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Garni Temple & Geghard Monastery

The 1st-century Garni Temple and medieval Geghard Monastery are within a 15-minute drive of each other and are thus often paired as a side trip from Yerevan. Both are visually spectacular and have a fascinating history. This is my top choice of easy day trip, involving roughly 2 hours of driving in total.

This group tour to Garni and Geghard also includes an Armenian lavash-baking demonstration.

Echmiadzin & Zvartnots

Echmiadzin (Vagharshapat) is home to the stunning Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, one of the oldest cathedrals in the world. On the drive from Yerevan, tours often stop at the ruins of Zvartnots Cathedral and the much-photographed ring of columns that frames views of Mount Ararat. Total driving time is around 90 minutes. This trip can also be done independently by public transport (marshrutka).

This group tour with Hyur Service runs for 4-5 hours and includes Mother See, several smaller churches and Zvartnots.

Khor Virap

Khor Virap monastery is located roughly an hour from Yerevan, very close to the Turkish border. If you want spectacular views of Mount Ararat, this is the place to go.

This trip to Khor Virap with Hyur includes a wine tasting in Areni and a visit to Birds Cave where some of Armenia’s most important archaeological finds were unearthed. They also offer a private 8-hour combination tour to Khor Virap, Garni Temple & Geghard.

Lake Sevan & Dilijan

Armenia’s largest lake and the beautiful Sevanavank Monastery are under 90-minutes drive from Yerevan.

This budget-friendly group tour offered by Hyur visits Dilijan, Armenia’s ‘little Switzerland’, and two beautiful forest monasteries after Lake Sevan.

Tatev Monastery

This iconic monastery accessed by cable car is in Armenia’s far-south and can be visited in a day – but be warned that it requires a lot of driving (around 4.5 hours each way).

This terrific Tatev group tour includes a ride on the Wings of Tatev and a guided tour of Tatev Monastery plus a local Armenian lunch, wine tasting at Hin Areni Winery and a stop at Karahundj (Armenia’s Stonehenge).

Haghpat & Sanahin

This is another long day trip (6 hours on the road at a minimum). If your itinerary allows, it is also recommended to visit the two UNESCO monasteries in far-northern Lori from Vanadzor instead.

This private tour to Lori from Yerevan includes hotel pick-up/drop-off, an English speaking guide, and also visits Odzun Monastery in addition to Haghpat and Sanahin.