travel to iran as american

Update April 12, 2024

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Travel Advisory January 11, 2024

Iran - level 4: do not travel.

Updated to add the Terrorism Risk Indicator and risk of surrogacy tourism.

Do not travel to Iran due to the risk of terrorism, civil unrest, kidnapping and the arbitrary arrest of U.S. citizens . Exercise increased caution due to wrongful detentions .  

Country Summary: U.S. citizens should not travel to Iran for any reason. U.S. citizens visiting or residing in Iran have been kidnapped, arrested, and detained on spurious charges.

Iranian authorities continue to unjustly detain and imprison U.S. nationals, particularly dual national U.S.-Iranian nationals--including students, journalists, business travelers, and academics--on charges including espionage and posing a threat to national security. Iranian authorities routinely delay consular access to detained U.S. nationals and consistently deny consular access to dual U.S.-Iranian nationals.

Violent extremist groups, including U.S. government-designated terrorist organizations, operate in Iran. ISIS and affiliated groups have claimed responsibility for bombings and other attacks in Iran. The threat of terrorist activity persists, as does the risk of death or injury to bystanders.

The U.S. government does not have diplomatic or consular relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran. The U.S. government is unable to provide routine or emergency consular services to U.S. citizens in Iran.

Companies offering surrogacy services in Iran are misrepresenting the security situation in Iran and the risks of the unregulated surrogacy tourism industry. Private companies that arrange such visits and services put U.S. citizens in danger.  

Due to the risks of operating civilian aircraft within or in the vicinity of Iran, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) and/or a Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR). For more information U.S. citizens should consult the  Federal Aviation Administration’s Prohibitions, Restrictions and Notices .

Read the  country information page  for additional information on travel to Iran.

If you are currently in Iran:   

• Consider the risks involved in possessing dual  U.S. Iranian nationality .
• Review your personal security plan and visit our website for  Travel to High-Risk Areas .
• Draft a will and designate appropriate insurance beneficiaries and/or power of attorney.
• Discuss a plan with loved ones regarding care/custody of children, pets, property, belongings, non-liquid assets (collections, artwork, etc.), funeral wishes, etc.
• Establish your own personal security plan in coordination with your employer or host organization or consider consulting with a professional security organization.
• Leave DNA samples with your medical provider.
• Have a plan for departing Iran that does not rely on U.S. government assistance.
• Enroll in the  Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP)  to receive Alerts and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.
• Follow the Department of State on  Facebook  and  Twitter/X .
• Visit the CDC page for the latest  Travel Health Information  related to your travel.
• Prepare a contingency plan for emergency situations. Review the  Traveler’s Checklist .

Embassy Messages

View Alerts and Messages Archive

Quick Facts

One page required for entry stamp

Yes, except for Kish Island

No proof of vaccination is required

Over €10,000

Over €5,000

Embassies and Consulates

Embassy of Switzerland – Foreign Interests Section

Pasdaran, Shahid Mousavi St. (Golestan 5 th) Corner of Paydarfard St., No. 55, Pasdaran Avenue Tehran, Iran Telephone: (98) (21) 2254-2178 and (98) (21) 2256-5273 Emergency Telephone: (41) (58) 465-3333 Fax: (98) (21) 2258-0432 Email:   [email protected] Website: www.eda.admin.ch/tehranfi Virtual Embassy Tehran

All consular services require prior appointments which can be made by phone. The Foreign Interests Section can be reached by phone Sunday through Thursday between 7:45 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.

The Foreign Interests Section does not issue U.S. visas or accept visa applications. The Foreign Interests Section provides limited consular services to U.S. citizens in Tehran including:

• Registering U.S. citizens;
• Responding to inquiries concerning the welfare and whereabouts of U.S. citizens in Iran;
• Rendering assistance in times of distress or physical danger;
• Providing U.S. citizens with passport and Social Security card applications and other citizenship forms for processing at the U.S. Embassy in Bern, Switzerland;
• Performing notarial services;
• Taking provisional custody of the personal effects of deceased U.S. citizens; and
• Providing Social Security Administration assistance to retired U.S. citizens residing in Iran.

Destination Description

See the Department of State’s Fact Sheet on Iran for information on U.S.-Iran relations.

Entry, Exit and Visa Requirements

Before traveling to Iran, please consider the current Travel Advisory .

The Travel Advisory for Iran is Level 4, Do Not Travel. The Department of State recommends U.S. citizens do not travel to Iran due to the risk of terrorism, civil unrest, kidnapping and the arbitrary arrest of U.S. citizens. Exercise increased caution due to wrongful detentions. 

Iranian authorities continue to wrongfully detain and imprison U.S. citizens, particularly U.S.-Iranian dual nationals, on charges including espionage and posing a threat to national security. Iranian authorities have also prevented the departure of U.S. citizens from Iran. U.S. citizens of Iranian origin should consider the risk of being targeted by authorities before planning travel to Iran. Iranian authorities routinely deny dual nationals access to the Foreign Interests Section of the Embassy of Switzerland in Tehran because they consider dual nationals to be solely Iranian citizens.

U.S. passports are valid for travel to Iran. However, U.S.-Iranian dual nationals must enter and exit Iran on Iranian passports. As indicated above, the Iranian government does not recognize dual nationality and will treat U.S.-Iranian dual nationals solely as Iranian citizens. Iranian authorities may consider some U.S. citizens – even those without Iranian passports who do not consider themselves to be Iranian – to be Iranian nationals.  

U.S. government employees, including contractors, are strictly prohibited from traveling to Iran without prior authorization from the Department of State.

U.S.-Iranian dual nationals should obtain, in their Iranian passports, the necessary visas for the countries they will transit on their return trip to the United States so that if the U.S. passports are confiscated in Iran, they may depart Iran with their Iranian passports. These individuals can then apply for new U.S. passports in the country they are transiting.  

U.S. citizens residing in Iran on permanent resident visas must obtain an exit permit each time they depart Iran, regardless of the period of stay. All Iranian passport holders are required to pay an exit tax. More specific information on Iranian passport and exit permit requirements may be obtained from the Iranian Interests Section of the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington, D.C.

