At Yerevan's Zvartnots Airport, currency can be exchanged around the clock, which is convenient for those arriving on night flights. However, rates differ across the airport's various points, and the choice of where to exchange affects how much money you ultimately receive.
Right after passing customs, at the exit into the arrivals hall, there are two exchange offices. Local publications and guidebooks advise against using them: the rate there is generally the least favorable within several kilometers, and the spread between buying and selling currency is one of the largest at the airport.
A more advantageous option is to proceed to the main arrivals hall. There are full-service branches of several major Armenian banks, for example Ardshinbank, Fast Bank and Unibank. According to the organization Repat Armenia, these branches operate around the clock and offer the same rate as their city branches, without additional commissions for being located at the airport.
Even when exchanging at a bank branch in the airport, it is worth changing only a small amount initially to cover first expenses. According to calculations by the publication The Money, a typical starting budget of 15,000–25,000 drams will cover a taxi to the city, a SIM card, water and a small snack for a couple of travelers. The bulk of the money is better exchanged the next day in Yerevan, after comparing rates at different banks.
The difference in rates may seem negligible, but when exchanging large sums it becomes tangible. For example, the loss from exchanging 3,000 dollars at an unfavorable point can equal the cost of an excursion from Yerevan to Garni and Geghard.
An alternative to exchanging cash is withdrawing drams from an ATM. Most of them at the airport accept cards from foreign banks. When withdrawing, it is important to select in the ATM menu that the amount be debited in the local currency, drams (AMD), rather than in your card's currency, so as to avoid unfavorable conversion on the ATM's side.
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