Trip Details – Spring Journey – Small Group Trip

Spring Journey | Small Group Trip

Spring in Mongolia is one of the most vital seasons for Mongolia’s herders. Unlike conventional tours that emphasize the “must-see” attractions, our immersive, 14-day Spring Journey centers around the daily rhythms of herding families with whom we have nurtured long-term local community partnerships.

This slow-paced cultural experience allows you to be part of and take part in the way of life of our host families but is balanced to give the families the time they need to focus on their work. Each family is different – the number and type of livestock they keep, their home environment, the landscapes in which they live – and you’ll experience this variety of ways of life as well as understand how the families are supplementing their fragile income through establishing ger homestays and small informal ger camps.

Mongolia's Orkhon River Valley
Milking yaks. Part of the typical Mongolian herding calendar
Erdene Zuu Monastery
Ma'am - Our Orkhon Waterfall herder trekking guide

Interested? Please email or send a message through WhatsApp for the full itinerary details. Price details are below.

  • Start Date – May 11th 2024
  • Duration – 14 Days
  • Maximum Group Size 6
  • Accommodation – Homestays – hosted by families we work in long-term local partnerhsip with, family ger camps
  • Travel with & experience the friendship of our great Mongolian teams of male driver & female trip assistant as well as the friendship of the families we work in partnership with
  • No single supplements for solo travellers
  • This is a small group trip. However, our maximum is group size is six – which is refreshingly small for the travel industry. Our small group sizes mean that our trips are more respectful for your host families that we work in long-term local community partnerships with. It also means you’ll be one of few rather than one of many and this leads to a more genuine experience as well as a more personal and real insight for you as our guest. It also means that no two trips are ever the same as we can keep things flexible. All images used throughout our website were taken either by EL guests or members of the EL team. This is the Mongolia that you will also experience.
  • Book With Confidence (see below)

‘Every local family provided a great insight into their way of life. They felt involved rather than used. It felt that we were part of something rather than an inconvenience. This really helped us gain a great insight and have a truly beautiful experience.’

Martin Slaven, Spring Journey

Spring Journey | Positive Impact Overview

  • No domestic flights. Emissions per km for domestic flights are high because a large proportion of the flight is spend taking off and landing. As we are serious about tackling the carbon footprint of the trips we offer, we try that a majority of our experiences don’t include domestic flights.
  • The maximum group size is six which is refreshingly small for the travel industry and allows us to manage our impact.
  • The experience has been built with a focus on Mongolian culture and on creating local benefits for local people & communities including families we work in long-term local community partnership with – helping to supplement their income to help prevent urban migration, face the challenges of climate change and allowing them to maintain their fragile herding lifestyle – https://www.eternal-landscapes.co.uk/who-we-are/who-we-work-with/
  • Our team of female Mongolian trip assistants is breaking down barriers in tourism and leading the way for other Mongolian women from a diverse range of backgrounds to work in and be supported by tourism. Mongolia’s growing economy has not directly translated into better employment opportunities for women and by choosing to travel with us you’re helping us to create long-term development and employment opportunities for our brilliant trip assistants – https://www.eternal-landscapes.co.uk/empowering-mongolian-women-in-tourism/
  • High unemployment rates and toxic masculinity are two very real issues faced by older more traditional men in Mongolia. By choosing to travel with us you’re helping us to provide long-term employment for our team of older, more traditional male drivers who have experience and accumulated knowledge but who would otherwise struggle to find employment and provide for their extended families – https://www.eternal-landscapes.co.uk/supporting-mongolias-male-tourism-drivers/
  • We are in the process of measuring the carbon footprint of each experience we offer and balancing the footprint through the Mongolian Nomad Carbon Project. We wanted a high-standard project local to Mongolia where the local community had a positive say in the scheme and its impact. It’s the first project of its kind in Mongolia – https://www.eternal-landscapes.co.uk/climate-action-plan/
  • A donation is made to the Mongolian projects we support and that you will visit such as the Uuliin Nuur Community Project in Ulaanbaatar – https://www.eternal-landscapes.co.uk/project-support/

Explore More: Connected Stories on Our Blog

Meet Tomorbat – your host on our ‘ger-to-ger’ walk in Mongolia’s Orkhon River Valley.

Learn more about why we work in the Middle Gobi

Explore what you can do in Kharkhorin

Meet the families we work with involved with the Ar Arvidjin Delgerekh Cooperative.

Spring Journey | The Small Details

For all of our small group trips we offer a sliding price scale. We appreciate your holiday funds are precious and so the more people that book so the price comes down and everyone benefits.

Group Size – Maximum of six. Minimum of two required for a guaranteed departure (or pay a surcharge)

** If you’re considering this trip as a private experience for a group, we prefer a maximum group size of 6 as it helps manage our impact but we will increase it for private trips. Get in touch for details.

  • Final group size of 2 guests:      USD 3520 pp **Current group size**
  • Final group size of 3-4  guests:  USD 3320 pp
  • Final group size of 5  guests:      USD 2900 pp
  • Final group size of 6  guests:      USD 2625 pp
  • Final group size of 6  guests:      USD 2515 pp

Where Does Your Payment Go?

