There are only two reliable and proven ways to travel from Russia to Baku - train and plane. Moreover, there is almost no difference in prices for air and railway tickets, but time costs differ very significantly.
More than 20 planes depart daily from 3 capital airports in Baku, so it will not be difficult to choose the right option in terms of departure time and cost. There are both direct flights and connecting routes in Kazan, Minsk, Astana and Tbilisi. The flight is organized by Russian and foreign companies - Aeroflot, Azerbaijan Airlines, S7 Airlines, Belavia, Air Astana and others. The direct journey will take about 3 hours. Ticket prices - from 17,500 RUB. There are few direct flights St. Petersburg - Baku. The road will take a little less than 4 hours (with transfers - from 7 to 13 hours).
Airport named after Heydar Aliyev is 25 km from the city. The most convenient way to get to the center is by taxi (on the way - about 20 minutes, the fare is from 30 AZN). There is also a fixed-route taxi No. 135, which stops at the "May 28" metro station.
There is only one train from Moscow to the capital of Azerbaijan. It departs 4-5 times a month from Kursk railway station. The train arrives in Baku early in the morning. One-way travel in a reserved seat will cost a little cheaper than an air ticket - 7067 RUB, and you will have to spend more than 2 days on the way. There are no direct trains from St. Petersburg. There are several options for connecting - through Moscow and Rostov-on-Don. Prices on the page are for November 2018.
Since 2006, an information and tourist center (BITC) has been opened in Baku, providing tourists with information about the main objects and sights of the city. It also has a telephone contact center that provides free information support to guests of the capital. In addition, BITC will help you book tickets and hotel rooms, offer excursions around the city and the republic with professional guides-interpreters, present all kinds of booklets and maps of Baku and Azerbaijan.
Address: U. St. Hajibeyova, 36. Tel.: +994 (12) 498-12-44; +994 (12) 598-55-19.
For more than a thousand years, Baku has turned from a small fortress that emerged in the middle of the Great Silk Road into a large modern metropolis, while preserving its special eastern flavor. Today, the capital of Azerbaijan covers an area of about 2 thousand square kilometers, and its population exceeds 2 million. The agglomeration is divided into 12 administrative units, including both Big Baku itself and several urban-type settlements.
Most districts of the city were formed in the 20-30s of the last century. The youngest administrative units are Nizaminsky and Pyrallakha, which appeared in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The first is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful districts of Baku, and in addition, the famous eastern bazaar "8 km" is located here.
The most expensive part of the city for both life and tourism is its center, covering partially Narimanovsky, Nasimi and Sabail districts. The cheapest housing, shops and cafes are worth looking for on the outskirts of Baku.
It is better for beach lovers to choose Khazar and Karadag districts. The latter stretches along the Caspian coast with a narrow strip.
In addition, Karadagsky attracts the attention of tourists with many interesting sights, including the Gobustan archaeological reserve with its famous rock paintings. Another interesting part of the city from the point of view of tourist facilities is the village of Binagadi, located in the district of the same name. Here you can see the Keireki mud volcano and a paleontological monument - a cemetery of flora and fauna of the 4th period.
There is another unique natural attraction in Khazar district. More than 7 square kilometers of its area is occupied by the Absheron National Park, where you can find gazelle, swamp moon, jackal, spike swan and other rare animals and birds. The Sabail district attracts tourists to the architecture of ancient eastern buildings - the city of Icheri Sheher, the Juma Mosque, Haji Haiba Bath and other ancient buildings, as well as the modern water park "Kempinski Hotel Badamdar" with steam baths, massage and hammam.
Baku is a developed modern capital, it will not be difficult to get from one part of the city to another. For those who need to get there quickly and comfortably, it is better to take a taxi. The fare in the city center starts from 5 AZN.
For those who are not in a hurry, there is a good way to combine business with pleasure - a bicycle. There is no common rental network in Baku, so it will be necessary to return the transport to where they took it. An hour of rent will cost only 2 AZN, a day - 25 AZN.
There are a lot of ground transport stops in the city, and it runs quite often, from 6:00 to 20:00 - at intervals of 5-15 minutes. In the evening, buses go to the suburbs once an hour. Travel in the city center costs 0.2 AZN, you will have to pay 0.35 AZN to get to more remote areas.
It is better to ask the driver where a particular bus goes - the routes in the city change so quickly that even the locals themselves do not have time to track it.
The Baku Metro consists of two operating lines: red and green, with a total of 23 stations. Passage in the subway is carried out by plastic cards, which are sold at subway ticket offices or vending machines located in the lobbies of stations. When buying a card, a deposit of 2 AZN is made, returned after using the card, provided that it is fully functional. The fare is 0.30 AZN. Recently, such cards can also be paid for on some bus routes.
