How to get from Tbilisi to Yerevan. Distance from Tbilisi to Yerevan

Good afternoon Another article is waiting for its readers. Recently, many Russians (even among my friends and acquaintances) have been trying to visit Georgia and Armenia. Perhaps among my readers there are many who want to visit these beautiful countries on their own. Especially for you, I have prepared an itinerary article with a full description of our movements, costs and places we visited.

Separately, there is already a fresh guide for Georgia with prices and other useful things:

There is also a complete guide to Armenia:

Therefore, in this article I will only mention the important points about these two countries.

Total holiday budget in Georgia and Armenia

This trip involved air travel to Tbilisi. If you check the popular search engines Aviasales or SkyScanner (), you will find that the average cost of an air flight (from Moscow) is 10,000 rubles. I usually don’t like to plan a specific country for a specific time, so I often fly on promotion to wherever I can. And in this case, it turned out that one airline offered very “delicious” tickets for 6,000 rubles. Let's add to this the railway travel from Kirov to Moscow in both directions (3,500 rubles). Thus, the entire trip per person cost no more than 15,000 rubles. Yes, this is an absolutely realistic figure for traveling during the high season (in September) in countries such as Georgia and Armenia. Of course, the journey was not without gifts of fate, but more on all this below.

Current flights to Armenia

Current flights to Georgia

In Georgia, I traveled on trains in carriages of different classes, most often these were night trips to save money. You can purchase a ticket online on the official website of Georgian RealWay. In my opinion, the site is still lame in terms of convenience, and it’s not so easy to grab a ticket for current destinations, but everything is developing.

Hitch-hiking. It was from these two countries that I started hitchhiking when traveling. And I really love traveling around the Caucasus (and not only) mainly in this way. Because this is the only way to have more chances and opportunities to communicate with sincere Georgians and Armenians. I fell in love with these two countries almost immediately; the people here captivate my soul and stay there for a long time. Those who don’t believe can check for themselves. And it’s logical to assume that hitchhiking here is simply gorgeous. Literally 1-2 cars, and you are already being taken in the right direction. Sometimes hitchhiking is much faster than taking a minibus, and the drivers are so hospitable that they can treat you, if not with food, then at least with a trip to some unplanned attraction.

Food

What I absolutely recommend trying in Yerevan is “Adjarian-style khachapuri” (despite the fact that it is Georgian cuisine). Visually it looks something like this. There is cheese inside and an egg on top. Only Armenians know how to make it incredibly tasty and very large in size (in the picture it is 2.5 times smaller :)). Even Georgians are forced to admit this (I found out personally :)).

In addition, in Armenia, ice cream is very tasty and cheap, no matter what you get, it seems like it’s from the Soviet past. I don’t recommend it in Georgia. In Georgia and Armenia, in general, you need to try everything! Starting from meat and ending with fruits.

As a fruit lover, I have been very lucky, not only at the market. There are plenty of trees with fruit all over Armenia and Georgia, the main thing is to get there in season. Do you want grapes, do you want plums, apples, pears. At the market I only bought peaches and cheese (brynza to be more precise). By the way, about the market. I thought that they would add weight and increase prices, like for Russian tourists, but it turned out to be quite the opposite. It’s nice to bargain with the locals, but, in principle, you don’t have to bargain with them, the prices are already ridiculous, and you can often get something in addition, like a gift.

Water here is also completely free, at almost every intersection there is a fountain from which water flows, which ranks second in the world in terms of its purity, so don’t be shy, drink as much as you like :). In hot weather it was the only way to escape.

It’s just difficult with cheap taverns. After all, this is not Russia, there are no canteens here: D. But we, for example, were pleasantly surprised by the average prices even in a good cafe.

People

The population is about 3 million in Armenia, and 4.5 million in Georgia.

In almost all my articles on these countries, I mentioned the indelible impression the locals made on me. Excuse me if I seemed too arrogant in this matter, but I was really shocked. I’m probably still in it to this day. All my myths, which I hear every day on the radio, TV or from my friends, read on the Internet, or in the newspaper, see in the market or shops, simply shattered to smithereens after the first meeting with Armenians and Georgians.

