Last updated: 24 Sep 2013
Travel
Airports
Baku Bina (BAK) is 25km east of Baku and the journey between the airport and city takes about 40 minutes. The national airline is Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) (J2), which operates regular flights to Ankara, London (via Istanbul), Kiev, Dubai, Tehran and Tel Aviv.
Ground transport
Azerbaijan’s road network totals around 57,770km. While the condition of roads is generally improving, many are still pretty poor and badly lit. Four-wheel-drive vehicles are recommended for journeys into the mountains, eg. west of Kuba.
Car hire facilities are available through Avis and Hertz in Baku. An International Driving Permit or a license issued by an European Union (EU) country is required. Driving is on the right. Visitors should note that many local drivers do not adhere to traffic regulations and that many cars are badly maintained. There is zero tolerance for alcohol consumption while driving.
Taxi fares should always be negotiated before starting a journey, and visitors should be aware that rates proposed initially are likely to be unreasonably high. There is an underground system totalling 28km, but most visitors use taxis or private cars. Baku Metro is poorly maintained and the system is often unsafe and overcrowded. Buses run from central Baku to the suburbs but they tend to be overcrowded as well.
Hotels
There are several hotels in Baku, built and operated to Western standards. The Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Tower, Radisson, and Hotel Europe are the most commonly used. The average room rates range from A$90 to A$300 per night. In addition, there are numerous private apartments readily available in different parts of town. Those located in the downtown area tend to be expensive. The monthly rate for an apartment in downtown Baku ranges from approximately A$800 to A$4,000, depending on the size and quality of the flat.
Hyatt Regency Baku (five-star)
Bakuhanov 1
Baku
Park Hyatt Baku (four-star)
1033 Izmir Street
Baku
Radisson SAS Plaza Hotel (three-star)
340 Nizami Street
Baku, 370000
Dining
Azerbaijani food combines Turkish and central Asian elements. Although the majority of Azeris are nominally Shia Muslims, alcohol is widely available.
National specialties include:
- Plov, a delicious, spicy specialty made with pine nuts, vegetables and dried fruit, in addition to rice and mutton. Certain types of plov use chicken instead of mutton and include chestnuts.
- Grilled kebabs of various kinds are popular, including lyulya kebab made from spiced, minced lamb pressed onto skewers.
- Meals often start with rich, heavy soups. Piti is a mutton soup bulked out with chickpeas and slowly cooked in individual earthenware pots in the oven and served in the same pots. Dogva is a sharp, yogurt and spinach-based soup containing rice and meatballs.
- Sturgeon is served both smoked and fresh.
- Caviar has traditionally been fished from the Caspian Sea.
- Kutab pastries are stuffed with spinach or pumpkin and are similar to Turkish birekas.
- Kutum Lavangy is stuffed fish with cherries, walnuts and raisins.
- Dolma is minced mutton flesh with onions.
- Badimjan Dolmasi is mutton served with plenty of aubergine and tomatoes, basil, sour cream and butter.
National drinks:
- Wines and brandies are produced locally.
- Sherbets are popular soft drinks made of sugar, lemon, saffron, seeds of mint and basil and other fruit.
- Tea is often served accompanied by various jams such as quince, fig, apricot, white cherry and plum. Sometimes dried leaves or flowers of savory, clove, cardamom and other spices are added to tea. Tea made of cinnamon (darchin) and ginger is popular. Sometimes rose water is added.
Tipping
Tipping is appreciated but not compulsory. Service charges are usually included in bills and it is common to give taxi-drivers, waiters and hotel staff some small change.
Tourist attractions
Although travellers should avoid the Nagorno-Karabakh area and the border with Armenia, they can pursue various activities in other parts of the country. There are some good beaches in Baku, and visitors can also play chess at several outdoor chess-playing areas (where Gary Kasparov reputedly practiced as a boy). The 70km-long Aspheron peninsula (northeast of Baku) has some of the country’s best beaches and offers good hiking and coastal walks.
Several restaurants, late-night bars and nightclubs have opened in Baku in the last few years, catering largely for the foreign business community and wealthy local business people.
Concerts, theater, opera and ballet are a source of local pride and very popular.