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Most people fly into Ulaan Baatar from Beijing, Berlin or Moscow. Organised tours also operate flights from Osaka and Seoul. The international Mongolian carrier is MIAT, which some wags claim stands for 'Maybe I'll Arrive Today'. Delayed and cancelled flights are common partly due to frequent poor weather conditions. The airport departure tax is around US$5.

The only other way foreigners can enter and leave Mongolia is on the Trans-Mongolian Railway linking Beijing and Moscow. Border crossings are at Ereen-Zamyn-Üüd on the Chinese-Mongolian border, and Naushki-Sükhbaatar on the Russian-Mongolian border. Some travellers have reported crossing into Mongolia from Russia and China by jeep or bus, but technically this is still illegal.

Currency: tögroög (T or MNT)

Meals


• Budget: US$3-5

• Mid-range: US$5-10

• Top-end: US$10-20
  
  Lodging
  

• Budget: US$5-10

• Mid-range: US$10-20

• Top-end: US$20 and upwards

If you're travelling on an organised tour you'll probably spend about US$100 a day. You can travel independently, see the same sights and stay in the same places for about US$80 a day - a lot less if you share the cost of a private jeep and camp rather than stay in pricier gers (tents). Accommodation and food will cost at least US$10 a day in Ulaan Baatar, but you're better off budgeting closer to double that. In the countryside, allow about US$15 per day if you're using public transport and staying in hotels; if you take a tent and camp, you'll spend closer to US$7 per day.

Bring US dollar travellers' cheques and have some US dollars in cash. Credit cards are handy at some hotels and at airline offices in Ulaan Baatar, but you won't be able to buy anything on credit outside the capital. For some unknown reason, US dollars dated before 1988 are unacceptable.

There's supposedly a mandatory 10% 'government' tax levied in Ulaan Baatar's posher restaurants and hotels, but most places either don't bother adding it onto the bill or haven't heard of the tax. Tipping is appreciated in upmarket restaurants. Bargaining is catching on in the public markets, but be prepared to pay more than Mongolians.