Mongolia with Kids
Family travel guide for parents planning with children
Top Family Activities
The best things to do with kids in Mongolia.
Stay with Nomad Family in Terelj
Children herd goats at dawn, fold dumplings at lunch, then curl up in snug gers with real beds. Evening milking and star-gazing under zero light pollution lodge in memory long after the trip ends.
Hustai National Park Wild Horse Spotting
You will see Przewalski's horses, plus marmots and deer. Flat trails keep younger walkers happy, while teens can tackle full-day hikes.
Gorkhi-Terelj National Park Rock Climbing
Kids scramble over turtle rocks and try beginner climbs. The Aryabal Monastery sector has routes that 8-year-olds can finish.
Dinosaur Fossils at Flaming Cliffs
Stand where Roy Chapman Andrews dug up real dinosaur eggs. Children hunt for smaller fossils (they keep what they find) and learn paleontology on the spot.
Naadam Festival (July)
Watch child jockeys thunder down the track, arrows thud into targets, and wrestlers grapple in the dust. Cultural shows and street snacks turn the grounds into a Mongolian county fair.
Winter Ice Festival at Khövsgöl Lake
Ice sculptures glitter beside horse-sled races and reindeer photo calls. Ice slides and games occupy kids while parents sip hot airag.
Best Areas for Families
Where to base yourselves for the smoothest family trip.
The most child-friendly slice of Mongolia's capital has sidewalks, playgrounds, and restaurants that grasp what young palates want.
Highlights: Sukhbaatar Square lets kids burn energy, the dinosaur museum displays a full T-Rex skeleton, indoor play centers rescue rainy afternoons, and pharmacies carry western baby products.
Close enough to Ulaanbaatar for hot showers, wild enough for adventure. Ger camps here target families and come with proper toilets and hot water.
Highlights: Climb Turtle Rock, ride horses at any age, hike the gentle trail to Aryabal meditation temple, then paddle the local rivers.
Mongolia's ancient capital delivers history minus the tourist swarm. The monastery grounds give kids room to roam and climb safely.
Highlights: Erdene Zuu monks chat with children, ancient city walls beg to be climbed, local families offer pony rides, and a small museum displays ancient artifacts.
Your last stop before the Gobi with real infrastructure. Stock up at the final decent supermarkets before the desert camps begin.
Highlights: Browse the local market for snacks, touch fossils at the dinosaur museum, ride camels that start right in town, then join star-gazing tours.
Family Dining
Where and how to eat with children.
Mongolian plates are simple and kid-approved, meat, dumplings, mild spice. Ulaanbaatar dishes up global options. But once you leave, menus shrink to tradition. Most children devour khuushuur (fried meat pies) and tsuivan (noodle stir-fry). Bring backup snacks for choosy eaters.
Dining Tips for Families
- Ask for 'boortsog', fried dough that doubles as Mongolian donuts and never fails with kids.
- Ask for 'banshtai tsai', milky tea with dumplings, filling and mild
- Load up on western snacks at Seoul Street market in UB before the countryside swallows choices.
Floor-cushion seating lets kids watch dumplings take shape, portions arrive huge and built for sharing.
High chairs appear on request, kids' menus list familiar dishes, and clean bathrooms include changing tables.
Khuushuur and grilled meat skewers fit small hands and walking appetites. Vendors expect hungry children.
Tips by Age Group
Tailored advice for every stage of childhood.
Mongolia tests toddlers with marathon drives and bumpy tracks. Yet gers and animals usually win them over. Pick bases carefully, Terelj beats deep Gobi. Pack comfort foods and accept nap-time chaos.
Challenges: Changing tables vanish outside UB, drives stretch long between stops, and ger nights run cold.
- Bring a portable potty for roadside emergencies
- Request ger camps with heating stoves
- Pack white noise app for shared sleeping
Kids this age come alive in Mongolia, old enough to gallop horses, hungry for dinosaur fossils, and hooked on nomad life. They power through full-day adventures and still recall every cultural moment.