The Iranian civil code states that women who marry Iranian men acquire Iranian nationality. If the marriage takes place in Iran, the woman’s U.S. passport may be confiscated by Iranian authorities. A woman must have the consent of her husband to leave Iran or, in his absence, consent from another suitable authority. The Foreign Interests Section of the Embassy of Switzerland in Tehran can provide only limited assistance if a U.S. citizen woman married to an Iranian man encounters difficulty in leaving Iran. In addition, if marriage to an Iranian citizen is not officially recognized by the Iranian government, the couple will be committing the crime of adultery if they travel together, the maximum penalty for which is death.

Please contact the Swiss Embassy or appropriate Iranian authorities for special circumstances cases involving divorce and custody rights in Iran.

The U.S. Department of State is unaware of any HIV/AIDS entry restrictions for visitors to Iran. If you intend to reside in Iran, you must submit to a blood test, which may include an HIV test, in order to apply for a residency permit. Permits will be refused if the HIV test is positive.

Find information on dual nationality , prevention of international child abduction , and customs regulations on our websites.

Safety and Security

As noted in the Travel Advisory for Iran, U.S. citizens visiting or residing in Iran face a significant threat of kidnapping or arrest and detention on spurious charges.

U.S. citizens who travel to Iran despite the Travel Advisory should exercise caution throughout the country, but especially in the southeastern region where foreigners have been victims of criminal gangs. U.S. citizens should avoid travel to areas within 100 kilometers of the border with Afghanistan, near the Iraq border, and generally anywhere east of the line from Bam and Bandar Abbas toward the Pakistani border.

Terrorism: In Iran, there is potential for death or injury because of terrorist attacks. Violent extremist groups, including U.S. government-designated terrorist organizations, operate in Iran. ISIS and affiliated groups have claimed responsibility for bombings and other attacks in Iran. The threat of terrorist activity persists, as does the risk of death or injury to bystanders. Additionally, Iran is a designated state-sponsor of terrorism.

For more information, see our Terrorism page.

Crime: Foreigners occasionally become victims of petty street crime, including robberies and bag-snatchings, in Iran. There have been reports of robberies by police impersonators, usually in civilian clothing. Insist on seeing the officer’s identity card and request the presence of a uniformed officer/marked patrol car. Travelers should take the following precautions:

• Do not surrender any documents or cash;
• Make a copy of your U.S. passport (biographical data page and the page with your Iranian visa) and keep it separate from your original passport;
• Do not carry large amounts of hard currency while on the streets;
• Keep important documents such as passports and valuables in hotel safes or other secure locations;
• Take pre-booked taxis, which are safer than those hailed from the street;
• Check with your hotel or tour guide for information on local scams; and
• Do not buy counterfeit or pirated goods, even if they are widely available. Not only are the bootlegs illegal in the United States, purchasing them may also violate local law.

Demonstrations occur sporadically. They may take place in response to political or economic issues, on politically significant holidays, and during international events. Past demonstrations have turned violent.

• As demonstrations can be unpredictable, avoid areas around protests and demonstrations.
• Check local media for updates and traffic advisories.

Iranian security personnel may at times place foreign visitors under surveillance. Hotel rooms, telephones, computers, fax machines, and other electronics may be monitored, and personal possessions in hotel rooms may be searched. The Iranian authorities may also confiscate cell phones, computers, and other devices. U.S. citizens should consider not taking electronic devices to Iran or deleting personal information from them beforehand.

Disaster Preparedness: Iran is prone to earthquakes, many of them severe. To learn more about the seismic regions of Iran, including the most recent earthquakes, please visit the U.S. Geological Survey website .

International Financial Scams: See the Department of State and the FBI pages for information.

Victims of Crime:

Report crimes to the local police by dialing 110 and contact the Embassy of Switzerland’s Foreign Interests Section at (98) (21) 2254-2178. Remember that local authorities are responsible for investigating and prosecuting the crime.

The local equivalent to the “911” emergency line in Iran is: 115 for ambulance service, 125 for fire, and 110 for police. English speakers, however, are generally unavailable.

See our webpage on help for U.S. victims of crime overseas .

The Department of State, through the Embassy of Switzerland’s Foreign Interests Section, can:

• Replace a stolen or lost passport;
• Help you find appropriate medical care;
• Assist you in reporting a crime to the police;
• Contact relatives or friends with your written consent;
• Explain the local criminal justice process in general terms;
• Provide a list of local attorneys;
• Provide our information on victim’s compensation programs in the United States; and 
• Provide an emergency loan for repatriation to the United States.

Domestic Violence: U.S. citizen victims of domestic violence are encouraged to contact the Embassy of Switzerland’s Foreign Interests Section for assistance. U.S. citizens should note that the Foreign Interests Section may be able to provide limited assistance only and that Iranian law does not prohibit domestic violence.

Tourism: The tourism industry is unevenly regulated, and safety inspections for equipment and facilities do not commonly occur. Hazardous areas/activities are not always identified with appropriate signage, and staff may not be trained or certified either by the host government or by recognized authorities in the field. In the event of an injury, appropriate medical treatment is typically available only in/near major cities. First responders are generally unable to access areas outside of major cities and to provide urgent medical treatment. U.S. citizens are encouraged to purchase medical evacuation insurance. See our webpage for more information on insurance providers for overseas coverage .

Local Laws & Special Circumstances

Criminal Penalties: You are subject to local laws. If you violate local laws, even unknowingly, you may be expelled, arrested, or imprisoned. Long prison terms and solitary confinement are common as are punishments including execution, amputation, flogging, blinding, stoning, and fines. Individuals establishing a business or practicing a profession that requires additional permits or licensing should seek information from the competent local authorities, prior to practicing or operating a business.

