Апрель – июнь
Весна
Лучшие месяцы, если говорить честно. Равнина зелёная, по ущельям идёт талая вода, а цветение на склонах Арагаца в конце мая просто необыкновенное. Арарат виден яснее всего.
Ереван 16–28 °C · в горах ещё холодно
Plan your trip
Everything practical, in one place
Visas, money, seasons, safety, getting here, and what the regional situation actually means for a visitor. Written plainly, and updated when things change.
01
Visas & entry
Armenia is one of the easier countries in the region to enter.
No visa required for citizens of the European Union and Schengen area, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and the CIS states including Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Belarus. Stays of up to 180 days in a year are typical.
Russian citizens may enter on an internal passport as well as an international one, and there is no registration requirement for ordinary tourist stays.
Visa on arrival or e-visa is available to most other nationalities. The e-visa is applied for online and is generally issued in a few working days.
Your passport should be valid for the duration of your stay. There is no onward-ticket requirement in practice, and no vaccination requirement for travellers arriving from Europe or the CIS.
Please verify for your own passportEntry rules change, and this page is written by a tour operator rather than a consulate. Confirm the current position with the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs or your nearest Armenian embassy before you travel. Tell us your nationality when you enquire and we will point you at the right page.
02
Getting here
By air. Zvartnots International Airport (EVN) sits 15 km west of Yerevan and handles nearly all international traffic — direct flights from across Europe, Russia, the Gulf, Iran and the wider region. Gyumri's Shirak Airport (LWN) takes a smaller number of routes and is useful if you are starting in the north.
Flights into Yerevan have a habit of landing between two and five in the morning. That is normal here, and we meet every arrival whatever the hour — the transfer is included in all our packages.
By land from Georgia. The border at Bagratashen–Sadakhlo is open and straightforward, usually under an hour to cross. Tbilisi to Yerevan is a comfortable day by road and we run it regularly as a guided transfer through the Debed canyon, which turns a transit day into one of the better days of the trip. There is also a slow overnight train.
By land from Iran. The border at Agarak is open and used, though the drive north through Syunik is long.
The borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan are closed and have been for many years. You cannot cross into Armenia from either, and no through tickets exist.
Getting around once here. Yerevan has a small metro, plentiful buses and very cheap app-based taxis — €2–4 across the city. Between regions, marshrutka minibuses are inexpensive, slow and leave when full. For anything beyond Yerevan, a car with a driver is dramatically more comfortable and not very expensive. Renting and driving yourself is possible; the main roads are decent and mountain roads require attention.
03
When to visit
Armenia has a genuinely continental climate: hot summers, cold winters, and two shoulder seasons that are close to perfect.
Июль – август
Лето
В Ереване по-настоящему жарко — выше 35 °C это норма. Ответ один: высота. На Севане, в Дилижане, на Арагаце и в Джермуке приятно. Арарат до вечера часто прячется в дымке.
Ереван 30–40 °C · Севан 22–26 °C
Сентябрь – октябрь
Осень
Урожай. Винные деревни работают, леса Тавуша и Лори меняют цвет, а свет — лучший за год для съёмки. Наш самый загруженный сезон, и заслуженно.
Ереван 18–30 °C · прохладные ночи
Ноябрь – март
Зима
Тихо, недорого и по-своему красиво. Лыжи в Цахкадзоре, монастыри под снегом и без единого человека, долгие обеды. Часть высокогорных дорог закрыта — в том числе на Арагац и Селимский перевал.
Ереван −5…8 °C · в горах снег
If you only have one week, come in late September
The harvest is on in the wine villages, the forests in Tavush and Lori are turning, the plain has cooled to the high twenties, and Ararat is visible most mornings. It is our busiest fortnight of the year for a reason.
What closes in winter
The road to Kari Lake on Aragats is usually open only from mid-June to early October. The Vardenyats pass to the Selim caravanserai is snowbound from about November to April. Some high village guesthouses close entirely. Everything else — Yerevan, Garni, Geghard, Echmiadzin, Khor Virap, Sevan, Tatev — runs all year, and in winter you will often have it to yourself.
04
Money & costs
The currency is the Armenian dram (AMD, ֏). Cards work in most places in Yerevan and increasingly in the regions, but carry cash for village guesthouses, small cellars, market stalls and site entrances.
Exchange offices in central Yerevan give noticeably better rates than the airport or your bank at home, and they take euros, dollars and roubles without fuss. ATMs are everywhere in the city.
Armenia is inexpensive by Western European standards, and the gap is widest on food and wine.
| What | Roughly |
|---|---|
| Coffee in a Yerevan café | €1.50 – 3 |
| Lunch, casual | €6 – 12 |
| Dinner with wine, good restaurant | €15 – 30 a head |
| Bottle of good Areni wine at the cellar | €6 – 20 |
| Taxi across Yerevan | €2 – 4 |
| Museum entrance | €2 – 5 |
| 3★ hotel, double room | €40 – 70 |
| Family guesthouse with dinner | €25 – 45 |
| Shared group day tour | €19 – 49 |
| Private day with car and guide | from €99 per vehicle |
Indicative 2026 prices. Tipping is not obligatory: round up in restaurants or leave about 10%, and €5–10 per person for a guide who made your day.
05
Safety & the region
Armenia is a safe country to travel in. Violent crime is low, Yerevan is a city where people walk home late without thinking about it, and solo women travellers generally report feeling comfortable. The ordinary precautions apply — mind your pockets in crowded markets — and very little else.
The closed borders
The borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan are closed. This has no practical effect on travelling inside Armenia; it simply means you arrive and leave via Georgia, Iran or the air. The borders with Georgia and Iran are open and used normally.
