Azerbaijan: Getting there & around

Travellers from Europe, especially Russia, have the best air access to Azerbaijan. There are flights between Baku and Frankfurt, Kiev, London, Amsterdam, Moscow, St Petersburg, Riga, Vienna and Zurich several times a week. Most other flights serve cities in ex-Soviet republics and the Middle East, usually once a week. There's no departure tax.

There are two overnight trains between Baku and Tibilisi, Georgia. One is relatively luxurious but very costly. The other is much slower but very cheap. However for scenery it's much more interesting to do the trip in stages via Şəki, Zaqatala and the Kaheti region of Georgia. Borders with Russia and Armenia are currently closed.

Several daily buses drive all the way from Istanbul (Turkey) to Naxçivan, Azerbaijan's disconnected southern adjunct, but the border there is notoriously corrupt and once in Naxçivan, the only way to Baku is to fly ( US$100.00 , several daily) or loop through Iran, which is easy enough in stages (via Culfa, Ardabil and Astara); but you'll need a visa, which can be tough to procure.

There are occasional freighters running across the Caspian to Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan and Aktau, Kazakhstan. Passengers are carried but the schedules depends totally on what's to be taken and when it can be loaded. That would be annoying in any situation, but can be catastrophic for visiting Turkmenistan which gives very short visas with set entry dates.

The fastest way to get around Azerbaijan is by shared taxi or minibus, though drivers can be somewhat reckless. Trains are very slow but useful on overnight routes, though stations are often far from the town centres, especially in the northwest. Expats tend to drive around in fancy 4WDs, which are the only conceivable way to reach certain remote villages other than on horseback (or hiking). However, renting one is fiercely expensive. Shared jeeps do operate occasionally on even the most remote routes but you can wait a long time.

If you decide to drive there are car-hire agencies in Baku. You'll need an international driver's licence; driving is on the right. To get around Baku, most foreigners use taxis, which are unmetered but should rarely cost more than US$2.00 per trip. However, the system of marshrutki (minibuses) is cheap and very efficient once you've learnt the landmarks and complex one-way systems that makes routes somewhat convoluted. Baku's metro isn't especially useful for the central area, being chiefly designed to rush commuters to the outer suburbs.