“Contradictions” is the first word that comes to mind when I think of Azerbaijan. Europe or Asia? Modern Baku or traditional countryside? Economic struggle or oil rich boom-nation? Formula 1 and European Games or a not-so-good record on freedom of speech or free elections? The list could go on.
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Recent Azerbaijani history has been closely linked to oil. In 1901 the country produced half of the world’s oil – that’s right, half! You can still bathe in oil here if you want to.
During the good times, an economy based on energy (which accounts for 80% of the country’s GDP) gave the country significant wealth. This fueled a building extravaganza in Baku, with quirky and unusual modern buildings springing up around the city.
This boom continued until the oil price dropped by 70% in 2015 and 2016. Propping up the currency against the USD proved too expensive for the government. Through 2015 there were two devaluations of the Azerbaijani currency, the manat, which lost 2/3 of its value against the USD.
If that wasn’t painful enough GDP (value of everything produced in a country) halved.
Since most food, and all clothes and medicine, were imported this meant that prices for everyday items soared. As a result peoples lives became very difficult.
In the last couple of years, the country has tried to diversify. In fact, we are all benefiting from this since one such diversification initiative is the simplification of the visa process to drive tourism.
Azerbaijan has also become a significantly cheaper holiday destination than it once was.
This post will provide you all the information you need to start planning your trip:
Basic Azerbaijan Travel InformationAsia or Europe?
Money and Tipping
Visa and Fees
Is Azerbaijan Safe?
Useful Azerbaijan Travel Information
What Is the Best Time to Visit Azerbaijan?
Top Places to Visit and How Long to Go For
What If I Have Been to or Are Going to Armenia?
Dress Code – What to Wear
Cost and Comfort of Travelling
Azerbaijani Food and Wine
How to Get There and Border Crossings
Basic Azerbaijan Travel Information
Population: 9.9m
Asia or Europe?: Both. The Greater Caucasus is seen as the divider between Europe and Asia placing half the population in Europe and the other half in Asia.
Capital: Baku
Language: Azerbaijani. Russian is also widely spoken. The level of English goes from very good in Baku to limited in the mountain villages. However, we found that you can get around with English since most people understand more they can speak.
Religion: 99% Muslim
Money and Tipping
Currency: Azerbaijani manat. ATMs are widely available in tourist towns and at the airport but if you are going to one of the smaller mountain villages bring cash.
We use an ATM card that doesn’t charge for foreign withdrawals. If you live in the UK Revolut and Starling, for example, are good options. If you live elsewhere look into getting a similar card in your country.
Tipping: Not expected unless it is already added to your bill when you get it (this will only happen in higher-end restaurants)
GDP per Capita: $4,131 (1/10th of the UK)
Visa and Fee
The online single-entry e-visa is available to citizens from 90 countries. It costs $23 and takes 3 days to get approved. The visa is valid for 30 days.
Make sure you go through the official portal and don’t pay an extra fee to one of the online companies that say they can arrange this for you.
The above link is not the first one listed in Google so make sure you use the right link. Travelers have reported paying fees double the price of the visa itself to have it “arranged”. The official portal is easy to use, and approvals are quick.
Registration: if you stay for more than 15 days you need to register with the State Migration Services (free of charge). You can do this either in person or online. If you are staying in a hotel, they will likely do this for you.
In conclusion, failure to register could result in fines of €300-350 or a ban from entering Azerbaijan for the next 1-2 years. So make sure you get this done if you stay for 15 days.
Is Azerbaijan Safe?
Crime levels are low. To increase tourism the president (who has been president since 2003, so draw your own conclusions) has made the punishment for crimes against tourists severe. This has resulted in low crime levels but in Baku it is still good to avoid dimly lit areas of the old town at night.
Corruption is a problem for citizens of Azerbaijan but as a tourist you are unlikely to be exposed to this.
It is a crime to enter Nagorno-Karabakh (which is currently located in Armenia) without permission from Azerbaijani authorities. Recently criminal proceedings have been brought against foreign citizens for visiting and working here without official permission.
Useful Azerbaijan Travel Information
What Is the Best Time to Visit Azerbaijan
When to go: This depends on whether you are planning on doing any hiking in Azerbaijan or Georgia.
Spring: April to June is, together with Autumn, seen as the best time to visit unless you want to go hiking.
Summer: In Baku and the lowlands, temperatures go up to 40 degrees in Summer. July is the start of the trekking season which lasts until early/ mid-September when the first snow arrives.
Autumn: September and October are also ideal months to visit. We went in early September. In Sheki we had fog and it was so cold we had to get our fleeces out. However, in Baku it was like a nice summers day in the UK.
Overall I think September is the best time to visit the Caucasus region. Crowds are smaller since the Summer holidays are over but you can still go hiking in Kazbegi and Svaneti in Georgia and the weather is perfect for a visit to the top tourist sites in Armenia.
Winter: The mountain regions can see temperatures drop to -20 degrees, but Baku rarely sees freezing temperatures. This is not the best time to go to Azerbaijan.
Travelling in Azerbaijan
Top Places to Visit
- Baku – wonder at the futuristic buildings funded by the country’s oil wealth
- Sheki – imagine the Khan in his Summer Palace and the camels resting in the caravanserais on their journey along the silk road
- Quba – dramatic scenery and remote mountain villages
Should I Go? If combined with Georgia or Turkmenistan (most flights stop in Baku before going on to Ashgabat).
