Step1
Tell us when you land
And whether you would rather be met at the airport or at your hotel once you have slept.
Arrival concierge
The first day, handled.
A local SIM, cash that works, a phone that maps, and someone who has explained how the city functions before you need it to.
Most of what goes wrong on a first trip to Mongolia goes wrong in the first eighteen hours, and none of it is dramatic: no data, no small notes, an ATM that declines a foreign card, a taxi app that needs a local number to register.
This is the unglamorous service that prevents all of it. Someone meets you, gets your phone working on a Mongolian network, gets tögrög into your pocket in useful denominations, walks you through the practical geography of the city and leaves you with a number that answers.
What you get.
Set out clearly, so you know exactly what is arranged.
Included
- Meet on arrival, at the airport or at your hotel
- Local SIM card, registered and activated in your phone
- Data plan set up and tested before we leave you
- Assistance drawing tögrög and breaking it into usable notes
- Taxi and ride-hailing apps installed and registered to your new number
- A practical orientation: your neighbourhood, the nearest pharmacy, supermarket and ATM that reliably takes foreign cards
- Written card with your hotel address in Cyrillic for taxi drivers
- Our 24-hour number for the rest of your stay
Not included
- The cost of the SIM and data plan, which we pay and pass through at cost
- Your own cash withdrawals and any bank fees
- Airport transfer, which can be booked alongside
- Meals
Pricing.
Quoted for your dates and party size, and confirmed in writing before anything is booked.
The SIM card and data plan are bought on your behalf and passed through at cost, with the receipt. Your own cash withdrawals and any bank fees are yours.
Prices are confirmed in writing before anything is booked. Payment by bank transfer or on invoice; we do not take cash in the vehicle.
How it works.
Ninety minutes of admin that saves you a day of confusion.
Step2
Phone first
SIM registered in your name against your passport, as Mongolian law requires, then the data plan tested on the spot rather than assumed.
Step3
Then money
To an ATM that reliably accepts foreign cards, then breaking large notes down — a 20,000 tögrög note is useless to a small shop.
Step4
Then the city
A walk or short drive covering what is near you, what is worth your time, what to avoid, and how to get a taxi that will not overcharge you.
Step5
Then we leave you alone
With a number that answers for the rest of your stay.
Worth knowing.
The details that decide whether this goes smoothly.
Registered against a passport
Mongolian SIMs must be registered to an identified person. Doing it yourself is possible; doing it in Mongolian at a counter after a long flight is less pleasant.
Still runs the country
Cards work in Ulaanbaatar hotels and larger restaurants. Outside them, and everywhere in the countryside, cash is the only option.
Same day or the next
Some travellers want this straight off the plane. Others want to sleep first. Both work.
Not just for our guests
This service is available whether or not you are travelling on one of our journeys.
Questions.
Asked often enough to answer here.
Can I just do this myself?
Yes, and plenty of people do. This exists for travellers who would rather spend their first afternoon somewhere other than a mobile phone shop.
Which network do you use?
Whichever currently has the best coverage for where you are going, which is not always the best coverage in the city. Tell us your route and we will choose accordingly.
Will my card work at ATMs?
Usually, at the larger banks. Some foreign cards are refused by some machines for no discoverable reason, which is precisely why we go with you rather than sending you a list.
Do you offer this for departures too?
Yes — an assisted departure covering check-out, luggage, the drive and the airport formalities. Ask when you book.
Land already sorted.
Tell us your arrival date and we will have someone waiting with a SIM and a plan.
Request this serviceOther services.
Most travellers book two or three together, which is simpler for everyone.