My reason for going to Armenia
Firstly, my Russian friend raved about it. He said it was one of his favourite countries, that he’d been there 5 times and wanted to live there one day. Secondly, I’d been to several delicious Lebanese restaurants in the Arab world that claimed they were Armenian. But surprisingly, when I got there, I found Armenian food to be very bland and disappointing. Thirdly, the Armenian Quarter in Jerusalem. There are Jewish, Muslim, Christian Quarters in Jerusalem. The fourth is the Armenian Quarter (which is also Christian). This piqued my curiosity.
Is Armenia safe?
Yes. As a solo female traveller I felt very safe. I make a point to watch how the local men behave around the local women and they were very docile and respectful. To the point I wondered how they meet and date. Although I felt very safe, I didn’t feel very welcome.
How scammy is Armenia?
On my first day, I joined a Viator.com culture and food tour of Yerevan that I pre-paid $55 for only to find that the other participants came on the same tour from Freetours.com and guruwalk.com and only paid minimal tips at the end. I was, of course, very angry and complained. The Armenian guide and operator didn’t like this. On top of that, I found the tour information to be mainly hearsay and old wives tales, in other words, free city tour fodder, as opposed to a proper guided cultural tour of the city. Afterwards the Armenian operator messaged me and started threatening me. That was my first taste of Armenia. A scam!
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Is Armenia drivable?
For me, I thought it was very driveable. Yes, the mountain roads are full of winding corners, but the road quality is good and as long as you have a navigation map to guide you, and internet or friends to entertain you, you see a lot more, for a lot less. A driver can cost $250 per day which is ludicrous. Some stretches of road, the one leading to the caves for example, are rocky, but this can be navigated by driving slowly or just avoided altogether.
What is the transport like in Armenia?
The airport was small and crowded, but the lines moved fast. The lounge had low quality producea and was also quite crowded. Taxis are plentiful but you need YandexGo (if you have a Russian or Armenian number) or GG (if you have an international number). The driver will show you the agreed price at the end. Try to memorize it as sometimes they don’t hoping you will pay more.
What is the shopping like in Yerevan?
50/50. I couldn’t really find anything to buy. I came prepared with extra luggage and weight but I ended up buying small hand made Iranian paintings from the Blue Mosque boutique shop. Be careful at the Vernissage market in Yerevan, especially if you’re buying silver. It’s usually silver-plated and painted metal but they’ll tell you it’s silver and they even forge the 926 marking. They also overcharge by quite a margin and won’t give a receipt or refunds. However, the stores are more honest. There are many designer copies but they’ll tell you that honestly, however the materials are all synthetic regardless of what’s written on the label. Just beware, anything original is very expensive in Armenia, so most shops mainly trade in branded copies or local textiles.
What are the group tours like in Armenia?
I go on guided group tours to meet other travellers and get a sense of the national narrative. I paid for 3 tours and ended up going on 2 with onewaytours.com. The sights are pretty but nothing special and I found the guides to have an unconvincing narrative about the history and culture of Armenia. All my fellow travellers felt the same. So I didn’t get that much historic value, but getting outside the city was fun.
Most tours start and end in Yerevan. There are few tours that move you round the country but they double in price during peak season (autumn). They will also cancel on you or not even respond even though you’ve paid. The ghosting by Armenian tour companies is unrivalled in any other country.
One Way Tours were such bad communicators, they caused me a massive amount of stress before and during my stay, and I even missed my last tour as the start time was unclear. They don’t respond to messages or calls in a timely manner, and can take days to get back to you. Their hours are 9am – 7pm which is after tours start and before tours end so you can’t reach out and fix any problems. I have never had such problems with organising tours in all my years of travelling.
But at least they had 1 guide per bus unlike other tour operator horror stories I heard about where groups had 1 guide for 4 buses in 4 different languages. I just wish the guides had more historically factual content and less fairy tales.
The buses were Mercedes Sprinters but they were dated and uncomfortable without reclining seats, so you couldn’t really rest and sleep, which is how I stay energised during these long trips. And when we did fall asleep, one of my fellow travellers was touched up by the driver sat next to her. I saw and complained and this is what they had to say:
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On the up-side, he didn’t do it again. And we avoided any drama.
Are they friendly to tourists/foreigners?
Some are, but a surprisingly large number of locals were hostile, rude and unkind to us travellers, and this may have something to do with the language barrier or a cultural aversion to strangers. Or maybe they don’t realise they’re doing it but it got very tiring very soon to treat people politely only to have them respond with contempt or indifference. Waiters were generally pleasant but sometimes (at expensive traditional Armenian restaurants like Tavern) they threw plates down on the table and made us feel not only like we were not welcome but that we were a burden. They also sat us at the worst table even though we had reserved ahead of time.
The look of contempt I got for asking to take some food away or to wrap something up became normal for me. I stopped getting offended and just started being cold and disdainful myself. I stopped smiling and being polite and the situation seemed to improve! The best way is to remain neutral in expression and tone and not take their behaviour personally.
Do they have bidets/shattaf in Armenia?
No they do not. But they understand the concept. When I asked the cleaning ladies at the airport toilets for a bottle, they understood and found me one despite the language barrier. One apartment I stayed at had a bidet basin in the bathroom. Otherwise I would just carry an empty bottle with me at all times.
My friend and fellow traveller, however, was not so prepared. She ended up going into a paid toilet and being stuck without water. She took a while to manage the situation. After some time, the cleaning lady there starting banging on the door asking her to get out. She protested that she needed a little more time, but the lady grew so impatient, she opened the door on her and forced her out! She managed to find water bottles for sale and started washing her hands on the street. A male driver saw this and stopped his car to shout obscenities at her. She was utterly traumatised.
My other friend, another solo female traveller, would go to restaurants alone and ask for a table for one. The servers would reply condescendingly by saying: only for one? She felt they were mocking her. The shapped to more than one lady and in a number of places.
Would you go again?
Unlikely. Maybe as a day-trip from Tbilisi. I was too bored.
What would you do differently?
I would hire a car and not bother with the tours. I would have given myself the freedom to escape to Georgia if I felt the situation was unbearable. Most of my fellow travellers came for a few days only or fled once they realized Armenia was not for them. I would also have never pre-booked a city tour. Only free tours where you tip at the end. I got scammed.
Travel smart ladies, start cultured 🙂
The Culturist Tip
As women, we know how it feels to be sexually harassed in a public or group setting, and to feel awkward and not want to cause a scene. But you should never have to endure such treatment just so you don’t spoil everyone’s day. My friend was worried no one would believe her and that she would be the cause of unwanted drama. Lucky I saw and regardless, believed her. I decided it would be best if I acted discretely, to support her, and to keep the matter between us two, the guide and the operator. We didn’t have to confront the driver, spread the issue to the rest of the group, but more importantly, we didn’t have to wait or endure him doing it again to act. He had already done it twice and that was proof enough. When we did report it, the operator’s response was laughable, but at least we got out safe and he will think twice before he touches up girls like that.