Examples of local laws that you may be unfamiliar with include:

• Former Muslims who have converted to other religions, as well as persons who encourage Muslims to convert, are subject to arrest and possible execution;
• Drinking, possession of alcoholic beverages, and drugs are illegal. Penalties for possession, use, or trafficking in illegal drugs in Iran are severe and convicted offenders can expect long jail sentences and heavy fines. Iran executes many people each year on drug-related charges. Penalties for the possession, use, or smuggling of alcoholic beverages may include fines, jail time, or flogging;
• Men and women must adhere to the government-sanctioned dress code; this includes covered hair, arms, and legs for women. The government considers the failure to adhere to its dress code and public displays of affection to be crimes;
• Relations between non-Muslim men and Muslim women are illegal, as are adultery and sex outside of marriage, which are punishable by the death penalty;
• Data storage devices (e.g. DVDs, SD cards) depicting sexual relations and magazines showing unveiled women are forbidden;
• Photography near military and other government installations is strictly prohibited and could result in serious criminal charges, including espionage, which carries the death penalty;
• Importation of pork products is banned; and
• Insulting the government or Muslim faith is strictly forbidden, including on social media. Such violations of Iranian law may result in imprisonment.

Carry a copy of your U.S. passport (biodata page and page with Iranian visa) and some other form of identification with you at all times so that, if questioned by local officials, proof of U.S. citizenship is readily available.

If you are arrested while in Iran, request that the police and prison officials notify the Foreign Interests Section at the Embassy of Switzerland in Tehran immediately to ensure that the United States is aware of your circumstances. Under Iranian law, detainees may also request legal representation, although the authorities sometimes fail to allow timely access to attorneys. 

Furthermore, some laws are also prosecutable in the United States, regardless of local law. For examples, see our website on crimes against minors abroad and the Department of Justice website.

Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal: The Iranian government reportedly has the names of all individuals who filed claims against Iran at the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal at The Hague pursuant to the 1981 Algerian Accords. In addition, the Iranian government reportedly has compiled a list of the claimants who were awarded compensation in the Iran Claims Program administered by the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission. The Iranian government has allegedly been targeting award-holders who travel to Iran. Some former claimants have reported being questioned by Iranian authorities upon their entry into Iran as to the status of payment of their respective awards with a view to recouping the award money. The Iranian government has also reportedly threatened to prevent U.S. claimants who visit Iran from departing the country until they repay their award.

Dual Nationality: U.S. citizens who also possess Iranian citizenship are subject to laws that impose special obligations on citizens of Iran, such as military service or taxes. Iranian-citizen males aged 18-34 are required to perform military service, unless exempt. Young men who have turned 17 years of age will not be allowed to leave Iran without completing their military service.

Money: Non-Iranian credit cards and bank cards cannot be used in Iran. You will not be able to access U.S. or foreign bank accounts using ATMs in Iran. You can exchange U.S. dollars for rials, either at banks or with certified money changers. There is no Western Union or similar institution, and bank transfers are not possible. Due to economic sanctions on Iran, U.S. financial institutions have been known to block or freeze accounts accessed via the Internet from Iran.

Communication: Pre-paid overseas calling cards are available at most newsagents. The Internet is widely used in Iran. There are Internet cafes in most hotels; however, usage may be monitored. The Iranian government blocks access to many social media sites.

Sanctions: U.S. government economic sanctions prohibit most economic activity between U.S. citizens and Iran. The U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has posted to its website frequently asked questions (FAQs) that provide guidance on U.S. sanctions related to Iran. For further information, consult OFAC’s Iran sanctions resource page or contact OFAC’s Compliance Programs Division at 202-622-2490 or obtain information via fax at 202-622-0077.

For information concerning licensing of imports or exports, contact OFAC’s Licensing Division at by phone at 202-622-2480 or fax at 202-622-1657.

Faith-Based Travelers: Freedom of religion, belief, or non-belief is not protected in Iran. See the following webpages for details:

• Faith-Based Travel Information
• International Religious Freedom Report – see country reports
• Human Rights Report – see country reports
• Hajj Fact Sheet for Travelers
• Best Practices for Volunteering Abroad   

LGBTQI+ Travelers: Same-sex relationships in Iran are criminalized and are punishable by death, flogging, or a lesser punishment. LGBTQI+ individuals are often subject to violence and the law does not prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or sex characteristics or recognize LGBTQI+ individuals, couples, or families.

See our LGBTQI+ Travel Information page and section 6 of our Human Rights report for further details.

Travelers with Disabilities: The law in Iran prohibits discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual or mental disabilities, and the law is enforced. Social acceptance of persons with disabilities in public is not as prevalent as in the United States. The most common types of accessibility may include accessible facilities and access to services. Expect accessibility to be limited in public transportation, lodging, communication/information, and general infrastructure.

Students: See our Students Abroad page and FBI travel tips .

Women Travelers: See our travel tips for Women Travelers .

Women in Iran lack certain basic rights such as the freedom to choose their style of dress and restrictions on freedoms of expression and assembly. Gender-based violence is more common in Iran than the U.S., especially in rural areas, and reports of this violence in recent years have steadily increased. “Honor killings” or other harmful practices involving mostly women killed by their male relatives in the name of preserving the family’s “honor” are known to occur. There are also reports of fathers or relatives forcing their female family members to enter a marriage against their will. Domestic violence remains a taboo subject in Iran, and Iranian law does not prohibit domestic violence. Hijab enforcement in Iran is becoming stricter. The Government has deployed Hijab enforcers in public to ensure compliance. Hijab defiance has led to assault, arrest and even death. 

For emergency services in Iran, dial 115.

Ambulance services are

• Widely available but training and availability of emergency responders may be below U.S. standards;
• Not equipped with state-of-the-art medical equipment; and 
• Injured or seriously ill travelers may prefer to take a taxi or private vehicle to the nearest major hospital rather than wait for an ambulance.  

We do not pay medical bills. Be aware that U.S. Medicare does not apply overseas. Most hospitals and doctors overseas do not accept U.S. health insurance.

Medical Insurance: Make sure your health insurance plan provides coverage overseas. Most care providers overseas only accept cash payments. See our webpage for more information on insurance providers for overseas coverage . Visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for more information on type of insurance you should consider before you travel overseas.

We strongly recommend supplemental insurance to cover medical evacuation.

Always carry your prescription medication in original packaging, along with your doctor’s prescription. Check with the Ministry of Health to ensure the medication is legal in Iran.

Basic medical care and medicine are available in the principal cities but may not be available in rural areas in Iran. Medical facilities do not meet U.S. standards and sometimes lack medicine and supplies.

