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Basic Information for Traveling to Mongolia
Smartphone apps are especially useful in unfamiliar foreign countries. Here are apps that help on a trip to Mongolia.
| Google Maps | Rich information on shops and restaurants. Tap a bus-stop mark to see the bus route number, route and operating status. Also handy for showing your destination to a taxi driver |
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| Google Translate | Camera input, voice input and conversation are also possible. Take a photo of a menu or product name with the camera and it converts it into English |
| Maps.me | You can use maps offline even in rural areas where internet service is unstable |
| UB Smart Bus | You can search routes from bus route numbers and stop names in Ulaanbaatar and see the operating status of the bus you want to ride. For advanced users who already know the routes to some extent |
| UBTZ Ticket ※ | Look up routes and timetables of domestic trains connecting north and south and international trains connecting neighboring countries. You can also buy tickets |
| UBTraffic | Check traffic congestion on the main roads in Ulaanbaatar. Areas shown in dark red are heavily congested, and sometimes walking is faster |
| shoppy.mn ※ | An online shopping site. You can also buy movie and concert tickets. It is in Mongolian only, but with the images you may want to give it a try |
*At present, because of payment methods and other circumstances, you cannot buy tickets online without a local bank account. You can also ask your hotel or guesthouse to do it for you.
There are various ways to use a smartphone and access the internet, but the easiest is to use the internet service at hotels (paid or free) and free Wi-Fi spots. Major hotels and downtown areas have Wi-Fi spots, so check in advance whether your hotel offers it and where the Wi-Fi spots are. However, Wi-Fi spots have the drawbacks that speed may be unstable, connections may fail, and places you can use them are limited.
There are plenty of other options, such as using your mobile carrier's flat-rate roaming plan or a SIM card that works with a local carrier, but if you want to use your smartphone and the internet without stress, also consider the following method.
You can rent a Wi-Fi router that works in Mongolia. It is available at a flat fee from several companies. A Wi-Fi router is a device that lets you use the internet on smartphones, tablets and PCs locally; you reserve in advance and pick it up at the airport. It is inexpensive, one router can connect multiple devices (you can share with your companions), and you can use the internet comfortably anytime, anywhere, even on the move, so more and more people use it.


