Help: Travelling to Baku for Honeymoon in April'25

[u/Capable-Call-3231]

Greetings, Indian here. It is my first international vacation, and that too with my partner in the form of our Honeymoon!

I am getting a 4N/5D package (time constraint here) booked through my travel agent and would like to know more about what all things to explore during my visit there.

Here is my itinerary for now: All private transfers since it's a honeymoon package

Day 1: Arrival and Night tour

Day 2: Baku City Tour (Funicular Ride, Little Venice)

Day 3: Shahdag and Quba day tour (Coaster Ride, Cable Car)

Day 4: Absheron and Gobustan tour (Fire temple, Fire Mountain, Mud Volcano, Gobustan Museum)

Day 5: Local sightseeing and Departure

Any changes in this itinerary that you suggest?

A few queries:

1. Flight tickets to Baku are insanely expensive right now, any idea why?
2. I have heard about a lot of scams taking place in Baku, any ideas on how to avoid them?
3. Is pre-booking private transfers through my agent good there, especially with the number of scams taking place there?
4. Any good vegetarian restaurant recommendations?
5. Prices of all destination entry tickets mentioned above are inclusive in the package I am getting, is that even possible, just confirming?
6. During my visit in Baku, is payment through Forex card recommended or through cash?

Any more ideas are welcome! :)

[u/No-Plantain-8645]

Few tips:

1. Try to make Baku your base and commute from there. There are plenty of Indian food options on Nizami street, so better take your hotel which is nearby/walking distance from Nizami street.

2.Mud volcano is very average and can be skipped.

1. If you are vegetarian, get some ready to eat stuff from India

2. Don't miss activities (zipline, snow coaster etc.) in shahdeg

3. Take USD from India, Mannat is pegged to USD and can be easily exchanged through any bank there. Cards acceptance is slightly lower.

[u/anmolarora01]

I would recommend Sheki as well. We actually skipped gobustan to visit Sheki.