Vaccinations:  Be up-to-date on all  vaccinations  recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Further health information:

• World Health Organization
• U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy 

• Companies offering surrogacy services, an unregulated industry, are misrepresenting the security situation in Iran. Private companies that arrange such visits and services put U.S. citizens at risk.
• If you are considering traveling to Iran to have a child through use of assisted reproductive technology (ART) or surrogacy, please see our ART and Surrogacy Abroad webpage . Carefully consider the length of time needed to obtain a newborn’s required civil documents to avoid any unintended overstay of your visa.

Air Quality

• Air pollution is a significant problem in several major cities in Iran particularly in Ahvaz, Tehran, and Zabol. Consider the impact seasonal smog and heavy particulate pollution may have on you and consult your doctor before traveling if necessary.
• Infants, children, and teens;
• People over 65 years of age;
• People with lung disease such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema;
• People with heart disease or diabetes; and
• People who work or are active outdoors.

Water Scarcity: Iran has a water scarcity issue throughout the country, largely impacting rural communities. Iran is prone to significant droughts in the hot summer months. In cities outside of Tehran, water may be harder to obtain given the availability in those regions and larger water reserves servicing the capital. Tap water in Iran is relatively safe, however it is recommended to consume bottled water, which is regularly available. 

Travel and Transportation

Road Conditions and Safety:   While in Iran, you may encounter road conditions that differ significantly from those in the United States. Travelers in possession of International Driver’s Permits may drive in Iran, though the Foreign Interests Section in Iran does not recommend that tourists do so. Iran has a very high rate of traffic accidents, the second highest cause of mortality in the country. Drivers throughout Iran tend to ignore traffic lights, traffic signs, and lane markers. Urban streets are not well lit; it is therefore particularly dangerous to drive at night. Sidewalks in urban areas exist only on main roads and are usually obstructed by parked cars. In residential areas, few sidewalks exist. Drivers almost never yield to pedestrians at crosswalks. If you are involved in an accident, no matter how minor, do not leave the scene; wait until the police arrive to file a report.

Traffic Laws: Iranian authorities sometimes set up informal roadblocks, both in cities and on highways, often manned by young, inexperienced officers who are suspicious of foreigners. Carry identification with you and avoid getting into disputes.

See our Road Safety page for more information.

Aviation Safety Oversight: As there is no direct commercial air service to the United States by carriers registered in Iran, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has not assessed the government of Iran’s Civil Aviation Authority for compliance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) aviation safety standards. Further information may be found on the FAA’s safety assessment page .

Maritime Travel: Mariners planning travel to Iran should check for U.S. maritime advisories and alerts . Information may also be posted to the  U.S. Coast Guard homeport  website, and the  NGA broadcast warnings website.

Port Security: The Commandant of the Coast Guard has determined that effective anti-terrorism measures are not in place in Iranian ports and has imposed conditions of entry on vessels that arrive in U.S. ports having visited ports in Iran. Mariners and passengers traveling through the ports of Iran should exercise increased caution.

For additional travel information

• Enroll in the  Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP)  to receive security messages and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.
• Call us in Washington, D.C. at 1-888-407-4747 (toll-free in the United States and Canada) or 1-202-501-4444 (from all other countries) from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).
• See the  State Department’s travel website  for the  Worldwide Caution  and  Travel Advisories .
• Follow us on  Twitter  and  Facebook .
• See  traveling safely abroad  for useful travel tips.

Review information about International Parental Child Abduction in Iran . For additional IPCA-related information, please see the International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act ( ICAPRA ) report.

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How to Travel to Iran as An American

I just came back from Iran and I’m still digesting everything I saw and experienced. What a country! So much history, so many beautiful monuments (and you know me, nature being my jam, I don’t usually do museums or monuments). Iran was my first Middle East country I’ve visited and I think I made the right choice in picking Iran as my introduction to the region. Because of my US citizenship, I had to go with a guide – which is not usually my style – but having a guide and a car made the trip very smooth and hassle-free.

On this post, you will find all the necessary information for traveling to Iran as a US citizen. You’ll also find my thoughts on safety issue, traveling to Iran as a vegetarian, and other brain-dump type of commentaries.

But first, let’s get something out of the way…

Pink mosque in Shiraz

Can Americans Travel to Iran?

Yes, Americans can legally travel to Iran , with the following restrictions:

• Americans will not be eligible for visa-on-arrival, so you’ll need to get your Iran visa before your trip. The process takes 2-3 months.
• Americans (as well as UK and Canada citizens) must apply for their visa through an Iranian travel agency. No exception.
• Americans are also required to be accompanied with a guide with a pre-determined itinerary.

This means that you must travel following a fixed itinerary and you’re not allowed to deviate from it. No spontaneous change of plan, no accepting invitations to people’s houses. You will have to be accompanied by a licensed guide throughout the duration of your stay in Iran. Technically this means that your guide is supposed to be with you the second you step out of your hotel.

A Guide to the Best Places to Visit in Iran

As someone who thrives on solo travel, personal time alone, and unstructured free time, I worried that I’d find this constrictive. Thankfully I had a great guide that was willing to be flexible and I do have some experience traveling with randos off the Internet .

You can try finding a licensed guide through online forum or referral (ask me!), but going through a travel agency will make most sense for first time visitors to Iran. There’s no need to join a group tour though, instead you could go on a private, custom trip based on your interests and schedule. Surprisingly, it’s not that much more expensive than a group tour.

Iran Visa for Americans

Step 1. Find a reputable travel agency Step 2. Work out your Iran itinerary Step 3. Submit requested documentation to the travel agency. At this step, you also need to specify where you’re going to pick up your visa. For me this was the Iranian interest in Pakistani Embassy in Washington DC. Step 4. After 2-3 months, if approved you will receive a Visa Grant Code (also called authorization code). Step 5. Mail your Visa Grant Code + visa fee + passport to your pre-determined pick up point. Step 6. Pick up/receive your passport with an attached Iran visa.

How to Guide: Iran Visa for Americans

Is it Safe to Visit Iran?

