Ulaanbaatar with Kids
Family travel guide for parents planning with children
Top Family Activities
The best things to do with kids in Ulaanbaatar.
National Museum of Mongolia
Armor glints under low lights, kids freeze. Spread across multiple floors, this museum traces Mongolian history from prehistoric times through the Chinggis Khan empire to the Soviet era. The armor, weaponry, and traditional costumes are arresting for kids, and the scale models of nomadic life give younger visitors a concrete sense of how Mongolians lived, and still live.
Terelj National Park Day Trip
55km from the city, Terelj is where Ulaanbaatar families bolt on weekends, and they're right. Granite towers rise above a river that bends like a drunk snake, while horseback rides stay gentle enough for kids. This is the single best day trip from the city for families. Most visitors book a half or full day through their hotel or a tour operator.
Chinggis Khaan Equestrian Statue Complex
One hour from the city, the 40-meter stainless steel statue of Chinggis Khan on horseback hits you like a punch. Kids ride a lift inside the horse, straight up to a viewing platform at Chinggis's head level. The grounds around it hold ger museums plus short horseback rides for children.
Dinosaur Center / Natural History Museum
The Gobi Desert has coughed up the planet's best dinosaur fossils, period. In central Ulaanbaatar, the Natural History Museum locks them down: real Tarbosaurus and Protoceratops skeletons, bone for bone. Fossil-crazy kids? They'll plant themselves here all day. Even the mildly curious end up staying longer than planned.
Gandan Monastery
Monks chant at 6 a.m., that is when Mongolia's most important Buddhist monastery wakes up. This is no museum. Prayer wheels spin along colonnaded walkways while families watch, and the place stays alive. The 26-meter gold-plated Avalokiteshvara statue inside the main temple is impressive. Kids light up. They smell incense, hear bells, stare at colorful thangkas. Sensory overload. They love it.
Horseback Riding in the Steppe
Skip the long drive, real Mongolian horses graze 30, 40 minutes from Ulaanbaatar. Half-day or full-day rides start right on the surrounding steppe. The local horses stand smaller, calmer than Western breeds; first-timers won't feel overwhelmed.
Traditional Ger Overnight Stay
One night in a traditional felt tent (ger) outside the city beats every other family ticket. Kids crash on wooden platform beds, a central iron stove keeps the chill off, and when dawn breaks the steppe delivers total silence, urban-raised children stagger out, disoriented in the best way.
Narantuul 'Black Market' Bazaar
Narantuul sounds like a movie set. Yet it is just Ulaanbaatar's large open-air bazaar, Mongolia's biggest. Teens and older kids love it: kilometre after kilometre of cashmere stalls, leather jackets, horse saddles, knock-off electronics, sizzling meat. Loud, messy, real, and you will not finish walking it.
Bogd Khan Palace Museum
Skip the National Museum crowds, Bogd Khan's winter palace is where the real stories live. The place feels half-forgotten, which is precisely the point. You'll wander quiet grounds past beautifully preserved buildings while the last royal ruler's personal oddities stare back at you. A stuffed menagerie of exotic animals he collected? Strange, yes. Interesting for curious kids? Absolutely.
Mongolian Traditional Arts Theater (Tumen Ekh Ensemble)
Throat singing (khoomei) stops kids cold, wide eyes, dropped jaws. Evening performances of traditional Mongolian music, contortion, and dance run regularly during tourist season. The sound hits like a magic trick. Children across all ages freeze, it's one of those 'how is a human doing that?' moments. The show runs about 90 minutes with clear structure that holds younger attention reasonably well.
Best Areas for Families
Where to base yourselves for the smoothest family trip.
Chinggis Khaan Square anchors the city's most walkable zone, good for families. You'll be steps from every major museum, the government buildings, and the better mid-range and upmarket hotels. The square itself? A rare open space where local families gather every summer evening.
Highlights: You're five minutes on foot from National Museum, Natural History Museum, and Gandan Monastery, no taxi required. Family-friendly restaurants line the blocks. When you're done eating, cabs and rideshare cars appear within two minutes, every time.
South of the city center, quiet. The streets breathe easier here, traffic thinned to a murmur. Zaisan Memorial stands at the ridge, its steps worth the climb for the sweep of Ulaanbaatar below. Cafés and restaurants keep opening, luring expats and Mongolian families who want better air and half the noise. You trade centrality for space. You won't miss the chaos.