I am sad to admit that in Russia for a long time I have not seen the same attitude towards my own kind as I saw in Armenia and Georgia. I don’t want to repeat myself; people are judged not by their words, but by their actions. Therefore, you can read my articles and you will understand everything yourself, and even better if you have the opportunity to communicate with them personally.

One thing I noticed is that when one or two people treat you well, then the rest begin to act in the same light. That is, I automatically began to imbue with some kind of trust in all the people. There is something to think about.

Cloth.

There are no special restrictions. They wear the same things as in Russia. And in temples and churches according to the standard: headscarf, long skirt or pants for women, and no headdress for men.

Hotels

At this point I will have to be brief, since we were purely “lucky” with the hotel in Armenia, if our accommodation could be called a hotel at all. The name is impressive: “hotel-sauna-djakuzy”. No, it's not what you think. The room there was indeed small, but cozy and cost 8,000 drams per night. One very good Armenian and his friend found it for us, for which we thank you very much. It was at night and we were simply unloaded there like sleepy flies, but these are details that you can read about in your “adventures” around Armenia.

In Georgia, we only stayed in the resort town of Ureki, renting a room for 10 lari for two. The rest of the time we slept on trains between countries.

If you like to plan everything in advance, I recommend using the service for this purpose Roomguru.ru, which compares prices in all major booking systems (Booking, Agoda, etc.) and finds the best one!

And for relaxation at home, there is a popular private housing rental service. This option is often cheaper (especially if you are traveling with a group or family). In addition, by registering on the site by this link, you will receive a great bonus of $20 on your first booking!

Climate

Armenia has a temperate continental, arid climate. Summer is hot and dry (average temperature +24...+26 °C), winter is mild and with little snow (-2...-6 °C). In January-February the average temperature in Georgia is 5 °C, and in July-August - +24 °C.

Here are some ways to go back from Yerevan to Tbilisi– we’ll tell you in this post.

There are three ways to get from Yerevna to Tbilisi:

Train schedule from Yerevan to Tbilisi in 2019

1. On even days at 21.30, train 372 departs from Yerevan to Tbilisi, arriving in the morning at 7.50. Price:
Reserved seat: 7680 – 8780 AMD (about 16 EUR)
Coupe: 12120 – 13260 AMD (about 24 EUR)
CB: 17040 AMD (about 31 EUR)
* commission 2000 AMD in case of purchasing a ticket via the Internet

2. In 2016, there was train 201, Batumi-Yerevan, passing through Tbilisi, departing at 22.16. But at the moment there is no information on it. You can check the availability of the train on the official website of the South Caucasus Railways http://www.ukzhd.am/ru.html
Trains are suitable for those who are willing to pay a little more and are also comfortable with traveling at night (some simply cannot sleep on trains).

from Yerevan to Tbilisi by bus

There are actually several of them, the auto companies Avazar Bus, Arm-Bus and Arm-Tour - all come from Russia. Here is the schedule (check before your trip):

1.30-8.00, Mon. and Fri.
03.00-11.00 Sat.
06.00-14.00 Mon., Wed., Sat.
8.00-15.00 Thursday, Sat. and all

Tickets can be purchased from the relevant bus companies and at the Kikilia bus station, which is located on Iskakova Street. The downside is the difference between departures at 8.00 and 1.30, you can’t leave during the day.

from Yerevan to Tbilisi by collective taxi

At a price comparable to a train and bus, such taxis will take you to the capital of Georgia in 5-6 hours - less than all other types of transport. It is worth catching them at the railway and bus stations, and - most importantly - they also depart during the day. The downside is that you have to wait for the taxi to pick up; we had to wait about an hour.

How we got there.

The option with a collective taxi suited us, since we wanted to visit and leave for Georgia in one day, so we will talk about our experience. The car was a seven-seater, we crossed the border perfectly. How else can you get through it if the border guard immediately greets you: “Hello, dear!” Arriving in Tbilisi at about 19.30, we not only managed to have a great dinner at a Georgian eatery, but also were invited to the next table by warm and hospitable Georgians, who treated us to Georgian dishes and wine and sang songs with a guitar.

Finally, that same evening we had a great time with our coach Henrik, who hosted us in Tbilisi, an amazingly charming Swede who interned at the local Swedish consulate and had previously traveled to many countries.