Only experienced drivers who are confident in their abilities should rent a car in Baku. Traffic in the city is lively, and locals constantly violate the rules. In any case, for those who feel like a fish in the water, a car is a great opportunity to see the maximum of city attractions in a few days. However, only if you are not "lucky" to get into the notorious Baku traffic jams.
Traffic congestion is a real parable for the capital of Azerbaijan. Dense car traffic coupled with cratic non-compliance with traffic rules repeatedly aggravate the traffic situation in the city. Things are much better with parking lots - there are a lot of them in the city, and if you need to drop your car for just a few minutes, you can do it absolutely free of charge. On average, the cost varies from 1 AZN per hour to 20 AZN per day.
There are quite a lot of companies renting cars in the city. There are both local (Auto Rent, Rent a car) and international firms (Avis) on the market. You can take a car for a few hours, a couple of days or a month. Depending on the rental period, brand and car model, the cost ranges from 45 AZN per day to 4000 AZN per month.
Azerbaijan has a common GSM 900 system for European countries, incompatible with Japanese and American-made devices. It is better for Russians to buy a SIM card of one of the local companies. Despite the fact that our operators work here in international roaming mode, calls from Azercell Telekom or Bakcell will cost a little cheaper. The first operator is preferable for those who plan to visit other regions of Azerbaijan, the second works well only in Baku, but the cost of services is less. A local SIM card can be purchased at the airport, railway station or in one of the specialized salons.
The Internet connection works via 3G. It costs a little and catches well even in the subway. Most cafes and restaurants in the city have free Wi-Fi. It is better to specify in advance about the conditions for the provision of such services in hotels - some owners charge a small fee for using the Internet. You can also use the wireless network at the airport, libraries and parks.
Baku is surrounded by dozens of villages located at a distance of 10-15 km and together with the city constituting the Baku agglomeration. Most of them are located in the area of the coast of the Caspian Sea (Bilgah, Mardakyan, Novkhany, etc.) and have their own sanatoriums, hydropathic facilities, boarding houses and beautiful landscaped beaches.
Due to its special geographical location, there are almost no pebble beaches on the Caspian Sea. Throughout the Baku coast, approaches to water are covered by clean fine sand. The descent into the sea is gentle, in order to get to a great depth, sometimes you need to move away from the shore for a decent distance.
In some areas, for example, near the village of Zagulba, the sandy beach turns into a rocky seabed.
The most visited beaches of Baku are in Novkhany - Barbados Beach, Center Beach, Sahil Beach and Palma Beach. Most of them have developed infrastructure - there are changing cabins, sunbeds and umbrellas, plastic tables and chairs, luggage storage rooms, shower and toilet. The beaches belong to individuals - owners of hotels, hotels and boarding houses. Some charge a fixed entrance fee (usually within 15-40 AZN), which also includes the enjoyment of all the benefits of civilization. On others, you will have to pay for umbrellas, sunbeds and parking separately. On the shore there is large sand mixed with shell, and the seabed is sometimes covered by algae.
Near the village of Mardakyan there are some of the cleanest and most comfortable beaches in Baku. It is worth highlighting Jazzy Beach, Moon Light Beach and Khazar Golden Beach. In addition to the standard set of services, there are swimming pools and water parks, and numerous cafes and restaurants offer dishes from different peoples of the world. Entrance - 20-50 AZN.
Although the city is located on the very shore of the Caspian Sea, and the seabed near the Absheron Peninsula conceals a huge number of secrets and mysteries, diving in Baku is not very well developed. The first specialized clubs began to appear here only in the early 2000s. Local depth conquerors are trained in an indoor pool equipped for this purpose. The course consists of 10 lessons and an exam, which will cost 380 AZN together with equipment rental. Having received the desired certificate, you can safely go to the island of Pirallahi, where local divers dive.
For those who like to dive the bottom of the Caspian Sea in this area, it is interesting primarily with sunken ships. In different years, there have been many shipwrecks here, so you can come across both ancient sailboats and modern ships. There are also legends about the underwater city and Stenka Razin, whose gold was buried on the seabed.
There are not just a lot of places where a tired traveler can make a halt in Baku, but a lot. Moreover, the rooms and service of many hotels are surprisingly of high quality. In addition to very budget options, you can find a comfortable hotel in the capital for very reasonable money.
The most economical choice is hostels. They are both in the central part of the city and on the outskirts of Greater Baku. A bed in a dormitory will cost 450-1300 RUB. When choosing such a accommodation option, you need to think about your safety, because strangers sleep in one room. Do not leave money and valuables in a prominent place, ideally it is better not to show that you have them at all.
The cost of double rooms in hotels starts from the same 1300 RUB. This amount is available near the center, and includes free Wi-Fi, parking and pet-friendly accommodation. There are also more expensive, five-star hotels. Prices range from 4,000 to 40,000 RUB (in the latter case, you will be offered to check into the famous Burning Towers). A couple of Hayattov and Radisson SAS also "lit up" in the city.