Highlights: Zaisan Memorial delivers the city's best hilltop views, cleaner air than downtown, zero traffic chaos, and actual green spaces.
Skip Ulaanbaatar's museums, Terelj's ger camps deliver the goods. 55km from the city, yes, but tour operators run transfers you can set your watch to. Wake up to steppe rolling past your door while the kids stare, slack-jawed. No city hotel can touch that jolt.
Highlights: Horseback riding across open steppe beats any city tour. You'll saddle up, ride hard, then hike to Turtle Rock, yes, it looks exactly like its name. Ger camp experiences aren't staged shows; they're real nights under felt roofs, drinking salty milk tea while herds shuffle outside. The Ariyabal Meditation Temple hike suits older children, steep but doable, prayer flags flapping overhead. Genuine nomadic family interactions mean helping herd goats, not snapping photos.
Families on a tighter budget, this is your spot. You'll see a more genuine, less tourist-facing slice of Mongolian life here. Ugly as sin: former Soviet coal-mining town, gray concrete, coal dust. But friendly. Cheap. Better suited to adventurous families who won't panic when nobody speaks English.
Highlights: You'll eat and sleep for half the price you'd pay in Ulaanbaatar, and you'll do it within sight of real steppe. Locals run the guesthouses. They'll fry you mutton dumplings at 7 a.m., then point you to the grassland that starts 200 m past the last electric pole.
State Department Store sits right on the main east-west artery, your anchor in a city that can feel directionless. Six floors of everything: supermarket downstairs, food stalls that smell like cumin and fried dough, and a toy section that'll keep kids busy for an hour. Not pretty. The surrounding blocks pack restaurants shoulder-to-shoulder with cafes, each one shouting over the next. Families don't come for the view, they come because it works. Rainy day? Shopping day? Same difference.
Highlights: State Department Store stocks everything you'll need when Ulaanbaatar's air turns thick or winter bites hard. Duck inside, it's warm, the aisles stretch forever, and you won't cough once. Upstairs food court, downstairs grill, plus plenty of sit-down spots: $3 dumplings, $12 steaks, every price point in between.
Family Dining
Where and how to eat with children.
Ulaanbaatar's dining scene exploded over the past decade, more family-friendly than you'd guess. Traditional Mongolian food means meat, mostly mutton and beef, and dairy. Hearty, filling plates. Kids who aren't picky eaters generally clean their bowls. The city also delivers a solid range of Korean restaurants, Korean expats form a significant community here, plus pizza joints and international cafes. These spots serve as familiar fallback options when children slam into the 'I don't want to try it' wall. Prices stay reasonable by Western standards. Tourist-area restaurants now feature increasingly bilingual menus.
Dining Tips for Families
- Buuz, steamed dumplings stuffed with seasoned mutton, are Mongolia's single most well-known bite. Kids love them. They taste like a savory bun, mild and comforting. Order them everywhere. They'll save dinner when nothing else works.
- Tsuivan, stir-fried noodles with meat and vegetables, won't scare kids. The dish lands on nearly every traditional restaurant menu and barely dents your wallet. Expect to pay under $3 USD per portion.
- Korean restaurants jammed around the business districts give families the best value. Set meals. Bibimbap flavors you already know. Staff who've handled plenty of group tables. Walk the streets east of Sukhbaatar Square, those are the ones you want.
- Day one: the State Department Store on Peace Avenue hides a supermarket. Formula, packaged snacks, reasonably priced bottled water, all there. You'll need this.
- City center restaurants fire up grills at 11am sharp and lock doors by 9, 10pm. In residential zones, lights go out sooner. After 8:30pm outside the tourist core, forget a sit-down family dinner, you won't get one.
- High chairs? Forget it. Most traditional restaurants don't have them, period. Pack a clip-on seat if you're traveling with a toddler and care where they sit.
Open-fire cooking steals the show. Unpretentious local canteens dish up buuz, tsuivan, and khorhog, slow-cooked mutton that falls off the bone. Portions are large, prices are low, and the atmosphere stays lively without crossing into noise. Kids can't look away when flames leap.
