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Renting a car in Baku is more useful for everything around the city than for the city itself. Central Baku is best on foot or by metro — the Old City, the Maiden Tower, the Flame Towers and the Caspian seafront sit in a single line. The car earns its keep the moment you head out: Gobustan, Yanar Dag, Quba, Gabala, Sheki, Shahdag.
A couple from Manchester landed at GYD at 23:40, met the partner by flight number and were on the Baku Airport Highway in under twenty minutes. Two days for Gobustan and Yanar Dag, three for Sheki and Gabala on the way back.
Prices in the capital sit higher than the regional average: rates in Baku run around $111–126 a day, roughly 30–50% above Tbilisi or Yerevan. Demand is higher, the fleet newer — that's regional reality, not a markup. Economy from $30–45, crossovers from $70–120, premium 4×4 from $130. Most clients take the car for two to four days and leave the city wandering for the metro and Bolt.
Picking up the car at GYD and in town
Rental desks at Heydar Aliyev International (GYD) are on the first floor of Terminal 1; the cars sit in the car park directly out front. International chains are open round the clock. With TakeCars partners it tends to be simpler: the representative meets you with a name sign at the arrivals exit and hands over the keys without queueing. Baggage claim to drive-away is 15–20 minutes.
An Edinburgh couple landing on a Wizz Air late-night flight signed the contract on the bonnet in row D and were on the highway in 18 minutes. The Hertz shuttle to the long-term lot had already stopped running.
GYD sits 20 km north-east of the centre on Baku Airport Highway. If you collect the car in town instead, the Aeroexpress runs from 28 May metro station every 20 minutes for 2 manat, and the TX4 taxi rank at the exit takes you to the centre for around 25 manat.
Gabala and Ganja
TakeCars is unusual for the region — cars are handed out not just in Baku, but also in Gabala (with airport GBB) and Ganja (with airport KVD). No international chain does this. It is the only practical way to plan a route that flies into Baku and out of Ganja without driving the whole country back the long way.
Kia Rio in Azerbaijan
We liked everything, we had no problems, we were served quickly, without nagging. We will recommend to our friends! 👍🏻
Suzuki Swift in Azerbaijan
I rented a 2024 suzuki and they gave me a 2017 nissan
Mitsubishi Pajero in Azerbaijan
The lease went off without a hitch.
Hyundai Tucson in Azerbaijan
Everything was great. The car is great.
Hyundai Elantra in Azerbaijan
in general was everything good 👍 Right front turn signal doesn’t work. that’s all) Thank you for service) Good service. Nice car. We had enjoy our trip in Azerbaijan 🇦🇿
Chevrolet Spark in Azerbaijan
everything went well, thank you.
Kia Rio X-line in Azerbaijan
Quality service, excellent support. Comfortable, polite communication, prompt service. The car corresponds to the order. Accept different currencies. The office is also pleasant. In general, maximum customer-oriented and professional people👍
Hyundai Elantra in Azerbaijan
Everything went great! Very friendly landlord, good quality car. Acceptance and handover went smoothly. Can recommend!
Toyota Land Cruiser 300 in Azerbaijan
In general, everything was good, there were small technical flaws on the car, like a headlight that does not work, but this is not the main thing, it would be worth pointing out that the car will be replaced by a 2010 LX570, in new dodgers giving the car for a newer model (from the outside and not distinguishable from cars say 2018). It's actually a completely unequal replacement for the LC300. In general, I expected something like this for a price lower than the competition, but you always hope for the best. In general, there are no questions about the process of registration, everything was no worse than in other countries, quite friendly, but from my point of view a little assertive, but it's okay people are southern, all sorts of things happen. But, in general, I would not take this particular car from them anymore, I would rather overpay, but take what I want initially. That's how it is)
Chevrolet Aveo in Azerbaijan
The address in Baku was indicated in the received voucher, but the navigator like Yandex and maps.me do not see such a point, thanks to the representative of the company - he sent Google maps geolocation and we found the office. In the office, after discussing the plans of the trip, we were advised to change the class of car and we agreed to Hyundai I40, automatic transmission, with a small extra payment. The car corresponded to the declared data, all body damage was reflected by the specialist. No complaints about the driving qualities of the car when traveling around the country. The car is handed over as in all rental agencies: with inspection of appearance and checking the databases of the country's traffic police. Wishes and unpleasant moments: the car is issued with a minimum amount of fuel and when you drive it, you have no idea how much gasoline to spend. It would be desirable to change the policy on fuel - "full tank received - full turned in". Another problem of parking in Baku affects the car rental service - if the car was tied to the phone number of Azerbaijan cellular operator, it would be much more convenient to pay for parking in street parking machines, as parking machines do not accept phone numbers from other countries. I am satisfied with the car rental service, the deposit minus the car wash fee was returned at once. I wish the team good luck and success in their work.
Kia Sportage in Azerbaijan
Thanks guys, everything went well. Receipt and delivery of the car without any problems. And although the car was not what I ordered, could promptly resolve all issues. Conducted a detailed briefing when receiving the car. So my impressions are very positive!
