Money, cards and ATMs in Armenia

The dram

• The Armenian dram (AMD) is the currency and the numbers are large - a coffee is several hundred, a meal several thousand.
• Armenia is inexpensive by European standards, and among the better-value countries in the region.
• Exchange offices are everywhere in Yerevan and give better rates than banks or the airport. US dollars, euros and Russian roubles are all readily exchanged.

Cards

• Cards work well in Yerevan - restaurants, shops, hotels, supermarkets - and contactless is normal.
• Cash is needed outside the capital, in villages, at monasteries, for marshrutkas and shared taxis, and at most guesthouses.
• Take cash before a day trip. The monastery towns do not reliably have working machines.
• Cash machines are common in Yerevan and thin out fast. Decline the offer to be billed in your own currency.

Medical costs

• Private hospitals are good and can be expensive. Take insurance covering treatment and repatriation, and have accessible funds - see the health section.

Tipping

• 10% is normal in restaurants and often already added in Yerevan.
• Drivers and guides are tipped modestly.

Small things

• Prices are quoted with the thousands separator and a menu at 3,500 is three and a half thousand dram, not thirty-five.
• Keep small notes for marshrutkas and church donations.