Safety is such a tricky question I almost never talk about it. Safety is subjective (is it real or perceived risk?), anecdotal (just because nothing happens to you, it doesn’t mean it’s safe), and contextual (like when a 6’4″ tall, 200lbs man claims a country is “safe”).

But safety is the first thing that comes to mind to a lot of people when the subject of travel to Iran comes up, so I feel that I have to mention it here. So how safe is Iran? Should Americans travel in Iran?

Petty Crimes in Iran

I felt safer walking the streets in Iran than I do back home here in San Francisco. While in Iran, I didn’t feel like someone would snatch the phone off my hand while I’m walking down the street. I never felt like I had to constantly keep an eye on my belonging in public (I still do, because it’s a smart thing to do).

Generally speaking, nobody in Iran is out to scam you. No tea house invitations, no friendship bracelets, or such non-sense. My time in Iran was hassle-free. It was so nice not to have to be on my guard all the time.

Rooftop meander in Kashan

Female Safety in Iran

As a female, I found it refreshing not to get ogled or cat-called. Instead I was treated with deference by every male I interacted with even when I was by myself. I can’t speak for what it’s like to be a solo woman traveler in Iran dealing with public transportation and such. However from my research, solo women travelers find Iran to be one of the safest countries to travel (as in anywhere else, common sense prevails).

But it doesn’t mean that my trip in Iran was worry-free. As an American, I did have some safety concern.

Is Iran safe for Americans?

When I was traveling in Iran, the rhetoric against Iran by the Trump administration was at its peak. The US aircraft carriers were on their way to the Gulf. There was even talk about sending troops. In response, Iranian government increased their anti-American, anti-Israel counter-rhetoric back.

If war broke out, selfishly I wondered how it would affect me, especially on my ability to leave. My biggest Iran safety concerns was our governments’ hostility towards each other, but never the Iranian people themselves.

Because of that, I never felt that I had to hide my nationality. When people ask, and they do ask, where I’m from, I don’t hesitate to say “the US” or “America”. We often bonded immediately over our shared frustration at the current situation and the feelings that our respective governments don’t represent our best interest.

Iranians are very aware of how they’re being being portrayed in the West – an Iranian I met literally said “Please tell your friends we are not terrorists” – they go out of their way to prove just the opposite. Among avid travelers, the hospitality of Iranian people are widely known.

Warm smiles and colors of Iran.

Best Time to Travel to Iran

Most first time travelers to Iran will follow the “classic route” which includes the cities of Tehran, Isfahan, Yazd, and Shiraz. For this classic Iran itinerary, Spring time (March – May) and Fall (September – October) would be the best time to travel to Iran since temperature will be milder. I was warned that desert cities such as Yazd gets searing hot during summer (> 40C). As a woman in Iran, having to cover up, I can’t imagine it would be comfortable at all.

Traveling in Iran during Ramadan

Purely by coincidence, I found myself traveling in Iran during Ramadan (which in 2019 fell on May). Ramadan is not the most ideal time to travel in Iran . Most shops and restaurants are closed during the day. Bazaars and the streets are quieter because of it. Monuments and museums do stay open, however.

Evenings is your prime people watching time during Ramadan in Iran. Shops and restaurants shift their opening hour to around 4-5pm, a few hours before iftar (end of fast). Our strategy was to get our sightseeing done early and afterwards, we were able to enjoy lively iftar atmosphere in public squares and bazaars.

Lunch time during Ramadan can be tricky. Only restaurants with special permit are allowed to be open during the day in Ramadan and finding these restaurants is not easy even with an experienced guide. A restaurant that was open last year isn’t necessarily going to get a permit this year. Not to mention that for sensitivity reason, these restaurants do not look open from the outside.

Drinking and eating in public during Ramadan is discouraged. So if you find yourself traveling in Iran during Ramadan, just be discreet if you need to take sip of water or snack in public.

So yeah, it wasn’t ideal since I do love to snack and check out the street food scene when traveling. As a matter of fact, I lost weight during this trip. First since Tibet!

What to Wear in Iran

I feel that being a tourist in Iran gets you a lot of leeway in terms of clothing. As long as you make an effort, I wouldn’t stress too much about it. Also, as a woman, you will adjust your head cover about 10 million times a day. You’ve been warned.

I bought the green/blue manteau in Iran ($8) and the yellow scarf ($3). Plus a sleeveless top underneath, and thin legging from Uniqlo.

You will need to cover your hair as soon as you land in Iran , so make sure that you have a scarf in your carry-on bag. Arms, legs, cleavage, and hair should be covered. 3/4 sleeves seem to be acceptable. One of your layers will need to be long enough to cover your butt. For traveling in warmer months, I’d go for long light-weight, loose tunics such a this .

I spent more time than than usual figuring out what to bring to Iran but in the end none of the stuff I brought with me worked out. The 3 scarfs I brought were either too slippery or too thick. My cardigans, suitable for San Francisco mild summer temperature, were too warm for springtime in Iran. I ended up buying pretty much a whole new ayatollah-approved wardrobe in Iran such as scarfs, long shirts, and a light-weight manteau.

Visiting Iran in spring/summer? My recommendation is to get a light-weight manteau as soon as you arrive in Iran. Then you can wear any tops you want underneath. I paired the manteau with a pair of thin leggings from Uniqlo. I wore that combo most days in Iran.

Make up, jewelry, tight jeans/leggings, and wearing sandals is also completely acceptable in Iran. The latter was the only salvation on warmer days.

Men can get by with regular clothes with the exception for shorts, muscle shirts, and sleeve-less shirts.

Food and Drink

You can drink the tap water.

Tap water is drinkable in most cities in Iran and you’ll see plenty of water fountains in public areas all throughout Iran. Double check with your guide or your hotel. Bottled water is very cheap, but bringing a water bottle with built-in filter (like this ) means less plastic and less waste.

You won’t find alcohol sold anywhere in Iran (at least not publicly). Learn to embrace it by ordering one of the many creative mocktails and colorful herbal drinks.

