The Mongol Rally, Fun with Planning
This past week someone wrote a comment stating that they would love to hear more about the Mongol Rally preparations. I’m not one to ignore our readers, so here you go.
Hold onto your hats, this is a long one!
The Mongol Rally is expensive and the planning is time consuming and there are too many rules to follow. As independent travellers, we don’t love rules, we like to go with the flow and this planning thing is all new to us. Wouldn’t it have been easier if we just went our own road trip to Mongolia?
When we talked to Sherry last year, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. We have a tendency to say yes to things and pride ourselves on following through with commitments. It definitely keeps life exciting but maybe we should have done a just little more research before signing up 
Costs
- The entrance fee isn’t cheap at 750 £ ($1200)
- The Visas are $800 each ($1600)
- There’s gas for the car approximately $3000 to $4000 for the trip
- Accommodations for our duration of the trip (who knows what that will add up to)
- Our return flights home to Canada from Mongolia (At least $100o each)
- Car insurance is 265 £ ($437)
- Car penalty for the larger engine is 297£ ($489)
- We have to raise a minimum of 1000 £ for charity ($1646) - Something that we are above and beyond right now and hoping to keep the momentum going!
- We have to pay 800£ for a car deposit to the Adventurists.($1317) If we don’t make it to Mongolia, we don’t get this back.
- Car Insurance fees once we leave Europe
- Bribes
The list above is well over $10,000 already in expenses for a two month trip.
Sponsorship has been the biggest challenge
It has been non-stop emails to find people that would be interested in having us showcase their product and we have spent every spare minute sending out packages and following up.
People may look at our list and think everything comes easy for us, but it took a lot of work to get in touch with companies and it took a lot of time coming up with an attractive package that would make these businesses even be interested in taking us on.
All four team members of our team have spent the last few years of our lives building our readership and following online to be able to have the numbers and statistics to back up any sponsorship proposals.
When we first did the Tour d’Afrique in 2008, we saved for a year to be able to afford it and it was our “once in a lifetime trip.” We tried to get sponsors for the Tour d’Afrique believe me, but we didn’t have anything to offer in return. Just because we were doing an epic event (and we thought we were great 
) that doesn’t mean that companies are just going to give you money or products. There were other people on the tour that had full sponsorship and we were inspired by them. We hoped one day to be in their shoes.
And Now We Are.
You can see all our sponsors on our sponsorship page, but here are a few that are relevant this week and we’d like to share with you the reasons why.
Flight Centre Canada is helping us with our flight to England and we are very excited because they are our favourite travel agency. We have been promoting them and telling people about them for years without any affiliation simply because we like their product. To have them as a flight sponsor for ThePlanetD is very exciting for us because we believe in their product so much.
Intrepid Travel is giving away a trip for us to raffle off. We went on an Intrepid Tour to China last November and it was one of the greatest trips of our lives. Next week you will get all the details on how to enter, so stay tuned for Monday morning (June 6th) where you will hear all about it and find out how you can win a fabulous tour to either Mongolia or Peru!
All Ways Rentals has worked diligently on buying our car. Something that we still don’t have in our possession. The Adventurists need all our details today, but the person selling the car to us changed the pick up date to sometime later this week and we are without the photocopy of the V5 (ownership) and the engine number. There is nothing we can do about this and have to hope that things turn out. We are stuck in Canada, AllWays is stuck in New Zealand an our contact in England is waiting for the word to go and pick it up.
We now have an apartment for the week before the rally in London thanks to Oh-London.com. London was going to be our biggest expense for hotels, so this helps us greatly.
People looking in would think that since we have a so many sponsors, we can now jus sit back and relax. This is not the case. We have obligations before, during and after the rally to give everyone the coverage they deserve. We will be working hard to stay connected en route to Mongolia and we have a lot of organizing to do when it comes to setting up a blog post schedule and tweets and facebook updates. When you have companies relying on you, you can’t just wing it and hope for the best.
Planning
As for how we plan for the trip. We meet and chat on skype once a week with Sherry and Rick. We all go away from our meetings with different tasks on hand. Here were our tasks for the week.
Last week
- We had to send out our press release to all our travel contacts and media representatives.
- We had to confirm that border crossings were indeed open during our route through Kazakhstan and Russia and Mongolia.
- We have been back and forth all week buying car insurance in England and working out car details through AllWays
- We have had to set up a flickr account and upload photos for our press release
- We had to build a new widget for our raffle/giveaway happening next week.
- We are in charge of updating the website and taking care of any technical issues.
- We had to update the sponsor list and add logos to the sidebar and sponsorship page
- We had to write the post for our big giveaway next week.
- We have to plan a post each week for the Mongol Rally…this is mine today.
This week
- We have to look into campsites and hotels along the route.
- We have to try to get the details to the adventurists regarding our car before it is too late
- We have to somehow obtain the V5 for our car
- We have to Book our flights
- We have to book the ferry across the Straits of Dover
- We Get our International Drivers licence
We meet with Sherry and Rick again tomorrow so that shorter second list will grow immensely by the end of that meeting.
Planning for the Mongol Rally has been yet another excellent learning experience for us though.
We are looking forward to getting on the road and starting the adventure. We know that all the work is going to be worth it in the end and we know that the next epic adventure that do will go smoother. We have learned so much and have had the expertise of our teammates different strengths to draw upon.
I heard Sherry state on This Week in Travel that within the first week we will be writing about how we all hate our team mates (she said it in jest) but I still would like to say that I don’t think this will happen.