Nagorno-Karabakh
Travel to Nagorno-Karabakh is not possible. Following the events of September 2023 the territory came under Azerbaijani control and its Armenian population left. No tour operator can take you there. If you find one advertising it, they are not telling you the truth, and you should treat everything else they say accordingly.
None of our routes go near a contested area or a closed border, with the single exception of Khor Virap, which stands about a hundred metres from the sealed frontier with Turkey and is entirely routine to visit.
Before you book
Check your own government's current travel advice — it is the only source that speaks for your insurance policy. Some advisories carry cautions about specific stretches of border road, and we will tell you plainly if anything on your itinerary touches one.
Health
No vaccinations are required for travellers from Europe or the CIS. Tap water is safe and very good — Yerevan's comes from mountain springs, and free public drinking fountains, pulpulaks, stand on street corners across the city. Pharmacies are well stocked and many are open around the clock. The emergency number is 911.
Travel insurance is not a legal requirement but you should have it, and it must cover trekking to 4,000 metres if you are joining a hiking trip.
06
Food & drink
Nobody chooses Armenia for the food, and almost everybody leaves talking about it.
Лаваш
Тонкий пресный хлеб, который шлёпают на стенку глиняного тонира и снимают через сорок секунд. Его приготовление внесено в список нематериального наследия ЮНЕСКО.
Хоровац
Шашлык и почти национальный институт. Свинина, баранина или овощи на углях виноградной лозы, съеденные завёрнутыми в лаваш с сырым луком и зеленью.
Долма
Рис, зелень и часто фарш, завёрнутые в виноградные или капустные листья. Заворачивать их у всех получается не сразу, а потом вдруг щёлкает.
Гапама
Целая тыква, запечённая с рисом, мёдом, грецкими орехами и сухофруктами, — её приносят на стол и там же вскрывают. Еда осени и праздника.
Ариса
Пшеница и курица, которые часами увариваются во что-то среднее между кашей и рагу. Глубоко утешительное блюдо, связанное с памятью о сопротивлении на Муса-Даге в 1915 году.
Гата
Сладкий хлеб с масляно-сахарной начинкой, с узором, нанесённым сверху вилкой. В каждом регионе её делают по-своему, и каждый уверен, что правильно именно у него.
Суджух
Грецкие орехи на нитке, которые снова и снова окунают в загущённый виноградный сок, пока они не начнут висеть как свечи. Продаётся пирамидами на каждом рынке.
Вино Арени
Красное из местного сорта Арени Нуар, белое из Воскеата. Вино в этой долине делают около шести тысяч лет — здесь раскопали древнейшую известную винодельню.
Армянский коньяк
Производится в Ереване с 1887 года. Здесь его называют коньяком, за рубежом продают как бренди по причинам, связанным с наименованием по происхождению. История про Черчилля — легенда, и хорошая.
Абрикосы и гранаты
Абрикос настолько связан с Арменией, что его латинское название — Prunus armeniaca. И то и другое встречается везде — от рулетов из лаваша до водки.
Vegetarians and vegansYou will eat extremely well. Armenian fasting cookery is a whole tradition of vegan food developed over centuries of church calendars — not a modern accommodation. Tell us when you book and we will plan menus around it rather than removing the meat from something.
07
Customs & etiquette
In churches. Shoulders and knees covered, for everyone. Women are not required to cover their heads in Armenian Apostolic churches, though many choose to, and scarves are usually available at the door. Photography is generally fine; flash during a service is not. Monasteries are working buildings, not museums — if a liturgy is underway, hang back.
Hospitality. If you are invited to someone's table, accept if you can. Refusing food outright reads as a rebuke; taking a small amount of everything does not. You will be offered more than you can eat and this is the point.
Toasts. At a proper table someone will lead the toasts and there is an order to them. Follow your host, do not toast out of turn, and never toast with an empty glass. The second toast is usually to those who are not here.
The genocide. The 1915 genocide is present in Armenian life in a way visitors sometimes underestimate. Nearly every family has a story. It is not a taboo subject and Armenians will speak about it readily, but treat it as history rather than a curiosity, and follow their lead on when to ask.
Ararat. The mountain is in Turkey and on the Armenian coat of arms, and Armenians have heard every version of the joke. They usually tell it first.
Photographing people. Ask. Almost everyone says yes, and quite often insists on making you tea afterwards.
08
Country basics
- Столица
- Ереван, основан в 782 году до н. э. как урартская крепость Эребуни — старше Рима.
- Валюта
- Армянский драм (AMD, ֏). В Ереване карты принимают широко; для деревень берите наличные.
- Язык
- Армянский, со своим алфавитом из 39 букв, созданным около 405 года н. э. Русский распространён очень широко; английский обычен среди молодёжи и в туризме.
- Часовой пояс
- UTC+4 круглый год. Армения не переводит часы.
- Электричество
- 230 В, 50 Гц, европейские двухштырьковые вилки (типы C и F).
- Религия
- Преимущественно Армянская апостольская церковь. Армения приняла христианство как государственную религию в 301 году, первой страной в мире.
- Транспорт
- В Ереване есть метро, автобусы и очень дешёвое такси через приложение. Между регионами ходят маршрутки — дёшево и медленно; машина с водителем куда удобнее.
- Экстренный номер
- 911 с любого телефона.
- Вода из-под крана
- Безопасная и отличная. Бесплатные питьевые фонтанчики, пулпулаки, есть повсюду.
- Чаевые
- Не обязательны. Около 10 % в ресторанах; 5–10 € с человека гиду, который сделал ваш день.
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