So a taxi “rules” if you want to leave not in the evening or in the morning, but at the same time have time to do a lot of interesting things.

The next day we went to Stalin's homeland.

In order to get from Yerevan to Tbilisi, we decided to use the most convenient, in my opinion, way - the Yerevan-Tbilisi train. Why is it the most convenient? Let me explain, firstly, we saved on accommodation, and secondly, we reached our destination comfortably.

Where is it located? The railway station is located on David of Sasun Square.

Fare: A ticket for one adult in a reserved seat costs 8,600 drams, a child’s ticket costs a little more than half the cost of a full ticket, I can’t say for sure, the ticket has not been preserved. Bedding is included in the ticket price. Everything on the tickets is duplicated in Russian, which is very convenient.

Schedule and departure time: The Yerevan-Tbilisi train runs only on even days, departs in the evening at 21:30, and arrives at 07:50, travel time is 10 hours.

I would like to note that the railway station in Yerevan is very beautiful on the outside and deserted on the inside. There is a hall with a domed ceiling, there is even an echo :)

And on the station square there is a monument to the hero of the folk epic David of Sassoun. This hero personifies the defender of the Armenian people. It was created in 1959, the height of the monument is 12 meters. It looks very impressive.

The train is the same as our trains, although the bed linen leaves much to be desired. It’s clean, don’t think anything of it, but it’s so washed out that you can see everything through it, in short, it’s high time to send it to rags. The second point is that the conductors kept the toilet at the beginning of the car closed the whole way, for themselves; they had to use only one, at the end of the car. And the third point, one of the conductors allowed himself to smoke on the train.

As for crossing the Armenian-Georgian border by train, there are no problems here. First, the train stopped at the Armenian border, Armenian border guards walked through all the carriages, collected our passports, affixed stamps, and processed our departure from Armenia right on the train (the border guard was with a special laptop). Then the train stopped at the Georgian border, where the Georgian border guards collected all the passports and took them somewhere, then the Georgian customs officers came and asked to show things and open the bags. People who were completely suspicious, in their opinion, were thoroughly searched and all their belongings were taken out of their bags. After the inspection, the border guards returned and returned the passports with stamps. In principle, nothing extraordinary, the only inconvenience is that crossing the border with all the checks and so on occurs between 2-4 am.

Arriving in Tbilisi from the platform, you find yourself in the station building, which consists of several floors and inside looks like some kind of shopping center, and from the outside there is nothing particularly memorable. And all because inside on the ground floor there are stores of famous and unknown brands. On the other floors there are also some offices or something similar. When you go out into the city, you immediately come across a cloud of taxi drivers, the general impression is of bustle and noise. In general, in our understanding there is no station as such.

It’s ridiculous that such a huge building didn’t even have space for storage lockers; they are located on the platform not far from the main building. True, it’s hard to call it storage lockers. Some kind of barn-type tiny room divided into 2 parts. The donated items are stored in one room, and in the other there is an uncle who takes them for safekeeping. In the same room he eats, watches TV, in short, lives. The general impression is that it is necessary to at least make repairs, wash everything, clean it and hire a more presentable-looking employee.

If we compare the Yerevan and Tbilisi railway stations, we liked the Yerevan station more.

Services we use on our independent travels:

Search and purchase of air tickets
Aviasales is number 1 for us among all search engines, we only use it because it is convenient and reliable, without any pitfalls.
One Two Trip! - an amazingly convenient search engine in which you can find and purchase not only air tickets, but also railway tickets. In addition, it is also easy to book a hotel or hotel there. By clicking on our link you will receive an additional 500 rubles discount on the purchase of an air ticket!

Search and book accommodation

1. - a world-famous search engine where you can find and book accommodation from guesthouses to luxury villas. Have used it many times and highly recommend it.
2. Hotellook is a service for searching and booking accommodation from the creators of Aviasales.
3. Airbnb - booking and renting apartments, rooms, houses from local residents. Tested on ourselves, everything is honest, we recommend. By booking using our link, you will receive a bonus of 2100 rubles, which you can use when paying for housing. To do this, you will need to create your AirBnB account.

