Experience The Most! Baku Itinerary In 2 Days
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2-day Baku itinerary to help first-time visitors get the most with the main attractions list, schedule, budget, accommodation, exchange, food, and transport information. By following my itinerary you will have an idea of the important attractions to visit, how to pace it, and all the information for planning your upcoming Azerbaijan trip.
For first-timers, especially someone traveling far from the Caucasus, Azerbaijan is only part of a wider trip. For example, for someone from Asia like me, it usually takes me two flights to reach the starting point i.e. from Hong Kong Airport to Dubai Airport then to Baku Airport.
With around 2 weeks of annual leave for the whole Caucasus or more, it is wise to budget 2 or 3 days for Azerbaijan. With the right itinerary, you can cover 90% + of the most important places in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan.
Goal Setting – Main Attractions Of Baku
There are two main tourist icons in Baku. The first group is those within the Baku City center such as Baku Old City, Baku Boulevard, Nizami Street, and the bars, cafes, restaurants, and restaurants within these areas.
In particular, it roughly includes
| Group 1 of Attractions | Main Icons Within The Area |
| Old Baku City | Maiden Tower, Shir vans hah’s Palace, Khazina Museum, Tahir Salah, Miniature Book Museum and other monument within the area |
| Baku Boulevard | Mainly the coastal line, Waterfront Mall, Azerbaijan Carpet Museum, Large Azerbaijan Flag, Baku Eye |
| Nizami Street | Fountain Square, National Museum, Baku Book Center, and most 7/24 restaurants |
| Remarks | Different street food, cafes, and restaurants for national cuisines within the three areas |
All these three areas are within walking distance and would well fit a 1-day itinerary. I have written a dedicated post for the details of all the important attractions in Baku City center.
Natural Wonders And Historical Sites
The second is the natural wonders and historical sites with around 1 hour driving distance from Baku City. That would include the Ateshgah (Fire Temple) and Yanardag (Burning Mountain) on the Northwest side; the Gobustan National Park (Rock Arts) and the mud volcano on the Southwest side.
You can easily include these 4 items via a day tour. Or you could pick any of them for a half-day visit. Usually, I would recommend the burning mountain if you have to pick one. You may find our full article on Ateshgah & Yanardag and Gobustan Rock Arts & Mud Volcano separately.
How To Schedule It
In general, you shall spend 1 day in the city center and the other day in suburban attractions. You can follow my sequence of visits in the below table.
| Baku 2 Day Itinerary | |
| Day 1 | |
| Morning | 1. Breakfast near Nizami Street & head to Baku Old City (the UNESCO World Heritage) before the museum opening time 2. Explore the museums, monuments, and shops there 3. Lunch at a restaurant there tasting the Azerbaijani national cuisines |
| Afternoon | 1. Walk from Baku Old City to Baku Boulevard 2. Enjoy the national park there, buy some good snacks from the waterfront mall, and pay a visit to the Carpet Museum 3. Depending on the time, you may want to walk further to the FlameTowers or Baku Eye. |
| Evening | 1. Head to Nizami Street from Baku Boulevard; pay a visit to the National Museum of History before its closure 2. Have a dinner at Nizami Street merging into the vibrant atmosphere 3. Chill at Baku Book Center or pick a 7/24 mocktail/shisha shop |
| Day 2 | |
| Morning | 1. Join a day tour which usually starts at 9 am 2. Morning itinerary usually includes Bibi-Heybat Mosque (a 13th Century Mosque); followed by Mud Volcano Tourism Complex & Gobustan National Park (Rock Arts) |
| Afternoon | 1. Lunch at the restaurant near Ateshgah (Fire Temple) which is usually more expensive than Baku City Center 2. Visit Fire Temple followed by Yanardag the burning mountain 3.The tour usually would start at the “I Love Baku” sign at Heydar Aliyev Center |
| Evening | 1. The tour usually ends around 8:00 pm 2. Have a great local cuisine dinner at Baku Old City 3.Followed by a drink at some of the 7/24 restaurants at Nizami Street |
Other Important Items For Planning Your Visit In Baku
By now you should have a very clear idea of how to structure your trip there, the above is just my sequence, feel free to shuffle it to fit yours. Before we end, let’s also take a look at the below information.
