Away With The Steiners

How to cross Georgia Armenia border from Tbilisi to Yerevan.

Heading to the beautiful Caucasus countries and thinking of exploring further overland?  Here’s everything you need to know about crossing the border from Georgia to Armenia and how to get a bus from Tbilisi to Yerevan.  

And spoiler alert; it’s not hard! 

Read our travel guide for the border crossing below. And enjoy a stress-free border crossing with public transport from Tbilisi to Yerevan.

About the Georgia Armenia border 

There are three land borders between Georgia and Armenia.  

We crossed the Georgia Armenia border from Tbilisi to Yerevan using the Bagratashen – Sadakhlo border.

Here is everything you need to know about crossing the border and getting a marshrutka from Tbilisi to Yerevan.

Where does the bus from Tbilisi to Yerevan depart from? 

Ah ha.  This is the question we were stumped with too. 

It turns out there are several stations in Tbilisi that have buses departing to Yerevan: 

And no. None of these stations are Didube Station where your marshrutka dropped you off from the return drive from Kazbegi to Tbilisi! This is an entirely different bus terminal that services different directions in Georgia.

We took the bus from Tbilisi to Yerevan departing from Avlabari just to the side of the main Avlabari Square from a small bus stop on Dusheti Street.

And so, the rest of the blog is our experience of catching a bus from Tbilisi to Yerevan from Avlabari.

Because yes; we set off by Bolt taxi from our hotel in the Old City towards the wrong station to catch a bus from Tbilisi to Yerevan…

Departing by bus from Tbilisi to Yerevan getting a marshrutka from Georgia to Armenia.
It was a very rainy day departing from the bus terminal in Tbilisi!

Getting to the bus terminal in Tbilisi

Despite the confusion of stations to begin with we ended up the friendliest Bolt driver who came to our rescue in true Georgian hospitality.

The story goes that he overheard us recording the beginning of our YouTube video about the border crossing as we kept saying that we were heading to the ‘BUS’ Station in Tbilisi.

After we mentioned this a few times he repeated, “Bus? Bus? No train?”.

And we fast realized with a sinking gulp that we were in fact heading to the train station (exactly as we had put into the Bolt destination).  

Our driver, Zaza, didn’t speak any English but told us to wait in the car as he hopped out to check with other drivers which station we needed to be at… 

And he then drove us all the way back towards the old city to the correct (Avlabari) Bus Terminal!

What time do the buses depart from Tbilisi to Yerevan? 

Marshrutky (minibuses) depart Tbilisi to Yerevan from Avlabari (just off to the side of the main bus station) as soon as they are full.  

When we arrived at Avlabari (not in the main square; but down the side road) there were two marshrutka waiting. One large and one smaller.

We bought four tickets for the small marshrutka and it departed 10 minutes after we arrived.

Tickets bought and ready to depart…

How much does it cost for the bus from Tbilisi to Yerevan? 

The marshrutka from Tbilisi to Yerevan costs 50 GEL ($19.50 USD).

And this is regardless of if you are disembarking in Vanadzor (as we were) or going all the way by bus from Tbilisi to Yerevan. The fare is the same and it is not negotiable.

It is the same price (50 GEL) for tourists and locals alike.

How long does it take from Tbilisi to Yerevan?

We departed Avlabari in Tbilisi at 11:20am and got dropped off in Vanadzor at 2:10pm.  

The border crossing was very quick (comparatively) when we crossed the border from Tbilisi to Yerevan. 

It took less than 10 minutes to exit Georgia and about 20 minutes to enter Armenia.  

Which border crossing does the Tbilisi to Yerevan marshrutka use? 

We crossed the Georgia Armenia border from Tbilisi to Yerevan using the Bagratashen – Sadakhlo border crossing.

This is the main highway between Tbilisi and Yerevan.

Do you stop on the way? 

Not officially.  Our Marshrutka stopped for fuel not far out of Tbilisi and half the passengers grabbed the opportunity to jump out for a quick smoke break(!). 

Getting from Tbilisi to the Georgia Armenia border

Distance-wise it isn’t far from Tbilisi to the border:

Crossing the Georgia Armenia border

The border crossing is straight forward and (comparatively) quick. 

It took less than 10 minutes to exit Georgia and about 20 minutes to enter Armenia.  

The only photo I got at the border terminal (looking backwards towards Georgia).

Exiting from Georgia to Armenia

Your driver will pull up just outside the Georgia border terminal.

Exit the marshrutka (but leave your luggage in the vehicle). Walk inside to passport control (and Duty Free) and out the other side.

Your driver will be waiting just beyond the exit to the terminal.

Entering Armenia

Again, your driver will pull up outside the border terminal. Grab your luggage and head inside to Armenian passport control.

There was a bit more of a queue for passport control here but the entire process took less than 20 minutes.

Walk through to customs and put your luggage through the x-ray machine. 

Welcome to Armenia by the way! 

Can you exchange or withdraw money on the Armenia side of the Georgia Armenia border? 

About 1km past the Armenia border there is a restaurant with public toilets, an ATM, supermarket and inside is a money exchange.  

It is easy to exchange GEL for AMD here (including coins if you have more to get rid of).  

The marshrutka stops at this shop for money exchange and toilets.

Can you enter Armenia if you’ve visited Azerbaijan?

Yes.  We crossed the border from Azerbaijan to Georgia and then onwards to Armenia. 

Getting to Yerevan from the Georgia Armenia border

This is the last step of the journey and you can relax and enjoy the ride to Yerevan. (Welcome to Armenia by the way!).

The Bagratashen – Sadakhlo border is the main highway between Tbilisi and Yerevan and the drive from the Armenia border heading south is beautiful. (In a rugged, mountainous kind of way).

The road follows the river almost all the way to Vanadzor.

Our Marshrutka dropped us on the main road just outside the entrance to the main part of town in Vanadzor (on the main Tbilisi to Yerevan highway).

From here one of the passengers kindly ordered us a taxi that took us to our hotel. Easy; but did require a little bit of advance planning and/or the kindness of a stranger.

From the border to Yerevan is around 3.5 hours.  So, from here on you can sit back and enjoy the ride to the capital city of Armenia. 

Let us know if you have any questions about crossing the Georgia Armenia border or about getting a bus from Tbilisi to Yerevan!  

On the road Tbilisi to Yerevan.

Where we stayed in Tbilisi and Yerevan (and where we recommend in between!)

For your travels in Georgia, Armenia and beyond…

These are the companies we use while traveling fulltime as a family and that we would recommend to anyone planning and booking travel. 

Read more about traveling in Central Asia

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