What budget for activities and outings Armenia?
Yerevan has plenty of cafe terraces for sunbathing in the summer months. And several swimming pools, in hotels or public and private, allow you to refresh yourself. The city's many beautiful parks with their fountains give a taste of a generous nature where hiking in the mountains is within easy reach of the capital. Finally, Armenia has no sea, but it does have the beaches of Lake Sevan, less than two hours from Yerevan, where in a wild and unspoiled nature, swimming, water sports and picnics are de rigueur, in summer of course.
What budget to eat Armenia?
Eating well is cheap and in Yerevan you can make an excellent and hearty meal for 10 €, drinks not included, and often put on the table, but the local vintages do not skyrocket the bill. In the regions, eating with local produce is even cheaper!
What is the budget for accommodation Armenia?
The number of hotels, especially in Yerevan, has developed spectacularly since the end of the Soviet era, when it was limited to a few establishments, concentrated in the capital and managed by Intourist (a Soviet state tourism agency which was essential at the time, it organised excursions to the regions, which at the time had very few hotels for locals. One of these was the famous Armenia, which has been displaying the Marriott brand since 1999 and in whose wake a series of hotels (bantog or hüranotz) have sprung up, most of them aspiring to luxury. In reaction to Soviet austerity, local oligarchs have built hotels of high standing, or pretending to be so, with sometimes dubious taste, with swimming pools, spas, saunas and conference rooms. The offer has since diversified, from renting apartments to hotels for small and medium budgets, which are still few and far between, but in any case accommodation remains out of proportion with the standard of living. Prices can double from low to high season (from the end of March, except in Dzaghkadzor, a winter resort where it is the opposite), where you can expect to pay 60 to 100 € per night for a good quality hotel. But you can find small hotels, B&Bs or hostels for less than 40 €, in Yerevan itself and especially in its outskirts, and in the regions even more, when there are some (less than 20 €). In Yerevan, apartments can be found for rent from €100 to €200 per week, depending on the location, while in the regions, rooms in private homes are offered at modest prices.
Travel budget Armenia and cost of living
Standard of living. The average monthly salary in Armenia is US$300, which is still insufficient to meet the needs of families, one or more of whose members have had to go abroad, usually to Russia, to work and send the precious foreign currency that contributes significantly to the country's finances. That said, the poverty line has fallen sharply in recent years, and in 2020 less than 25% of the population was considered poor, compared to almost 50% at the beginning of this century. For the foreign visitor, expenses will generally not be in line with the local standard of living, especially for accommodation, which requires a budget that is out of reach for the average Armenian
Average budget per day. Relatively more expensive in Yerevan, where most of the infrastructure is concentrated, life is very affordable for Western visitors. Accommodation is out of proportion with the local standard of living, whether in hotels, which mostly aspire to luxury, or in apartments, which can reach Western prices. It is necessary to count 50 US$ per person and per night in a hotel claiming comfort if not luxury, but the small budgets are not forgotten any more, with a growing number of guesthouses, B&B and hostels which propose nights from 15 US$. As far as apartment rental is concerned, it can reach several hundreds of euros per month, sometimes per week, in the heart of Yerevan, for fully furnished accommodations, and if some agencies propose apartments at 150 or 200 US$ per month, it will necessarily be in the outskirts of the capital (it is then necessary to think about checking the hot water and the electricity). In the regions, the prices are more affordable and the accommodation at the inhabitant's house will be convenient for the small budgets. Restaurants, in Yerevan and even more in the regions, are much cheaper, and you can eat and drink very well for 10 US$. Public transport and taxis are still very cheap, but renting a car with a driver, which is very popular to travel around the country, will cost you at least 40 US$ per day, the price varying according to the vehicle and the route.
