Camping and Homestay Packing List: 10 Things You Need

The top 10 things I always need when camping or doing a homestay with a nomadic family in Mongolia. The most comprehensive Mongolia camping packing list.

What is a Furgon? And Why are they Everywhere in Mongolia?

I’ve been living in Mongolia for seven years now, traveling in every which way and form possible across this beautiful country. Which means, I’ve learned some lessons! Especially when it comes to packing efficiently for a camping, adventure, or homestay trip. Most of them the hard way.

That’s because packing for a trip to Mongolia can be tricky. You don’t want to overpack because you’re limited on space. If you forget something essential, you’re basically screwed because it’s not like there are stores just around the corner. And you never quite know exactly what Mongolian weather is going to do. It makes packing for a trip to Mongolia complicated and overwhelming.

Not to mention that you probably don’t want to invest in a whole new wardrobe, or all new gear, either. Costs when you’re traveling to Mongolia add up quickly! It’s hard enough already to see this place on a budget.

Below I’m sharing some of the gear that I can’t live without. I’ll also share why it’s been essential during my travels here. Decide for yourself if these are gear you need, or just want.

But, just know that for me, these are the 10 things I always pack when camping or doing homestays in Mongolia.

Are you planning your trip last minute?

🚕 Book a Cheap Airport Transfer (great, budget-friendly option when landing in Mongolia)

🛌 Best Places to Stay:

Hostel One (favorite overall hostel with central location and clean facilities)

Urgoo Hotel (local boutique hotel with clean rooms and great location)

H9 Hotel Nine (boutique hotel located next to Sukhbaatar Square)

👉 Top Things to Do in Ulaanbaatar:

Cooking Class in a Local Home (unique way to spend a day and meet a local family!)

Mongolian Calligraphy Class: 1-Hour Lesson (try your hand at traditional Mongolian script)

Ulaanbaatar City Tour (best way to get to know the city with a local guide)

Ride a Mongol Horse (a quintessential Mongolia experience)

Rent a Mountain Bike in Ulaanbaatar (explore Ulaanbaatar and the areas around it differently)

🐴 Best Trips to Book to Experience Mongolia:

Kharkhorin, Khustai, Mini Gobi & Ger Under the Stars: 3-Day Tour (see the largest population of wild horses in the world)

Best of Mongolia 5-day Trip (check off the quintessential Mongolia experiences to have)

7 days Central Mongolia and Great Gobi Experience (the best tour for seeing the famous Gobi Desert)

Adventure travel isn’t always the most comfortable way to see a place. But with these things packed with you, you’ll be a little bit more prepared for everything Mongolia might throw your way.

Consider packing these 10 items when preparing for your camping, homestay, or other off-grid adventure.

Garmin inReach Mini 2

Lucky for me, I’ve never had to use my Garmin’s SOS emergency service. I’ve been close, though. Just knowing I have it gives me a lot less anxiety when I’m traveling solo here, usually without cell phone service for days. Should something go terribly wrong, I know I can hit the SOS button on the device and my GPS coordinates are shared with the local emergency response services. Just make sure you have a travel insurance policy that covers these medical evacuation costs.

After that, there are two other big reasons why I like the inReach Mini 2.

First, it’s so small you can easily latch it onto your backpack strap and forget about it. That also means it’s handy to access and not inconveniently buried on the bottom of your bag.

Second, since this device doesn’t have a large screen, you use it through the interface on your cell phone. From your phone’s Garmin messenger app, it’s super easy to send satellite messages to friends and family back home letting them know you’re safe. Sometimes I’m away from cell phone service for days and just being able to send a text saying “hey, I’m safe” eliminates a lot of stress. Not only for me, but for my loved ones back home.

BioLite HeadLamp 325

When it gets dark in Mongolia, it gets dark.

Thanks to having a swivel light (officially called an articulating front bezel, who knew) you can avoid blinding your campmates with this headlamp.

For almost seven years now BioLite has made some of my favorite headlamps for camping and traveling here. That’s because they’re so small, so easy to pack, so durable that I can just keep it in my toiletry bag and not think about it between trips. It’s always there and it’s always ready to go.

Plus, I always love a headlamp with a red light.

The BioLite 325 is comfortable to wear and hasn’t let me down yet.

