I was in Azerbaijan between the 21st of September and the 27th of October 2022. The currency in Azerbaijan is the Manat and prices are relatively cheap, for a backpacker at least, although prices in the capital Baku are higher than in the rest of the country.
As a backpacker, you need between 20 and 35 euros per day to travel in Azerbaijan.
Accommodation
Accommodation in hostels varies between 8 euro and 12 euro. I paid for 4 nights in hostels, spent one Couchsurfing and one on an overnight bus from Baku to Sheki.
Total accommodation cost came to around 34.5 euro making the average 5.75 euro per night in total or 8.63 if you only count the nights I actually paid for.
Food
Food in Azerbaijan is cheap. Even in Baku, I had no problems finding cheap food. Shawarmas are readily sold on the street for between 1 and 3 euro and a meal in a cheap to midrange restaurant won’t cost more than 5-8 euro.
In total, I spent 42.5 euro making the average 7.08 euro per day.
Transportation
For transport, I mainly used buses and marshrutkas.
In total, I paid 20 euro for transport.
I also had to pay 110$ for a plane ticket from Tbilisi, because the land borders were still closed due to COVID in October (edit in April 2023: still closed).
This cost, however, I will count towards “global costs“.
The average daily cost for transport inside the country was 3.34 euro.
Insurance
For travel insurance, I use a company called Safety Wings, which provides a subscription model insurance, best suited for young people (as the price is understandably lower).
It costs 42 dollars for 4 weeks, so 6 days are ~9 euro or 1.5 euro per day.
Culture and Activities
Azerbaijan has recently opened up to tourism but has done so very successfully. The museums are well-organized and beautifully curated.
Unfortunately, they use double pricing for locals and foreigners, so some museums/attractions are unwarrantedly expensive.
The Carpet Museum in Baku is worth a visit, and at 6 euros, was the most I paid.
One attraction I advise you not to pay for is the Yanar Dag burning mountain. It costs 3.50 euros, but you can just go around the ticket office and see the flames from outside.
In total, I paid 17 euro for entrance fees. The average cost per day comes to 2.83 euro.
Other
Everything else not covered above I consider incidental expenses.
I needed some basic toiletries for 4 euro.
Azerbaijan requires a visa from most nationalities (pretty easy to get online), which cost me 26$ or about 25 euros.
In total, I paid 30 euro or on average per day: 5 euro. This would’ve obviously been lower, had I spent more time in the country.
A Backpacker’s Budget for Azerbaijan
| Accommodation | 34.5 euro |
| Food | 42.5 euro |
| Transport | 20 euro |
| Travel Insurance | 9 euro |
| Culture | 17 euro |
| Other | 29 euro |
| TOTAL | 152 euro |
In total, I spent 152 euro for 6 days, which makes the average 25.33 euro per day.