Being a Vegetarian in Iran

Not to sugarcoat it, but being a vegetarian in Iran wasn’t easy. I do hope you love eggplant because you’ll be eating a lot of it. In restaurants, your best bet would be to look for Kashk-e Bademjan (often listed on the menu as “eggplant with whey”), a vegetarian dish made of eggplants, herbs, and yoghurt. There’s also Mirza Ghasemi made with eggplants, tomato, and eggs. Less often seen is Kookoo Sabzi , some type of crust-less quiche made of spinach and egg.

Restaurants in touristy places might serve vegetarian version of some of Iran’s popular traditional dishes such as fesenjan , a pomegranate-walnut stew, but this was an exception rather than the rule.

There are plenty of fast food restaurants selling falafels and samosas (and also spaghetti?). These are handy for quick snacks or when you’re tired of eating eggplant.

What if you’re vegan? Oh man, it’s going to be so tough. You might want to bring your own food?

Day 4 in Iran, I begged my guide at a restaurant “Anything but eggplant, pleaaaase!” He talked to the restaurant owner and he agreed to make me something off menu. Not sure what this is, but it was delicious (and more importantly, not eggplant!)

Left: Zulbiya (fried dough soaked in syrup). Right: A mocktail – no alcohol, no problem. Get one of these colorful, delicious mocktails in one of the many Iranian cafes.

Home Cooked Food

I feel that Iran is one of those countries where the best food come from homes and not restaurants. I think many would agree? Try to include a cooking class or a dinner with a local family in your itinerary.

If you have sweet tooth, you’re in luck. Iran has a lot of different types of sweets and desert, many are region-specific. They often incorporate rose water, saffron, and pistachios. Some regional Iranian sweets you have to try are:

• Koluche/Kolooche , a type of bready cookie stuffed with a mix of cinnamon and sugar. The best known kolooche comes from the city of Fuman, where we stopped on our way to Masouleh.
• Gaz , Iranian nougat from Yazd
• Zulbiya & Bamiye – fried dough drenched in syrup, popular during Ramadan.
• Sohan from Qom. A type of brittle toffee made of saffron, cardamom, and rose butter. And butter. Tons of butter.
• Shiraz-faloudeh from Shiraz. A starch-based noodle served with ice cream, rose syrup, and optional lemon juice.

Pink lake near Shiraz

Money Matter

Bring all the cash you think you’ll need. You can’t use debit or credit cards in Iran, and ATMs will not work. Iran has its own banking system, separate from any global financial network such as Visa or Mastercard.

How much money do you need to bring?

Your tour price will at least include hotel and transportation. It might or might not include entrance fee. On top of the tour, I spent 120 USD for the 12 days I was Iran paying for my own food, entrance fees, and other incidentals (SIM card, souvenirs, etc). Because of the weak exchange rate (especially with the sanctions), your dollar or euro will go far.

If you come to Iran wanting to buy a Persian carpet (that can cost up to thousands of dollars), don’t feel the need to bring a duffel bag of cash with you. Bigger stores will actually accept Visa/Mastercard. Some will charge a percentage for the convenience but you can find some that don’t. Having said that, cash is king and you’ll have a better bargaining power when paying with cash.

Iran Tourist Card

This is a type of reloadable debit card that’s very convenient since it’s accepted pretty much everywhere in Iran. Everybody in Iran uses some type of debit card for payment. So when using cash, be prepared to get panic looks whenever a shop owner realises he can’t give you change.

Ask your travel agency to help set up a prepaid debit card for you or get it yourself at MahCard (they deliver to your accommodation, set up fee 20 Euros). I also heard that you can get an Iran debit card at the Melli Bank branch at Imam Khomeini International Airport.

Currency Exchange Rate

Keep in mind that the “official” exchange rate, the kind you’ll see on Xe.com is not what you’ll get in Iran. The black market or the free market rate can be 3x more that. Check current market rate here . In most other countries, changing money in the non-official market means covert dealing in some quiet, dark alley. In Iran, however, any currency exchange office will be able to sell you Rials at the free market rate.

TLDR; Don’t exchange at the banks who will give you much lower rate. Go instead to one of the licensed exchange shops. In Tehran, these shops can be found on Ferdowsi Street around Ferdowsi Square.

Toman vs Rial

I’m not sure why exactly, but in Iran there are 2 different currencies commonly used: Rial and Toman.

“Iranian Rial” is the officialy currency of Iran. The bills and coins that in Iran are in Rials. However, prices all throughout the country are quoted in “Tomans” with 1 Toman = 10 Rials. For example, you’ll see a scarf with the price tag of 50.000. This is 50.000 Tomans. The actual price is 500.000 Rials and that’s how much you’ll need to pay in physical money.

It can be very confusing. In the first couple of days, I kept thinking everyone was short-changing me, but I quickly got used to it. I’m sure you will too.

While in Iran, always look up

I recently switched to Google Project Fi, Google’s pay as you go network ( get $20 credit ) that has coverage in over 170 countries. Of course Iran isn’t one of them. Ugh.

Local SIM Card

Many social media apps are blocked such as Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. Random websites (some Wikipedia pages) are also blocked. VPN to the rescue! I use ExpressVPN myself, but just to be on the safe side, get different VPN providers before you arrive because some might work better than others.

PSA: I always use paid service from reputable VPN providers because there’s no such thing as a free lunch (how much is your personal data worth to you?)

Recommended Pre-Trip Reading

• Lipstick Jihad – a memoir by an Iranian-American. I read this for the first time in college, this book and my Iranian roommate was how Iran entered my consciousness for the first time.
• Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope – this is the story of an Iranian female lawyer fighting the regime on behalf of Canadian journalist – Zara Kazemi. This book was a tough read because of the subject and it stayed with me for a long time.
• I, Who Did Not Die – a true story set in the little known, but extremely brutal Iran-Iraq war in 1980’s.
• The Gift: Poems by Hafiz, the Great Sufi Master – you can’t visit Iran and not hear about Hafez, a much-beloved Persian poet who hailed from Shiraz. Iranian children learn about Hafiz in school and his works can be found in almost every Iranian home.

— Anything else you’d like to know about traveling to Iran as a US citizen? Let me know in the comments or get in touch with me. Looking for inspirations on where to visit in Iran ? See this post. I also have a great recommendation for a guide who speaks excellent English and is licensed to take US, UK, and Canada citizens.

