"Azerbaijan is not an easy place in which to travel. (Mark Elliott, "Azerbaijan with Georgia" .
However, I spent 10 days in Baku in August '00 and loved it. My wife was working there and had an apartment near central Baku.
Tourism in Azerbaijan hasn't caught on yet. Most "tourists" either live there (like my wife) or were family members (like me), expatriates, oil company people or diplomats. I saw one tour bus, a group of Germans.
The Azeris are friendly, but I heard little English. Everyone I talked to spoke fluent Russian. My survival Russian proved immensely useful, especially with taxis. Signs are primarily in Azeri and Russian, with few in English. Being able to read some Russian is a huge bonus.
Azerbaijan once supplied a large part of the world's oil. The oil industry still encircles the city of Baku with derelict oil derricks and oil platforms in the Caspian Sea. We saw platforms connected to shore by long, elevated roadways. The restaurant atop the Radisson affords a great birds-eye view of Baku.
Baku can be expensive. European standard hotels (Hyatt Regency, Europe, Radisson and Crescent Beach Hotel) and refurbished Sovietera hotels match European prices. A businessman told me a 10-day stay can run $3,000 if you seek entertainment and eat in the hotel. Azerbaijan lacks hostels or B&Bs. I visited two Soviet-style hotels in downtown Baku. "No, thanks."
The currency is the manat, and the exchange rate in August was 4,500 manat to the U.S. dollar. If you can make a taxi driver understand your destination (from an Elliott's guide-book map or written directions from your hotel), the standard fare to any point in Baku is 10,000 manat ($2). Baku abounds in taxis, both legal and unlicensed. There is a subway, but we were advised not to use it. We didn't.
A small loaf of flat bread is 400 manat, or less than 10 cents (1997 average monthly' salary in Azerbaijan: $30). Produce sold at sidewalk markets is cheap but risky. A liter of local Stolichnaya was $2.50. Baku has some Western-style supermarkets that are pricey for Azeris but average for us.
Unemployment is high (although you see brand-new Mercedes, Audis and BMWs everywhere). I saw men drinking tea in outdoor cafes in parks and playing pool (Baku abounds in outdoor pool tables), backgammon, checkers or chess. Garry Kasparov, world chess champion, is a native of Baku.
Except for certain upscale sections; post-Soviet Baku is dirty from the dust of the dry climate, from litter strewn everywhere and from uncollected garbage.
If you allow enough time, the Azeri Embassy in Washington offers free visas. It has a website and a good telephone manner. You need confirmed reservations at a hotel in Azerbaijan or an invitation from a company or a friend living there; my wife invited me. There's a visa application desk at the airport.
The flights to Baku are limited. Businessmen I spoke with said their companies denied employees use of Aeroflot, and I, myself, did not feel 'comfortable with the Turkish airline, so I used United/Lufthansa. There is also British Air. Between the latter two there are only four flights weekly (nonstop) into Baku from Frankfurt or Heathrow. The planes I flew on were full. At the time of my booking -- two months in advance -- only six seats were available.
The one guidebook you must read is "Azerbaijan with Georgia" by Mark Elliott (1999, Trailblazer Publications -- ISBN 1-873756-33-X, $21.95). Asya, an English-speaking guide at the carpet museum listed on page 82, told us she will do group tours of Azerbaijan, price negotiable. Also mentioned in the book, Gurban Aleskerov, who speaks marvelous but highly accented English, took us to see the Gobustan petroglyphs 60 kilometers south of Baku; these are listed on page 175, and they are a "must see." Also, don't miss Martyr's Park.
The August temperatures were in the 90s (down from the hundreds), so fall or spring is a better time to visit. Baku's weather can be found on Yahoo.com (Asia[greater than]Azerbaijan[greater than]Baku).
Two other useful websites for the tourist are www.azerb.com (A to Z of Azerbaijan) and http://www.Azerbaijan24.com.
Don't wear shorts or garish clothes. Be informal and comfortable but conservative. Although very secular, Azerbaijan is Muslim.
A to Z Azerbaijan says you can rent a car. I don't recommend it. Traffic is wild and in unfamiliar patterns. Traffic lights and traffic reactions are strange. Take taxis or walk. When walking, keep your eyes open and look in all directions before crossing streets. The last day I was there, I narrowly missed getting hit by a speeding minibus. Outside Baku, roads range from fair to terrible.
There are acceptable beaches and resorts on the Caspian within an hour of Baku. The A to Z Azerbaijan home page will give you a list of hotels you can contact for reservations, but room rates arc not shown.
The Crescent Beach Hotel has its own website. My wife and I visited the hotel. It's excellent and right on the beach but out of the way. However, their focus is on business travelers, not tourists!
