Irkutsk to Ulaanbaatar by train or bus?
I've tried using tutu.ru for the trains, but it won't show me any train to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Despite this I know there are daily trains. What I don't know is what time they are, how long they take, and how much they cost?
In addition, there's talk of a bus from Ulan Ude - although there may presumably be one from Irkutsk too. Same questions - times, length of trip and cost, any help or websites with this on?
Final 'how to get somewhere' question on this trip, hopefully ;)
Best Answer
Apparently the bus from Ulan Ude to Ulaanbaatar is about 8 hours. For some reason, when you travel by train, the border controls alone take 9 hours. I never really quite figured out why it took so long and bus passengers don't seem to suffer this. So a train to Ulan Ude and the bus from there is a good option.
Another good reason to stop in Ulan Ude is that it means to get to travel past Lake Baikal by day - I can't recommend this enough, it was the highlight of our trip.
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How do you get from Lake Baikal to Mongolia?
There is no direct connection from Mongolia to Lake Baikal. However, you can take the train to Irkutsk Passajirskij, take the taxi to Irkutsk Bus station, take the bus to Shitkhulun, then take the travel to Lake Baikal.How do you get to Ulaanbaatar?
" The main airlines going into and out of Ulaanbaatar are MIAT (the Mongolian National Airline), Aeroflot, Air China, Korean Air and Turkish Airlines. From Europe flights usually go via Moscow. From the East there are regular flights from Beijing, and direct flights from Osaka in Japan, and Seoul in South Korea."How long is the train ride from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar?
There is a direct train from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar that runs twice a week and only takes about 30 hours, but tickets cost $200. The direct train is of course the easiest way to travel from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar, but being the budget backpackers we are, we decided to take cheapest (and most fun!) route.How long is the train from Moscow to Ulaanbaatar?
The Moscow to Ulaanbaatar (Ulan Bator) train makes 26 stops on its way from the capital of Russia to Mongolia's capital. The train covers 6266 km in 4 days.Irkutsk to Ulaanbaatar on the Trans-Mongolian Train
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