Ulaanbaatar's Korean population isn't small, it's substantial. So the Korean food is good. Barbecue restaurants are fun for older children, they cook at the table. Milder dishes like japchae and rice work for cautious eaters.
Jet-lagged? Head straight to the city center. Several cafes, clustered near Blue Sky Tower and along Peace Avenue, dish out familiar pizza, pasta, burgers. No surprises. Good for that first night when your body clock is scrambled or when the kids flatly refuse any culinary adventure.
Skip the campfire songs, the real heart of any ger camp is the communal table. You'll tear into suutei tsai, khuushuur, tsuivan, and, on celebration nights, a whole-roasted animal that silences even the rowdiest kids. Most camps handle dietary needs if you give advance notice. The shared dining setup? Good for families.
Tips by Age Group
Tailored advice for every stage of childhood.
June and July are your only sane windows, air is breathable and temps won't freeze tiny fingers. Ulaanbaatar with toddlers (ages 0, 4) is doable but demanding. The city is not stroller-friendly, medical facilities are limited, and the air quality during cooler months poses real health concerns for small lungs. That said, toddlers are enormously welcomed by Mongolians, local families will want to interact with and sometimes hold foreign babies, which most toddler-aged children respond to with curiosity. Summer visits to ger camps outside the city are well-suited to toddlers: open space, animals, and attentive camp staff who love small children.
Challenges: Sidewalks are broken. Stairs are everywhere. Your stroller will fight you every block. High chairs barely exist, pack snacks. From November through March the air turns toxic for small lungs. Day trips stretch long; you'll need a car seat that reclines or a hotel room close by. Outside the city center, picky toddlers face slim pickings: plain rice, maybe noodles. Plan accordingly.
- Bring a structured soft carrier as your primary transport solution, it will serve you better than any stroller in this city
- Plan big outings around nap time, don't battle it. A toddler who sleeps in a taxi or carrier reaches each stop ready to roll.
- Bring twice the snacks you think you'll need. Familiar foods reset toddlers fast when they slam into overstimulation walls in strange places.
- Ask for a room with a bathtub, trust me, you'll need it. After ten hours of neon, noise, and crowds, that tub becomes your sanctuary. The ritual is simple: hot water, silence, and the city finally shuts up.
School-age children (5, 12) are the age group that gets the most out of Ulaanbaatar. They're old enough to grasp the historical significance of what they're seeing, strong enough to handle full days of activity, and still young enough to stare wide-eyed at nomadic culture, dinosaur fossils, and dramatic landscapes. The educational density of a well-planned Mongolia trip for this age group is exceptional, history, geography, ecology, and cultural anthropology all show up organically within a single day.
Learning: Mongolia once ruled the largest contiguous land empire in human history, kids can grasp this. That single fact gives school-age children a sharp lens on geography, world history, and cultural variety. The National Museum walks them from Neolithic tools straight through the Soviet era, linking every case to primary school history curricula. Active monasteries welcome families; inside, conversations about Buddhism and religious practice start naturally. For geography lessons, nothing beats standing on the actual steppes. Watch a ger go up, see how every joint answers the demands of nomadic life, an extraordinary applied geography lesson that textbooks can't match.
- Before any monastery visit in Mongolia, pull the kids aside. Tell them the rules: walk clockwise, never point feet at statues or relics, take off shoes when asked. Spell it out. When children help set the etiquette, they claim the respect themselves.
- At 1,350m, kids crash fast, expect it. Plan extra downtime for the first 48 hours. They won't last like they do at sea level.
- Tuck a pocket notebook into their daypack. Tell the kids to draw the old bridge, jot the smell of pine, scrawl the name of the stray dog that followed you three blocks. The moment the pencil moves, the world sharpens. They'll look up and notice the cracked tile in the cathedral floor, the way the market vendor counts change, the exact blue of the glacier lake. Later that bent paperback becomes proof they were there, more real than any photo.
- A morning in a nomadic family's ger outside the city will floor you. Most ger camp operators can arrange this, the contrast between their school experience and a Mongolian child's is a conversation that sticks.