Car rental
- an excellent alternative to traveling on intercity buses and trains across Russia. Prices are most often lower than public transport, and comfort is significantly higher.

Service aggregator for car rentals from local rental companies. You choose a car as if at a local rental, but through the service, booking with a bank card, from which only 15% of the cost is charged. The guarantor is MyRentacar. You can choose not only the class of the car, but also a specific car, down to the color of the body and the type of radio. But most importantly, the prices on this service are the same as if you went to your local rental company yourself!

The Tbilisi-Yerevan route is quite popular among tourists exploring the Caucasus region. The distance between the two capitals is small and can easily be covered in one day. Traveling from Tbilisi to Yerevan will find several options for how to get there: by train, by bus or minibus, by taxi or your own car. There is the option of traveling by plane, but this way you will not be able to enjoy the roadside beauties of these countries.

Useful information

The distance between Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, and Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, is approximately 300 km.

To visit both countries, citizens of the Russian Federation only need a valid passport; no visas are required.

But despite the simplified entry rules, when crossing the border between Armenia and Georgia you will have to go through border control. Judging by the reviews of travelers, it does not take very long, about half an hour. There are only three transitions:

• The main one through which all buses and cars go is Bagratashen-Sadakhlo
• Tashir-Guguti
• Bavra-Zhdanovi is located far from the capitals, it is connected by the Armenian Gyumri and the Georgian Ninotsminda.

It is also worth noting that countries have different national currencies. As of May 2017, the exchange rate: 100 Armenian drams equals 13 rubles, and 1 Georgian lari costs 25.6 rubles.

Train

Train No. 372 runs between Yerevan and Tbilisi. It departs in the afternoon on even days of the calendar, and back on odd days. Travel time is 10 hours 20 minutes, but since the train is night, this time will fly by. The train does not take the shortest route, but makes a detour of several kilometers, calling at Gyumri, Vanadzor and other cities, as well as making hour-long stops at border points - this results in a rather long travel time. In the summer, a train departs from the Yerevan station to Batumi, also passing through Tbilisi.

The cheapest tickets for reserved seat seats will cost approximately 8,000 drams, compartments - 12,000 drams, and the price of a ticket to SV starts from 17,000 drams. You can view the schedule, check availability of train tickets and reserve your seat on the website of the South Caucasus Railway, which is a subsidiary of Russian Railways. To buy a ticket, you must register on the website and enter your passport details when placing your order. Or you can purchase it at your local train station. As tourists who bought tickets write in reviews, this type of transport is not particularly popular in the Caucasus region, so there are almost always empty seats on train No. 372 and local trains.

One of the advantages of traveling this way is the relative ease of crossing the border. Border guards themselves enter the carriage and carry out all the necessary procedures on the spot; and this action takes 1-2 hours. Armenians pass through faster than Georgians, who like to inspect the train.

Traveling by car

If you travel from Tbilisi to Yerevan by your own car, then you can choose two routes for your journey. One of them runs along the M4 highway past the picturesque Lake Sevan. Taking a different route, you will have to turn into the city of Spitak. Both routes connect in the city of Vanadzor, and then the path goes through the Bagratashen-Sadakhlo border checkpoint. It takes on average 5 hours to get from one capital to another, if you don’t make intermediate stops.

The navigator can give you directions from Yerevan to Tbilisi through Azerbaijan, but you shouldn’t trust it - against the backdrop of worsening relations, the border between these countries is closed.

You can rent a car, and this service is more developed in Georgia than in Armenia. A day's rent will start from 1,200 rubles per day. It is necessary to check whether it will be allowed to cross the border with this car, or request the preparation of the appropriate document from the rental company.

In Armenia, you need to spend a little to travel by car. At the entrance, for the import of a vehicle, border guards will have to pay 14,000 drams plus issue an Armenian compulsory motor insurance (about 4,000 drams for a mandatory minimum of 10 days). When leaving, they demand 2000 drams for “closing”. In Georgia, there are no such taxes for transport.

The quality of the road surface on the Georgian side is slightly better than on the Armenian side. But the most important advantage of this path is the beautiful views. Some people may find the landscape in Georgia a bit boring, because it consists mainly of bare steppe. But after crossing the border, the view outside the car windows changes. The road runs past the mines near the city of Alaverdi, past the UNESCO World Heritage monasteries of Haghpat and Sanahin, past numerous green gorges.

