Azerbaijan · Private tour
6-Day Baku, Shamakhi, Sheki & Gabala Tour
Private tour, 5 nights with our own guide and vehicle
About this trip
6-Day Baku, Shamakhi, Sheki & Gabala Tour is a private, 6-day journey through Baku · Gobustan · Gabala · Sheki · Shamakhi, run by our own guides and drivers rather than subcontracted to a local agency. A walled Caspian old city under the Flame Towers, and mountains three hours inland.
You travel as your own group, no strangers, no fixed coach departure. The itinerary below is our recommended shape; a consultant can move a day, add a night or change a hotel before you commit to anything.
Pace: A few longer drives between cities, most days out sightseeing.
Day by day
The outline of this trip. Your consultant sends the full day-by-day programme, with timings, once your booking is confirmed.
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Day1
Arrive Baku, then the Baku City Tour.
Baku is an old walled city inside a glass-and-flame modern one. Within the UNESCO-listed Old City you'll find the Maiden Tower and the palace of the Shirvanshahs; outside it, the Flame Towers glow at night, Zaha Hadid's flowing white Heydar Aliyev Centre curves without a straight line, and the seafront boulevard follows the Caspian. One hilltop park gives you the whole skyline at once. A boat through Mini Venice or a turn on the Baku Eye? Easy to add.
Overnight in Baku -
Day2
Gobustan + Absheron Tour.
Two of Azerbaijan's oldest wonders in one day. At Gobustan, a UNESCO-listed hillside holds thousands of rock carvings up to 40,000 years old, with mud volcanoes bubbling nearby. Then the Land of Fire lives up to its name: a hillside at Yanardag that never stops burning, and the Ateshgah fire temple once tended by pilgrims from India.
Overnight in Baku -
Day3
Gabala Tour.
Gabala sits in the green foothills of the Greater Caucasus, Azerbaijan's mountain escape. Waterfalls known as the Seven Beauties, the clear water of Nohur Lake and a honey house with the region's mountain honey fill the day, which ends at the Tufandag resort, where cable cars climb toward the peaks. Ask us about the zipline or the coaster.
Overnight in Gabala -
Day4
Gabala Stay & Sheki Tour.
Sheki is often called the most beautiful town in Azerbaijan, and the Palace of the Sheki Khans is why: an 18th-century summer palace whose stained-glass windows are thousands of pieces fitted together without a single nail or drop of glue. Nearby, a Silk Road caravanserai still welcomes guests, and the town's sweet makers turn out Sheki halva the way they have for generations.
Overnight in Gabala -
Day5
Gabala Stay & Shamakhi Tour.
Shamakhi was the seat of the Shirvanshahs long before Baku. Its Juma Mosque, founded in the 8th century, is among the oldest in the Caucasus; a saint's tomb is built straight into a cliff face; and seven domed mausoleums look out over the valley. The road continues through the Meysari wine region, where a tasting is easy to arrange.
Overnight in Baku -
Day6
Free morning, transfer to the airport for departure.
Departure
Where you stay
Choose your hotel level: the price above and the group table update to match. Prefer something different, or a family room? A consultant can reprice it.
What's included
Included in the price
- Loading from our booking system…
Not included
- International flights to and from the region
- Visa fees where your passport requires one
- Lunches and dinners unless stated in the itinerary
- Personal expenses, drinks and souvenirs
- Tips for your guide and driver
- Anything not listed under what’s included
How group size changes the price
A private tour splits the vehicle, the guide and the driver across your group, so the per-person price falls as the group grows. These are live figures for this exact itinerary.
Calculating…
Weather, month by month
Average daytime high, night-time low and rain days for the places this trip actually goes, from five years of recorded observations. Not a forecast, and not the capital's weather standing in for the mountains.
Best months for this trip: Apr, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct.
Good to know
- Visas
- It depends on your passport: see visa rules for Azerbaijan, each linked to its government source. We will tell you what we know, but the requirement is yours to check against your own passport.
- Best time to go
- April–June and September–October. We run this trip outside those months too, prices and conditions change, so ask.
- Getting there
- International flights are not included. Most travellers fly into Baku; we meet you at the airport.
- Confirming
- The price you see is real, but it is a quotation until a consultant checks hotel and guide availability for your dates, normally within 24 hours.
Questions we get asked
Is this a group tour with other people?
No. Every trip on this site is private: your group, your vehicle, your guide, your dates. Nobody else joins you.
Can the itinerary be changed?
Yes. This is our recommended shape for 6 days, not a fixed product. Add a night, drop a day trip, change a hotel tier, a consultant reprices it before you commit.
Is the price per person or total?
Prices show per person based on two people sharing a double room, with the total alongside. Solo travellers and larger groups price differently, the table above shows how.
When do I pay?
Nothing is taken through this website. A consultant confirms availability, sends a written quote with the payment schedule, and only then do you decide.
What if the weather closes a mountain road?
It happens, mostly outside the months above. We offer the nearest equivalent we can arrange and explain any difference in cost, either way.
What travellers say
4.9 from 227 reviews on Google
Those reviews are from travellers on our Georgia trips, where we have run longest. We have not written reviews for Azerbaijan and will not invent them, so you are seeing our overall rating rather than feedback on this itinerary.
Book or ask about this trip
Choose your date and group to see your exact price, then request to book it. Nothing to pay now: a consultant confirms hotels and guides within 24 hours and sends a secure payment link. Or just send us a question.
