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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How Easy is it to Travel Around Armenia?

The public transport is somewhat limited compared to other countries, but we travelled around Armenia from north to south for six weeks, and had no problems whatsoever. In fact, we actually had some really lovely encounters with locals on the marshrutkas. Road conditions that we experienced were good, there wasn’t much traffic on the roads outside of Yerevan, and in general, people drive relatively sensibly. Though, I can’t say the same for marshrutkas in neighbouring Georgia!

Marshrutka

What is a Marshrutka?

The marshrutka is common throughout the ex-Soviet republics. It is essentially a minivan that runs from A to B, and you can get on or off at any point along this route. There are no specific bus stops other than the start and finish. E.g. If your accommodation is on the road that the marshrutka takes, you can ask the driver to stop right outside for you.

A marshrutka journey is generally not comfortable; you have little leg room, and people will be squeezed on regardless of whether there is space or not. And they drive pretty quickly.

But this is how to get around Armenia; it’s the authentic local way. You’ll meet people, and you’ll see phenomenal landscapes on your journey.

Marshrutka Tickets

For most journeys, you will pay on the marshrutka directly to the driver. They might come round before it leaves and take money, or you might just pay when you get off, but you will not get a paper ticket/receipt of your payment. For some longer journeys, you may have a ticket desk at the bus station where you pay in cash, and get given a paper ticket. 

For reference, the longest journey we took in a marshrutka lasted 6 hours, and it cost us 2500 AMD, which equals around £5.

Marshrutka Timetables

The one and only holy grail resource for this information is this website. It will show you bus numbers, times, pick up and drop off locations, and estimated ticket prices. (And it will also give you an idea if there is a train route too). Use this only as a guide because marshrutkas are notorious for not being on time. You cannot book tickets online through this site.

Luggage Storage

Ok, now this one is difficult. There is almost no luggage storage on a marshrutka. Armenian marshrutka journeys were the most difficult out of everywhere we have been in terms of luggage. We had a journey where there physically was no space, so I had to put my 70 litre backpack where my feet should gone, and sit with my knees around my ears. There was another journey where we both sat for two hours with our backpacks on our laps! My advice would be to get to the bus station early and get your bags packed up before anyone else gets on. You won’t have to pay for your luggage, unless it takes up a seat on the marshrutka.

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 07:00 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!

We paid 200 AMD in cash at the ticket desk, and you will be given a small plastic token to put into the turnstiles to get on to the platform.

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.

You will not get a map with your ticket, which I thought was a shame. But, if you head into the city to the tourist info centre, they will give you a free map, and circle the points that are included with your ticket for you.

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, and you don’t want to be squeezed into a marshrutka!

In a Nutshell

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