CITIES VISITED:

• Yerevan – the capital of Armenia. It’s a great place to base yourself as the country is small so it’s easy to do day trips from here.

PRO TIPS:

• No visa required for US citizens (as of Sept 2025).
• If you plan to visit Armenia & Azerbaijan, I’d heard rumors that you can run into trouble with the Azerbaijan border control if you have an Armenia stamp in your passport, so I chose to come here first. Maybe just do some research about order of countries to visit in this region 🙂 For context, there is no love lost between Armenia & Azerbaijan.
• Credit card is accepted at most places so no real need for cash other than maybe small street vendors.
• Download Yandex Go to get around (an uber equivalent). You can also get food delivered from this app.

TRANSPORTATION:

• Sighnaghi –> Yerevan: I had to go to Tbilisi first unfortunately so I took a 2 hour bus there for 10 Lari ($3.70 usd). Then I had to take a local bus to the Avlabari metro station to buy a bus ticket to Yerevan. The bus to Yerevan was about 6 hours and cost about $21.
• Yerevan –> Tbilisi: I reserved my seat ahead of time through their WhatsApp & just paid when I arrived, but you can also book your ticket on their website. Here is where the shuttle left from. It was a very long bus ride because the border took longer than normal and our driver got pulled over by the police for speeding (hahah just another day in the Caucasus region) and cost 8000AMD ($21).

CITY: YEREVAN

HOW LONG: 5 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

Because my childhood friend Sabrina spontaneously joined me for the Armenia adventure, we got to splurge on a hotel! We picked the Sunset Apart-hotel. It’s in a brand new building (like I’m not sure any other businesses are in the building yet), so it kinda looks wonky as you walk into the building, but once you are on the 16th floor it’s all good. The room is small but has everything you need. It’s very clean & high quality. The bathroom is lovely and there is a washing machine, which was such a treat! I think we did a total of 6 loads of laundry. The best part is the location. It’s highly walkable to any part of the center of Yerevan, which is the main things we wanted! I would definitely recommend this hotel if you are looking for a nice spot to base yourself at a very reasonable price. 

WHERE TO EAT:

Lavash Restaurant – cute restaurant in the center of town with yummy local dishes at a reasonable price. This was my favorite dinner spot in Yerevan!

Jermots Cafe – a great cafe for breakfast all day! We went twice we loved it so much. Tons of great breakfast options that range from more Armenian to more American. 

Surf Coffee– a cute cafe that was great for a mid-day coffee or tea + working on a laptop or playing some monopoly deal 

Lali Kitchen & Bar – fabulous, hip Georgian restaurant right by the Republic Square. Would highly recommend coming here for a dinner. We had Khinkali, a large twisted Georgian dumpling + Khachapuri, a traditional Georgian dish of cheese-filled bread, + Shkmeruli, a decadent chicken dish cooked in a garlic, sour cream sauce. YUM!

Dalan Art Gallery & Restaurant – cool restaurant serving authentic Armenian food in a gorgeous outdoor patio space filled with plants & art.

WHAT TO DO:

• Do a walking tour on your first day. This was helpful for orienting us around town as well as learning a bit about the history of the country. We also met some cool people that we ended up grabbing dinner with. 
• A must- visit the Armenian Genocide museum. It’s a heavy topic but incredibly important. 
• There are many day tours to consider. We chose one to visit Garni, Geghard, Symphony of Stones & do some Lavash Baking. You can also choose to visit Lake Sevan. 
• Check out the Cascade Complex, a cascading series of stairs, landscaped gardens, fountains & sculptures.
• Walk around the city center day or night. It’s gorgeous all times of day. 
• Get a massage – we booked massages at Thai House

We decided to do one day trip to get out of the city, but also didn’t want spend ALLLL day in the car. We chose a 6 hour tour that visits the Temple of Garni, Geghard Monastery, and Azat Canyon. We also got to see local Armenian women making Lavash bread. It was a perfect half day trip!

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Yerevan was delightful! I would’t say it was the best or prettiest or my favorite, but somehow I still really enjoyed it. I loved being in one place for 5 days, which allowed Sabrina & I to really catch up, and slowly explore the city. Learning about the history here was fascinating & felt important. Also the food continues to be top notch in this region!!!

BUDGET FOR 5 DAYS IN ARMENIA:

• Accommodation: $213 ($42.60 per night)
• Food: $110
• Activities: $73
• Local Transportation: $9
• Miscellaneous: $45 (massage)

Total: $450 (Daily average: $90) 

Transportation to next destination: $21 (Bus to Tbilisi, Georgia)