Azerbaijan travel guides

Most nationalities need an e-visa, applied for online through the ASAN Visa portal. It costs around USD 25 for standard processing in three working days, or more for urgent same-day service, and grants 30 days single entry. Print the approval and carry it with you. Note that travellers with evidence of visiting Nagorno-Karabakh may be refused entry, and Armenian nationals are generally not admitted.

April to June and September to October are ideal, with mild temperatures in Baku and accessible mountain roads. Baku summers are hot and extremely windy, which is how the city earned its name as the place of winds, though the Caspian beaches are at their best. Winter is cold and grey on the coast and heavily snowbound in the Caucasus, closing access to villages such as Xināliq. Novruz in late March is a colourful time to visit but many businesses close.

Azerbaijan is generally safe for visitors, with low street crime and a visible police presence in Baku. The clear exception is the border area with Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which remain sensitive and should be avoided; check your government's travel advice before planning any route near them. Photography of military installations and some government buildings is prohibited. Otherwise the usual urban precautions and care on mountain roads are sufficient.

The Azerbaijani Manat (AZN) is the currency, roughly 1.7 to the US dollar. Cards are widely accepted in Baku hotels, restaurants and shops, but cash is needed for regional travel, markets, taxis and village guesthouses. ATMs are common in Baku and larger towns but scarce in mountain areas, so withdraw before heading out. Exchange offices give better rates than hotels, and US dollars are the easiest currency to exchange.

Five to seven days gives a proper sense of the country. Two to three days covers Baku's walled Old City, the Heydar Aliyev Center and the Flame Towers, plus a half-day trip to Gobustan's petroglyphs and mud volcanoes. Add two days for the northern mountains around Quba and Xināliq, and another two for Sheki with its stained-glass Khan's Palace and the silk-road caravanserais. A three-day Baku city break also works well as a stopover.

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