BAKU TRAVEL TIPS

 Congratulations if this is your first time planning a trip 🎒without hefty tour package fees! 💵 Here, I’m sharing our budget travel experiences in BAKU. 🇦🇿 

The great news is that Azerbaijan is a VISA ON ARRIVAL COUNTRY for UAE Residents, so you can easily travel from UAE ✈️. 

If you are travelling from India or any other country, you can easily apply for an e-visa at 25USD. The maximum processing time is 3 days! It is not a hectic process and don't worry about rejection.

https://evisa.gov.az/en/

1. PLANNING YOUR JOURNEY. 📈 

  The first step is to find the best deal on flight ticket. WIZZ air ✈️is the best option for UAE residents. (From Ibn Battutta mall, you will get direct bus 🚌 to AUH airport or you can keep your car 🚗 with any of your friend👬 in Abu Dhabi as we did). Or you can opt for Air Arabia. From India, Indigo and Air India is the affordable ones.

1. FINDING THE ACCOMODATION:🏩

If you are travelling alone, or as a bachelor group, these are two cheap hostels starting at 8USD per night: 

🛜Sahil Hostel and Hotel

🛜 Traveller Inn Hostel

Check with Sahil Hostel itself for one day group tour to outside city locations.

If you are couple or family, You can find cheap hotels from Booking.com

1. CURRENCY, SIM CARD: 

  It is advisable to convert your currency to USD 💵 and come to Baku for best exchange rates. Even AED is also accepted in the exchange houses inside the Baku airport.

🛃 Either you can convert the entire money into MANAT or half you can convert from city for better rates. 

There is small counters for Currency exchange and Sim cards inside the Baku airport itself after the baggage collection better to buy SIM card of such mobile network giant Azercell.

1. APPS

The Top 4 Applications you should install is:

📲 2GIS: Which is best than Google maps in Azerbaijan. Easy to find bus routes and Bus timings also. You can download the city offline.

📲 Google Translate / Apple Translate: Luckily 90% of the people you meet in Baku wont speak English. So you need a translator app. Dont worry about the Language. We were communicating through sign language also! 

📲 Bolt: The best alternative of Uber. You will get taxis at cheaper rates from anywhere. Best to travel from Airport to your hotel and even for city rides.

No need to worry about getting lost outside the airport, Do your currency conversion, you can take a simcard from Airport, register on Bolt, book a taxi, identify the taxi with the plate number on the app. You can even negotiate with the taxis outside airport as everyone in Baku is a taxi driver.

📲 Wolt: If you are starving and lazy to go out, order food through this app. Bt eating out is cheaper

1. FOOD:🥘 

  There are alot of food stalls across the city which mostly serves burgers 🍔 and sandwiches. 🥪 Its affordable too. The food giants like 🍗KFC or Pizza Hut🍕are also available in the City. Make sure to try their local foods also. Here is a list of cheap eateries in Baku city which you can save on 2GIS app also:

https://wanderlog.com/list/geoCategory/20482/best-cheap-eats-in-baku

1. EXPLORING THE CITY:

🚌Mark the Must see spots in Google map and take a walk. That's it. Don’t forget to explore the underground metro aswell. 2 days in Enough to explore the city. And the third day you can plan for the far places. The Sahil hostel organizes these tours at 70 Manat. Message them on WhatsApp @ +994508882101. For booking hostel, use Booking.com for better rates.

Here are the must visit places in Baku city:

https://www.thrillophilia.com/destinations/baku/places-to-visit

Hope I have share the best tips here, Bt feel free to ask if you have any other queries. I will try to answer ASAP. Please share the reel with your loved ones. Happy travelling! 😊

If you are planning to visit Almaty Kazakhstan, do revisit the reel on my Instagram. also this blog for more details:

https://jobifiedtravel.blogspot.com/2024/10/almaty-travel-tips.html