Semi-Gobi Tour: Experience Desert Life in Mongolia

Experience the beauty of the semi-Gobi desert in central Mongolia with this overnight tour. Enjoy a delicious lunch, free camel or horseback ride, and a unique home-stay with a nomadic family.

Duration: 2 days
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights

Day 1: After being picked up in the morning from your hotel in Ulaanbaatar, you will be driven to the Semi Gobi Sand Dunes (280 km), a stunning semi-desert landscape featuring large sand dunes. Lunch will be served at a convenient spot along the way. The area is home to numerous birds, deer, and gazelles. You will have the opportunity to hike around the…

What's Included
  • Knowledgeable local guide
  • Lunch provided
  • Experienced driver/guide
  • Dinner included
  • Breakfast available
  • Camel or horse ride adventure
  • Comfortable overnight accommodation
  • All transportation arranged
What's Not Included
  • Personal expense
  • Optional activity cost
  • Travel Insurance
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

The Gobi desert is far away for a short weekend or a day’s visit; therefore, this ‘semi-Gobi’ in central Mongolia is your chance to experience desert life. Imagine a picture that consists of the Rocky Mountains in the back, sand dunes extending over dunes, green trees in and by the dunes, and a river flowing along the dunes. That is what Semi-Gobi looks…

Location
Travel Mongolia
Peace Avenue, 62 Building
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
3.8
(6 Ratings)
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1 star
Jin_y
Sep 8, 2024
Good memories with a warm nomadic family - Though semi Gobi is smaller than the Gobi, it is even big and exciting. Riding a camel and a horse, watching brilliant stars and milky ways and staying with a warm nomadic family are good memories. I fortunately encountered a village festival and saw camel race and Mongolian wrestling!
Review provided by Viator
Mononmove
Jan 25, 2020
An amazing, once in a lifetime experience! - I planned a last minute trip to Mongolia and immediately booked this tour. I was in for a treat! My guide/driver was Nara and she was an amazing hostess. I was picked up promptly from my hotel in UB, we traveled through the countryside and had lunch, stopped at the wild horse reserve along the way, and ultimately got to our destination in the semi gobi desert. Along the way, we also saw several nomadic families migrating to different lands with all of their livestock. That was a sight to see! The nomadic host family who we stayed with is very kind. You’ll help them to make a meal to eat all together. Their camels are beautiful and the land they stay on is just stunning at any time of day. It’s an incredible experience to stay in a yurt and live that life albeit just for a night. I highly recommend this tour (and as a matter of fact, have suggested it to a few people now). You’re definitely in for a once in a lifetime experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sm8899
Jul 18, 2018
Incredible experience - well worth it! - I got back to Ulaanbaatar this afternoon after a fantastic tour to the ‘Semi-Gobi’ desert. As I am only in Mongolia for a few days (part of a bigger trip) I was glad to find a tour which would allow me some flexibility e.g. seeing some of the countryside, desert, and experiencing nomadic life - whilst allowing me time to explore the city etc. The tour delivered on all of its promises, and the driver/guide (Margat) was fantastic. I was picked up from my hotel on time, and we collected the other tour participant who is fabulous - and we are already planning on meeting up to reflect on our tour. Whilst the drive is quite a stretch, it is really worth it as it is there you see the breathtaking views of Mongolia/beautiful wildlife. The host family were wonderful and extremely accommodating. As previous reviewers have noted, there is no email address provided (which made me a little nervous) although the company were very easy to reach over the telephone - and in fact I have booked a throat-singing workshop with them for tomorrow! I would recommend that the company provides an email address as I think this would reassure foreign travelers. I can’t wait to share my experience with friends and family back home!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sofie
Jun 19, 2018
Great time with Bat & Bachi - I went on two tours. Had a wonderful time with a lot of stories about the country, beautiful views and amazing local people. Stayed in a ger with a women and her son. I will never ever regret that. I have only good things to say!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Washeretraveling
Sep 11, 2022
Very traditional, overpriced. Look for other similar tours. - Our tour guide and the nomad family were very nice which is the only reason it earned the extra star. Why I only gave 2 stars on this trip?… The tour guide picked us up on time from our hotel where we began our 7 hour drive. The SUV vehicle only had seatbelts for the driver, passengers had no usable seatbelts to use. The vehicle had no AC, but that’s ok, it was in the 70’s outside. We stopped at a rest stop restaurant on the way and ate some food, which had a long black hair inside, but not the fault of the tour. We didn’t stop much during the long drive, it would have been nice if the tour guide offer some sight seeing on the way like other similar trips offer. Once we made it to our destination we went for the camel ride, but it was very short. They take you about 150m through the sand dune to take photos then ride back. The primary reason for 2 stars: The Nomad family was very dirty; let me explain. They have small stoves to cook homemade noodles with beef and carrots inside, however, it’s extremely unsanitary. They burn horse poop in the stoves, but that’s ok. The problem is they use their hands to put the horse poop in the stove, then they continue cooking your meal and going on their day without ever washing hands or using hand sanitizer. There is no soap, hand sanitizer, or hot water on the entire farm. If you want hot water they need to boil it for you on the stove. They offered fermented horse milk to drink as a nice gesture, but the bowl was littered with flies inside and they don’t mind. They share dishes among us and each other without washing them (even with covid), so if anyone gets sick there is a high chance of it spreading to many tourists. This can be a major inconvenience if you test positive for covid on your return trip home. There is no toilet. There is an outhouse to poop in, but it’s the traditional kind you have to squat over. You’ll need to bring your own tp wipes. No showers or sinks to clean up, so think of this trip like camping. The beds were pretty hard, but comfortable considering they were covered in a layer wool and blankets. The wool blankets were warm at night when the fire went out which was nice. The following morning we were not offered breakfast, but instead the leftover dinner from the day before that was left out all night for the bugs to get to… On the drive home we never stopped at a horseman’s family or even seen horses other than passing by on the highway. We stopped at the same rest stop as the way there to use the bathroom then continued all the way back to the hotel. Overall the trip was more like camping and it wouldn’t have been half bad if they explained that in the description so we could properly prepare. The trip was also significantly overpriced for what was offered compared to the other trips like this one, yet the other similar trips have shower rooms, sinks to clean up, and soap etc… I recommend look elsewhere for similar trips that offer better commendations considering they are roughly the same price. This tour is very, very traditional. So if this is what you’re looking for choose this trip and bring hand sanitizer.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Hansol_k
Aug 6, 2024
Horrible - Everything was horrible. The guide was just a driver, and he can’t speak English. There was no itinerary, so I had to wait 2 hours from pick up to leave UB. And driver asked me to pay lunch even though my tour includes everything. Also, he skip my second day lunch. Everything was literally terrible. Don’t use this tour ever. We thought it was scam because every single procedure, there was no schedule and asked to pay money. I was so frustrated during the tour
Review provided by Viator
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