From Beijing to Ulan Baatar?

Travel Info
Can you take a train from Beijing to Ulan Baatar? I would like to spend a few days in both. Is it an expensive trip? Are there towns along the way to get off and spend a night in?

Travel Tips

Yes, you can take a train from Beijing to Ulan Baatar (which, for the poster above, is the capital of Mongolia) -- I almost did it myself when I was in Beijing last fall, but opted for the train to Hanoi instead (great experience, in case you change your mind!)

From Beijing to Ulan Baatar, the journey takes around 30 hours; I can't seem to find a cost for you, but my journey from Beijing to Hanoi was around USD$60. I've seen a few things that say this might be more expensive, but I think it would require a little more research to get a solid price. You can make it a cheaper journey if you opt for a hard sleeper (as opposed to a "soft" one, which is really rather nice and cushy); you'll likely be on a bunk of three, rather than two, but it'll save you a few bucks. (Also, if you do opt for the soft sleeper, be advised that the top bunk is SLIGHTLY cheaper, a few dollars maybe, but it's not really worth it -- the lower bunk is far more comfortable and you get the use of the table in the middle, as well as a less obstructed view.)

When we were in Beijing, we saw lots of signs in our hostel about where and how to book the Ulan Baatar train -- I'm thinking it might be far easier to book once you get there, rather than trying to do it beforehand (unless you want to go through an agency and make it more of a package deal; but the price will get hiked up, and anyway, isn't part of the adventure figuring it out for yourself?) Be advised that if you try to go to the station to buy the tickets yourself, you will need someone to write out EXACTLY what you need in Chinese; three separate days of trying to buy our Hanoi train tickets at Beijing West Train Station (and finally finding the woman that sold them in the corner of a bank OPPOSITE the station) was not the best use of our time. Best to book through your hostel once you get there, I'd say.

Below I've given you some useful links to travel blogs and journals written by people who've made the same journey. Hopefully, this will give you a whole lot of food for thought.

Hope this helps -- have an amazing trip! Source(s): I'm an editor with Travelocity, and I backpacked through Asia for six months last year.

Here are some interesting and useful links which talk about the Beijing-Ulan Baatar train:
http://www.travelogues.net/trans_siberia...

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-ent...

This is a pretty interesting page that tells you about Trans-Mongolian trains and what you can expect:
http://www.travelcentre.com.au/travel/ru...
Other Travel Tips

I do not know where is Ulan Baatar, is it belongs to China? I think you'd better not take a train, the train in China is not like what you thought, I mean it is not comfortable, trust me.
I would suggest a Mongol travel agent based in Beijing,english speaking and very efficient and well connected with travel agencies in Mongolia.You can send mail at tuya925@gmail.com