Yerevan + Batumi: mountain Armenia and the Black Sea in one trip
Yerevan gives ancient monasteries and brandy, Batumi subtropics and a beach. Both countries are visa-free, and between them lies a day of travel through Tbilisi.
Why this pair
Armenia has no sea; Adjara has no ancient monasteries in the mountains. The pair covers both gaps: the first half of the trip is about stone, wine and altitude, the second about water, palms and doing nothing. And you only fly once — into Yerevan and out of Batumi.
Yerevan and around: five days
The city itself: the Cascade with its modern sculpture, Republic Square with the singing fountains, the Matenadaran with ancient manuscripts, the GUM market with dried fruit and spices. Trips out: Garni with its Hellenistic temple and Geghard cut into the rock, in one day. Lake Sevan with a monastery on its peninsula. Khor Virap right by the border with a view of Ararat, which stands on the Turkish side and is visible from here at full height. And Tatev with the longest cable car in the world, if you are up for a distant day.
Batumi: four days
A boulevard several kilometres along the sea, the botanical garden on Green Cape with plants from every continent, the Gonio fortress from Roman times. The city itself is a mix of Soviet building, new towers and old quarters with balconies; look at it without expecting a European resort. The beach is pebble. Outside town lie Machakhela and the waterfalls in the Adjaran mountains, visited for a day.
The road between them
There is no convenient direct connection: the route runs through Tbilisi. Yerevan to Tbilisi is an overnight train or a minibus, then Tbilisi to Batumi is a fast train of about five hours. That makes a day of travel, and it is better budgeted as a separate day than squeezed between two overnight stays. Alternatively add Tbilisi as a third stop, and then the journey stops being lost time.
When to go
June and September. In July and August Yerevan regularly passes thirty-five and the city is hard going: there is little shade and the stone holds heat. Batumi at the same time is humid and crowded. In September Armenia is harvesting and all the mountain roads are open, while the sea in Adjara is still warm. May is good for Armenia but too early for swimming.
Armenian monasteries
Geghard is carved into the rock itself, with some chambers being caves lit through an opening in the vault; the acoustics are such that people stand and listen to the chanting in silence. Noravank sits in a gorge of red stone, with a narrow external staircase without a railing leading up to the church. Tatev stands on the edge of a precipice and is reached by the Wings of Tatev, the longest cable car in the world. Khor Virap is a monastery right by the border with a full view of Ararat. Each is a half-day or a day trip of its own.
Wine and brandy
Wine was made in Armenia thousands of years before our era — the oldest known winery was found in the Areni cave. Today the Vayots Dzor region again produces wine from the local areni and voskeat grapes, and tastings on the road to Noravank are a natural stop. Brandy is a separate story: the Yerevan factory runs tours with tastings. At the other end of the route Adjara has its own wine, but chacha and local varieties that are barely exported are the more interesting find.
Practical matters
Armenia is visa-free for a Russian passport with a large margin, and so is Georgia. In Armenia Mir cards are accepted in many places, in Georgia they are not; cash changes freely in both. Russian is understood almost everywhere. And a note on food: in Yerevan do not stop at kebab — try kyufta, spas and lavash from the tonir, and in Adjara everything that goes by the word achma.
Moscow → Yerevan → Batumi
Route and nights go into the form — adjust the date and passengers.