After reading a few reviews we definitely wanted to hire Hayk guiding services and even changed our plans according to his availabilities, it proved it was the best move : our five days trip around the country at Xmas time with him showed he was the best guide you could imagine for Armenia.
Not only Hayk knows everything about Armenia (looks like everybody in every small village knows him ) Hayk IS Armenia, he will tell you the full story about every inch or every event of the country. Even more importantly he will also be the best travel companion you will find : he’s a knowledgeable, funny, cultivated, open minded and friendly person.
History, arts, news, movies, philosophy, food, traveling stories : you will find with Hayk a conversation partner that will make the car rides feel even too short.
Talking about the car : Hayk’s 4WD Toyota is the most comfortable car we ever had for a guided trip, even with icy roads and 40cm snow deep, Hayk managed to drive us anywhere we planned while the other type of cars were stuck down -or up- the road.
One of the great thing is also that we felt anything we wanted was possible and the trip schedule was flexible. Going to some place we discussed on the road that needs to modify the itinerary : no problem, Hayk finds the best solution for any request… that’s how we extended the trip in the middle of the trip assessing that traveling more with Hayk would be better.
Forgot to talk about the highlights of the itinerary Hayk tailored for us : amazing monasteries like Novarank, Tatev, Haghpat or Marmashen, dramatic canyons with a Tram ride in Tatev, breathtaking view of the snowcaps from the mountains passes, also the fantastic dolma eaten at Amalia’s place.
All in all we suggest one definitely needs to take 4-5 days to travel around Armenia and spend the nights out in the mountain side, of course with Hayk… we can’t imagine now going back to Armenia without Hayk!.