If after Vanadzor you turn onto the route described above to Lake Sivan, what the Armenians themselves lovingly call their “Switzerland” begins: the serpentine road meanders between low mountains, covered with dense green forest, opening up marvelous views. You will also pass through the Semenovsky Pass, dug by Russian soldiers in the 19th century. Along the way, you can even stop for a while at the Dilijan resort.

But don’t think that the option through Spitak will be less exciting. On this path you will pass through the stunningly beautiful Lori Gorge above the Debed River, as well as through the Spitak Pass.

To Yerevan from Tbilisi by taxi

If you don’t have your license and want to travel this route by car, you can order a taxi or car transfer.

The transfer must be booked in advance; experienced tourists recommend the Kiwitaxi website. An undoubted advantage is that you will be picked up from your designated place, you will not need to look for a stop in the city or travel across the entire city to the pick-up point. This option is also more convenient if you have a large amount of luggage or if you need to leave at an unusual time for other transport, for example, in the middle of the night. The cost of a transfer starts from 6,500 rubles; if you are traveling with a group of 4 people, this price will be well worth it.

There are always many taxi drivers near bus and train stations, ready to take such a short route. They can be easily identified by the taxi sign on the car. You will spend the same amount of money as on the transfer. Among the taxi drivers you can also find excellent guides who will show you the sights along the way and can take you to various interesting places.

In the Caucasus region there is such a curious phenomenon as a public taxi. The driver takes four passengers into the cabin, reducing the fee for each accordingly. It turns out to be a small minibus, only more comfortable. For a group of travelers this would be the best option.

Bus and minibuses

There is no direct bus from Yerevan to Tbilisi. Bus routes from Yerevan to some Russian cities such as Rostov-on-Don or Krasnodar, as well as to Odessa, pass through Tbilisi. You can find the departure schedule on the Internet.

Minibuses are usually based at railway stations as well as airports, but the main starting points are the Tbilisi Ortachala bus station and the Kilikia bus station in Yerevan. There is no exact schedule as such; they depart as the cabin fills up, approximately every hour or two. The fare is on average 30 lari or 7000 drams, travel time is the same as 6 hours by car.

If you choose this travel option, be prepared for a long trip in not very comfortable conditions:

• The waiting time for fellow travelers may be lengthy. You can find stories of tourists who boarded a minibus at 9 am, but it only started moving after noon;
• Often such cars are not equipped with air conditioning, and not everyone can withstand a journey of several hours under the scorching sun;
• The allotted space for luggage may be small, so bags can take up space in the aisle, under your feet, etc., reducing the already cramped space.

Despite all the shortcomings, minibuses remain the cheapest and fastest way to travel on the road between beautiful Yerevan and Tbilisi.

Detailed instructions on how to get from Yerevan to Tbilisi and vice versa by train, taxi, bus, plane. Ticket prices, travel schedules, travel routes by car, useful sites.

You can get from Yerevan to Tbilisi (and in the opposite direction) by plane (from 5,400 rubles), by train (from 860 rubles), by bus (1,690 rubles), by minibus (877 rubles) or by transfer and taxi (from 6,000 rubles).

Briefly about the route:

• Distance between Tbilisi and Yerevan: 280 kilometers.
• Travel time: from 30 minutes.
• Cost: from 7,000 Armenian drams (860 rubles).

Airplane

What is the fastest way to get from Yerevan to Tbilisi? Of course, by plane. This method is the most expensive, but also the most comfortable.

Flights between cities are operated by the Georgian airline Georgian Airways. Flights operate daily except Thursday.

Departure time depends on the day of the week (either around 7-8am or around 5-6pm). Travel time is 30 minutes.

The cost of a Yerevan-Tbilisi ticket is about 5,600 rubles for a one-way flight and about 10,700 rubles for a round-trip flight.

To find inexpensive tickets between Armenia and Georgia, use the search engines Skyscanner and Aviasales - they compare prices from all agencies and display them on one page.

