One of the things I personally use travel blogs for the most is to research transportation. Some of my most popular blog posts have been on transportation, specifically night trains—my night train posts get hits every single day! You can also check out my best travel safety tips for night trains. I recently took the night train from Tbilisi, Georgia to Yerevan, Armenia, leaving at 22:16. I wanted to give a full recap of my experience for other travelers. You can also find out how much my trip to the Caucasus cost here!

The night train from Tbilisi goes every other night in off season, and every night in peak summer season (15 June to 30 September), where it starts in Batumi. In the off season, train 371 leaves Tbilisi at 20:20 and arrives into Yerevan at 6:55am the next day. In the summer, train 202 leaves Batumi at 15:35, leaves Tbilisi at 22:16, and arrives into Yerevan at 7:25am. This was the night train I took to Yerevan. If you’re traveling in summer, I highly recommend you book your tickets as far in advance as possible!

Buying train tickets in Tbilisi Central Station was something of an experience in and of itself. We waited for over an hour to buy our tickets. You have to get a number, and then wait until your number gets called on the screen. This was on a random Wednesday evening at the end of July.

We bought our tickets 5 days before leaving, and there were barely any spaces left on the train! There were only 3 tickets left for second class (kupe), and none of them were together. Since my partner and I wanted to be together, we then asked about first class tickets. There was only 1 first class ticket left on the whole train! We ended up getting third class (platskartny) tickets. Our tickets cost 33 lari (roughly £10 or $12.50 USD) each, and we needed to have our passports in order to buy them. Luckily we knew this in advance and brought them with us! If you want to travel in first or second class in the summer, I’d recommend booking your tickets a week before if possible.

The train was due to arrive into Tbilisi at 21:45, but it was 5 minutes late (arriving at 21:50). It left 2 minutes late, at 22:18. Our passports were collected when we were on board at the very beginning by a Georgian border guard and the conductor. At some point, the train officials compiled a list of nationalities of everyone on board. I only know this because I was waiting for the bathroom (see below…) and saw the guy’s list, and the conductor asked again where I was from!

I try my best to tell it like it is, so I’m going to be honest here: this night train had no air conditioning, and it was one of the most uncomfortable transport experiences of my life. It was absolutely boiling, and everyone was so sweaty. Third class (platskartny) is an open plan seating/sleeping carriage, and it was basically like sharing a hostel dorm room with 59 of your closest, sweatiest friends.

The bathroom wasn’t the greatest. In fact, it was one of the worse ones I’ve seen. It was a “seat” with a hole in the ground. There was a sink with soap, but it didn’t seem to have running water. There was also very little toilet paper left when I used it right after the train left—so bring your own toilet paper.

“Platskartny” was different from the “kupe” class I’ve traveled in before on night trains. Our beds weren’t made, and it was quite difficult figuring out how to make the beds! In platskartny, you need to get your sheets from the conductor when boarding. There are then pillows and mattresses on the top shelves, above the bunks. You grab those and use them to make your bed for the night.

We got our passports back with exit stamps from Georgia at 23:40. The train stopped for a bit, and then left about 5 minutes later after getting our passports, at 23:45. I was really interested in how the border crossing would go, so I kept notes in my phone and tried to remember everything I possibly could!

At 12:50am (00:50 in the morning), I got a “welcome to Armenia” text on my phone, and the train arrived at the border and stopped at 12:55am (00:55). The Armenian border guards bring a mini computer through the train, and process everyone right there. They just sat on the lower level bunks. My border guard asked me my name, asked if I was a tourist, flicked through my passport several times (although pretty much every border person does this nowadays, as it’s really full!), and that was it.

However, I used my Russian skills to eavesdrop on the border guard’s conversation with another passenger (I’ll call him Other Guy In Top Bunk). The guard asked Other Guy if he was a tourist, how long he would spend in Armenia, and if he was staying in Yerevan. He also asked Other Guy where in Yerevan he was staying, and Other Guy said in a hostel and showed something on his phone. The border guard asked where Other Guy came from on the train, if he worked in Tbilisi (Other Guy worked in Moscow), and where he was going next. It was really interesting that he was questioned so much more than me. Adam wasn’t asked a single question, not even if he was a tourist.

Luckily, Americans don’t need to get a visa to visit Armenia anymore. From varying accounts, if you need an Armenian visa, you’ll have to get off the train in order to do this, and you need to pay in Armenian Dram. If you will be buying a visa at the border, make sure to change some cash for dram in advance, and try to have exact change. As always, check to see if you need a visa before, and make sure you’re prepared with any necessary documents.

The lights in the train (or in platskartny at least) finally went off at 1:10am, once our area was cleared for passports. We left the border at 1:55am. I managed to get several hours of sleep, despite sweating so much! Even though it had been so hot, by the time I woke up it was much cooler on the train, and most people were sleeping under their sheets.

At 6:40am, we were woken up by the conductor. He walked through the compartment and made sure people were up and knew we were approaching Yerevan. In platskartny, you strip your own bed—so everyone was taking their sheets off and storing the mattresses and pillows. I didn’t realize this until we were leaving, but the bottom bunks in platskartny have a compartment underneath the bunk!! This is a really clever storage space, so if you’re traveling in platskartny you could store all your stuff really securely.

The train also had red customs tape on the ceiling and over nooks and crannies. At first I thought this was just weird, but then I realized that it’s to stop smuggling. In theory, if any of the tape is broken, guards would know something was being smuggled.

Our train arrived exactly on time in Yerevan, at 7:25am. Yerevan Railway Station was small (considering it’s the capital city) and relatively deserted. There was an ATM so we could get cash (Armenian drams) out. We then took the Metro to get to our hostel (the Metro costs just 100 dram per person).

All in all, my Tbilisi to Yerevan night train experience was an interesting one. It was unbearably hot, but sweating aside, it was actually better than my expectations. I felt safe in platskartny, which was my main concern about not buying a kupe ticket with a compartment. Most of the other passengers in platskartny were just families. If you’re in a top bunk, it would take a lot of maneuvering for someone to get to your stuff without you noticing. If you’re in a bottom bunk, you can store everything out of sight underneath the bunk. The border process was easy, and everything finished early enough to be able to catch a few hours of sleep.

There is next to no information online about traveling in platskartny on the Tbilisi to Yerevan night train. If you’re looking for more information on the train journey in general, these two sites are your best bet: Seat61, which is one of the best resources on the internet for train travel, and this blog post by Emily at Wanderlush.

If you’re traveling on this journey, book your tickets far in advance in the summer peak season. Bring your own water, snacks, and toilet paper. Like with all night trains, an eye mask and earplugs go a long way with getting a few hours of sleep. If you’re in third-class platskartny, get your sheets from the conductor when you board to make your own bed. And remember you get what you pay for—platskartny was sweaty but it was cheap! I hope this helps anyone with a third-class platskartny ticket, or anyone who is wondering what the journey is like!

You might also like:

How Much Does It Cost To Travel The Caucasus And Istanbul For 2.5 Weeks?

Interested in my other night train posts?

The Best Travel Safety Tips For Night Trains

Taking The Budapest-Belgrade Night Train

The Warsaw-Lviv Night Train

The Lviv-Krakow Night Train

Have you ever taken this journey or another night train? Any information or advice?

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