13 Jul 2024
I am very happy to attend the Naadam Festival. It IS the crown jewel event in all of Mongolia. It was very hard to secure tickets for foreigners as it requires a Mongolian phone number and the tickets are very limited. So I'm glad I found the tour over Viator to have this opportunity. I definitely had the sticker shock when I saw the price but when you calculate it out, its about $30-$40 more. But that gets you convenience, where transport was provided and a dedicated Mongolian guide. A guide is essential to get you through the rat maze of people, position you to the best spots and provide context of what you are looking at in ENGLISH. If you dont speak Mongolian you will be wasting a lot of time just getting to the event and getting lost. They just change itineraries and close of roads on a whim. Having an experienced guide was absolutely helpful. so that extra dollars is well worth it!