Guides
Solo travellers and women travellers
Information as of 2026-09-21
Lone travellers and women are advised to keep a higher level of situational awareness than the country's generally low crime rate might suggest, and groping in crowded places is reported.
The specific advice for Ulaanbaatar nightlife is that alcohol-fuelled aggression towards foreigners is common in bars and clubs, and that dancing close to a man may be read as an invitation in a way it would not be at home.
Official advice is to avoid being out alone at night in Ulaanbaatar and to have a venue order a car rather than hailing one.
Outside the capital the risk profile is different: the countryside is generally safe, and the danger is isolation, weather and distance from help rather than crime.
Solo countryside travel is structurally expensive because vehicle, driver and guide costs do not divide. Joining a small group trip is the standard workaround.
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- Use a trackable ride-hailing app rather than a street taxi at night, and share the ride with someone at home.
- Join a scheduled small-group departure for the countryside leg; it halves or quarters the cost and removes the isolation risk.
- Do not accept drinks from or engage with visibly intoxicated men; disengaging early is the recognised local strategy.
- Stay in guesthouses that other travellers use rather than isolated hotels, for the informal network as much as the safety.
- Tell your guesthouse where you are going each day, especially if you are hiking or riding alone.