Practical tips

The questions travellers ask us before coming are almost always the same: do I need a visa? When is the best time? Is it safe? What currency should I bring? Can I cross from Azerbaijan into Armenia? This section exists to answer them with first-hand information, kept current by a team that lives here and crosses these borders every month.

You will find guides to the essentials: each country's visa rules, the right order to visit the three countries when borders dictate the route, what the weather is actually like in each season — from Baku's August heat to the snow that closes mountain passes from November to May — what food, lodging and transport really cost, how marshrutkas work and when a private driver pays off, and the small things you only learn by living here: plugs, tipping, tap water, haggling at the markets.

And if you would rather leave the practical side to us, that is what our organised Caucasus tours are for: you choose the pace, we handle the entire logistics.