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Did you know that Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, is the lowest lying capital in the world? It is located 28 meter below sea level but also lies on the coast of the Caspian Sea. Compared to its neighbors Georgia and Armenia, Azerbaijan is fairly little explored. And the country has much more to offer than its large oil and gas reserves.
This list provides you with 3 helpful and practical tips about traveling and taking the public transport in Azerbaijan. All info is based on our personal experience. 😉
1. You must register if you stay longer than 15 days
If you stay in Azerbaijan for up to 15 days, you do not need to register and do not need to worry at all. If you stay more than 15 days, you must register with the State Migration Service. This can easily be done through your accommodation. Some accommodations might only do the registration for you if you stay at their place on the 15th night. In our case, we just asked our first hostel if they could do the registration for us because we didn’t know yet where we would stay on the 15th night. They were very helpful, spoke good English and registered us without any issues.
2. Buy a BakiKart to travel around Baku by public transport
Public transport within Baku is convenient. By using Google Maps, you can easily find a suitable connection and the schedule. You need to buy a card called “BakıKart” which can be purchased at any metro station. Then, you can top up the card with the desired amount of rides, and use one card for multiple people. The card is valid for metro and bus within Baku. We bought the card and 10 rides which cost us 4,35€.
3. Minibusses take you everywhere in the country
Most places in Azerbaijan are connected by bus. Some bus connections can be booked online via the app “Biletim.” If you have no ticket yet, we advise to arrive an hour before departure at the bus terminal because busses can fill up quickly. It is normal to reserve your spot by putting a personal item on the chosen seat. In this case, you can wait outside, have a coffee, etc. It is just important to communicate with the driver, so he/she knows which seats are taken.
Before heading to the bus terminal, make sure to double-check where the busses leave because we experienced that busses connecting bigger places and longer distances leave from the bus terminal, while busses to nearby cities often leave from the local bazar.
Intercity busses in Baku leave from the bus terminal called Avtovağzal, which can be reached by metro. The metro stop is called Avtovağzal metro stansiyasi.
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