Suzuki Swift in Azerbaijan
Instead of a Suzuki, they gave me an old Hyundai, and took almost 200 manat for the fines, well, such a thing.
Hyundai i20 in Azerbaijan
Everything went just fine! I was going to spend a vacation in Baku and decided to order a car in advance to move both in the city and around the country, ordered Hyundai i20, but on arrival, at the airport I was waiting for Hyundai Accent, well, the replacement is not in the worst way, so without problems signed the documents and on the road ...., on the third day in the city this Hyundai Accent ordered to live long, boiled at a temperature of 36 degrees outside, I drove into some yard and called Kyamran, I must give credit, in less than an hour in this yard brought to replace the Hyundai Sonata, and the Accent was taken away with the words that within 2-3 days will repair and return ..., but .... I liked Sonata and on the second day I called the office with a question - can I keep Sonata until the end of the term ..., after a short negotiation came to a consensus )) and after a purely symbolic extra payment we issued documents for Sonata until the end of the two-week term, during this time I had time to travel around Baku and almost the whole Absheron, and some cities in the country .... I would like to thank the employees of the company - Kyamran, Rasim and others who took part in my "epic" with breakdown, replacement and registration!
Where to drive from Baku
The main reason to rent in Baku is the day and weekend trips out. Gobustan, with its rock carvings and mud volcanoes, sits 65 km south on M3 — an ordinary saloon handles the route comfortably. Yanar Dag and the Ateshgah fire temple make a half-day Absheron loop. The Caspian beaches at Sea Breeze and Dalga are about an hour out.
A Norwegian family did Gobustan, Yanar Dag and Ateshgah in one day in a Kia Rio. 200 km on the clock, back at the hotel by sunset, the kids were impressed by the mud bubbling.
The longer routes are a different shape. Quba is 168 km on M1, Gabala 215 km on M4 via Shamakhi, Sheki 363 km. Sheki and Gabala don't fit cleanly into one day on public transport — a textbook two-day rental with an overnight in Gabala on the way back.
Khinaliq — 4×4 only
The road up to Quba is fully sealed. The next 60 km from Quba on to Khinaliq is a mountain dirt track with steep climbs, and a saloon will stop at the first canyon. Khinaliq sits at 2,200 m and is one of the oldest villages in the Caucasus. The route needs a proper 4×4 — a Mitsubishi Pajero, a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, or similar.
Closed land borders: where you can't go
This is one of those Azerbaijan-specific details to know up front. The country's land borders have been closed to passenger traffic since March 2020 — originally a COVID measure, repeatedly extended. As of spring 2026 the closure runs to 1 July 2026 with no announced reopening date. Freight crosses freely; passengers do not.
A guest from Tashkent booked a Baku car planning to drive on into Tbilisi, drove all the way to the Red Bridge crossing and was turned back even with the rental papers in hand. Lost a full day and the deposit took a phone call to release.
The border with Armenia has been closed for over thirty years since the end of the Karabakh conflict. Iran and Russia are off-limits to insurance and rental contracts. For a two-country itinerary with Georgia, take a Wizz Air or Buta Airways flight — an hour and $60–120 each way — and book two separate rentals on either side of the border. Two flights and two rentals work out cheaper than the lost day and the recovery.
Rates in Baku vary throughout the year depending on the season and the rental length.
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How expensive is renting a car in Baku: average daily rates for a one-week car rental, across all car classes.
What sets TakeCars apart in Baku
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Cars in three cities and three airports
TakeCars hands out cars in Baku and GYD, but also in Gabala (GBB) and Ganja (KVD) — none of the international chains offer that.
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Cash deposits in major currencies
Local partners accept the deposit in cash — manat, dollars or euros — avoiding the $500–1,500 credit-card hold sitting on your statement for weeks.
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No surprise charges at the desk
The price online is the final one: insurance upsells and post-rental admin fees are shown up front, not invented at the counter.
Payment, deposit and insurance in Baku
The strong point with TakeCars partners in Baku is flexibility on payment. The 15–20% online prepayment is taken by any Visa, Mastercard or Maestro card. The balance and the security deposit are paid in cash at collection, in manat, dollars or euros. That keeps things simple for travellers who'd rather not have a large credit-card hold sitting on their statement.
A Berlin couple took the basic CDW in October and clipped a kerb on a side street in Yasamal. The windscreen wasn't covered and the repair came out of the deposit. The mountain top-up would have run them $40 over the four days.
Standard CDW is included in the daily rate at most TakeCars partners. Local partner deposits run $200–500 and come back in cash at handover — compare with the chains, where five hundred to fifteen hundred sits on a credit card for seven to thirty days. For mountain routes (Khinaliq, Quba, Shahdag) it is worth adding full cover at $10–15 a day; rural mountain tracks punish rims and undersides. Off-road damage is only covered if the car was a 4×4 to begin with — taking a saloon onto a dirt road voids the policy, and the repair comes out of the deposit in full.
