Essential Apps for Mongolia Travel
At a glance
Taxi, maps, translation, payments — 11 must-haves for Mongolia.
TL;DR – Install These Right Away
| Category | Apps |
|---|---|
| Taxi | UBCab, inDrive |
| Maps | Google Maps, Maps.me |
| Trekking & off-road | AllTrails |
| Translation | Google Translate |
| Payments | Wise, Revolut |
| Booking | Booking.com, GetYourGuide |
1. Taxi & Transport
UBCab
A local Ulaanbaatar taxi app. Global apps like Uber and Grab don't operate in Mongolia, and UBCab is the most widely used ride-hailing app locally. The interface is available in Mongolian and English — enter your pickup and destination and a nearby driver is dispatched. It's useful for getting around Ulaanbaatar and applies a far more transparent fare than an unmetered street taxi. Note that signing up sometimes requires a Mongolian phone number, so it's convenient to register after buying a local SIM.
💡 Ulaanbaatar road conditions: Ulaanbaatar suffers from very heavy traffic. During rush hour (8-9am, 5-7pm), getting across the city can take 1-2 hours, so build extra time into your schedule.
inDrive
📱 Download: App Store | Google Play
A fare-negotiation app also available in Mongolia, usable as a UBCab alternative for getting around Ulaanbaatar. Riders propose their own fare first — negotiating for the roughly 20km ride from Ulaanbaatar's Chinggis Khaan International Airport into the city can be cheaper than the official airport taxi. It has the advantage of letting you sign up with an international number, so you can use it even without a local SIM. It may not work outside Ulaanbaatar (in smaller towns like Dalanzadgad or Murun), so check local availability.
2. Maps & Exploration
Google Maps
📱 Download: App Store | Google Play
Useful for navigating Ulaanbaatar and locating major sights (Sukhbaatar Square, Gandantegchinlen Monastery, Zaisan Memorial, National Museum). Save offline maps of Ulaanbaatar ahead of time to get around without data. However, Google Maps data is often incomplete or entirely missing in the steppe, desert, and remote areas. For natural landmarks like the Gobi Desert, Terelj National Park, or Lake Khövsgöl, save the destination by GPS coordinates (latitude/longitude) or use Maps.me alongside it.
AllTrails
📱 Download: App Store | Google Play
Provides off-road and trekking route data for Mongolia. Check hiking routes in Terelj National Park, trekking through the Arburd Sands nature reserve, or walking paths around Lake Khövsgöl. Offline map downloads (requires a Plus subscription) let you track your position without GPS in the steppe and mountain regions. Mongolia's natural terrain is vast and often unmarked, so before trekking, always go with a local guide or tour guide, or make sure you have thorough GPS data prepared. Some Gobi Desert camel trekking routes are also listed.
⚠️ Remote travel caution: Outside Ulaanbaatar, mobile data signal is nearly nonexistent in the Gobi Desert, steppe, and other remote areas. Be sure to pre-save all maps and information offline. A satellite phone or a guide is strongly recommended in case you get lost.
3. Translation
Google Translate
📱 Download: App Store | Google Play
Mongolia's official language is Mongolian, written in the Cyrillic script (similar to Russian letters). English works to some extent at Ulaanbaatar's tourist sites and upscale hotels, but Mongolian is essential at local restaurants, markets, and in the steppe. Downloading Google Translate's Mongolian offline pack ahead of time lets you translate without internet. You can instantly decode Cyrillic menus, bus/train timetables, and road signs with camera translation. Rural Mongolians sometimes understand Russian as well, so having Russian translation on hand can help too. Knowing a few basic Mongolian greetings ("sain baina uu" = hello, "bayarlalaa" = thank you) goes a long way in connecting with nomadic herders.
4. Payments
Wise
📱 Download: App Store | Google Play
A fintech app good for exchanging and paying in Mongolian tögrög (MNT). ATMs at Khan Bank, Golomt Bank, and TDB in Ulaanbaatar work well with foreign cards. Mongolia relies heavily on cash, so withdraw plenty in Ulaanbaatar before heading out on a Gobi Desert or steppe tour — there are no ATMs at all in remote areas like the Gobi Desert or Lake Khövsgöl. Tour package costs are typically paid in cash to a local Ulaanbaatar tour operator.
Revolut
📱 Download: App Store | Google Play
A multi-currency management app that includes Mongolian tögrög. Carrying some USD cash and using Revolut's live exchange rate info is useful when exchanging for tögrög at the Ulaanbaatar airport or a currency exchange office. Card payment is possible at upscale Ulaanbaatar restaurants and some hotels, but steppe and desert tours run almost entirely on cash.
💡 Cash is essential: On Gobi Desert, Terelj, or Khövsgöl tours, most expenses — ger (nomadic tent) stays, camel tours, horseback riding, meals — are cash-only. Prepare enough tögrög cash before leaving Ulaanbaatar. For a 10-night trip, bringing a minimum of 200,000-300,000 tögrög is recommended.
5. Tour & Activity Booking
GetYourGuide
📱 Download: App Store | Google Play
Book an Ulaanbaatar city tour, a Terelj National Park day trip, or a 5-day/4-night Gobi Desert tour. Mongolia tours are typically packages involving long-distance travel and camping, and GetYourGuide is a convenient way to book English-language tours. For a Korean-speaking guided tour, going through a local Korean-run travel agency, or gathering info from Mongolia travel communities on KakaoTalk open chat, tends to work better.
Booking.com
📱 Download: App Store | Google Play
Compare and book hotels and guesthouses in Ulaanbaatar. Accommodations near Chinggis Khaan International Airport or around Sukhbaatar Square offer good accessibility. Some ger camps in the steppe and desert regions are listed on Booking.com, but a package booking through a local tour operator is more common. Ulaanbaatar lodging sells out fast during peak season (summer, June-August, and the Naadam Festival in July), so book early.
App Installation Checklist
- inDrive (negotiate fares from the airport and around Ulaanbaatar)
- Google Maps (save Ulaanbaatar maps offline)
- AllTrails (offline maps for Terelj/Khövsgöl trekking)
- Google Translate (Mongolian offline pack)
- Wise or Revolut (tögrög exchange info)
- GetYourGuide (tour booking)
- Booking.com (Ulaanbaatar accommodation)
Why You Need an eSIM for Mongolia
4G LTE data is available in Ulaanbaatar. Data comes in handy for hailing inDrive, navigating with Google Maps, using Google Translate, and looking up tour info in the city. However, remote areas like the steppe, Gobi Desert, and Lake Khövsgöl have almost no data signal. That's why pre-saving offline maps is the single most important preparation for Mongolia travel. An eSIM is ready to use right after you land in Ulaanbaatar, with no need to go through a SIM purchase process at the airport. Local SIMs (Mobicom, Unitel, Skytel) are also available, but since there's no signal in remote areas anyway, an eSIM works just as well.
👉 Compare the lowest Mongolia eSIM prices on esimoa
App information is current as of 2025 and service policies may change.
