Armenia & Georgia in 10 Days — Self-Launched Caucasus Loop

Land at Zvartnots and take the official airport bus or a Yandex Go taxi into the centre (bus ~£1, taxi ~£5-7). Check into a hostel or budget guesthouse in the Kentron district within walking distance of Republic Square. Sorted for arrival admin? Armenian dram is best drawn from airport ATMs, but rates are usually better in town. Spend the evening easing in: stroll Republic Square for the singing fountains (running in the warmer months), grab a lah-majun or khorovats at a cheap local canteen, and pick up a local SIM at a Ucom or Beeline shop if the airport counters were closed.

🚌Airport bus ~£1 or Yandex Go taxi ~£5-7; everything else on foot in the centre

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse in central Yerevan (dorm £8-12, private double £18-28)

• →Arrival admin: ATM cash, local SIM, Yerevan metro card
• →Evening walk around Republic Square and the singing fountains
• →Cheap local dinner near Abovyan Street

Self-launched walking day through the capital. Start early at the Matenadaran manuscript museum (entry ~£2), walk down Mashtots Avenue past the Opera and Ballet House, then up the Cascade for the Cafesjian modern art galleries and the best free view in the city. Afternoon: the Megeryan Carpet Factory offers factory visits and short demonstrations — call ahead or just turn up and ask; it's a working factory rather than a ticketed attraction. Finish at Tsitsernakaberd, the Armenian Genocide Museum and Memorial — the museum is free, and it's a sobering but essential hour or two. Taxi or trolleybus between the Cascade and Tsitsernakaberd (~£1-2).

🚌On foot through the centre; one taxi or trolleybus to Tsitsernakaberd ~£1-2

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse in central Yerevan (dorm £8-12, private double £18-28)

• →Matenadaran manuscript museum (~£2)
• →Cascade complex and Cafesjian Center for the Arts (free)
• →Megeryan Carpet Factory visit
• →Armenian Genocide Museum at Tsitsernakaberd (free)
• →Sunset from the Cascade steps

Join a small-group day tour to Garni and Geghard — bookable via GetYourGuide/Klook or directly through any Yerevan hostel desk for roughly £18-25 including entry. Walk down into the Garni gorge to the 1st-century pagan temple and the basalt 'Symphony of Stones' columns, then carry on to Geghard, a monastery partly carved into the cliff. Many tours include the lavash-baking stop at a village house and a barbecue lunch (~£5-8 extra); if yours doesn't, several village families near Garni run the same thing informally. Back in Yerevan by early evening.

🚌Small-group minibus tour from Yerevan, hotel/hostel pickup included

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse in central Yerevan (dorm £8-12, private double £18-28)

• →Garni pagan temple and gorge basalt columns
• →Geghard Monastery (UNESCO-listed)
• →Lavash bread baking with a local family
• →Optional Armenian barbecue lunch

Take a marshrutka from Yerevan's Kilikia or Mashtots bus station to Vagharshapat/Ejmiatsin (~£1, 30-40 min) and do the day independently. Start at Zvartnots temple ruins right by the airport road (entry ~£2), then the Cathedral of Ejmiatsin, the mother church of the Armenian Apostolic faith. Several small wine cellars in Ejmiatsin run tastings for walk-ins (~£5-8), or use the 'wine for your name' bottling shops if that's your thing. Optional evening: the Ararat Brandy Factory in Yerevan runs tours with tastings (~£10-14, book online ahead). Marshrutka back to Yerevan in the late afternoon.

🚌Marshrutka Yerevan–Ejmiatsin ~£1 each way; local taxi between sites ~£3-4

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse in central Yerevan (dorm £8-12, private double £18-28)

• →Zvartnots Temple ruins (~£2)
• →Cathedral of Ejmiatsin (free)
• →Local wine tasting in Ejmiatsin (~£5-8)
• →Optional evening Ararat Brandy Factory tour in Yerevan (~£10-14)

Take a marshrutka or shared taxi from Yerevan's Northern Bus Station to Sevan (marshrutka ~£2, 1 hr; shared taxi ~£12 for the car). Climb the peninsula steps to Sevanavank monastery (9th century) and see the 305 AD church ruins nearby — free to enter. If the weather's warm, the public beach beside the peninsula is a genuinely good swim. In the afternoon continue by taxi or marshrutka to Dilijan (~£5-8, 1 hr), the wooded 'Armenian Switzerland' town, and wander the old Sharambeyan Street craft quarter. Overnight in a Dilijan guesthouse rather than backtracking.