Big Agnes Sleeping Bag (0 Degrees)

I can’t brag about my Big Agnes sleeping bag enough.

Why? Because it has a sleeve that slides over my sleeping pad so I don’t slide off! It’s genius! Why don’t more sleeping bag companies do this?

Conveniently enough, this also helps keep me warmer throughout the night because it helps keep the heat in. Talk about thoughtfully designed gear!

Next, do yourself a favor and invest in a down sleeping bag to save on space. They pack smaller and will keep you warmer. Two essential things when you’re touring Mongolia.

Even in the summer, you won’t regret having a warm enough sleeping bag. Nights in Mongolia can get very cold, especially if you’re in the northern or western provinces. I lean on the side of being overprepared, which means I travel with a 0 degree sleeping bag, even in summer. I haven’t regretted this once.

Read this blog post on the best time to visit Mongolia for average summer and winter temperatures →

By now I’ve put my Big Agnes sleeping bag through seven Mongolian summers and it’s still holding up. I take great care of it, and it takes great care of me.

Exped 3R Medium Wide Sleeping Pad

At this point I have three Exped sleeping pads (3R, 5R, and 8R) and I love them all. I use the 3R in summer, the 5R in fall and spring, and the 8R in winter, when nightly temperatures can reach – 35 C.

The 3R is great for summer travels in Mongolia because it packs down well, it has some insulation, and it’s really durable. Most sleeping pads and mats don’t last long here, either the stove or the ground get them, but mine has been going strong for years now. I actually couldn’t imagine traveling with any other sleeping pad right now.

I also have the Widget Pump to help me blow my sleeping pad up quickly, but I only bring it when I can spare the space. Otherwise, using the bag it comes with to manually blow it up still works great. I still have to add a few large breaths after using the widget, so it isn’t perfect, but it is absolutely worth bringing.

The carrying bag comes with a small repair kit that I’ve never had to use, but I’m always happy when I’m reminded it’s there, just in case.

North Face Outdoor Slippers

My North Face outdoor slippers are my favorite cozy item to slip on after a long day outside.

Not only are they super warm and comfortable, but since they have a hard bottom sole, I can wear them indoors and outdoors without issue. Nights really cool down here, so even in summer these aren’t too warm to wear. I wear these camp slippers year round when I’m here.

They slide on easy and look good enough to wear no matter where you are or who you’re with.

Matador Sleep Mask

This piece of gear is so small, but so essential to getting some sleep in Mongolia.

When I stay with a nomadic family it’s almost always in a shared ger, even if it’s separate from the family’s main ger (home). That means lights are on and people are moving around, even if I’m already tucked into my sleeping bag.

Then, in the summertime, the sun starts to rise at 4:30 am. 4:30 AM!

When you’re sleeping in a ger (yurt), that means the sun is going to start shining through the oculus (hole in the ceiling that’s usually uncovered) then. As someone who really likes sleep, there’s nothing worse than waking up at 5 am and thinking it’s really 9 am.

Especially when sleep is so precious after horseback riding or helping with chores all day.

I like this sleep mask from Matador because it’s super comfortable to sleep in and there’s a secret pocket with ear plugs – another thing I always lose or forget.

Portable Battery Pack & Solar Charger

Bringing a battery pack with you is going to save you so much headache. If you plan to stay with any nomadic herding families, they won’t have electricity. Their lights come from connecting a car battery to a string light and their fridge and television are usually connected to an inverter that runs off solar. This power is very precious to them.

Pack a battery pack of your own so that you can be self-sufficient when it comes to charging your electronics.

As far as which battery pack to buy goes, they are developing and advancing faster than I can keep up with these days. When you buy one, make sure you get one large enough to use multiple times (like the 50,000mAh fast charging power bank linked below). You’re going to need it.

Add a multi-panel solar charger to the mix and you’ll have power without issue. This is how I survive in the remote countryside for days.

Lifestraw Camelback or Grayl Water Filter

Mongolian spring, river, and well water for the most part is very clean. The biggest concern is if an animal has died near the water source. When an animal dies and begins to decompose in water, it releases bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens that can pose serious health risks to humans and other animals.

For that reason alone, I always filter my water in Mongolia.

I have two main ways of filtering water for bacteria, virus, pathogens, and even dirt.

