Most trips to Mongolia start in Ulaanbaatar, home to nearly half the population, and head out to the steppe, Terelj National Park, the old capital Kharkhorin, Lake Khövsgöl or the Gobi Desert, usually with a driver and a guide. Many visitors time their trip for the Naadam festival in July. Mongolia is outside the EU's Roam Like at Home area, so a European SIM roams there at its operator's own rates.
Key facts for Mongolia
- EU roaming: not covered by Roam Like at Home
- Local networks: Mobicom and Unitel (depending on plan)
- Emergency numbers: police 102; ambulance 103; fire 101
- Embassies: in Ulaanbaatar
Ulaanbaatar
Coverage is good in Ulaanbaatar and the other cities. Pickpockets work in markets and crowded places, groups of people sometimes harass pedestrians for money, and foreigners have occasionally been assaulted and robbed, so avoid being out alone at night and ask your hotel, restaurant or bar to order you a car. Use licensed taxis or the UBCab app, which lets you track the ride. The capital's roads are heavily congested, and its air pollution peaks in winter, which matters if you have a respiratory condition.
The steppe and the Gobi
Large parts of rural Mongolia have no network coverage at all, so download your maps before you leave the city and travel with a driver who knows the route; the UK suggests carrying a back-up such as a satellite phone. Outside the capital only about 10% of roads are paved and signs are scarce. Temperatures range from +35°C in summer to -40°C on winter nights, with the most extreme conditions in and around the Gobi and the steppes. Healthcare outside Ulaanbaatar is limited and doctors may not speak English, altitude sickness is a risk in parts of the country, and your insurance should cover an air ambulance home.
Registration and the law
British passport holders can visit for up to 30 days without a visa until the end of 2026, so check the rules for your own passport. If you travel independently or stay with friends, you must register yourself with the Immigration Agency, which you can do without going there in person, while hotels register their guests through an app. Make sure your passport is stamped at the border, and carry the original with you, as the police will not accept a copy and can fine you. Drugs, including cannabis, are illegal, and so is photographing or filming the police or military personnel. Same-sex relationships are legal but not widely accepted socially.
Money
The currency is the tögrög. Hotels and tourist shops in Ulaanbaatar take cards and there are plenty of cash machines in the capital and the major towns, but in smaller towns and the Gobi cash is king.
Getting connected
A travel eSIM set up before you leave connects when you land at Chinggis Khaan International Airport, and your home SIM stays reachable for texts and bank codes. An Asia plan also covers China and Kazakhstan.
Mongolian SIM cards are easy to buy in Ulaanbaatar, and you need your passport to register one.
Consular protection: who to call in Mongolia
- Call 102 for the police, 103 for an ambulance and 101 for the fire brigade.
- Embassies are in Ulaanbaatar. The Telcomia app shows yours, with address and phone.
- If your EU country has no embassy or consulate in Mongolia, the embassy of any other EU country must help you on the same terms as its own nationals (Article 23 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU).
- Outside Ulaanbaatar even doctors may not speak English, so ask your hotel or guide to write down your address and any medical needs in Mongolian.
Questions travellers ask about Mongolia
Does my EU plan work in Mongolia?
Only on roaming, with your operator's charges, because Mongolia is outside Roam Like at Home.
Will I have signal in the Gobi?
Often not: large rural areas have no coverage, so download your maps and carry a back-up such as a satellite phone.
Which networks does a Telcomia eSIM use in Mongolia?
Mobicom or Unitel, depending on the plan, with 4G where available.
Do I need to register on arrival?
If you travel independently or stay with friends, yes, with the Immigration Agency; hotels register their guests for you.
The short version
Install the eSIM before you fly, carry your passport, have your hotel order cars at night in Ulaanbaatar, download maps for the steppe, take cash beyond the capital, and save 102 and 103.
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