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After a few weeks I am flying to Iran (but just for one day) and then I am going to stay in Jordan for a week. I do have a Surfshark subscription it worked in Turkey and UAE, so everything should be fine, but just in case, maybe you know is social media apps are blocked in Jordan too?

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• How Travel to Iran

How US Citizens Can Travel to Iran?

As global travel becomes more accessible, Americans are increasingly drawn to the enchanting landscapes and rich history of Iran. While navigating the complexities of international travel, understanding the feasibility of visiting Iran as a US citizen is crucial. In this comprehensive guide, we will explain the visa requirements, safety considerations, cultural etiquette, and practical information to help American travelers embark on a memorable journey to Iran.

Iran Travel Guideline for U.S. Citizens 

Located in the Middle East, Iran boasts a diverse landscape, from snow-capped Zagros mountains to mesmerizing deserts. Its rich cultural tapestry reflects a history that includes the Persian Empire and the Islamic Golden Age. Travelers can immerse themselves in vibrant traditions, architecture, literature, and the Persian cuisine , making Iran a captivating destination.

Traveling to Iran as a U.S. citizen is a unique and enriching experience, but it comes with specific conditions and precautions due to the geopolitical climate. In this guide, we will outline the necessary steps and conditions for U.S. travelers. While these measures may seem stringent, they are primarily in place to ensure the safety and security of tourists, fostering a positive experience during their stay in Iran.

Here we review all the stages and conditions of traveling to Iran for American citizens:

Security Measures

Given the complex relationship between the United States and Iran, the Iranian government has implemented strict security measures for U.S. citizens visiting the country. One key requirement is the mandatory registration in a guided tour, which involves having a professional guide accompanying travelers from the beginning to the end of their journey. This is not intended to restrict visitors but rather to safeguard them from potential risks and to prevent any untoward incidents.

The Iranian government, in its commitment to ensuring the safety of all visitors, especially U.S. citizens, insists on the guided tour requirement. Considering that any negative incidents involving U.S. tourists carries the potential for diplomatic repercussions and negative press, the stringent measures are in place to mitigate any such risks and ensure a positive experience for travelers.

Guided Tours  US citizens are generally required to be part of a guided tour or group for their visit to Iran. While the guided tour requirement may seem restrictive, it is important to recognize the positive aspects it brings to the overall travel experience. Having a knowledgeable guide by your side offers numerous advantages, including Cultural Insight, Language Assistance, Safety Assurance, Access to Hidden Gems.

Iran Visa for Americans

American citizens are welcome to visit Iran but as an American passport holder you need to obtain an Iranian visa before traveling to Iran. The conditions for obtaining an Iranian visa for American citizens are slightly different from those of other countries, and the conditions are slightly complicated and time-consuming in comparison. The validity of Iran visa for American citizens is 3 months. With this visa, you can stay in Iran for 30 days, and if you wish, you can extend the visa for another 30 days.

Iran Visa Regulations for U.S Citizens 

As mentioned, the United States of America is among the countries that are affected by diplomatic relations between Iran and the U.S. American citizens face some restrictions to enter Iran and the conditions for obtaining an Iran visa. It is necessary to comply with a series of requirements to obtain an Iran visa, and paying attention to these factors will make you successful in obtaining an Iran visa. A few important points for obtaining Iran visa for American citizens:

Requirements

As mentioned, the Iranian tourist visa for Americans is issued only in the form of a tours. The issuance of this tourist visa has conditions, including:

– Acting through a travel agency based in Iran

– Accurately specifying the itinerary beforehand

– Pure compliance with the itinerary

– Specifying the date of entry and exit

– Determining the hotel where the person is staying and the list of places he is going to visit

– Applicants under 18 years of age, must submit a consent letter from parents to the embassy.

Important Note: 

a. In case you are applying from the United States, it is not necessary to book an appointment at the embassy. Your passport can be sent  via courier .

b. Iran visa will not be stamped on your passport. It will be issued on a piece of paper. There wouldn’t be any stamp or trace of your Iran travel on your travel document.

Iran visa procedures for Americans through Iran Safar 

1. Visa Application Submission: As the first step, the applicant must enter the Iran Safar website and fill out an Iran visa application form

2. Document Submission: Our travel consultants will send you a list of needed document that guarantee the visa approval

3. Itinerary Planning: Collaborate with our specialists to plan your itinerary. This step ensures that your travel plans align with the requirements and regulations set by the Iranian authorities.

4. Receiving Approval: It takes 10 to 30 days to receive a visa approval document from the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It means that your visa has been approved.

5. Sending Passport to consulate: Iran does not have an embassy in the United States. The Embassy of Pakistan in Washington, D.C., hosts the Iranian Interests Section, which handles consular affairs for Iran. After completing the application and document submission, you can send your passport to the Iranian Interests Section. This can be done via a reputable courier service or by visiting the office in person.

6. Visa Collection: Expect the visa processing to take approximately a week after your documents and passport are received. The Iranian visa is typically issued on a separate piece of paper and is not stamped directly into your passport.

Please Note: 

It’s important to note that the specific requirements and processing times may vary, so it’s advisable to stay in close communication with the specialists assisting you. Additionally, starting the visa application process well in advance of your planned travel dates is recommended to ensure a smooth and timely process. According to the last regulations

Acquiring Iranian Medical Visa for U.S. Citizens

If you intends to seek medical treatment in Iran, you can obtain an Iranian medical visa. Here’s a simplified guide to the process:

1. American applicant should first disclose their medical condition to Iran Safar to initiate the visa application on our website.

2. Iran Safar will secure an invitation for the applicant, confirming the specific medical condition, from a reputable medical center. This invitation is a crucial requirement for the visa application.

3. Subsequently, the applicant must gather the necessary documents for the visa application, including the invitation letter, and visit the Iranian Interests Protection Office in Washington. This office handles Iranian visa applications for American citizens.

Ensure that the invitation letter is obtained through a reputable travel company collaborating with a recognized medical center. Iran Safar is here to assist you throughout the process, making your medical travel experience to Iran as smooth as possible.

