Driving in Azerbaijan: What the Law Wants, and What the Roads Do

Two separate questions get muddled together whenever someone asks about driving here. The first is whether you are allowed to — a matter of paperwork with a definite answer. The second is whether you will enjoy it, which is a matter of what these roads are actually like and has nothing to do with the law at all.

We do not rent cars and have nothing to sell you either way, so here is both answers, in that order.

What has to be in the car

Licence rules are the one thing on this site we will not state in our own voice, because almost every page that answers this question online is run by somebody selling international driving permits, and they do not agree with each other.

What a government says to its own travellers is a better source. The UK government's travel advice for Azerbaijan tells British visitors they need the 1968 version of the international driving permit and their home licence, both with them in the car, plus a green card as proof of insurance. It also says that after one month you will need an Azerbaijani licence, obtained locally.

Look up your own country's advice rather than borrowing Britain's — the practical shape is usually the same, but this is a question where "usually" is not good enough, and it is yours to settle before you book anything.

Alcohol: there is no allowance

This is the rule visitors most often get wrong, because they arrive from somewhere with a limit and assume there is one here.

The same UK advice states that if you are tested and any alcohol is found in your system, you risk a severe fine and possibly a prison sentence. Not over a threshold — any. A glass of wine with lunch is not a small risk taken carefully; it is the whole of the risk.

If your day includes a winery, a long table or a toast you cannot politely refuse — and in this country that last one is a real possibility — then that is a day for somebody else to drive.

What the roads are actually like

The UK advice is blunt about this, and it matches what anyone who drives here daily will tell you: many vehicles are poorly maintained, the standard of driving is erratic, and accidents are common, in part because enforcement is inconsistent. It also warns that many roads are poor quality and badly lit, so night driving deserves particular care.

None of that makes the country undriveable. It does mean the skill being asked of you is defensive rather than technical — reading what other cars are about to do, not handling your own.

Distance does not predict time here

This is the part that ruins itineraries, and it is something we can show you from our own timings rather than assert.

Read the last two rows against each other. Sheki is 75 kilometres further than Khinalig and takes twenty minutes longer. A map that gives you an arrival time by dividing distance by some average is wrong about both of them, and it is wrong in the direction that puts you on an unfamiliar mountain road after dark.

The reason is that these are not the same kind of kilometre. The Sheki road is mostly open highway. The Khinalig road climbs to a village at 2,300 metres, and the last stretch of it is the part the clock cares about.

The mountain roads are their own category

Khinalig, Lahij, Lerik and the approaches to Shahdag are not simply slower versions of the main roads. They are single carriageway, they wind, they have drops without barriers, and in places the surface changes without warning. In winter, conditions on them can be a different question entirely from the weather in Baku, which is at sea level and an hour away.

If you have never driven a mountain road with oncoming traffic and no shoulder, the first time should probably not also be your first day in an unfamiliar country, in a rented car, with a hotel booking at the other end.

When driving yourself is the right call

It genuinely is, sometimes. Take the wheel if you want to stop where nothing is marked, if your plan changes shape during the day, if you are staying a fortnight rather than four days, or if you simply like driving and the road is part of the holiday rather than the cost of it.

Do not take the wheel if the day involves alcohol, if the route is a mountain one and you are new to those, if you are arriving and departing on the same tight schedule, or if the only reason you are considering it is that it looks cheaper. On a single long day out of Baku, once you have added the rental, the fuel and the deposit, the sum is closer than people expect — and the difference is paid in attention rather than money, because the person driving is the one person in the car who does not get to look out of the window.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an international driving permit in Azerbaijan?

The UK government tells its citizens to carry the 1968 international driving permit together with their home licence, and a green card as insurance proof. Check what your own government says, because the answer can depend on where your licence was issued.

Can I drive on my own licence for the whole trip?

The same advice says that after one month you will need an Azerbaijani licence. For a normal holiday that ceiling is not one you will reach.

What is the drink-drive limit in Azerbaijan?

Treat it as zero. UK travel advice warns that any alcohol found in your system can bring a severe fine and possibly a prison sentence. There is no "one glass" version of this rule.

How long does it really take to drive from Baku to Sheki?

About 4 hours 20 for 305 km. Khinalig, at 230 km, takes 4 hours — less distance, more time, because it is a mountain road. Plan by the hours, not the kilometres.

Are the roads in Azerbaijan in good condition?

The main intercity roads are reasonable; UK travel advice notes that many others are poor quality and badly lit, and that driving standards are erratic. Night driving on unfamiliar roads is the combination to avoid.

Is it cheaper to rent a car than to hire a driver?

For a single day out of Baku the gap is smaller than it looks once rental, fuel and the deposit are counted — and the driver is the one person who does not get to look at the view. For a fortnight of independent travel, renting usually wins.

The licence, insurance and alcohol rules above are quoted from the UK government's travel advice for Azerbaijan as it stood on 22 September 2026, and are reported as that rather than as legal advice; check your own country's guidance. The distances and drive times are our own, and are re-verified against our route data whenever this page is built.

If you would rather not drive

Then the question becomes which of the three ways of covering the same road suits you, and getting around Azerbaijan by road lays out the distances, real drive times and what each option costs on every route we run. The two that come up most are the Khinalig road, because it is the one people most often underestimate, and the Sheki road, because it is the longest day most visitors attempt. And if you are pricing a short hop across town instead, taxi in Baku covers how that fare gets decided.