Frequent Questions
Rental desks are on the first floor of Terminal 1, and the cars are in the car park directly in front of the terminal. With TakeCars partners the representative usually meets you with a name sign by the arrivals exit and hands the keys over without a desk queue. Baggage claim to drive-away is 15–20 minutes. International chains are open round the clock.
GYD is 20 km north-east of the centre, on Baku Airport Highway. The TX4 taxis from the official rank at the exit take 25–30 minutes outside rush hour and cost about 25 manat to the centre. The Aeroexpress bus runs to «28 May» metro every 20 minutes from 06:00 to 23:15 for 2 manat. In the 8–10 morning peak the drive can stretch to 50 minutes.
Yes. TakeCars is the only service in Azerbaijan that hands out cars not just in Baku (including GYD) but also in Gabala (with airport GBB, 14 km from town) and Ganja (with airport KVD, 20 km from town). Useful for itineraries that fly into Baku and out of Ganja, with no need to drive the car back across the country.
About 215 km, 3.5–4 hours north-west on M4. The road is in good condition. A natural stop on the way is Shamakhi — home to the oldest mosque in the Caucasus, dating from 734, and the Diri Baba mausoleum. Gabala is a popular weekend break: the Tufandag cable car, the Yeddi Gozel waterfall and Lake Nohurgol. A typical one-night trip out and back on the same M4.
Two routes: the direct M2 — 363 km / 4.5 hours via Gobustan; the scenic M4 via Shamakhi and Gabala — 304 km / 5 hours, easy to split into two days. Sheki is the country's UNESCO Silk Road jewel: the Khan Palace with its shebeke stained glass, the fortress walls and old caravanserais. Best done with an overnight in Gabala on the way.
Yes, essential. The Baku–Quba section is 168 km of sealed road, but the next 60 km on to Khinaliq is mountain dirt track with steep climbs and a saloon will stop at the first canyon. This route needs a Mitsubishi Pajero, a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado or another proper 4×4. Khinaliq sits at 2,200 m and is one of the oldest inhabited villages in the Caucasus.
Very. Gobustan is 65 km south on M3, an easy run for any saloon. The site has UNESCO rock art going back up to 40,000 years and the famous bubbling mud volcanoes — Azerbaijan has around 350 of them, more than any other country. Combine with Yanar Dag (the eternal flame) on the way back. A guided half-day works; a self-driven full day is comfortable.
By air only. Azerbaijan's land borders have been closed to passenger traffic since March 2020, with the closure extended to 1 July 2026. Wizz Air and Buta Airways fly Baku — Tbilisi in about an hour for $60–120 each way. For a two-country itinerary, book two separate rentals: one in Baku for Azerbaijan, one in Tbilisi for Georgia.
Around $111–126 a day on average — roughly 30–50% higher than Tbilisi or Yerevan, which is regional reality rather than a markup. Economy (Chevrolet Spark, Hyundai Accent, Kia Rio) sits at $30–45, mid-range saloons $45–70, crossovers (Hyundai Tucson, Mitsubishi Pajero) $70–120, premium 4×4 (Toyota Land Cruiser Prado) from $130. Long rentals get 25–35% off.
KAYAK reviews flag two patterns at the GYD chains: post-return mystery service charges (one Hertz client was billed 36 manat a day later with no explanation) and aggressive insurance upsells at the desk — $15–20 a day on top of the online booking. With TakeCars partners the online price is final and any post-rental fees are listed up front.
Two to three weeks ahead for high season (June to September, rates up to $126 a day). A week is enough in low season (November to February). The Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in September is a sharp price spike — book six weeks ahead if you're attending. New Year is a smaller bump, mostly from regional travellers.
Only if the car is genuinely 4×4 — Mitsubishi Pajero, Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, or a Hyundai Tucson or Kia Sportage with AWD. Driving a saloon onto a mountain dirt track voids the policy: any damage comes out of the deposit in full. The sealed run to Quba is covered by a standard CDW; the next 60 km on to Khinaliq is not.
Local drivers are quicker and more assertive than the European norm: lane changes without indicators, generous use of the horn, an unwritten priority on uncontrolled junctions. Big SUVs and taxis tend to push through. Stay calm, drive defensively, give way generously and ignore the noise. The centre stalls 8–10 in the morning and 17–20 in the evening.
Inside Baku, no. The Old City, the Flame Towers, the Heydar Aliyev Center and the Caspian seafront are walking distance or one metro stop apart. Bolt and Uber are cheap — most rides in the centre cost 3–8 manat. The car earns its keep on day trips: Gobustan, Yanar Dag, Quba, Khinaliq, Gabala, Sheki, Lankaran. Most travellers rent for 2–4 days after exploring the city.
Yes. TakeCars partners in Baku offer compact saloons at $1,500–2,500 a month — about $50–80 a day, roughly half the daily rate. No residence permit required: a passport with the entry stamp or an ASAN e-Visa, a valid driving licence and a card or cash are enough. A useful option for digital nomads or longer trips around the country.