As Mongolia ge(a)rs up for the Naadam Festival and the busiest time of the year for visitors, we are now almost fully booked for trips throughout most of July and August. However, we still have a few places left on some of our small group tours, plus a late availability £200 discount on our specialist-led photographic tour that we are running in conjunction with FRUI, experts in tutor-led creative journeys. For more details on all late-availability trips, last-minute deals and discounts in July and August please contact olly@goyotravel.com
THE LITTLE EXTRAS
How many strings should our bow have? Well, we think quite a few, and we like to try and add to our bow little by little each season to optimise our offering to guests. This summer has seen the addition of our brand new Goyo Travel minibus to be used in and around Ulaanbaatar for transfers and city tours; we also have some fantastic new branded water bottles as welcome presents for guests on longer tours; plus insulated mugs which are sent out on all our trips. So now you can enjoy freshly ground coffee or a Golden Gobi beer in style and at the temperature at which they should be served - and if necessary, shielded from the elements in our new steppe-wind-resistant umbrellas. We have also created a new on-board manual which shall be gracing the inside of our vehicles from July onwards, as a useful reference tool for all our guests. We might need another bow, as not sure our current one can hold any more strings......
GUIDE AWARD UPDATE
The shortlist of the Wanderlust Guide of the Year has just been announced. Unfortunately our very own Nara Gursed has narrowly missed out on making it through to the final 8 - but she did top of the 'highly commended' list. We are immensely proud of Nara - as indeed we are of all of our guides. Thank you to all of you who wrote a testimonial in support of Nara. We hope to get more of our great guides nominated in the near future and will keep you updated as and when we do so.
DOWNING TOOLS
Well, not us, that would be crazy at this time of year. However, whilst we toil and travail to juggle umpteen trips concurrently over Naadam, most of the rest of Mongolia down tools and go off to enjoy some well-deserved R&R accompanied by mutton huushuur and fermented mare's milk. This also applies to embassies - so for those of you travelling with us who also require visas to travel to Mongolia, please don't get caught out, and remember that all Mongolian consulates worldwide will be closed from 10-14 July inclusive. So, anyone planning to toddle off to get their visas during this week should think again. You have been warned, so plan ahead!