The first is my Lifestraw Camelbak hydration bladder. I wear this throughout the day in a hydration backpack that’s slim profile and sits close to my body. When I’m reminded that I need to drink more water (which happens often, it’s very dry in Mongolia), my straw is ready on my backpack strap. I use it like any other hydration bladder, and I haven’t had to change the Lifestraw filter on it yet.

I like how simple it is to use, the fact that it’s not inconvenient to drink from, and that after I fill it with 2 liters of water in the morning it gets me through the whole day.

The only time my hydration bladder is inconvenient is when I’m brushing my teeth, or I need clean drinking water for something else. Like making coffee. The Grayl water purifying system is perfect for that because you press to filter the water when you fill the bottle. This isn’t a system that you have to suck through a straw to use.

In those cases, a Grayl water purifier does the trick. It’s the Grayl’s size and ability to easily carry it that holds me back from using my Grayl more. Usually, I throw it in my bag and only use it at camp, where it’s most helpful.

A third option I often recommend is the Sawyer Micro Squeeze water purifier. This is the smallest solution of the three and the easiest to carry with you. But you do need the water bag to use it, or a plastic bottle you can fill with unclean water, which it conveniently screws right onto.

Kula Cloth

This one is particularly for women. The Kula Cloth is an antimicrobial pee cloth that is a great alternative to leaving waste in the form of toilet paper or wet wipes.

It’s discreet, small enough to tuck into a side pocket of your backpack, and it helps you leave no trace. You use it like toilet paper and it stays odor-free even after several days of use. When it’s time to clean, just find a sink and rinse it out with soap and let it air dry.

I’m not on the Shewee train yet, and honestly doubt I will ever be, but this I can do.

Yeti Waterproof 50 Liter Duffle and Dry Sacks

This one is especially important if you’re traveling by any other means than train or car. If you plan on horse trekking, bikepacking, hiking, or getting across Mongolia by any other means of untraditional transportation, make sure you have a way to keep your clothes dry.

This is especially important if you’re carrying a sleeping bag with you and you’ll be sleeping outdoors. No one, and I mean no one wants to settle down at a campsite after a long day only to find their sleeping bag is soaked through.

I travel non-stop with this Yeti Panga Series duffle bag, especially in the winter. (I like the 50 liter size the best because it’s a more manageable size to travel with.)

In the winter, bags get thrown around, left in the snow, and covered in who knows what else. Knowing that my belongings are safe from all of that inside of it allows me to worry about other things – like getting warm!

At a minimum, if you don’t want to fully invest in a waterproof bag, dry bags are another great option.

For example, if you’re going on a horse trek and carrying everything with you, at a minimum you’ll have river crossings. Packing a fresh set of clothes and your sleeping bag in a waterproof dry bag (or trash bag, if you’re desperate) will save your sanity in the instance your bag gets unintentionally soaked.

5 Important Tips for Camping and Staying with Nomadic Families

Take these tips as you will, but they’ve saved me and my friends a lot of trouble when traveling in Mongolia for weeks at a time.

Leave your jeans behind. Jeans are probably the worst kind of pants you can wear here. They don’t dry, they become hot and uncomfortable to wear, and you’re likely going to ruin them. Leave them in a bag in the city, or better yet, just leave them at home.
Never underestimate Mongolian weather. Even if the forecast doesn’t call for rain, bring a raincoat and waterproof shoes.
Down is best. Down anything is always recommend for traveling here. Down packs down smaller than other fillers, making it easier to carry and bring with you. Plus, it keeps you super warm.
Do not overpack and leave your roller bags at home. Space is limited, your wheels are going to break, and Mongolia just isn’t the place for this type of travel. We all wear the same clothes several days in a row, anyways.
If your shoes are falling apart, this should not be their last adventure. Too many times I’ve seen people come to Mongolia with gear on its last leg. A leg that usually doesn’t last very long. If your shoes are torn or the soles are coming off and you’re thinking “I’ll just leave them there after the trip,” don’t. Just don’t. This place is tough on gear and you don’t want to be tapping your shoes together halfway through a trip – if you’re lucky enough to even find tape!

Author: Breanna Wilson

Hi! Sain uu! I’m Breanna, an American travel writer and adventurer living in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia for more than 5 years. I’ve written for and been featured in Condé Nast Traveler, CNN, Forbes, and the New York Times, among others. Read more of my Mongolia travel articles here.