Azerbaijan: good to know
The general-information half of trip planning: how expensive Azerbaijan feels, what is considered polite, what is not, and the everyday practicalities - alongside our 53 written places.
Hospitality is a duty and tea is its language; guests are treated as small events.
✓ Considered polite
- Accept tea when offered - it arrives in pear-shaped armudu glasses and refusing feels cold
- Greet with a handshake and allow time for small talk before any business
- Remove your shoes when entering a home
- Treat bread with respect - it is never thrown away or placed upside down
✗ Better avoided
- Refuse hospitality outright - deflect gently if you cannot stay
- Enter mosques with shoulders or knees uncovered - women should carry a headscarf
- Point the soles of your shoes at anyone when sitting
- Rush a meal or a tea - both are social occasions that stretch
Worth knowing
- Tipping is around 10% at sit-down restaurants; some add a service charge, so check the bill
- Cards work well in Baku, but carry manat cash for regional towns, taxis and bazaars
- Alcohol is sold freely in shops and restaurants, and local wine is inexpensive
- Lump sugar is often dipped in the tea and nibbled rather than stirred in
Plugs and voltage: Wikipedia, «Mains electricity by country» (after the IEC World Plugs list), read 15 October 2026.
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Keep planning
Customs are living things - regions differ, cities relax, generations shift. Take these notes as a friendly head start, watch what locals do, and when in doubt a smile and a greeting in the local language cover almost everything.