CITIES VISITED:

• Baku – the capital of this small country. I LOVED it. Might be because I made a fun friend and we explored the city together, but I would be excited to come back here. Lots of sites to see and the old walled in city is lovely. Huge mix of old & new all along the Caspian Sea.
• Sheki – old city along the Silk Road with beautiful old palaces. Felt more like a “real” Azeri city where normal people live their normal lives.

PRO TIPS:

• E-visa was required for US citizens (as of Sept 2025). You can apply here & it cost $20 usd.
• Download Bolt to use to get around the city. It’s their equivalent of Uber. I found that it works great & the rides were ridiculously cheap.
• English was spoken enough in the old town, but don’t expect your Bolt drivers to speak it.
• It’s muslim country so dress appropriately. I chose to cover my shoulders and knees as I walked around and felt like that was sufficient.
• You must enter Azerbaijan via air, but can leave via land crossing.
• If you plan to visit Armenia & Azerbaijan, I’d heard rumors that you can run into trouble with the Azerbaijan border control if you have an Armenia stamp in your passport, so I chose to come here first. Maybe just do some research about order of countries to visit in this region 🙂 For context, there is no love lost between Armenia & Azerbaijan.
• Credit cards are fairly widely accepted in Baku, but less so in Sheki (or other parts of Azerbaijan) so I’d recommend taking some money out.

TRANSPORTATION:

• Baku –> Sheki: I headed to the bus station & asked for a ticket to Sheki. It was ~$8usd & took about 6 hours. You can check the schedule or even book tickets ahead of time here.
• Sheki–> Sighnaghi (Georgia): There are marshrutkas you can take but they only get you part way to the border, so instead I linked up with two other backpackers and we shared a taxi to the border of Georgia. He left us there and we walked across. Then I split a taxi with one of the backpackers from the border to Sighnaghi. Took about 4 hours door to door. The first taxi was 35 AZN in total (so my portion was $7. The second taxi was 50 GEL (so my portion was ~ $10). You can definitely do it cheaper, but I opted for convenience haha.

CITY: BAKU

HOW LONG: 4 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at Friends Hostel. The hostel is very cheap, especially if you extend and pay the direct price. The owner is kind and doing his best but the hostel has some kinks to work out. The WiFi worked well. The location is fabulous- right next to Old Town (like a 3 min walk). There’s good lockers in the room with a key provided. It felt very safe! AC worked great- and it was so nice to have the remote in the room so we could control it! BUT when I arrived, it didn’t look like the room had been cleaned in a while. There was hair and dust everywhere on the floor. There was literally never toilet paper in the women’s bathroom which was a nightmare. I had to ask to restock it 5 times while I was there (4 nights). There’s no real area to meet other travelers. The vibe isn’t very backpackery – lots of groups of older travelers who don’t speak English (which is totally fine) but meant it was hard to meet people as they stuck to themselves. Online it said there was breakfast but I never saw it. Overall, I’d see if anywhere else tickles your fancy before picking this hostel, but it’s not the worst place I’ve stayed!

WHERE TO EAT:

• The Art Club – hotel in the old city. Our favorite restaurant we went to, loved it so much we went back again. The servers were lovely & explained each dish to us. The food was divine & had all the classic Azeri dishes. Felt high end, authentic, but wasn’t crazy expensive. Would HIGHLY recommend a meal here (lunch or dinner).
  • Some dishes to try!
    • Gutab – a traditional dish in Azerbaijani and Turkmen cuisine made from thinly rolled dough that is filled with a variety of ingredients like cheese or meat
    • Shakh plov – a classic Azeri dish with rice, lamb meat, chestnut, fruits and onion
    • Dushbara soup – traditional Azerbaijani dish featuring very small, meat-filled dumplings cooked in a rich lamb, beef, or chicken broth, often flavored with turmeric and saffron, and served with a side of vinegar and garlic sauce and dried mint
• Kurban Said – restaurant in the old town with lots of local, traditional food. We had lunch here, but it would be great for dinner as well.
• Salam Baku – great for a rooftop drink in the open air but shaded from the sun 
• Qayana Restaurant – Fabulous breakfast spot with local Azeri food. So fun to try a typical breakfast from here. Lots of yummy egg, cheese & bread dishes. The yogurt is incredible too!
• Book & Coffee – cute coffee shop to sit & read a book or get some work done.

