A No-Panic Guide for Your First Day in Yerevan

You have just landed at Zvartnots airport, went through customs, the border crossing stamp has not yet dried in your passport, you finally exhaled with relief and... were confused. Where to run next?

Breath out again and try to relax: for now, you can use the free open Wi-Fi network, Zvartnots Public, and charge your phone. Then just follow our advice. Don't be afraid to miss something or make a mistake during your first minutes in a new country. To help you adapt, we have prepared a step-by-step guide with the most relevant and up-to-date information.

After you have collected your luggage, head to the exit: your first stop is at the 24-hour currency Exchange Express. Cash will come in handy in the city, but don’t rush to change a large amount right away; a conventional 6,500 drams (≈ 1,500 rubles/16$ as of February 28, 2024) will be enough to get you started. The rest will be exchanged later at a more favorable rate, you can monitor it on the website rate.am or in the application of the same name. By the way, you can read about five convenient ways to exchange currency here.

Don’t forget that MIR cards in Armenia are still accepted at the local VTB bank. You can withdraw cash there and pay at establishments. Direct payment by card is not available.

Now it's time to take care of the problem SIM card purchases, which means choosing a tariff and operator. The main mobile providers in Armenia are - Ucom, Viva-MTS and team. All three are represented at the airport; their counters are open 24 hours a day. For comparison, a tariff with 10GB of traffic included from MTS costs 3,000 drams, Team — has 3,500 AMD, 8GB for Ucom — 2,900 AMD.

With Armenian dramas in your pocket and a phone with a local SIM card in your hand, move towards the exit: you have successfully completed all you had to do at the airport.

The next goal of the — is to break through the crowd of taxi drivers, because it's time to go into the city, and at this stage there are two options to choose from. If you are light, then from the airport to Kentron (central district) you can take bus No. 201 or No. 100 to Republic Square for 300 drams. If, on the contrary, you are bent under the weight of suitcases and fatigue, or simply prefer a taxi, do not try to immediately download all the available applications and understand them. Take advantage of the familiar and easy-to-use Yandex.Taxi. You still have time to study and compare functionality and tariffs GG, Bolt and Indriver. A taxi ride to the center will cost approximately 1,500–2,000 drams. Unfortunately, the risk of encountering an unscrupulous driver also exists in Armenia. We have already dealt with the most common cases of fraud in the article "How not to be deceived in a taxi."

If you don’t have a precise plan where to go to yet, then go to the SAS supermarket on 18 Mesrop Mashtots Avenue. Not the cheapest supermarket chain, but here you can find an exchange point with a good exchange rate. Besides, it’s close to all main central locations, hostels, hotels, bars and cafes.

You can look for answers to your questions on the first days in Armenia in our materials.

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