3 Day Armenia Trip Report; Great Guide: Hayk Avagyan
Jun 10, 2016, 6:46 pm
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3 Day Armenia Trip Report; Great Guide: Hayk Avagyan
We just returned from a very rushed 3 day trip to Armenia. We didn't have much time in Armenia, and packed in as much as we could. This was our itinerary:
Day 1: 2pm arrival. Echmiadzin, Genocide Museum, Brandy Tasting (Ararat). Stay in Yerevan.
Day 2: Tatev Monastery, Zorats Karer (Armenian Stonehenge), Noravank Monastery, Areni caves & winery, Khor Virap Monastery. Stay in Yerevan.
Day 3: Geghard Monastery, Garni Temple, drive to Tbilisi (visiting Lake Sevan and its monastery, driving through the Debed Canyon, and visiting Haghpat Monastery)
***
First, I want to highly recommend our guide-driver Hayk Avagyan. I've used guides and drivers of various quality in many countries, and I can say that Hayk is absolutely a top-tier guide. He loves his job, he's passionate about showing you Armenia, and goes above and beyond your expectations.
Given that we only had 2.5 days for Armenia, he was happy to put in long days so we could see as much of the country as possible in this little time. We started at 7:30am each day, and ended between 7pm and 8pm each evening. He was enthusiastic this entire time, and never seemed out of energy. When we arrived in Tbilisi, he even went out of his way to take us to the train station and helped us buy our onward train tickets to Baku; that was certainly beyond the call of duty.
Most importantly, he's a fun and interesting person. He isn't just going to explain the sites to you; during the long drives, we discussed many interesting topics about Armenia (including the genocide, the Azerbaijan conflict, Armenian culture, other geopolitical issues, etc.). Learning his perspective and discussing these controversial issues with him was a big part of our experience in Armenia.
Hayk is very professional and experienced, and knows how to cater to demanding tourists who expect great service. He knows the sites and history well, and, at the same time, is great with planning all the logistics and making sure the trip runs seamlessly. His car is clean, he's a safe driver, and he even has free WiFi in the car for his guests to use.
Here is his contact info:
Hayk Avagyan
[email protected]
+37493572266 (he's reachable on What's App, etc.)
***
Some notes/comments on the sites:
- Armenia is a really beautiful country. It's full of green. All the drives were very scenic, and they never got boring.
- In 2.5 days, we saw quite a few monasteries. We weren't *super* into the Early Christian stuff, and the monasteries started to seem a bit similar after a while and we probably won't remember every single details. But each one is special in its own way when considering how they are beautifully set in their environments (e.g., Geghard carved from a cliff, Tatev reached by a long cable car, Khor Virap with Mt. Ararat in the background).
- There were hardly any tourists around. Virtually no tour groups, and some sites we had totally to ourselves. That made it very peaceful and relaxing.
- The brandy factory was a fun experience. There is a tour introducing how brandy is made, and then a tasting (you pay for either 3 or 5 tastes). The Areni winery was also great; lots of different wines and flavored spirits to try.
- The genocide museum was very informative and enlightening. The explanatory boards were written in perfect English, and were very well presented.
- The "Armenian Stonehenge" was intriguing to see, particularly because it's totally in the middle of nowhere and we had the entire place to ourselves.
- For lack of time, we didn't see much of Yerevan itself. We took an early morning walk and an evening walk around Republic Square. That was about it. And on this same note, we didn't get a ton of interaction with the locals given that most of our time was spent at the sites and in the car with our guide.
***
Some logistical notes:
- ARRIVAL & ALSO VISITING AZERBAIJAN: Despite hearing that Armenia has no problem with tourists visiting Azerbaijan (as opposed to the reverse), we did get some scrutiny when we arrived at the airport. The immigration officer saw our Azeri visas, and then took our passports and came back several minutes later with a photocopy of our Azeri visas. A more senior officer then asked us about the purpose of our trip, where we were staying in Armenia, who was picking us up at the airport, why we were going to Azerbaijan, etc. They were polite and professional, and they let us go after we gave them this information. We're US citizens and we were visiting for purely tourism purposes, so I think they were quickly satisfied that we were not up to no good. But I was nonetheless surprised that we got any scrutiny at all given everything I had read on the Internet about how Armenia doesn't care if you go to Azerbaijan.
- LODGING: We stayed at this AirBNB: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1371528 . It was $35 per night, and 3 minutes walk from Republic Square. It was clean and convenient, albeit the bed wasn't the most comfortable. We also considered hotels, and I'd definitely recommend an AirBNB if you want the most bang for your buck.
