5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Visiting Armenia

Armenia is one of those obscure, under-the-radar countries that still holds a lot of mystery for tourists. While that is exactly why I liked it, traveling Armenia was not without challenges! Here are five things I wish I knew before visiting Armenia.

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I can honestly say that  I’ve never “not liked” a country I visited.

Sure, things have gone wrong plenty of times, as they often do when traveling. But I am *very good* at going with the flow. In fact, I typically welcome the unexpected adventures that come from things going wrong!

That said, countries that are not heavily traveled can present some challenges and surprises due to the lack of infrastructure for tourists. Throw in an obscure language that you don’t speak a word of and it can get interesting.

Enter, Armenia.

Armenia was an incredible experience after the fact, but I did run into some very real frustrations in the moment. On the flip side, I experienced true hospitality and made friends that I’m still in touch with today. Armenia was a mixed bag.

Below I will share some of the things I wish I knew before visiting Armenia so that you can be more prepared than I was! 😆

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Visiting Armenia

1. Nothing is ever “set in stone.”

I had a pretty rough time my first week in Armenia. It was not one or two things that went wrong. It was everything. I legitimately cannot name one thing that went right.

• I had two car rental companies cancel reservations on me at the last minute. The first one was an hour before pickup time, and the second was 30 minutes prior to my pickup.
• I had a hotel in Yerevan cancel on me as I was literally walking there to check in.
• I had two shared ride app drivers cancel on me, one complete with rude messages from the driver (like, why? We never even met.)
• And, I discussed with my B&B host at length about what time I needed a taxi the following morning. Can I stress, it was incredibly time sensitive? She promised it would be there. Guaranteed it, in fact, and told me not to worry. And then, she didn’t arrange it.

As I sat on that B&B porch, in the early morning hours – as time stretched on and no taxi appeared – I felt deeply sad. I had come to Armenia with the hopes to love it.

Actually I came expecting to feel some closeness to a mentor of mine, Michael, who passed away two years prior. He was Armenian by heritage and we talked many times about his background.

But I sat there feeling none of that. No joy, no closeness, no excitement. And it’s not the fact that my plans fell through that week. It was the sheer amount of time I kept wasting, planning then re-planning then re-planning again. I felt like I’d spent more time fixing problems than actually seeing the sights!

So, how to deal?

If you are visiting in the summer like I was, this will be the “busy” season. Don’t just book things online. Take the extra step to call and confirm directly after placing the reservation.

This goes for hotels, cars, and tours in Armenia. Though an annoying extra step, this can save you from a last-minute surprise cancelation like I experienced! Once I started doing this, things ran much more smoothly.

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2. Much of Armenia was very cheap.

I knew that Armenia would be cheap when compared to American standards. But it was only after adding up my expenses that I could really appreciate it!

Here are some average expenses to expect and plan for before visiting Armenia.

Accommodations: You can get a basic but clean hotel room for around $25 USD per night. If you book a hostel, it can look more like $12 per night. And yes, of course if you want luxury it can get expensive, too.

Rideshare Apps: Apps like Yandex and GG make it easy to get around Yerevan and beyond. These are based primarily on distance, so it varies, but expect around $1-$5 USD to get around the city and around $35 USD to travel a couple of hours between cities.

Food: Items like bread and fruit will cost well under $1 USD per piece in the grocery store. Small food stalls offer meals for around $5 USD and larger restaurants can be more like $10-$20, depending on how fancy you get.

If you are interested in a super-detailed breakdown on what I spent in Armenia, let me know in the comments below.

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3. The not only have their own language, but they have their own alphabet, too.

Armenians speak Armenian – not Russian, not Georgian, and many – not English. And, they have their own alphabet – one of only 14 in the world – complete with organic, curvy shapes that I never quite got the hang of.

At times, Google Translate helped! But, at the time of writing, the photo scan feature is not available for Armenian. So be prepared to use the app primarily for speaking purposes.

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4. The food is incredibly fresh and delicious.

As is true in many other countries, the food and fruits and vegetables have incredibly rich flavor.

In the US, much of our produce is picked before it is actually ripe. This is because it often travels far and wide and will continue to ripen while on the trucks and cargo containers. But picking fruits and vegetables before they are actually ripe does affect the flavor.

In Armenia, and especially in small villages like Areni, much of the fruit and vegetables are grown and picked on site. That means it was grown, likely without pesticides, very close to where you consume it. It was picked at the peak of ripe-ness and served shortly after.

Every bite held so much intense flavor, and I couldn’t get over how vibrantly red the tomatoes were or how deep green the cucumbers were. Every bite was so delicious.

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5. It’s a cash-based society – and ATMs are not always available.

Like many other small and developing countries, Armenia is largely a cash-based society. Most hotels and guesthouses don’t accept credit cards. Small shops and of course street vendors will not accept cards, either.

This would have been so helpful to know before visiting Armenia, and in particular in small towns like Areni, I had to be very mindful of my money because there was nowhere to get more if I ran out.

Plan to carry cash for most purchases. If you are heading to small towns, know that you may not have access to an ATM. If you have a rental car, then it’s not a huge problem. But if you don’t have a car and the only ATM is two towns over, it can be an issue.

Calculate out the amount of money you expect to need over the next several days, and then pull a little extra out when you have the chance. You can find yourself in a jam if you have no cash, no car, and no local language skills.

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Despite all of the initial problems I experienced here, I’m so happy I stayed. However, it would have been helpful to know all of these tips before visiting Armenia.

While it seems that plenty of things don’t run smoothly here, I found most people to e helpful and kind. I found the history to be fascinating. And, I found the sights to be awe-inspiring.

Though I never did get that rental car, by sheer willpower (and the power of hitchhiking) I still got to see a lot of my top sights. Yerevan’s Blue Mosque had gorgeous tilework and history. Noravank Monastery was even prettier than the photos can portray. And Areni’s small village packed a lot of fun into a small area.

And then one day – one magical evening – something clicked. I befriended two Armenian girls and ended up going to a super secret local swimming hole. And, my guesthouse owner suddenly became enthusiastically outgoing and shared pieces of his life with me.

My heart felt full as he showed me the precisely laid out area where he lovingly grew his fruit-garden, and showed me his woodcarving and paintings as well as photos of his family.

I couldn’t help but smile and feel the joy I’d been waiting for as he used the pianos in all of the guests rooms, mine included, to play Armenian songs he’d written.

And it was then that I felt it. I could see Michael in him. The very Armenian shape of his brows and the downturn of his nose. The way he passionately focused on what he was creating. The forceful friendliness that had seemed to come out of nowhere.

This is it. This is Armenia. This is the Armenia I was looking for. ❤

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