Azerbaijan is not at the top of most people’s list of where to go and having been I would not put it at the top of mine either. Although Baku has some interesting modern architecture and the countryside has spectacular mountains I didn’t fall in love with this country. From reading other blog posts you can see that many other people do fall in love with it so maybe it was just me not getting its charm. I still think it is an interesting addition to any itinerary in Georgia.
Many flights to Turkmenistan stop in Baku providing a good opportunity to combine these two destinations if you can get a Turkmenistan visa.
How Long to Visit: 3-4 days.
In my view a visit should include Sheki in addition to Baku so you get to see both the futuristic capital as well as the countryside.
It is easy to combine a trip to Georgia with Azerbaijan. From Sighnaghi and the wine region in Georgia it is a short hop across the border. Or alternatively, to/ from Tbilisi there is a direct train running every day.
Train tickets from Tbilisi to Baku can only be booked in person but if you are going in the other direction you can book online. I think this is the perfect excuse to go overland and include Sheki in your itinerary. The countryside is a world away from Baku so try to include both in your itinerary if possible.
If you have time I would also recommend adding Armenia to your trip.
Ease of Independent Travel: Easy/ Medium (due to limited English spoken).
We used taxis to get around saving considerable time compared to traveling by public transport. Taxis were arranged through the hotels and unless you speak Russian it can be more challenging to arrange this directly with the driver. We did not see many companies offering travel services outside Baku. If you are considering renting a car read our post on 7 Things to Know Before Driving in Armenia, Georgia or Azerbaijan.
Booking.com has good coverage of hotels, also in smaller villages.
What If I Have Been to or Are Going to Armenia?
That is what we did and it was no problem. I had read in advance that it was more difficult to go to Armenia first but except for being asked where we had been it took us 5min to get our visas.
I would recommend keeping hotel receipts and bookings to prove your travel route in Armenia just in case. If you have been to Nagorno-Karabakh you will be denied entry, banned for life and possibly even prosecuted (see safety above).
Please also note that anything produced in Armenia will be confiscated on the border. We found this out the hard way by having a bottle of Armenian wine confiscated!
Dress Code – What Should I Wear?
Being a Muslim country, the dress code is relatively conservative. In tourist areas the dress code is less strict, but I would avoid tight-fitting dresses, short skirts and low necklines.
We saw very few local women wearing hijabs so as a tourist there is definitely no need for this.
Cost and Comfort While Travelling
Comfort Rating: Medium – all accommodation can be ensuite.
Baku has high end hotels and restaurants. The smaller towns have less choice with mountain villages being basic.
Cost:
- Hotels: in the capital Western style hotels cost from $100 per night. Check the date of events such as the Grand Prix before booking since hotels will be 3 times as expensive
- Food: dinner costs $15-20 for two including a drink at restaurants
Azerbaijani Food and Wine
Food: After a cheese overload in Georgia, we enjoyed the more Central Asian flavours in Azerbaijan. I think you should make sure you try the below three dishes when you are in Azerbaijan:
- Kebab – you can certainly tell that you are moving East and every second restaurant seems to be a kebab shop. You should not leave without trying a lamb lule
- Pilaf – apparently there are 200 (!) variations of this mix of boiled rice, sauce and different types of toppings which is an obligatory dish at weddings and other feasts
- Piti – ingredients are cooked for 8-12 hours in a clay pot. This can be vegetarian but normally comes with lamb
In Baku you are spoiled for choice both in terms of number of restaurants and variety. I would recommend going to the Sultan Inn restaurant. Not only is the food delicious but the view of the flame towers (lit up at night) is one of the best in town. We particularly enjoyed the Nar govurma pilaf – so much so that we had it two days in a row!
Outside the capital you will not get away from kebabs and vegetarian options will be more limited.
Can you Drink the Water? It is generally safe to drink. I don’t want a bad stomach to impact my holiday so if in doubt I always either use a SteriPEN or water purification tablets. This also means that we generate a lot less plastic waste than buying bottled water.
How to Get There and Border Crossings
Most people arrive either overland from Georgia or via one of the airlines that fly to Baku’s modern airport. There are many international airports but the most convenient is Baku which has direct flights to a number of European cities.
Border Crossings
Georgia: The two most popular border crossings are:
- Rustavi – Boyuk Kesik is used if you travel by overnight train between Tbilisi and Baku. Crossing the border takes 2 hours. The Azerbaijan side takes the longest. Here travelers will be questioned individually about whether they have been to Armenia and if so where they went.
- Langodekhi – Balakan is used when traveling from Kakheti to Sheki. There is no bus crossing this border and only infrequent services to the border from each side. We crossed this border using taxis (stopping on each side) which was quick and easy.
There have been reports of travelers holding a Georgian e-visa being told they need to fly in so check before of traveling whether you qualify for a visa at the border. As detailed in our Georgia Travel Guide, citizens from the EU and North America do not need a visa to enter.
Russia: There are four border crossings into Russia with two open to foreigners (and one not confirmed). The Baku-Derbent train is slow so it is best to use buses or taxis to cross the border.
Iran: There are two crossings, one at Astara and one at Bilasuvar. A daily bus runs between Baku and Tehran or you can get a shared taxi. Your main challenge is likely to be getting an Iranian visa.
Armenia: No border crossings due to lack of official relations.
