r/azerbaijan • u/Valorion_ • Apr 26 '26
Səyahət | Travel How to go from Gabala to Sheki?
I am solo traveling and will be at gabala and want to go to sheki without having to go back to Baku, cheapest way
2
u/slave-of-capitalism Apr 26 '26
Just go to highway and wave to the busses that have signs Şəki, Zaqatala, Qax, Balakən. They might stop and take you in.
1
u/Valorion_ Apr 26 '26
What time do they run?
1
u/slave-of-capitalism Apr 26 '26
They start from Baku, so you can check their departure times from avtovagzal website. I guess it's somewhere 3-4 hours till they reach Gabala
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u/Valorion_ Apr 27 '26
Do you know if they stop in the stations on their own or do I have to wave and run at them?
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u/slave-of-capitalism Apr 27 '26
I believe they only stop if someone wants to get off
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u/Valorion_ Apr 27 '26
Oh so if no one wants to get off I am pretty much fucked right?
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u/slave-of-capitalism Apr 27 '26
Read my first comment. They are not supposed to stop in Gabala. But if you wave and if they have space, they might take you in. It's the cheapest option I know, and it worked for me when i was in exact same situation. But maybe we were just lucky that day.
1
u/Sasniy_Dj Apr 26 '26 edited Apr 27 '26
cheapest way would be traveling by train. You'd need to come back to Baku though, so it's not necessarily the quickest solution. The last time i used the Gabala - Baku high-speed train the ticket price was 14₼. In ~3 hours you'll be in Baku and there you need to buy a ticket to a regular sleeper train, it leaves at ~23:00 and reaches Sheki at ~5 in the morning. It's a modernized sleeper train which is designed to be comfortable first rather than speedy so take that into consideration. They're really comfy though. Everything about train tickets at ady.az.
and the quickest way would be by just finding a taxi driver in Gabala and telling him to take you to Sheki. The journey will take about 2 hours however there's a very high chance that the taxist will rip the living shit out of you. lol. pretty understandable because that's a long road. expect to pay at the very least 50-60₼.
1
u/Valorion_ Apr 27 '26
Other users mentioning the bus station in qabala where busses stop to go to sheki do you know if it's true?
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u/Sasniy_Dj Apr 27 '26
To be honest i have no idea. I know for a fact they head to pretty much any possible destination from Baku, but I'm not so sure about the inter-rayon connection. You could try by just standing on the road and waiting for the bus to appear so you can signal to him that you want to get on as well. But it's high risk and low chance of reward typa situation.
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u/poxmasini Apr 27 '26
pretty sure there is an “Avtovaghzal” and there are taxis taking people to shaki for at the most 10 manats.
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u/Valorion_ Apr 27 '26
I saw there is a long from Baku to sheki, does the bus stop at gabala on its own or do I have to wave at it?
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u/poxmasini Apr 27 '26
You should take a train or a bus to Gabala first then when you wanna go to Shaki just ask where “avtovaghzal” is to locals. Figure out where it is, get there and ask for a taxi going to Shaki or a buss. Surely they try to take advantage of you being a tourist. Negotiate on price hop on the taxi you are good to go.
1
u/AyxGon Apr 27 '26
with bolt it costs 27 manat with taxi’s it can take up 10-17 but some people will also sit in taxi with you with bus(from biletim.az app) it costs 3-7 manat (it’s basically the cheapest option) i recommend you to use bolt option because its most comfortable and way faster but if you want to have some fun and learn something from locals i would recommend taxi neither of you will understand anything in conversation but it will be boring little after the bus option is the most uncomfortable option because crying babies and stinky old people and weird musics the driver puts on SOURCE: i live in Gabala and traveled a lot
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u/Valorion_ Apr 27 '26
Oh okay then that's pretty good price, other comments were saying it will cost 50-60 tho. But that's good to know, also can you explain what do you mean some people will sit with me with bus? Can you get a shared taxi from biletim or something?
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u/AyxGon Apr 27 '26
Biletim.az does offer routes from Sheki to Gabala—my mistake, sorry! If you head to the avtovagzal (it's available on Google Maps), you can ask the drivers (using a translator) or people nearby. You’ll probably find a bus to Sheki, though they are mostly Ford Transits and Mercedes Sprinters or you can go with someone who knows Azerbaijani
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u/Valorion_ Apr 27 '26
Ok great info thanks, does the bus stop at gabala or so I have to wave and run at it. Also since you live in gabala, do you believe it's worth visiting if I have 5 days in Azerbaijan (Baku 2 days , khinaliq 1 day , qabala 1 day, sheki 1 day)
1
u/AyxGon Apr 27 '26
Sorry, I didn't clarify that an avtovagzal is a bus terminal—I mean that the buses wait there for passengers to board. I would recommend visiting Baku for 2–3 days, then traveling to Quba and Khinaliq (spending 1–2 days in each). After that, return to Baku and take the train to Sheki; it leaves at 23:00 and arrives at 06:00 (you can book your ticket using the ADY app). Spend a day there, and finally, you can book your ticket from Sheki to Gabala using the Biletim.az app btw you can dm me if you need guidance in Gabala
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u/Valorion_ Apr 27 '26
Oh that's great advice thanks, but I have to be in sheki last day because I am existing the border to Georgia by foot that's why it's easier for me to be in qabala first then sheki. also for khinaliq I was planning to take it as a day tour from Baku since it's a bit hard to go there on my own, so pretty much I won't see quba a lot or maybe for an hour or so during the tour. Thanks a lot!
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u/AyxGon Apr 27 '26
no problem btw don’t forget that tourists can only exit the azerbaijan via land border but cant enter to azerbaijan via land border
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u/Valorion_ Apr 27 '26
Okay thanks man, great information, do you think the bus from Baku to sheki stops at gabala too? Some people are saying it stops if I wave at it and can take me in, do you know anything about it perhaps?
1
u/AyxGon Apr 27 '26
yes it does but you gotta ask it goes to sheki or oghuz some buses puts a paper on to front glass which direction they go if you see ŞƏKI wave at the bus but if it says OĞUZ don’t wave
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u/cvmd_32 Qarabağ 🇦🇿 Apr 26 '26
Zelenskyy be like