Learning: Archaeological sites, traditional music instruments, nomadic lifestyle sustainability, eagle hunting traditions
- Give them cameras, they notice details adults miss
- Assign them to document the trip in a travel journal
- Teach basic Mongolian phrases, locals love kid attempts
Teenagers lean into Mongolia's wild horizons and the Instagram gold they deliver. They stomach tough multi-day horse treks and grasp the cultural weight. Some flinch at the isolation, others celebrate the digital blackout.
Independence: Safe to roam ger camps alone, ride horses with local teens, and, once they ask, photograph nomad families.
- Let them plan one full day's itinerary
- Encourage drone photography where permitted
- Give them responsibility for family photos/videos
Practical Logistics
The nuts and bolts of family travel.
Inside Ulaanbaatar, the metro runs smooth with strollers, elevators serve every station. Taxis are everywhere and cheap. Yet car seats are scarce, so pack your own. Countryside travel demands a 4WD with driver. Insist on seatbelts. Most families book a driver-guide for multi-day runs, they know every roadside toilet and kid-worthy detour. Domestic flights cut hours off drives but timetables shift without warning.
Ulaanbaatar hosts solid private hospitals (Intermed, Songdo) staffed with English-speaking doctors. Pack a basic first-aid kit, pharmacies beyond UB stock only the basics. Diapers and formula line UB supermarket shelves (Emart, Orgil) yet vanish in small towns. Bring extras for remote stretches.
Book ger camps with attached bathrooms, the extra cost repays itself with kids. Many rent family gers with 4-5 beds. Demand extra blankets. Summer nights still bite. Generator power often dies at 10 PM, so charge battery packs before lights go out.
- Layers for temperature swings (can be 30°C days, 5°C nights)
- Battery pack for devices when camping
- Baby carrier for toddlers (strollers useless outside UB)
- Sunscreen and hats, high altitude means intense UV
- Wet wipes and hand sanitizer, bathroom situations vary
- Share ger camps with another family to split driver/guide costs
- Hit UB markets before countryside runs, snack prices triple in tourist zones.
- Use local transportation between UB and Terelj instead of private transfers
- Eat at family ger camps instead of tourist restaurants, better dishes, smaller bills.
Family Safety
Keeping your family safe and healthy.
- ! Water safety: Drink only bottled or boiled water, even locals treat their well water. Most ger camps supply safe water. Yet pack purification tablets for emergencies.
- ! Road safety: Countryside vehicles rarely have seatbelts, demand them or bring portable booster seats. Roads are brutal; motion-sickness pills save the day.
- ! Sun protection: Mongolia's altitude throws harsh UV. Reapply sunscreen every 2 hours, during summer festivals when kids stay outdoors all day.
- ! Animal safety: Coach kids to move slowly around livestock, nomad dogs guard their turf. Horse guides pair children with calm mounts. Yet helmets can vanish, so pack bike helmets.
- ! Temperature swings: Bring layers even in summer, desert days roast at 35°C, nights chill to 10°C. Watch for altitude sickness in western Mongolia above 2000m.
- ! Food safety: Eat only hot, freshly cooked dishes. UB supermarket ice cream is safe. Skip street ice cream in countryside towns.
Book Family Activities
Top-rated family experiences in Mongolia.
Genghis Khan Statue+TereljPark+TurtleRock+AryabalTemple Guided
Cheaper price same tours Experienced guide drivers Speaking English Professional on time Safety cars with insurance This guided tour covers reliable transportation and fuel. But other expenses like
Transportation with driver ( SUV, Van, Mini Bus )
Our drivers are highly qualified experienced drivers in Mongolia. Also all through your trip we have a manager who can help you along.
Explore Activities in Mongolia
Didn't see anything interesting yet?
Browse Viator's full catalog of tours, day trips, food experiences, and private guides in Mongolia.
See All Mongolia Tours on Viator