Budget For Baku Visit
Baku is a surprisingly expensive city.
For accommodation, I had a spacious hostel for 2 persons at Nizami Street near Fountain Square for less than 40 USD. For food, usually, a very decent restaurant would only cost you around 30 AZN (~ 18 USD) and a street-food doner meal deal with traditional yogurt is only around 3 AZN (~ 2 USD).
For transportation, it has the best and cheapest public transportation in the world where an airport ride is 1.6 AZN (less than 1 USD) and 0.5 AZN for any other ride). So around 10 AZN for two persons on the public transport card is more than enough.
Museum ticket ranges from 10 AZN to 30 AZN but following our itinerary you shall spend around 100 AZN (~ 60 USD) per person. I also highly recommend you buy snacks, spirits, and tea at the local supermarket chain “Bravo” which is surprisingly cheap.
For the day tour second day, it cost us around 40 USD per person. So in total, I probably spent around 160 USD (including the visa application fee of 26 USD) for adding 3 days and 2 nights in Baku for my Caucasus trip.
It is a very good deal compared to the value delivered to me by the city.
Where to Stay
Nizami Street near the Fountain Square is the place that you want to stay. It has great proximity to the metro and buses. It is one of the three main areas for tourists in the city center and you can walk to Old Baku City or Baku Boulevard within 15 minutes.
It is also around 15 minutes from the drop-off point of the airport bus near the May 28 station. There are a lot of high-quality hotels or budget hostels there, so you should be able to find one that fits your budget.
Money Exchange
Money exchange is easy in Baku. Azerbaijan fixes its currency to around 1.7 AZN to 1 USD. There are plenty of money exchanges (some even work 7/24) with good rates. Even the ones in airport rates are competitive. To locate the best exchange, feel free to take a look at our other article for exchange in Baku.
Transportation In Baku
As I said, Baku has the cheapest and best quality of public transportation. The airport bus to and from the airport is very convenient and works 7/24. The bus and metro cost you only 0.5 AZN (less than a quarter) per ride.
The only problem is if you are using Bolt & Taxi, it seems that Baku is notorious for Bolt & Taxi scams. If you follow my itinerary, you don’t need to do any of that.
Restaurant & Food
As I mentioned in the budget, restaurants in Baku are of very high quality and cheap. Even the already-price-up restaurant I had near the Fire Temple, the price is reasonable as compared to Georgia.
There are plenty of famous national cuisines from street food like Lavah (local bread) with Ayran (local salty yogurt drink), to Pilaf, Piti, and Dolmas that you can find in every restaurant that serves national dishes.
The most expensive dish Pilaf costs only around 35 AZN (~ 20 USD), usually, the portion needs to be shared by two persons.
People & Culture
The locals regard themselves as liberal Muslims. Based on my experience, although most of them don’t speak fluent English, they are very helpful and friendly. For example, a lady would even make the effort to seek her manager’s help when I and my wife asked where to locate the “Cat Lover” monument in Old Baku City.
Even the local tour promoters who are supposedly to sell you would just give you free-city maps instead of pitching you aggressively. It is a huge contrast compared to our next city Tibilis. In fact, I never thought Baku would be such a friendly city.
Which Country Or City To Go Next
With the political tension between Azerbaijan and Armenia, you should take a plane to Tibillis for your next destination. The usual airline you will use is the Azerbaijan Airline which is cheap and serves good food on planes. During my visit, they even offer me free check-on baggage (due to the vacancy available).
Remember, it doesn’t cost much and takes much time to get to the airport, so you should take the Azerbaijan Airline to Georgia.
So Is Baku Worth Visiting
Absolutely YES! In fact, based on the cost, the value, and the experience I got. I rank Baku the best as compared to the other 2 Caucasian capital cities Tibilis and Yerevan. Unfortunately, many people would skip Azerbaijan due to the visa requirement and the fact that you can only go in/out city via airline.
However, it is a mistake to skip it, especially for first-time Caucasus visitors. I highly recommend this place to you!