The train is convenient because it travels through the night - that is, it departs in the evening and arrives in the morning. Wi-Fi is available on the train's premises. Along the way, the train stops in Gyumri, Vanadzor and other cities.

Train schedule Yerevan – Tbilisi from October:

Price of train tickets Yerevan – Tbilisi:

• reserved seat: 7160 drams (860 rubles), children's ticket (5-10 years old) – 4970 drams (600 rubles);
• coupe: 11,300 drams (1,350 rubles), children’s – 7,640 drams (915 rubles)
• in NE: 20,210 drams (2,400 rubles), children's ticket – 12,840 drams (1,540 rubles).

You can buy a train ticket at the station ticket office 40 days before the train departs. Ticket offices at the railway station in Yerevan are open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. In theory, you can buy a ticket on the website of the South Caucasus Railway, but it does not always work correctly and many will have difficulty purchasing tickets online.

In the summer (usually from June to September), this train is replaced by train No. 202 “Armenia”, which runs on the route “Yerevan - Batumi”. Departure from Yerevan – at 15:30, arrival in Tbilisi – 00:12. Travel time is about 10.5 hours.

Bus

An alternative option is to travel from Yerevan to Tbilisi by bus. Communication between the cities is provided by the companies “Ass Bass” and “Arius-Tour”.

In this case, direct communication is most often carried out by minibuses. If you want to get to Tbilisi or Yerevan by big bus, you need to buy tickets for routes like “Yerevan – Krasnodar” or “Yerevan – Rostov-on-Don”.

Departure in Yerevan – from the station on Arshakunyats Avenue, 34/13. In Tbilisi, the bus arrives either at the Ortachala bus station or at the Avlabari metro station.

Buses run from 08:30 to 19:00 at intervals of 2-2.5 hours. Travel time: 5.5-6 hours. Ticket price: 1140-1470 rubles (depending on departure time)

Buses from Tbilisi depart at 09:20 and arrive in Yerevan at 16:20. Tickets cost from 1,224 rubles.

View exact bus schedule Yerevan – Tbilisi and you can buy a ticket in advance on the website, which collects offers from different bus companies. You must have a printed ticket and passport with you.

Photo: © Nelson Fernando Sotelo Castro / flickr.com

Minibus

By minibus you can get from Yerevan to Tbilisi and back cheaper, but with less comfort.

Minibuses depart from Yerevan central bus station daily from 07:00 to 14:00. At the same time, minibuses leave for Tbilisi only when the cabin is completely filled with passengers, so sometimes you have to wait a long time for departure.

Travel time is about 6 hours. The fare costs 7,000 drams (830 rubles).

Transfer and taxi Yerevan – Tbilisi

A comfortable way to get from Yerevan to Tbilisi by land is from one city to another. This can be done, for example, through a trusted Russian company.

The transfer is more expensive than other types of ground transport, but has a number of advantages:

• You will be picked up directly from your hotel and taken to your desired location in Tbilisi - no need to get to the airport or train station yourself.
• Travel time – about 4 hours (may be longer due to queues at the border)
• If you have a lot of luggage, it is more convenient to travel by car than by public transport.
• This is the only way to get from Tbilisi to Yerevan (or vice versa) if you need to leave late in the evening or at night.

Prices for transfer Yerevan – Tbilisi start from 6100 rubles per car for 4 people (you can also order transport for 7-19 passengers).

Thus, it is better to book a transfer if you are traveling to Georgia with a group or traveling with children - per person the cost will not be much higher than a bus or train.

If you wish, you can also use taxi services (they can be found near the train station or bus stations), but the price will be about the same, and the transfer will still be more reliable.

Photo: Yerevan taxi © MY2200 / flickr.com

Car rental

If you are traveling on your own, you can rent a car and drive it to Tbilisi or Yerevan on your own.

It is convenient to compare rental prices on the website - it finds offers from all companies and displays them on one page, allowing you to choose the appropriate option. In Georgia, you can rent a car through a service that receives good reviews from tourists (it does not yet work in Armenia).

The cost of renting a car in Armenia and Georgia starts from 1,140 rubles per day (the longer the rental period, the cheaper). Before booking, be sure to check that the rental conditions allow cross-border crossing - not all rental companies allow this.