Teenagers often shock their parents by falling hard for Mongolia. The reasons become obvious once you're there: the landscape dwarfs everything teens thought they knew about scale, the history deserves the word "epic," and the country hasn't been sanitized for easy tourist consumption. That raw edge, chaotic traffic, brutal weather swings, Ulaanbaatar's frontier energy, delivers adventure without real danger. History buffs, wildlife nuts, adventure junkies, and photography geeks all find their thing here.
Independence: Ulaanbaatar won't bite, if your teen stays alert. The city center, Sukhbaatar Square, Peace Avenue, and the museum district are walkable by day. Crowded markets still pick pockets. Keep wallets in front pockets. After dark, or once you leave the bright grid, stick with family, residential blocks turn quiet fast. A local SIM card costs little at the airport or any city-center phone shop. Teens can ping parents in seconds. Beyond town, independence is a mirage. The steppe swallows direction. Only a supervised camp or tour keeps kids safe out there.
- Mongolia rewards curious teens, not sulky ones. Hand them the reins from day one. Task them with tracking Chinggis Khan history or digging into Gobi dinosaur discoveries, curiosity beats reluctant compliance every time.
- Say Sain baina uu, hello, and Bayarlalaa, thank you. Two words only. Mongolians light up. Teenagers grin. Adults nod. Effort seen, effort rewarded.
- Mongolia hands teens who shoot photos a gift: the steppe's light is unreal. The texture inside a ger, the faces at Naadam, each frame sells itself. Pack a mirrorless body or a solid phone, then guard it like cash.
- Outside the city center, connectivity drops to nothing. Some camps have no Wi-Fi by design, total silence, on purpose. Frame it as part of the experience. It isn't deprivation. You'll manage expectations better that way.
Practical Logistics
The nuts and bolts of family travel.
Stroller use in Ulaanbaatar is challenging. Sidewalks are frequently broken, nonexistent, or blocked by construction. Curb cuts are inconsistent. A compact, all-terrain or umbrella stroller is far more practical than anything with large wheels that needs flat surfaces. For most families, a soft carrier or baby carrier for toddlers is more useful than a stroller once you're away from the hotel. Taxis and ride-hailing apps (Uber isn't available. But the local app InDriver works well and shows prices upfront in Mongolian tugrik) are the most practical way to get around with children. The public bus system is functional but crowded during rush hours. Not practical with young children or luggage. Car seats are not standard in taxis, bring a portable travel car seat if this is a priority, for infants. Renting a car with a driver for the day (around $50, 80 USD) is a good option for families visiting Terelj or the Chinggis Khan statue. It eliminates the negotiation and transit complexity.
SOS Medica Mongolia at 80 Enkhtaivan Avenue (Peace Avenue) is the best medical facility for foreign visitors. They provide international-standard care with English-speaking staff. Make them your first call for any non-emergency medical need. They've got pediatric services. For true emergencies, Intermed Hospital also handles foreign patients. Neither facility is what you'd find in Bangkok or Seoul. Travel insurance with medical evacuation coverage is not optional, it's essential. Pharmacies (eмийн сан, pronounced 'emiyn san') are common in the city center. They stock a reasonable range of medications. Specific brands may differ from what you're accustomed to. Pack a solid family first aid kit. Include any prescription medications, children's paracetamol/ibuprofen, antihistamines, and rehydration salts. International baby formula is available at the State Department Store supermarket. A few larger pharmacies carry it too. Selection is limited to 1, 2 brands. Disposable diapers (Pampers and local brands) are readily available in supermarkets and small shops.
Family rooms aren't always labeled as such. Call ahead, ask for extra beds, cribs, interconnecting rooms. The Shangri-La Hotel and Tuushin Hotel in the city center deliver. They're the only upper-range spots that reliably accommodate kids without drama. Mid-range guesthouses? Total lottery. Space swings wildly. One reviewer raves, the next warns, check recent posts that mention children. Don't skip this step. Staying four or five days or more? Book a serviced apartment. Kitchen access slashes stress and costs. Plenty cluster around Zaisan and the city center on Booking.com. Filter, compare, lock it in. Summer catch: air conditioning is rare in mid-range places. The city sits at 1,350m, nights stay cool. Still, if you're here July, August, confirm fans or windows that open.
- Stock up. N95 or KN95 masks, one per family member, are non-negotiable from November through March when the air turns lethal.
