Henri Cho
Boston, Massachusetts15 contributions
Jul 2026 • Couples
My husband and I did the Nomadic Relay Cycling Tour (Orkhon Valley) + Naadam Festival Journey (total 11 days). The cycling tour was a great way to see and experience the beautiful countryside of Mongolia. As relatively fit people, the bike ride felt more moderate, with a couple days proving very challenging with steep inclines. During the bike trip, we visited a nomadic family and tried many local foods and drinks, including airag. The Naadam Festival was also an incredibly unique opportunity to see traditional Mongolian dancing, singing, and sports. Dashka was also always communicative and very helpful in the days leading up to our trip. I would just suggest researching tourist ger camps ahead of time so you know what type of accommodation you are getting yourself into, as they proved to be a bit more rudimentary than expected. I would not suggest a longer bike ride, as the scenery can be repetitive after a few days.
The primary constructive feedback is that we would have preferred a much more experienced tour guide... Our tour guide was very young, so they did not know a lot of our questions on Mongolian history, especially when visiting ancient sites like Karakorum. They also lacked basic skills you'd expect in a tour guide, such as knowledge and preparation of our destination/the agenda, time management, naturally weaving in narratives of Mongolian culture/history, etc.