- GEORGIA LAND BORDER CROSSING: This was very easy. Didn't even need to get out of the car when exiting Armenia.
Day 1: 2pm arrival. Echmiadzin, Genocide Museum, Brandy Tasting (Ararat). Stay in Yerevan.
Day 2: Tatev Monastery, Zorats Karer (Armenian Stonehenge), Noravank Monastery, Areni caves & winery, Khor Virap Monastery. Stay in Yerevan.
Day 3: Geghard Monastery, Garni Temple, drive to Tbilisi (visiting Lake Sevan and its monastery, driving through the Debed Canyon, and visiting Haghpat Monastery)
***
First, I want to highly recommend our guide-driver Hayk Avagyan. I've used guides and drivers of various quality in many countries, and I can say that Hayk is absolutely a top-tier guide. He loves his job, he's passionate about showing you Armenia, and goes above and beyond your expectations.
Given that we only had 2.5 days for Armenia, he was happy to put in long days so we could see as much of the country as possible in this little time. We started at 7:30am each day, and ended between 7pm and 8pm each evening. He was enthusiastic this entire time, and never seemed out of energy. When we arrived in Tbilisi, he even went out of his way to take us to the train station and helped us buy our onward train tickets to Baku; that was certainly beyond the call of duty.
Most importantly, he's a fun and interesting person. He isn't just going to explain the sites to you; during the long drives, we discussed many interesting topics about Armenia (including the genocide, the Azerbaijan conflict, Armenian culture, other geopolitical issues, etc.). Learning his perspective and discussing these controversial issues with him was a big part of our experience in Armenia.
Hayk is very professional and experienced, and knows how to cater to demanding tourists who expect great service. He knows the sites and history well, and, at the same time, is great with planning all the logistics and making sure the trip runs seamlessly. His car is clean, he's a safe driver, and he even has free WiFi in the car for his guests to use.
Here is his contact info:
Hayk Avagyan
[email protected]
+37493572266 (he's reachable on What's App, etc.)
***
Some notes/comments on the sites:
- Armenia is a really beautiful country. It's full of green. All the drives were very scenic, and they never got boring.
- In 2.5 days, we saw quite a few monasteries. We weren't *super* into the Early Christian stuff, and the monasteries started to seem a bit similar after a while and we probably won't remember every single details. But each one is special in its own way when considering how they are beautifully set in their environments (e.g., Geghard carved from a cliff, Tatev reached by a long cable car, Khor Virap with Mt. Ararat in the background).
- There were hardly any tourists around. Virtually no tour groups, and some sites we had totally to ourselves. That made it very peaceful and relaxing.
- The brandy factory was a fun experience. There is a tour introducing how brandy is made, and then a tasting (you pay for either 3 or 5 tastes). The Areni winery was also great; lots of different wines and flavored spirits to try.
- The genocide museum was very informative and enlightening. The explanatory boards were written in perfect English, and were very well presented.
- The "Armenian Stonehenge" was intriguing to see, particularly because it's totally in the middle of nowhere and we had the entire place to ourselves.
- For lack of time, we didn't see much of Yerevan itself. We took an early morning walk and an evening walk around Republic Square. That was about it. And on this same note, we didn't get a ton of interaction with the locals given that most of our time was spent at the sites and in the car with our guide.
***
Some logistical notes:
- ARRIVAL & ALSO VISITING AZERBAIJAN: Despite hearing that Armenia has no problem with tourists visiting Azerbaijan (as opposed to the reverse), we did get some scrutiny when we arrived at the airport. The immigration officer saw our Azeri visas, and then took our passports and came back several minutes later with a photocopy of our Azeri visas. A more senior officer then asked us about the purpose of our trip, where we were staying in Armenia, who was picking us up at the airport, why we were going to Azerbaijan, etc. They were polite and professional, and they let us go after we gave them this information. We're US citizens and we were visiting for purely tourism purposes, so I think they were quickly satisfied that we were not up to no good. But I was nonetheless surprised that we got any scrutiny at all given everything I had read on the Internet about how Armenia doesn't care if you go to Azerbaijan.
- LODGING: We stayed at this AirBNB: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1371528 . It was $35 per night, and 3 minutes walk from Republic Square. It was clean and convenient, albeit the bed wasn't the most comfortable. We also considered hotels, and I'd definitely recommend an AirBNB if you want the most bang for your buck.
- GEORGIA LAND BORDER CROSSING: This was very easy. Didn't even need to get out of the car when exiting Armenia.
