Motorcycle trip

Mongolia

It depends on the season and the time you have. The Wild Spirit of the Steppe (10 days, about 715 miles (1,150 km)) covers the essentials: Ögii Nuur lake, the Tsenkher hot springs, the Orkhon Valley, Karakorum and the Khögnö Khan dunes. In the Tracks of Genghis Khan (14 days, about 1,056 miles (1,700 km)) adds the White Lake and two nights with a nomad family. The Frozen Ride (8 days) is a winter expedition by sidecar. In summer, you ride a Royal Enfield Himalayan 450.

From £3,090 (€3,490) to £4,990 (€5,490) per rider: £3,090 (€3,490) for The Wild Spirit of the Steppe, £3,990 (€4,490) for In the Tracks of Genghis Khan and £4,990 (€5,490) for The Frozen Ride. On the summer tours, a pillion pays £2,690 (€2,990) or £3,290 (€3,690); in winter, two riders share each sidecar and there is no pillion fare. Your flight to Ulaanbaatar is extra, as is a £31 (€35) registration fee on your first tour with us. Each tour page sets out what is included.

Summer, from May to September, for our two motorcycle tours: the tracks are passable and the days are long, with 15 to 25°C in the daytime and late-afternoon showers more frequent in July and August. July is also the month of Naadam, the national festival. Winter, in January and February, is for The Frozen Ride, at -20 to -30°C on frozen lakes. Open dates are listed on each tour page, and our Mongolia weather guide has the details.

All three tours are rated Sustained and are meant for experienced riders who are at ease off tarmac. In summer, half or more of the route follows steppe tracks, with river crossings and long days far from any town. The Frozen Ride is for very experienced riders, able to handle snow and ice and to bear intense cold for several hours a day. We do not run a beginner tour in Mongolia.

Your full motorcycle licence and a 1968 International Driving Permit, carried together: the UK government states that the 1949 permit is no longer accepted. UK travellers can visit for up to 30 days without a visa until 31 December 2026; for later dates and other passports, check the rule in force before you travel. Your passport must be valid for 6 months after arrival. Details are in Preparing your trip to Mongolia, in our help centre.

Our three tours start and finish in Ulaanbaatar, the capital. You book your international flight to Ulaanbaatar airport; our team meets you there on the first day, takes you to the hotel and drives you back to the airport on the last day, according to your flight times. If you would like to arrive before the group or stay on afterwards, your travel advisor will tell you what can be arranged.

On the road, the main risk is less the traffic, very light outside Ulaanbaatar, than the isolation: stages run far from hospitals and the phone network mostly covers the towns. That is why every group rides with a tour leader, a mechanic and a support vehicle, which can take an injured rider to the nearest medical centre. For the situation in the country, read the FCDO travel advice for Mongolia, or your own government’s advice if you live elsewhere in Europe, before you book.

No, we do not rent motorcycles on their own in Mongolia: every departure is a guided tour, with an English-speaking motorcycle tour leader, a mechanic and a support vehicle that carries the luggage and the spare parts. When you land in Ulaanbaatar, your machine is ready and the yurt camps are booked: all that is left is to ride and enjoy the steppe.