We understand that budget is a personal consideration, and everyone has different preferences. Our rates may be higher compared to some other agencies, not because we position ourselves as a luxury tour operator, but due to our commitment to a form of tourism that is fair and equitable. By limiting our operations to around 150-200 travelers annually, we focus on delivering personalized and meaningful journeys rather than generic tick-list experiences.

  • Commitment to Mongolia: We are a registered Mongolian business, contributing to the local economy through taxes, employment, and social security payments. Your tour payment stays within Mongolia, supporting local initiatives and fostering economic growth.
  • Empowering Employment Opportunities: We offer long-term employment to individuals often overlooked by other tour companies. Our team includes female Mongolian trip assistants who break barriers in the tourism industry, paving the way for other women to flourish in tourism-related roles. Similarly, we employ older, traditional male drivers, addressing high unemployment rates and supporting extended families within Mongolia. Learn more about our initiatives: Empowering Mongolian Women and Supporting Male Drivers.
  • Community and Herding Family Support: Our trips are designed to benefit Mongolian herding families and local communities that we have formed long-term local community partnerships with without disrupting their lives or work. Our sustained support helps these families face the challenges posed by climate change. Discover more: About Us.
  • Climate Emergency Advocacy:  As members of Tourism Declares A Climate Emergency and signatories of the Glasgow Declaration, we are committed to finding solutions to the climate crisis. We pioneer regenerative tourism practices that minimize our carbon footprint and contribute positively to our planet’s well-being. Learn about our climate initiatives: Climate Emergency.
  • All meals outside of the city of Ulaanbaatar. Mainly prepared and cooked by your local team so they are fresh and it means we offer more flexibility for any dietary requirements. We also provide filtered drinking water (not bottled), tea, and coffee. 
  • In Ulaanbaatar: local lunch and welcome drink on city walking tour
  • Local team of English-speaking female Mongolian trip assistant and Mongolian male driver
  • All overland transportation throughout the trip (+ fuel)
  • Each vehicle has a charger for cameras and phones
  • Free (informal and relaxed) city walking tour of Ulaanbaatar
  • Transportation to and from the airport on arrival and departure days
  • All activities mentioned PLUS any activities offered including
  1. Camel or horseback rides
  2. Entrance fees to monasteries, temples, and museums (when with local team) – excludes camera tickets
  3. Festival tickets if a festival is highlighted in the itinerary
  • International airfare to and from Mongolia
  • Accommodation in Ulaanbaatar

* Our trip pricing excludes the price of accommodation in UB though. Why?  Everyone is different is the standard of accommodation they prefer at the start and end of a trip. As there is now such a variety of hotels in UB it is easier to exclude this cost. I provide a list of ideas covering varying standards and budgets and I can also help with booking. There’s everything from a homestay through to Airbnb, US$10 guesthouses and the Shangri-La!

  • Domestic flight where/if applicable

*If you are travelling by domestic flight, the schedule and cost of the domestic flights have not yet been determined by the Mongolian airlines. Once you have booked this trip, you will be notified directly by us as soon as that info becomes available. Reservations and payment arrangements for any domestic flight will be coordinated by us.

  • Passport and visa fees

Let us know your nationality at the time of booking and we’ll confirm whether you need to apply for a Mongolian visa. It is a relatively easy process depending on your nationality and we can help with some of the formalities.

  • Travel insurance (mandatory) 
  • Gratuities

*Each member of the local team receives a responsible but fair salary and none have to rely on receiving gratuities to supplement their income.  In addition, we make sure that everyone who works with us or helps us is fairly rewarded for their work and the service they provide. At the end of the tour, if you wish to make a gratuity to the local team then thank you – it is not compulsory but it is appreciated when given. If you would like to provide a tip,  a tip for the drivers would be roughly equal to what you would give to the tour guides – anything from $20 (USD) per member of staff (driver & tour guide) is a good minimum guide.

Take a look at our comprehensive FAQ section – https://www.eternal-landscapes.co.uk/mongolia-faqs/

We are members of Tourism Declares A Climate Emergency and a signatory of The Glasgow Declaration which requires us to publish an annual Climate Action Plan. It also means we have essentially signed up to work towards halving our emissions by 2030 and reaching Net Zero as soon as possible before 2050. We must report publicly on an annual basis on progress against our interim and long-term targets, as well as on actions being taken. We do this in our Climate Action Plan linked above.

One of the five pathways defined in the Glasgow Declaration is ‘measure’ and we have started the process of measuring the carbon footprint of our tours.

  • We wanted an accurate footprint analysis whilst also keeping the process manageable and achievable. Of the limited carbon calculators available to small tourism companies with a restricted budget we have signed up with the carbon calculator tool Carmacal – specifically designed for tour operators and the 2017 winner of the UNWTO Award for Innovation in Research and Technology.
  • However, there are limitations with this online tool in the fact that – like most online carbon calculators – you can only measure transport and accommodation and a few very specific activities. But, the main contributors to carbon footprints are food, consumption, transportation, and energy, and all are heavily utilised during a tourism experience.
  • As a result, Jess has been working with postgraduate student  Kelly Hirschbuehler from the Responsible Tourism Management Postgraduate Course of Leeds Beckett University in the UK – the only responsible tourism management MSc certified by the UNWTO – looking at how we can measure the carbon emissions of meals on tour as well as the carbon footprint of our office as well as certain tour activities.
  • Using the calculations provided by Kelly in her research project we can now better calculate – not perfectly but still better – the overall carbon footprint of each trip we run.

