Travel to Azerbaijan

Flying to Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan Airlines (www.azal.az) operates regular flights to Azerbaijan from Ankara, London, Paris, Barcelona, Milan, Moscow, New York, Dubai, Tehran and Tel Aviv. British Airways (www.ba.com) also runs direct flights from London to Baku.

The major airport is Baku Heydar Aliyev International Airport.

Airport Guides

Flight times

From London - 5 hours 30 minutes; New York - 10 hours 30 minutes.

Departure tax

None.

Travelling to Azerbaijan by Rail

Azerbaijan is connected to Tbilisi in Georgia by an overnight sleeper train, which departs from the Georgian capital every night: journey time is 18 hours. Tickets should be bought at the station on Tbilisi.

In theory, you can buy tickets for the trip from Baku back to Tbilisi online via the Azerbaijan Railways website (railway.gov.az), which requires you to register before purchasing tickets.

Rail note

Foreigners are not currently permitted to enter or leave Russia by train. A new line from Kars in Turkey to Baku via Akhalkalaki and Tbilisi in Georgia is under construction. 

Driving to Azerbaijan

Long-distance bus services from Istanbul and other Turkish cities eventually wind up in Baku (with a change in Georgia). Motorists can follow the same route. The most popular way to arrive by road is from Tbilisi in Georgia, via Lagodekhi and Balakan. Coming from Iran, the most convenient border crossing is Astara.

Driving note

Road routes to and from Russia are currently barred to foreigners because of security problems in Dagestan and Chechnya. The border with Armenia is closed due to ongoing tension between the two countries.

Getting to Azerbaijan by boat

There are few options for those wishing to travel to Azerbaijan by boat, although it is not impossible.

Ferry operators

While there are no passenger ferries to or from Azerbaijan, cargo ships link Baku with Aktau in Kazakhstan and Turkmenbashi in Turkmenistan – and both have cabins onboard. The journey is not for the fainthearted; there are no set timetables and tickets can only be bought the day of departure in an ad-hoc arrangement. Ask around at the port. Assuming you are successful, be warned – delays of up to a week are not unheard of and the conditions aboard vary significantly.