Hiking Tour in Armenia

Dear Tatev,
I hope you are feeling better than last week. I flew back safely this morning in Geneva, very sad to leave Armenia after such a great holiday! Before I forget everything, here is my detailed feedback. Feel free to use it for your website or anywhere useful (just please use my first name only).

General comment on Arara
Excellent services, I have only positive things to say about Arara! The team has been reactive, helpful, accommodating and very friendly throughout. I would definitely recommend them or book a trip to another country with them.

General comment on guide
Vardan was as good as guides get: reliable, friendly, open-minded and endlessly patient. He went out of his way to accommodate my preferences and volunteered a lot of interesting information about the places we visited. He was also a very careful driver and always spot-on with his food recommendations :)

General comment on program
I enjoyed the program thoroughly and really feel like it gave me a good idea of Armenia. It was varied, well-designed and allowed enough flexibility to accommodate personal preferences. The hikes were well designed, not exhausting but still enjoyable. Perhaps indicate clearly that some of them require trekking poles? All the visits were interesting and it was a real luxury to have a guided tour in some places (ex. Matanadaran). Maybe this option could be offered in other places, for a small extra fee?

General comment on accommodation
All hotels/guest houses were well-situated and very comfortable. I particularly enjoyed staying in guest houses an B&B, much more fun and friendly than in large hotels! For that reason in Goris and Idejvan I would have liked to stay in a smaller place, but I cannot fault the comfort and service at the hotels we stayed in at all.

Special mentions
Everybody was incredibly nice and welcoming but some people really stood out over this trip:
- Naneh, our young guide for the hike in Areni. If she ever becomes a guide (like she hopes to) please hire her, she was fantastic!
- The team at Cascade Hotel in Yerevan, who were helpful and friendly beyond measure
- the owners of the guesthouse in Dilijan who went our of their way to secure me good working conditions
- And once again, the whole Arara team and Vardan!

I hope I will get back in touch some day to organise a trip to Georgia, Azerbaidjan or even Iran! In the meantime I will tell all my friends and family about Arara and Armenia :)

Best wishes,

Reviw on Tripadvisor

We had a small hiking tour to Armenia this April with Arara travel agency. It was great to have them as our tour operator, as they were very professional and careful in making the itinerary. With Covid-19 around the world we felt very safe traveling to Armenia as our travel agent Sati gave us all the necessary information and we were also provided with hand sanitizers and face masks for the entire trip. We really appreciate this gesture as it made us feel special and cared. Our guide Arthur was also very careful throughout the trip. He was always wearing a mask and we were visiting places where there is no crowd. It is nice to see that there are agencies that still operate during these hard times and care for their clients. We will absolutely recommend Arara to our friends, and hopefully, visit Armenia again!