🚌Marshrutka Yerevan–Sevan ~£2; taxi/shared car Sevan–Dilijan ~£5-8

🛏Dilijan guesthouse or small hotel (private room £15-25, dorm £10-14)

• →Sevanavank Monastery on Lake Sevan peninsula (free)
• →Sevan public beach
• →Dilijan old town and Sharambeyan Street
• →Forest walking around Dilijan National Park

From Dilijan, take a taxi or shared car north to Alaverdi (~£8-12, 1 hr) and visit the two UNESCO monasteries on foot or by short taxi: Sanahin and Haghpat, both 10th-13th century complexes with superb stonework. Give yourself 3-4 hours total. Then get to the border at Sadakhlo/Bagratashen — a taxi from Alaverdi to the border is ~£8-10, and you walk across, clear immigration on both sides on foot, then pick up a marshrutka or taxi from the Georgian side into Tbilisi (~£8-12, 1.5-2 hrs). Alternative: a direct minibus Alaverdi–Tbilisi runs on some days (~£10, 3 hrs) — check at the bus station the day before. Arrive Tbilisi in the evening; base yourself in the Old Town or near Rustaveli.

🚌Taxi Dilijan–Alaverdi ~£8-12; taxi to Sadakhlo border ~£8-10; marshrutka or taxi from border to Tbilisi ~£8-12

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse in central Tbilisi (dorm £9-14, private double £20-32)

• →Sanahin Monastery (UNESCO)
• →Haghpat Monastery (UNESCO)
• →Walk across the Armenia–Georgia border at Sadakhlo

Book a shared day tour or join a minibus group running the Georgian Military Highway (~£20-28 via GetYourGuide or a Tbilisi hostel desk). It covers Mtskheta's Jvari Monastery and Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, the Ananuri fortress complex on the reservoir, and the Cross Pass at 2,395m with mineral springs and waterfalls. At Stepantsminda (Kazbegi), a 4x4 up to Gergeti Trinity Church costs ~£8-10 per person shared — either from the tour or haggled directly with drivers at the village square. Horse riding up the mountain is ~£12-15 if you prefer. Most day tours return to Tbilisi in the evening; staying one night in Stepantsminda guesthouses (£15-22) gives you a quieter mountain morning instead.

🚌Shared minibus day tour along the Georgian Military Highway; shared 4x4 to Gergeti ~£8-10

🛏Tbilisi hostel/guesthouse (dorm £9-14, private £20-32) or Stepantsminda guesthouse £15-22

• →Jvari Monastery and Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, Mtskheta
• →Ananuri fortress complex
• →Cross Pass (2,395m) viewpoints
• →4x4 to Gergeti Trinity Church at Mount Kazbek
• →Optional horse ride to Gergeti (~£12-15)

This is the trickiest day to do solo, so either join a small-group wine-and-history tour out of Tbilisi (~£30-40, includes Chateau Mukhrani tasting) or build it yourself: marshrutka from Tbilisi's Didube station to Mtskheta/Gori (~£1-2), taxi out to Chateau Mukhrani estate for the castle and wine tasting with cheese, shoti and churchkhela (~£12-15). Then Gori for Stalin's House-Museum (~£3) and a shared taxi to the Uplistsikhe cave city (~£6-8 return, entry ~£2.50). Buses back to Tbilisi from Gori run until early evening (~£1.50). Doing it by public transport costs less than half a group tour but eats the whole day — start at 08:00.

🚌Marshrutkas Tbilisi–Gori ~£1.50 each way; taxis to Chateau Mukhrani and Uplistsikhe ~£6-8 each

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse in central Tbilisi (dorm £9-14, private double £20-32)

• →Chateau Mukhrani castle tour and 3-wine tasting (~£12-15)
• →Stalin's House-Museum in Gori (~£3)
• →Uplistsikhe cave complex (entry ~£2.50)

Free walking day. Take the aerial cable car from Rike Park up to Narikala Fortress (~£1 with a metro card), walk down through Legvtakhevi ravine past the waterfall, and loop past the brick-domed Sulphur bathhouses in Abanotubani — a private bath room is ~£12-20, worth it. Wander Shardeni Street and Meidan Square for cafes and galleries, cross the Bridge of Peace, and hit the National Museum of Georgia on Rustaveli Avenue (~£3) for the gold treasury and Soviet occupation exhibits. Georgian feast dinner in the old town — khinkali and a jug of wine ~£10-14.

🚌Cable car ~£1; metro and walking for the rest

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse in central Tbilisi (dorm £9-14, private double £20-32)

• →Narikala Fortress cable car
• →Legvtakhevi waterfall ravine
• →Abanotubani sulphur baths (~£12-20 private room)
• →National Museum of Georgia (~£3)
• →Shardeni Street and Meidan Square
• →Bridge of Peace

Take the red metro line to Station Square and bus #37 or a Yandex taxi to the airport (~£1 by bus, £5-7 by taxi, 25-30 min). If you're flying late, the National Museum or the Fabrika courtyard complex make a good last stop with bags stored at your hostel. If you're extending, Tbilisi is a natural jumping-off point for more Caucasus travel — Batumi by fast train (~£8-12) or onward flights via Kutaisi.

🚌Airport bus #37 ~£1 or taxi ~£5-7

🛏N/A — departure day

• →Transfer to Tbilisi International Airport