We then balance the footprint for each tour by purchasing Plan Vivo Foundation carbon certificates which are used to support the Plan Vivo Mongolian Nomad Project – working in partnership with the Mongolian Society of Range Management.

It’s not perfect, but it is a start. After all, you can’t manage what you don’t measure, and the way we measure the carbon footprint of our tours is manageable and achievable for us – a very small business with limited finance and resources.

We will be publishing the carbon footprint for each tour on each specific tour page but this will take a little time.

Book WithConfidence - Take A Look At Our Comprehensive FAQ Section

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  • "It honestly was a once in a lifetime trip. It was such a unique experience and learning experience. It was an incredible experience and everyone that was apart of the company made us feel welcomed like family."

     Rachel Hirsh, Hong Kong, Winter tour experience (link)

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  • "Keep at it Jess.......you have great things going. EL is right up there with my favourite small companies (the principals of which have become close friends)."

    Pat Blamey, Australia, Mongolia Winter tour  (link)

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  • 'It's an extremely difficult balancing act to offer tourists an 'authentic' yet 'entertaining' experience but I think you did very well. We never felt like we were imposing or getting in the way. In a way, it felt more like were visiting friends of friends.'

    Diarmuid Carter, Private / Tailor Made Experience (link)

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  • "Thank you and your team for everything you've done for us, I sincerely appreciate your efforts and feel lucky to have known you all. Keep it up."

    Eirini Sperelaki, Greece, Small group experience (link)

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  • 'Why did I choose this company?.... Because for me they have ethics and policies that support the people and the country as well as making sure that you get what you want. Nothing was too much trouble and transparency and clarity were paramount.'

    Lesley Jackson, Australia, Private/ Tailor-made experience (link)

    Or, see our Tripadvisor reviews (link) or our annual feedback review (link)

  • "From the start, I've been very impressed with the honesty and the quality of the information. It was very clear what this travel experience would not be, and what it would try to be (without any guarantees and thus false promises). It felt very personal. The approach to travelling was refreshing and I really appreciated it: showing the ‘real’ Mongolia, without any pretence."

    Sophie Van der Hert, The Netherlands, small group tour (link)

    Or, see our Tripadvisor reviews (link) or our annual feedback review (link)

       
  • "I would recommend EL without hesitation. The values of the company. The staff. The product. The care. The itineraries. All excellent."

    Jane McNab, Australia, Mongolia trekking experience (link)

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  • "You organised and delivered a fantastic mix of trips. Who’d have thought Mongolia could offer such a mix over winter? A wonderful trip. Your vision and offerings are both laudable and outstanding and a reflection of your values."

    Viv and Pete McWaters, Australia, extended Mongolia winter experience (link)

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  • "The caring for us, the locals and the environment is not something we see a lot of. A lot of times the caring to locals is a low priority, if at all. Sometimes all the company cares about is the profits and the will to satisfy the clients beats the locals. In our trip we found a unique combination where all parties are taken care of in a perfect way."

    Sagi Bar Or, Israel, Mongolia Trekking Experience (link)

    Or, see our Tripadvisor reviews (link) or our annual feedback review (link)

  • "The flexibility of it all makes it a refreshing trip, creating memorable experiences. It was a truly good way to travel. Honest, sincere, reliable and you deliver."

    Hui Wyn Ong and Hui Li Lim, Singapore, Mongolia Horse Trekking Experience  (link)

    Or, see our Tripadvisor reviews (link) or our annual feedback review (link)

  • "You listened to what we wanted. You showed that you listened to us and have gone that extra mile for us – things that you don’t get on other tours. From an organisational perspective everything was excellent – great itinerary, built in flexibility, elements of surprise, relaxing, informative and enjoyable." 

    Paul Williams and Mandy Wong, UK and Australia, Tailor Made Experience (link)

    Or, see our Tripadvisor reviews (link) or our annual feedback review (link)

     
  • "In terms of experiencing Mongolia we did right to go with EL. We got to experience some of Mongolian life and not just see Mongolia from the “comfort” of our car. We weren’t so much tourists but rather more like friends of friends. So well done and thank you for getting the tour just right for us."

    Maria Seele, South Africa, Mongolia Tailor Made Experience (link)

    Or, see our Tripadvisor reviews (link) or our annual feedback review (link)
  • 'It remains a stand out adventure - remote, free and with great interaction with the environment and the people. A true adventure, unlike any other. And it was possible thanks to the special way you built EL and tailored our trip. It could easily be much less interesting without your deep relationships with the herders and families.  So thank you for making it a real Mongolian exploration and not just a hover above the surface.'

    Ben Kidron and family, Israel, Wild Family Explorer Winter (link)
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