For general tips on driving the Silk Road, see the driving overview page. Here we discuss the state of the roads, customs, where to find repair shops, and how to deal with transporting and selling a car.
You can drive a right-hand drive car in Azerbaijan as a tourist, just as in all other Silk Road countries.
Car rental
Car rental in Azerbaijan is not exclusively limited to pick-up and drop-off in Baku anymore; the airports of Lankaran, Ganja and Qabala all have offers. In Baku there are plenty of places where you can arrange a pick-up.
The best car rental search engine for the post-Soviet space is Economy Bookings. They have all the major players like Hertz, Avis and Europcar, and half a dozen local ones: a good mix of the affordable and the reliable.
You can start your search via the form below.
Azerbaijan’s roads
Traffic is generally not too busy; especially if you just came from Iran, it will be a pleasant surprise. That’s not counting Baku, though!
The main intercity roads are generally in a good state. There are however, quite some tracks left in mountainous areas that require a good 4WD. Off-roaders will love Azerbaijan.
Insurance, border payments and police checks
The old customs regimes have been cancelled. There are now no longer any hefty deposits to be paid, and the total time in the country for your vehicle is 90 days, even if your visa is only for 30 days.
Total payment at the border amounts to 20 euro mandatory insurance for 30 days for cars, 10$ for motorbikes. Someone might want to sell you insurance for 90 days; you do not have to take it. Additionally, there is a 15 euro road tax.
Usually you can pay in dollars, euros or manat. Be sure to bring cash as it is not certain they will take cards.
More reports welcome in the Azerbaijan with your car forum topic.
Some claim there is still a vehicle age limit (we are not sure what the limit is) that will let drivers of old cars in for no more than 3 days. However, border guards advise to simply overstay the visa and pay a 20 manat fine, which seems to be working.
All of the above also holds for motorbikes.
Police checks
Police is everywhere in Azerbaijan and the main roads are a giant speed trap, especially the ones coming from Georgia. Be very careful with your speed as there are no road signs indicating how fast you can go. From locals we deducted you can drive 50 (or 60) km/h in towns, and 90 (or 100) km/h on intercity roads. If you get pulled over, expect to pay a stiff fine in the hundreds of dollars.
Q&A
All questions and reports about driving in Azerbaijan are welcome at our driving in Azerbaijan forum thread.
Self-driving the Silk Road
Other transport in Azerbaijan