Baku (Baki) Getting there & around

Getting there & away

Land

Şamaxinka

The chaotic Şamaxinka bus station (Moskva [ex-Tbilisi] pr) is 400m north of 20 Janvar metro station. It serves northern towns, plus Şamaxı and İsmayıllı. Marshrutka 57 takes you to the centre.

Istanbul buses

Several companies, including Öz Gülhan (4188256, Istanbul 0212-5881268) and Öz Nuhoğlu (4447203; Səməd Vurğun 94) run buses to Istanbul (US$60 plus AZN10, 48 hours).

All of them depart at around 3pm on Tues­day, Thursday and Saturday from the respec-tive company offices around Sahil Gardens.

Car

Cars and 4WD self-drive vehicles can be hired through many travel agencies and through international franchises like Hertz (4978757; Hyatt Regency Hotel; from AZN75) or Avis (4975455; www.avis.az; H Cavid pr 528; from AZN70). Getting a driver adds only around AZN10 per day. To rent more cheaply through Ayla (981415/585; ayla.az; Fəzail Bayramov küç 8; from AZN40) you’ll need to give an AZN300 deposit. No English is spoken.

It’s necessary to get an Azeri-language copy of your licence. Avis can organise this.

Train

Conditions aren’t luxurious, but overnight trains give you a sleeping berth, including sheets (handed out once the train is underway), making rail travel preferable to the faster (but less comfortable) buses for longer distances.

You’ll need your passport both to buy a ticket and to board the train. Especially for weekend travel it’s worth prebooking at least a day or two ahead. Useful overnight trains are shown in the table.

Trains also run regularly to many Russian and Ukrainian cities but at the time of research the Azerbaijan–Russia border remained closed to foreigners, making such routes impractical for travellers.

Very run-down suburban elektrichky (local trains) serve Sumqayıt and the Abşeron Peninsula towns for a flat 20q fare (paid on board). However, frequency keeps dropping and the system has been threatened with complete closure.

According to press reports the main train station might eventually move way out of town to Biləcəri.

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Boat

It’s not jazz, not culture, not the great art and not the Abşeron’s offbeat curiosities that keep most backpackers hanging around in Baku. Most are simply waiting for a Caspian ferry. In principle ferries run to Turkmenbashi, Turk-menistan (passenger US$50, several weekly) and Aktau, Kazakhstan (passenger/motorbike/vehicle US$60/137/55-per-metre-length, a few times monthly). But they are primarily rail-cargo ships and don’t care a jot about their passengers, and timetables don’t exist. Ships leave virtually without warning as soon as the cargo is loaded. Or wait days if there isn’t enough.

Be prepared for extreme frustration even once aboard and ask other prospective travellers (often to be found thumb-twiddling at the 1000 Camels Hostel) as to the latest ticket-purchasing procedure: it seems to change all the time. The ticket office is a tiny, sporadically open window on the port access road, around 15 minutes’ walk from Government House. Although it won’t sell you anything till the night before departure, still go there, put your name on the list and get the mobile phone number of whoever is the duty agent. Then keep calling!

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Air

International flights

Baku’s Heydar Әliyev International Airport is the busiest in the Caucasus, with flights to/from plenty of European, Russian and Central Asian cities, plus Dubai, Tehran, Tbilisi and Kabul.

In central baku

Aeroflot (4881167; Üzeyir Hacibəyov küç 25)

Air Union (4935751; Nizami küç 135)

Ariana Afghan (5981268; Rixard Zorge küç)

AZAL (Azerbaijan Airlines; 4934004; www.azal.az; 28 May küç 66-68; 8am-8pm)

China Southern (5981165; www.csair.com/en; 28 May küç 54; 9.30am-6.30pm Mon-Fri, 11am-6pm Sat)

Domodedovo (4986150; www.akdal.ru/eng; Nizami küç 66)

ImAir Airlines (5984587, 5982376; Səməd Vurğun küç 16; 9am-6.30pm Mon-Fri, 10am-5.30pm Sat & Sun)

Iran Air (4985886; 1 Xaqani küç)

Rossiya (5982931; www.rossiya-airlines.ru/en; 28 May küç 29/11) Formerly Pulkovo Airlines.

S7 (4983077; www.s7.ru; Zorge küç) Formerly Siberia Airlines.

SCAT (4935751; www.scat.kz; Nizami küç 135)

Turan Airlines (4989431; www.turan-air.com; 28 May küç 64-68)

Turkish Airlines (4975352; Hüsü Haciyev küç 11)

Uzbekistan Airlines (5983120; www.uzairways.com; Nizami küç 98)

Other

AeroSvit (4368785; www.aerosvit.com; Hyatt Tower 2, 1033 İzmir küç)

Air Baltic (www.airbaltic.com) Book online.

Austrian Airlines (4368785; www.aua.com; Caspian Plaza, Cəfər Cabbarli küç)

Lufthansa (4907050/1; 5th fl, Hyatt Tower 2, 1033 İzmir küç)

Domestic flights

Internally, AZAL flies five times daily to Naxçivan (US$100 each way for non-Azeris) and up to thrice weekly to Gəncə (US$50 each way). Domestic tickets are only sold at the often-chaotic ‘Naxçivan office’ within the AZAL Building (28 May küç 66/68; 8am-8pm) or, for last-minute departures, at the airport (beyond security check!).

Try to book at least a week in advance, especially in summer.

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