soccer mom" van. How Nandin navigated is beyond me...no GPS, no road signs, no roads, and yet every day we arrived at our scheduled destination.
The highlights for me were the local Naadam Festival and our visit with the nomad family. While the Festival in UlaanBaatar is the biggie, I was quite happy at the local Festival in Kharkhorin. Somehow we ended up "backstage" in the VIP tent for the opening ceremony, thanks Nandin, here we rubbed shoulders with the local dignitaries, while Togos made sure we followed tradition. The smaller location allowed us to be in the midst of the the action, on the ground with riders racing past us to see the end of the 25k horse race, with the locals routing for their favorite wrestler, or watching the archers amazing feats of accuracy. If you want to experience the excitement of Naadam you do need to plan your trip for July. The nomad family visit was a true day in the life. The work is hard and seems never ending, but their sense of family, camaraderie, and tradition is strong. Their hospitality is second to none, a full table of food and drink was spread before you as soon as you stepped into the ger. This was before they shared a meal!
Mongolia has it all, a vibrant city in UB, sand dunes, dinosaurs, temples, monasteries, volcanoes, goats, sheep, cows, yaks, reindeer, camels, horses, fresh lakes, green landscapes, big blue skies, but what makes Mongolia so special is their people. Welcoming, accepting, and eager to share their country with you.
And while the the tour is well planned, the itinerary extensive, the accommodations, food, and sights incredible, it was Togos and Nandin that made it exceptional. It wasn't Togos' wealth of knowledge of the history, culture, or traditions, or Nandin's extraordinary driving skills, but the jokes and laughter we shared, and the true caring they displayed that have made this my number 1, favorite trip ever. I have friends in Mongolia and they have a friend in me! Thank you Discover Mongolia.

I had a trip in Mongolia with a group of friends, organized by Discover Mongolia Travel. Everything was well organized and we were able to get a real taste of Mongolian nature and way of life. Our guide Oyuna was really excellent - sharing a lot of facts about Mongolia and the places we have visited and always very patient and flexible as our group at times didn't stick very closely to the schedule.
The drivers were always smiling and very good at what they were supposed to do - get us safe in all destinations from the trip. Which is not an easy task on the gravel roads.
Thanks again to our guide Oyuna and our drivers.
I definitely recommend doing your Mongolia trip with these guys!

We had two Taylor-made tours with DiscoverMongolia, one in the South Gobi and the other one in Ulaanbaatar city with Chinggis Khan Statue Complex, by driving with 4x4 Minivan and a domestic flight. Both of them were really fantastic!
They picked us up at the airport and we could start the tour towards the south of Mongolia.

Before to book the tour we had a lot of doubts and questions and Bat, Travel Advisor, answered quick as possible, always with exhaustive email. He assisted us from the start to the end of the process, organizing in every detail our travel.

The first one, South Gobi:
- They gave us everything they promised with all the places set by the program. We could discover beautiful landscapes and the tradition of mongolian people.
- Our guide Ebo is a really kind guy with a good knowledge about the culture and the visited places. The driver Nyamaa has exceptional driving skills (this is very important for the kind of road in the South of Gobi) and is really gentle.
Both of them are friendly and with good sense of humor. They contributed to make this experience in Mongolia unforgettable.
- We slept in the ger camps located in really suggestive places. The structures have good facilities and all the comforts.

The second one:
- We visited the Zaisan Memorial, Chinggis Khan Statue Complex and Sükhbaatar Square.
- Our guide Ganbaa is really prepared and he never refused our requests. The driver Battulga accompanied us and he treated us kindly.

We were lucky to have the possibility to taste Mongolian cuisine with different recipes in every place where we ate.

If we return to Mongolia in the future, we would gladly choose again DiscoverMongolia. We recommend it to everyone.

Thank you DiscoverMongolia!

I joined Discover Mongolia to fulfill a lifelong wish to see and experience the Gobi desert. I made the absolutely right decision! 

Mir was our tour guide, she was organized, informative, and personable. Tamba, Ambra and Dalai were skilled mechanics and drivers. Very quickly during the trip, we all became friends. In fact, I'll be visiting a few friends I've just made in the Philippines! 
Thank you Mir and team for an unforgettable experience in beautiful Mongolia!

The nearly 15 day tour of Mongolia I took with Discover Mongolia has one of the trips of my life -- and I have been traveling extensively for the last 25-30 years.

The itinerary - from the Gobi in the south to Lake Khuvsgul in the north -- was well planned and each day was different as was each place. What made the trip so much better and enjoyable was that we had a fabulous guide in Mayagmar Uugantsetseg (Oka for us) and Thuksuu who was the man behind the wheel.

These two became our window to Mongolia. They looked after us with extreme love and care and not for a moment we got the feeling that we are in a foreign country.

The two are lifelong friends for me now. They were the best ambassadors of Mongolia, a country that is extremely beautiful blessed with natural diversity and happy and friendly people.