- A SteriPen or any portable UV water purifier saves cash, fast. Tap water isn't safe to drink, and those 1.5-liter bottles at 20 pesos each pile up fast.
- All-terrain baby carrier for families with toddlers, strollers are impractical on most streets.
- Pack layers. Summer days hit 28°C, then nights crash to single digits, even in July.
- Strong SPF 50 sunscreen isn't optional. Mongolia's altitude cranks UV exposure far beyond sea level, burn time drops fast.
- Pack a tight first-aid kit. Children's meds, rehydration salts, and every prescription drug you need, nothing more, nothing less.
- Travel car seat if traveling with infants, taxis don't provide them
- Bring cash in USD, exchange it on the street. ATMs work, sure, but they can run dry near major tourist sites in peak season.
- Long day trip ahead? Pack a portable charger. Power bank keeps phones alive when outlets vanish. No plugs, no panic.
- Skip the glossy menus. Locals crowd guanz restaurants, tiny, steam-filled rooms where $2, 4 buys a plate heavy with rice, stew, and pickles. The flavor punches harder here than at tourist traps charging five times the price.
- Skip the hotel concierge. A private driver for the day runs $50, 80 USD, enough for Terelj, the Chinggis Khan statue, and whatever detours catch your eye. Hotel tours pad the bill by 40, 60%.
- Hit museums on weekday mornings. Reduced family rates appear then, and you'll dodge the crowd chaos with kids.
- Skip the middleman. Book ger camp stays straight with the camps, city tour operators vanish, markup disappears, and camp staff treat direct guests exactly as well.
- Hotel prices jump 30, 50% during Naadam Festival (July 11, 13). Book early, or don't. Arrive a few days after if the festival isn't your main draw.
Family Safety
Keeping your family safe and healthy.
- ! Ulaanbaatar's air will hurt your kids first. The city posts the world's worst pollution from November through March, coal smoke from surrounding gers blankets everything. Children's lungs can't fight back like yours. Visiting then? Pack N95 masks for every family member. Check daily AQI before stepping outside. The IQAir app gives real-time Ulaanbaatar readings, use it.
- ! Bottled or purified water only, tap water isn't safe anywhere. Ice cubes, tooth-brushing, fruit rinsing: all count. Pack a UV purifier or iodine tablets for backup on day trips when the 3 bottles you brought run dry. Waterborne illness isn't a maybe; kids crash fast from dehydration after stomach bugs.
- ! Crossing the street in Ulaanbaatar can kill you. Traffic is hazardous for pedestrians, at unmarked crossings, drivers simply won't stop. They don't reliably yield even at zebra crossings. Always use marked crossing points when available. Cross only when traffic has fully stopped. Hold children's hands actively through all street crossings, no exceptions. Teaching children not to step off curbs without explicit parental confirmation is a worthwhile rule in Ulaanbaatar.
- ! Sunburn hits faster up high, families never see it coming. Ulaanbaatar perches at 1,350m and Mongolia's thin, clean air blocks far less UV than sea-level spots. Slather kids with SPF 50 every two hours outside, cloudy or not. Grab hats that shade the neck for steppe day trips, zero shade out there.
- ! Cooked street food from busy vendors with high turnover? Safe bet. Raw vegetables and unpeeled fruit from market stalls? Skip them unless you've got purified water to wash them yourself. Unpasteurized dairy, including traditional fermented mare's milk, airag, can wreck your stomach if you haven't built up tolerance. Kids and visitors should introduce these cautiously, in small amounts, or not at all.
- ! At 1,350m, kids feel the altitude, fast. First 24, 48 hours bring mild effects: slight headache, fatigue, reduced appetite. Normal. Keep them drinking water. Skip heavy exercise on day one. Watch for persistent headache or nausea. Those mean rest, then medical attention.
- ! Fire safety in ger camps isn't optional, it's survival. Those traditional iron stoves in gers burn viciously hot with zero protective guard, so small children need explicit teaching and constant supervision. No exceptions. Off-leash dogs roam rural areas freely, and some defend ger compounds fiercely. Teach kids to approach dogs only with an owner's permission and to move calmly when unfamiliar dogs approach. Simple rules. Critical skills.
Book Family Activities
Top-rated family experiences in Ulaanbaatar.
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.
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