 | Armenia Transportation | Tips 1 - 10 of 22 |  |
Popular Transportation | Other Transportation Tips | All Tips (22) As you walk around in Yerevan or any other cities, you can see mini-buses in different colors packed with people..
They are called "Marshotni" in Armenia and they are all numbered.. The number appears from the side window and each number has a specific route and destination..
Riding the marshotnis is a lot cheaper than taking taxis especially around town.. They charge 100 drams (US 0.20) for the route within the city..
If you're traveling on a budget and spending US $2-3 can hurt the budget, you may take advantage of the marshotnis.. The only problem is knowing which number has what destination.. I didn't get the chance to ride in one but if you ask around, I'm sure you'll come across people who know.. Leave a Comment Theme: Bus
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In Armenia, you may take a Taxi to go literally ANYWHERE.. We were fortunate to come across a taxi service, via referral from a friend who had used them before which we liked the services very much..
The service is Called Comfort Taxi Services and they're based in Yerevan. The name of our taxi driver was Hovik, a very nice man who drove us around Armenia for 3 weeks. We drove anywhere from Anipemza to the western border, Nagorno Karabakh which is all the way to the east.. We went as high up north as Noyemberian and as south as Khor Virap.. The taxi service charges 100 drams (US $0.20) per kilometer and 1200 drams (US $2.40) per hour of wait time. Although Hovik or any of the members of the taxi services do not speak English, most speak Armenian and Russian. When in Yerevan, ask for Hovik and if you want, you may give my name (Rafi) as a reference.. He will provide you with the best service.
There are other Taxi Services which charge less; as low as 70 drams per kilometers..
Doka Taxi Services charges 150 drams (US $0.30) per kilometer and you will be taken around in a Mercedes Benz.. Their phone number is 555-555. You can give them a try if you wish. Leave a Comment Theme: Car/Motor HomePhone: 242-999 (Vas Comfort Taxi)
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Getting to Armenia is done by either airplane or by crossing the border via Iran in a vehicle or by bus.. While on the road in Armenia, I saw many buses with Iranian license plates.. Suppose they were transfering tourists back and forth, not sure.. Airplane is the best choice flying into Zvartnots airport in Yerevan, capital of Armenia.. Please refer to General information for Airport description and tips.. Leave a Comment Theme: Airplane
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A cable car goes from Alaverdi up the steep mountain to Sanahin. It goes from behind the post office, just north of the city centre and busstation. Buses comming from Vandazor stops at the cable car stop.
The cable car is not running all day. When I was in Alaverdi, in June 2003, it was running as follow:
07.15 - 09.45
11.00 - 14.00
15.00 - 19.30
23.15 - 23.45
00.15 - 00.45
It is very cheap. One way costs 50 drams. Leave a Comment Theme: Other
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If you intend to depart Armenia from the Zvartnots (Yerevan) international airport, save 10.000 drams (20$) per departing passanger as this extra airport tax is never included into your ticket price. Although not mentioned anywhere at the airport, first go to the exchange booth (BTW, very bad rates) and pay this tax. You will get a receipt that will enable you to check in. Of course you will get a special extra service for this tax, e.g. a very slow check-in procedure, way too many bored employees standing or walking around the airport, I was almost proclaimed a terrorist just becuse the metal detector always detected a zip of my side trousers pocket, boarding passes were indeed checked more times than necessary and last but not least, due to very slow procedure the plane departure was delayed by almost an hour and the staff put my (and probaly half of other passangers' ) luggage into a wrong plane.
In 2004 probably the cheapest airline flying directly to/from western/central Europe (and thus avoiding a need for a former USSR countries' transit visas) was ČSA (Czech airlines) from Prague, costing "only" 350€. Book the flight as early as possible as the airline seems to be popular among numerous Armenian diaspora in North America. Leave a Comment
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One of the best ways to see Armenia if you have some extra cash and have limited time is to use country tours. There are several based in Yerevan but I found that the best was Sati tours who do daily tours around Armenia and Karabagh. They offer free hotel pick up and they are very professional. I used them several times and their tour guides are fantastic.
Monday they go to Echmiadzin and Zvartnots and Dilijan and Haghartsin/Goshavank from 6500 AMD to 11 000. Tuesday they go to Vanadzor/Haghpat/Sanahin for 13 000 AMD (I highly recommend this one due to public transport is a hassle). Wednesday they go to Dilijan/Haghartsin/Goshavank for 11 000 AMD and Garni Temple and Geghhard Monastery for 6000 AMD. Thursday they go to Tsaghkadzor/Lake Sevan 9000 AMD and Karaback for a 3 day trip costing a pricy 90 000 AMD. Friday they go Echmiadzin/Sardarapat/Zvartnots for 8000 AMD while Khor Virap/Noravank costs 10 000 AMD. Saturday they go to Oshakan/Saghmosavank/Amberd for 8000 AMD and Lake Sevan/Noradous/Sevanavank for 9000 AMD. Sunday goes to Garni Temple and Geghard Monastery for 6000 AMD. Again I highly recommend them (I usually dont promote tour companies due to price and not a way to do independant travel) but I had fantastic experiences. Leave a Comment Theme: BusPhone: 374 10 53 10 22Website: www.satiglobal.com Other Contact: armenia@satiglobal.com
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There is a marshrutka (minibus) at 9.20 from Ortachala in Tbilisi to Vanadzor. It leaves earlier if it gets full, which was the case when I travelled with it. To Ortachala you can take marshrutka 94 and 118 from Marjanishvili (from outside McDonald’s). I arrived at the station around 8.00, bought the ticket and had some tea and bread. At 8.45 the bus was full and left Tbilisi. We were going very slowly and after a while we stopped and the driver fixed the engine. Almost all the way the road was bad with lots of potholes. Before the border the road only became more narrow and it was slowly going up and up, and we did not meet any other vehicles for a long time. The border crossing was Mughanlo.
Getting the visa was easy. I filled in a form and paid 30 dollars, they put the data in the computer and stamped the visa. There was no comments about my Azeri visa.
In Stepanavan the marshrutka stopped outside an office for money exchange and I changed my last laris into drams.
The bus ride took between 5 - 6 hours and the price was 16 lari.
In Vanadzor the bus stopped at the bus station, next to the train station.
From Ortchala in Tbilisi there are also several buses a day leaving for Yerevan. Leave a Comment Theme: Bus
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Geghard Monastery is located about 40kms south east of Yerevan. Garni is enroute about 9kms before you hit the Geghard complex.
The cost was just 15USD for a taxi to take us to Garni then to the monastery at Geghard (wait for us at both places) and then back to Yerevan.
It's not even a day trip. Should only take half a day to see both from Yerevan. My suggestion if visiting in summer, is to get up early to beat the heat! Leave a Comment Theme: Car/Motor Home
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Very important to remember that the Turkish-Armenian border is CLOSED and will remain so for some time.
Buses are fine except in the mountain areas on the way to the part of Georgia near Turkey, where the roads are in such terrible condition that our driver constantly veered down the mountainside searching for better grip than the road would afford. It was noticeable that car drivers were much less willing to pick up hitchikers in Armenia than other parts of the FSU. Leave a Comment Theme: Other
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