How to Get Around Armenia: The Complete Transport Guide

Armenia is so much more than just Yerevan. Don’t get me wrong, Yerevan is an essential part of any Armenian trip and a city that we really love! But, to really experience the country, you need to get away from the capital. Go down south, explore the mountains, hike the canyons, find all the UNESCO monasteries, take the scenic routes. And how is the best way to do this? 

Armenia has the Soviet classic marshrutka, but it also has a limited train network, Yerevan metro, its own local taxi app, and a shared taxi system. After spending six weeks travelling the country using these five methods, we’ve put together all the info and our learnings on how to get around Armenia in this transport guide.

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Trains

The train network in Armenia is very small and only really connects Yerevan and some of the northern towns/cities, and Tbilisi in Georgia.

Trains tickets tend to be more expensive than on a marshrutka. You have to buy tickets at the station before getting on the train.

There is plenty of luggage space on the train, and the train overall is a more comfortable experience than the marshrutka.

The Yerevan to Gyumri express train that runs on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, is perfect if you want to see Gyumri as a day trip. Tickets cost 2500 AMD (March 2023) for the two and a half hour journey.

And the overnight Tbilisi to Yerevan train is also another train journey that I would recommend; it’s an experience in itself travelling through the Caucasus in an old Soviet train.

Yerevan Metro

Yerevan metro is a convenient, inexpensive, and quick way to move around the city. It runs from 07:30 to 23:00 (which means it is the perfect way to get into the city after you arrive on the overnight train from Tbilisi). You won’t have to wait any more than 15 minutes for a train. The trains are clean and the journey is smooth – not like the juddery, rickety, deafening London underground back home!

August 2025 Update: Tickets can now be paid for by card at the machines in the metro or by cash at the desks, and then scan the QR code on your ticket at the barriers.

GG Taxi

GG Taxi is a local Armenian taxi app like Uber or Bolt. It’s a great app, it’s user friendly, and I love the fact that it’s local! We were only able to set it up once we were in the country and had an Armenian SIM card. You can attach your card details to it, but equally, you can just pay cash.

The other thing to note is that most Armenians will have this app, so if you get caught short without internet, or you’ve just arrived into the country and need to get from the airport/train station to your accommodation; ask a local. They can call you a GG and then you just pay the driver in cash.

This is how to get around Armenia for shorter distances or for routes that just don’t have public transport.

Shared Taxis

Shared taxis are larger cars that maybe hold five passengers. They tend to drive shorter distances, and leave when they have a full car. We found some shared taxi spots marked on Maps.me, otherwise it’s a case of asking locals where to pick up a shared taxi.

Private Drivers

Marshrutkas will be able to take you to most towns/cities around the country, but there are still a lot of places that aren’t accessible by public transport. In this case, you would have to get a tour, or our favourite
way is to hire a driver with GoTrip. You can input your route info on to the GoTrip website and see available drivers, prices, their cars, and ratings. It just makes the journey easier and faster, especially if you want to stop along the way (there are no waiting fees), and you don’t want to be squeezed into a marshrutka!

Hire a Car

So, we have not hired a car ourselves, but after having visited Armenia for a third time and fighting with the public transport again in August 2025, we both said that we should have hired a car. We experienced a lot of difficulty this time round, either with there being zero luggage space, entire transport routes being cancelled, infrequent marshrutkas, and limited seating meaning that we either wouldn’t be allowed on or have to sit on a stool in the aisle.

Our experience would have been SO much better with our own car. Yerevan itself would be an awful place to drive (JUST DON’T DO IT!), but outside of Yerevan, roads are quiet, relatively well-maintained and you have the ability to reach places that public transport won’t get you to.

Local Rent is a company that has rental car options throughout Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Eastern Europe. We haven’t used them ourselves, but we have friends who have and the reviews on Trust Pilot are really high! There’s even an optional add-on that you can purchase to cross the border into Georgia.

So what’s the best way to get around Armenia?

Honestly, it depends on many factors. Let’s break it down:

Just heading to Yerevan? Use the metro and GG Taxi around the city.

Fancy a Gyumri day trip at the weekend from Yerevan? Take the express train, or hire a GoTrip driver if your trip is not at the weekend.

Want to see Vagharshapat on a day trip from Yerevan? Take the thirty minute marshrutka from Kilikia bus station.

Fancy going on other day trips from Yerevan? Some are doable by public transport, but in all honesty, it’s a lot of faffing. Unless you are a really experienced adventurer who is confident in your ability to stick your thumb out at the side of the road if it all goes wrong, just hire yourself a driver on GoTrip and make the journey in to a full day of exploring nearby sights.

Want to see more of Armenia and you have luggage? Just hire yourself a car at Local Rent.

You’re a hard-core adventure traveller and expert problem solver with unlimited time but a tight budget? Go for the marshrutka!

In a Nutshell

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