I visited Ani in April 2025 so I thought I would give an update on the site now :)

Getting to Ani was very easy. There is a small bus that will take tourists to the site everyday at 9am starting at Gazi Ahmet Muhtar Paşa Konağı. The shuttle stays at Ani until 12:45, when it departs back to the same location. Here is the site that lists the updated minibus times, in case they change in the future. The drive is about 50 minutes, and you can pay with credit card or cash -- 100 tl per person. I found the ~2.5 hours at the site more than enough to explore everything and take in the beauty of the natural landscape. Ani accepts MuzeKart if you have it; otherwise, the foreigner price is 8 euros.

While at Ani, there are signs for most of the sites in Turkish and English that briefly explain the structures. However, the signs are brief and left me wanting more; I used the website "virtual ani" to read about the history, excavation, and purpose of each building. The Ani cathedral, for some the star of the show, is currently under some construction so you cannot enter it. The farthest I walked was maybe about an hour from the city gates. There were also wild horses roaming about, as well as some other small creatures! Despite arriving with 5 other tourists, most of the time it felt like I had the place to myself.

As others have mentioned, there is a lot of vandalism on the interiors of the structures. People carving their names and whatnot. I hope in the future more steps are taken to prevent this kind of damage to the buildings. There was also a bit of litter, despite having plenty of trash cans along the trails. Speaking of food, if you need to grab a snack, there is a cafe at the entrance. 

Overall, Ani is a WHS that really took my breath away -- the remoteness of the setting, the ability to walk inside churches that are 1000+ years old, the detail of the frescoes and khachkars -- everything was wonderful. Ani is an absolute gem of Armenian architecture with a rich history that you can feel through the buildings.

While you are in Kars, visit the Twelve Apostles Church. It is an Armenian church from the same time as most of the Ani sites, but it has now been converted to a mosque. It is in a lot better condition than most of the structures in Ani and complemented my trip well. If you are a woman, bring some sort of scarf to cover your hair, and you can go inside.