Armenia is one long day trip from Yerevan.

A Hellenistic temple over a gorge, a monastery cut into rock, the blue of Sevan, Ararat framed from Khor Virap, the ropeway to Tatev and the wine villages of Vayots Dzor. Book each one right and the week plans itself.

★★★★★★★★★★5.0· 1,042 travellers on the most-booked minibus

The temple, the basalt gorge below it and the rock-cut monastery an hour further up the valley are sold as one outing, at three different speeds. These three carry the most travellers between them.

• 1Garni, Symphony of Stones, Geghard, Lavash Bakingfrom $28
• 2Garni, Geghard, Symphony of Stones & Lavash Bakingfrom $19
• 3Garni, Geghard, & Symphony of Stones Day Tripfrom $32

The group minibus

Temple, gorge and monastery in half a day

5–7h· from $19· fixed departures

Leaves the centre mid-morning, colonnade first, the Symphony of Stones on foot below the road, then Geghard while the chanting carries down the rock chamber.

With the bread

The same route, plus a tonir and warm lavash

6–8h· from $23· lunch included

A village stop between the two sites where the dough goes on a cushion and onto the wall of a clay oven. You eat it standing up, still too hot to hold.

The long way round

Add Khor Virap and the red cliffs of Noravank

9–11h· from $32· one long day

South to the Ararat plain first, then east into Vayots Dzor where the canyon narrows to a slot and Noravank stands in it. Back after dark, and worth it.

Compare the whole Garni and Geghard list →

Eight outings that fill their minibuses week after week, and what each one actually gives you for the money.

1

★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 1,162 reviews

Day Trip to Armenia Including Homemade Lunch

Review of a $59 Armenia day trip from Tbilisi with UNESCO monasteries, mountain scenery, safe transport, and a memorable homemade lunch.

From · $59

Read our review →

2 ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 1,084 reviews Day Trip to Armenia Including Homemade Lunch from $59 3 ★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 1,042 reviews Garni, Symphony of Stones, Geghard, Lavash Baking from $28 4 ★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 1,036 reviews Lake Sevan (Sevanavank), Dilijan (Goshavank, Haghartsin) from $32 5 ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 845 reviews Khor Virap, Noravank and Birds’ Cave Trip with Wine Tasting from $32 6 ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 758 reviews Garni, Geghard, Symphony of Stones & Lavash Baking from $19 7 ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 687 reviews Garni, Geghard, & Symphony of Stones Day Trip from $32 8 ★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 651 reviews Khor Virap, Noravank, Areni Winery and Cave from $37

Every tour on the site sorted by price. A full day to a monastery, lunch included, costs less in Armenia than a museum ticket does in most capitals.

Under $50

71 tours

The shared minibus days: Garni and Geghard, Sevan and Dilijan, Khor Virap and Noravank, all with a fixed morning departure.

• 1Garni, Symphony of Stones, Geghard, Lavash Bakingfrom $28
• 2Lake Sevan (Sevanavank), Dilijan (Goshavank, Haghartsin)from $32
• 3Khor Virap, Noravank and Birds’ Cave Trip with Wine Tastingfrom $32

$50–150

89 tours

Longer southern runs to Tatev and Jermuk, wine days with several cellars, and small-group trips that keep the numbers down.

• 1Day Trip to Armenia Including Homemade Lunchfrom $59
• 2Day Trip to Armenia Including Homemade Lunchfrom $59
• 3Khor Virap, Noravank, Tatev monasteries (wayback on Ropeway)from $73

$150 and up

41 tours

Private cars with a driver for the whole day, multi-day loops through Lori and Syunik, and the flying.

• 1Paragliding in Armeniafrom $180
• 2Private Full-Day Trip to Khor Virap – Noravank – Tatev-ropeway from Yerevanfrom $291
• 3Transfer from Yerevan to Tbilisi with 2 sightseeing stopsfrom $200

Monasteries and mountain lakes exist across the Caucasus. A record-breaking ropeway, a cliff of stone organ pipes and the world’s oldest winery belong to this country alone.

Five point seven kilometres

The Wings of Tatev

The cable car from Halidzor crosses the Vorotan gorge in one unbroken span of 5.7 kilometres, the longest reversible aerial tramway ever built, and it takes twelve minutes each way. At the far end a ninth-century monastery sits on a spur with nothing below it. Most people ride out and walk the grounds while the car turns round.

1. 1Tsaghkadzor (Kecharis, Ropeway), Lake Sevan, Trout barbecue treat★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 511 reviews
2. 2Khor Virap, Noravank, Tatev monasteries (wayback on Ropeway)★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 506 reviews
3. 3Tatev & Shaki Waterfall Guided Group Tour with Wine Tasting★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 266 reviews

The whole list of 20 →

Cooled lava

The Symphony of Stones

Below the road to Garni the gorge wall breaks into thousands of hexagonal basalt columns, hanging point down like organ pipes. They formed as a lava flow cooled and cracked from the top. The path in follows the riverbed, it is flat, and half an hour is enough unless you sit down.

1. 1Garni, Symphony of Stones, Geghard, Lavash Baking★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 1,042 reviews
2. 2Garni, Geghard, Symphony of Stones & Lavash Baking★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 758 reviews
3. 3Garni, Geghard, & Symphony of Stones Day Trip★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 687 reviews

The whole list of 49 →

Six thousand years

The Oldest Winery

Archaeologists working in the Areni-1 cave found a clay fermentation vat, a shallow press and desiccated grape skins dated to around 4100 BC, the earliest known winemaking anywhere. The vineyards on the hillside above still grow Areni noir, and the tasting rooms in the village pour it out of the same valley.

1. 1Khor Virap, Noravank and Birds’ Cave Trip with Wine Tasting★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 845 reviews
2. 2Khor Virap, Noravank, Areni Winery and Cave★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 651 reviews
3. 3Khor Virap, Noravank & Birds’ Cave Day Trip with Wine Tasting★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 320 reviews

The whole list of 29 →