WHAT TO DO:

• Walking tour – as always this is a great way to get oriented in a new city, get a bit of the history, & potentially make some new friends! Don’t miss the Museum of Miniature Books. I met Julie on this tour and we spent the next 72 hours together exploring the city!!
• HamamBath – unbelievable spa experience just outside downtown Baku (a cheap Bolt ride away). You are transported into a calm little world as you are beaten with a broom, scrubbed, massaged, and washed. Julie & I loved our experience here. Would highly recommend coming here. Just reach out to them on WhatsApp to make an appointment. We got a whole slew of treatments, which were all incredible in addition to utilizing the cold plunge, outdoor hot tub, sauna & steam room. From their brochure, here are the descriptions of what we got 🙂 This 4 hour experience only cost $160!!
  • Classic steam – Steaming with oak brooms, followed by a cold water treatment. The skillful hands of the bathhouse attendant will pass oak brooms over the entire surface of the body in one go, which will invigorate and enhance the healing effect.
  • Kisa (body scrub) – the procedure helps get rid of the dead cells using a special exfoliating glove. Eventually your skin will look fresh, and start breathing
  • Classic massage – 60 min massage
  • Foam massage – the combination of sauna steam & natural foam, which covers the body in a shroud, deeply cleanses, and relaxes it.
  • Cleopatra’s Recipe (blue clay) – the ancient recipe of the Egyptian queen’s everlasting youth & beauty will give elasticity to your skin
• Visit the Heydar Mosque – a little ways away from Old City (take a cheap Bolt ride), but has stunning views of the city. The Mosque itself is huge and beautiful. I recommend coming at sunset for the gorgeous hues and then you’re treated to a gorgeous version of the mosque when it gets a lit up at night.

• Just meander the streets of the old town! It’s so freaking charming.
• Walk along the water front promenade. It’s lovely & so pleasant for people watching. Pro tip: go in the evening as it’s a bit cooler and the sunset makes it stunning.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Baku was great! As I mentioned, I would happily return here. Maybe Julie & I will have a reunion here one day 🙂 I truly had no idea what to expect but the city was so clean, felt so safe, and was so darn beautiful. I loved the mixture of Middle Eastern & European architecture & culture.

CITY: SHEKI

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

There was no GREAT option in Sheki unfortunately, but Central Hostel looked clean and central (lol), but there was no way to meet people outside the room and I got BED BUGS my second night. I then had to spend 3 hours in the middle of the night to go through all my stuff to make sure no ned bugs got into the bags. True nightmare!!! Since then, I have met other backpackers who said they got bed bugs here so avoid at all costs.

WHERE TO EAT:

I honestly didn’t find the food scene here to be spectacular, but the one place I’d recommend is Qazfaz. It’s unassuming with no real menu (at least that I was offered), but try the Piti and enjoy ☺️

WHAT TO DO:

• Summer Palace / Sheki Xan Sarayi (Unesco) – built in 1797, this served as the summer palace for the Shaki khans. It has a stunning facade & is definitely the most visited place in Sheki. I just went outside, but I heard it was lovely and worth the visit to go inside.
• Sheki Caravanserai (upper) – served as fortified inns for merchants, travelers, and their animals along the Silk Road.
• The Sheki Khan Winter Palace – not as impressive as the summer palace, but still worth a visit. It’s free if you just go to the outside, and my advice is that paying to go inside is probably not worth it, but up to you!
• Khan Mosque & Cemetery – Beautiful mosque, which is free to enter. It’s around the corner from the Winter Palace.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

After the absolute high of Baku, Sheki was a slight disappointment that ended in disaster with the bed bugs. I’d still recommend visiting Sheki if you are headed to Georgia after Azerbaijan, but it wasn’t overall my favorite

BUDGET FOR 6 DAYS IN AZERBAIJAN:

• Accommodation: $45 ($11.25 per night)
• Food: $125
• Activities: $148
• Local Transportation: $42
• Clothing: $32
• Miscellaneous: $36 (massage)

Total: $428 (Daily average: $107) 

Transportation to next destination: $17 (Shared taxi to Georgia)