What to Pack for the Gobi
A packing list for a Mongolia Gobi tour, from what the tours ask you to bring: warm layers for cold nights, sun cover, cash, snacks, and a plan for the nights without a shower.
Pack for heat, cold and dust in the same week, and for a few nights without a shower. The Gobi tours ask for warm clothing, comfortable shoes, sun cover, a camera, cash and some snacks; the UK government’s travel advice describes Mongolia’s weather as ranging from +35°C in summer to -40°C in winter and at night, changing without warning, with the most extreme conditions in and around the Gobi Desert (checked November 2026). Everything else follows from those two facts.
The list
| What | Why |
|---|---|
| Warm layers and a warm jacket | The 2- and 3-day trips and the 4-day Middle Gobi tour ask for warm clothing, and the cold extremes come at night as well as in winter |
| Long trousers and comfortable shoes | For the camel and horse rides and the walks on dunes and in the Yol valley gorge |
| Sun hat, sunglasses, sunscreen | Summer days reach +35°C, with little shade in the open desert |
| A scarf or face cover | It is often windy, and on the dunes the sand blows (a traveller’s tip from August 2024) |
| Water and snacks | The 6-day tour gives 1.5 litres of water a day; the meals follow its day plan, and snacks and beer are yours |
| Cash in tugrik | For drinks, snacks and souvenirs, and on the transport-only trips for tickets, meals and the rides |
| A charged phone and a power bank | Large rural areas of Mongolia have no network (UK government travel advice) |
| Your own medicine | The 6-day tour asks you to bring what you need |
| A towel and wet wipes | For the nights without a shower |
| A small bag for the nights | Leave room in the car; the 3-day Mini Gobi and Terelj trip does not take oversize luggage |
The nights
On the 6-day tour, nights 1, 3 and 5 are in ger hostels with a shower and night 2, in the Yol valley, is not. On the 3-day Mini Gobi and Terelj trip the first night, with a herder family at Elsen Tasarkhai, has no shower and an enclosed outdoor pit toilet. Travellers describe the camp showers as on the site rather than in the ger, and sometimes no more than a trickle. A traveller’s tip for women, from August 2024: the steppe is flat and treeless, so the toilet stops on the road have nowhere to hide, and Mongolians carry an umbrella.
If you are vegetarian, say so when you book: the Central Mongolia tours ask you to, and a 2024 reviewer of the 6-day tour found meat at every meal and brought dried meals. Another, in September 2026, filled the gaps at the supermarkets along the route. A small gift for a herder family, sweets, fruit or school things, is welcome on the 3-day trip but not expected.
Before you leave Ulaanbaatar
The UK government’s travel advice for Mongolia notes reports of fuel shortages, aviation fuel included, which may affect flights, road travel and access to some remote areas (checked November 2026). Leave a spare day around your flights, carry enough cash for the trip, and buy travel insurance: several of the tours exclude it and advise you to have your own. Plan a night in the city before the tour starts; hotels in Ulaanbaatar has room searches by area. For which tour to pack for, see a 3-day or 6-day Gobi tour.
Book Your Experience
Check Availability & Prices
Pick a date on the calendar. Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.
More Ways into the Gobi
Gobi and Central Mongolia Tours with Open Dates
Tours from Ulaanbaatar with live availability. Where each one sleeps, what it includes and the cancellation terms are shown before you book.
Packed? Pick the Six Days
Danista Nomads Tour's 6-day Gobi tour from Ulaanbaatar: five nights in ger hostels, the meals set out day by day and 1.5 litres of water a day.
Check dates