The planning process has been the most difficult time and I think that when we get on the road we are all going to have a blast. We have travelled with Rick before and we had so much fun with him for two whole weeks on Princess Cruises. We have always admired Sherry’s blog and we find that we have similar travel styles so I think that we will all probably just go with the flow once the rally is in full swing. I just know it’s going to be an event to remember.
Bring on the Mongol Rally, I can’t take the waiting any more!
22 Responses to The Mongol Rally, Fun with Planning
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We look forward to following your adventures Dave and Deb! Good luck with everything and let us know if you need anything at all. Cheers!
Thanks So Much. We are looking forward to going and we can’t wait to buy our ticket. One more Visa and then we will feel safe in making a date. We can’t buy our flights until we have a good idea when we will be getting our passports back. Cheers!
I can’t imagine anything I would rather do LESS but I’m fascinated to read all about it!
Thanks jan. That’s what Dave and I do, we do the nutty things so others don’t have to
We’re all cheering you on!!! You will certainly have fun, but do take care !!! (Do I sound like your Mom and Dad now?)
Ah, that’s why we love you Michael. You are the voice of reason. I really hope that we have enough time to at least swing by Paris to have a quick coffee before rushing off to Prague. We have 3 days to make it there after the kick off in London, so we’ll see!
Awesome!! I like getting the inside peek to all the little (BIG!) things that you have to get in place for such an adventure! All the hard work will be worth it once your out there thinking ‘What have we gotten ourselves into?’ but what an adventure. Can you tell I’m a little green with envy? Good luck!!
Gillian, you know I was thinking about you when I wrote this post. You are so right, we have to start sharing more of our planning for the Mongol Rally. it is fast approaching. So stay tuned for a whole lot more! Cheers.
Yes – the comment about my teammates was definitely made in jest for the podcast! I’m positive that we’ll all laugh, scream, curse, and cry (ok – maybe not the men) much during the course of the adventure! And I’m pretty positive we’ll also have days where we don’t like each other so much and days where we love each other – I think it will be a challenge physically and mentally for all of us! So happy to be doing it with you and sharing the planning load….ugh. I honestly just can’t wait to get on the road and get all of this planning stuff by us! Thanks for all of your massive planning you have been doing!
I know, it was a good laugh and we laughed with you. I just wanted to state that I really think that we are going to have fun. Everyone says the same thing to us that they said to you on the PodCast, that we are all going to hate each other, and I constantly feel the need to tell them that we are a bunch of fun people and we’re going to be having a very good time. I agree, I want to get on the road and get this planning stuff done. On with the Mongol Rally!
Have a great trip! Sounds like a lot of work has gone into planning it. I love that the last expense you list is “bribes”– hope that won’t eat into your budget too much
Dave’s plan is booze and cigarettes. I guess it all depends on the going rate of Tobacco and Vodka in the “Stans” and Russia.
Hey guys
I found your blog via ottsworld who I follow on Twitter. I know it’s really hard to get your V5 document without a UK address. It’s really only the document which acknowledges you as the ‘registered keeper’ of the vehicle which doesn’t even have to be the legal owner, but it’s the person they send the fine to if you’re caught speeding or parking illegally etc.
I’m also doing the Mongol Rally this year and if you need to, you could use my home address in the UK for the V5. I can also help you to get the permanent export certain which you will need. Drop me a line if I can help.
David
Hi David, thanks so much for the offer. We actually have an address at the moment, but like anything in the Rally planning, things could fall through. We really appreciate your help and who knows, we may be emailing you to take you up on the offer in the future! If not, looking forward to meeting in the rally. Cheers and good luck with your own planning. Dave and Deb
This article blew my mind with possibilities! Thank you so much for giving us an insider look at what goes into pulling big time events such as the Mongol Rally. I am currently working day and night trying to build a following, get sponsors, and generally more my blog up to the level yours is at. This type of article really helps and is encouraging.
What would you say was the most effective thing you did in securing sponsors/advertisers?
~Andrew
Andrew, I am so excited for you. I am glad that it made you see the possibilities out there. That is exactly what we wanted to show, that yes, the prep is a challenge, but every challenge is worth it. Nobody said that climbing Mount Everest was easy or cheap, but people do it every year. The best thing for securing sponsors is to have a good media package and a solid brand. They need to know that they can get maximum publicity and coverage. We’ve been building our brand for two years and working on raising our profile and readership. Numbers, reach and influence count. If you need any advice, send us an email through our contact us page. Cheers!
I’d be all up for doing something crazy like this, but the planning is enough to turn me OFF of it! Good gawd! At the end of the day though, I know you’re gonna turn around and say that it was allll worth it. So, that’s the thought to keep in mind when the frustration hits it’s peak! Good on ya!
Dalene, you are so right. It will be worth it. Planning for anything is not the most fun part. When we were training for Africa, heading to spinning classes at 5:00 am wasn’t the most exciting thing. But it was worth it in the end.
Oh, this is too awesome you guys. I can’t wait to read your posts about it.
Thanks Vago, we totally can’t wait to share. Once we are on the road, the true adventure begins!
I’m glad you guys got some great sponsors – I know it adds some more work to take care of your responsibilities to them, but hopefully the funding will help a lot! And while I’m going to love experiencing the Mongol Rally vicariously through you all, I’m glad I’m not doing it myself.
All that planning seems so overwhelming. Good luck with it all!
Hi Christy, Thanks. I thought that I should reiterate that I definitely am not complaining about the added work on sponsorship. I just thought that I would let people know that it doesn’t come easy and that it takes work. I wanted to let people know that if you go into an event like this looking for sponsorship, be prepared to follow through on your obligations and know what you are getting yourself into. I can’t wait to do the Mongol Rally and share the experience.