Read : Iran Medical Tourism – Health Care & Medical Services in Iran 

Iran Visa Application Through Iran Safar – Benefits

Here are some advantages of securing an Iran visa through Iran Safar:

Efficient Processing: With extensive experience, Iran Safar’s experts handle visa procedures with exceptional speed and precision.

Comprehensive Support: Trust our experts to guide you through the entire visa application process, offering support from start to the end. Swift Processing Time: Entrusting Iran Safar with your visa application ensures a speedy process, thanks to our knowledgeable and experienced experts.

Minimized Rejection Risk: Iran Safar experts significantly reduce the likelihood of visa application rejection for the applicant.

24/7 Client Support: Iran Safar provides round-the-clock support, allowing clients to reach out to our experts anytime, day or night, for answers to their queries.

Is It Safe to Travel to Iran in 2024?

Despite geopolitical tensions, Iran is generally considered a safe destination for travelers. The Iranian people’s hospitality contributes to a secure and welcoming environment. For US citizens who wish to travel to Iran, Staying updated, respecting local laws, and practicing general safety precautions enhance the overall safety of the journey.

Watch : Is IRAN Safe? (Realizations from 14 Days in Iran)

Major Tourist Destinations in Iran

Iran offers many tourist attractions, such as Tehran , the beautiful city of Isfahan , adorable Shiraz , ancient town of Yazd , and the ancient ruins of Persepolis. While most sites are accessible, it’s advisable to check for specific requirements or considerations for certain destinations.

Iran Tips for American Travelers

Navigating Iran’s transportation options, accessing money, communication, adhering to the dress code, and considering time zones are practical aspects to consider. Understanding health and safety precautions, along with electrical considerations, ensures a smooth and enjoyable journey.

Read : Iran Travel Tips 2024 

Travel to Iran From the USA – FAQs

Q. Can Americans Travel to Iran Without a Tour?

Independent travel without a tour is not permitted for American citizens. The Iranian government imposes this requirement to monitor and regulate the activities of tourists, ensuring their safety and security. Arrangements through authorized tour operators or travel agencies are essential for American travelers.

Q. Does Iran have an embassy in the US?

No, Iran does not have an embassy in the United States. The Embassy of Pakistan in Washington, D.C., hosts the Iranian Interests Section, which handles consular affairs for Iran.

Q. Where is the Iranian Interests Section located in the US?

The Iranian Interests Section is located at 1250 23rd St NW, Suite #200, Washington, D.C. 20037, United States. It operates within the premises of the Embassy of Pakistan.

Q. Are Iranian people hostile towards Americans?

It’s essential to differentiate between government policies and individual sentiments. Generally, Iranian people are welcoming and hospitable. The political tensions between governments don’t necessarily reflect the attitudes of ordinary citizens.

Q. Is Iran safe for Americans to visit?

Yes, Iran is generally safe for American visitors, especially when adhering to the guided tour requirement. The Iranian government takes measures to ensure the safety of tourists. However, it’s essential to stay informed about the current geopolitical situation and follow travel advisories.

Q. How long is the visa procedure for US citizens traveling to Iran?

The visa procedure for U.S. citizens can vary, but it typically takes several weeks. It involves submitting the required documents to an Iranian authorized travel agency. After receiving the visa approval, you can contact Iranian Interests Section at the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington, D.C., for processing. It is advisable to start the visa application process well in advance of your planned travel dates.

Q. What documents are required for a US citizen to obtain a visa for Iran?

The typical documentation includes a completed visa application form, a valid passport, passport-sized photos, travel itinerary, proof of accommodation, and a letter of invitation or a tour reservation confirmation. Specific requirements may vary, so it’s crucial to check with the Iranian Interests Section for the most up-to-date information.

Q. Can US citizens obtain a visa on arrival in Iran?

No, U.S. citizens cannot obtain a visa on arrival in Iran. They must obtain a visa in advance through the Iranian Interests Section in Washington, D.C., or an Iranian consulate.

Q. Are there any travel restrictions for Americans in Iran?

While Iran is generally open to American tourists, there may be specific restrictions or areas that are off-limits due to security concerns. It is advisable to follow the guidance of your tour guide and stay informed about any travel advisories issued by relevant authorities.

Q. What cultural norms should Americans be aware of when visiting Iran?

Respect for local customs is essential. Dress modestly, especially in public places and religious sites. It is customary to remove shoes when entering someone’s home. Politeness and courtesy are highly valued in Iranian culture.

Q. Can US citizens use credit cards in Iran?

Due to financial sanctions, credit and debit cards issued by U.S. banks are generally not accepted in Iran. Travelers are advised to bring sufficient cash in major currencies and exchange it at authorized currency exchange offices.

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You are here: Home » Experiential Travel Guides » Traveling to Iran as Americans: All You Need to Know

Traveling to Iran as Americans: All You Need to Know

Last Updated on May 1, 2022 by Audrey Scott

Traveling to Iran as an American citizen may sound complicated and dangerous. It’s not. We’re here to dispel the myths and answer the questions piling up in our inbox about visas, safety, and other concerns based on our visit to Iran.

Our aim in the following Q&A is to answer actual reader queries and to help demystify the process of traveling to Iran, especially for Americans.

Table of Contents

Are American citizens legally allowed to visit Iran?

It’s a common belief that Iran holds the same status as Cuba for American citizens (i.e., that it’s illegal to visit without special permission from the U.S. government). Although the United States has imposed sanctions against Iran, there are currently no restrictions on American citizens visiting Iran as tourists. About 1,000-1,500 Americans visit Iran each year.

Can Americans travel independently in Iran?

The Iranian government requires that all American tourists travel with a private guide or group tour. Your Iranian guide will be specially authorized to guide American citizens and should be aware of any relevant Iranian government regulations.

If you happen to be independent travelers like us, don’t be deterred by this requirement. We experienced both a group tour and a private guide in Iran. In both circumstances, we still had ample time to explore, walk the streets and browse the bazaars (markets) on our own. We made connections with ordinary people, we ate street food , explored Persian food in restaurants and we were even fortunate enough to accept a couple invitations to people’s homes.

Update: As of February 2014 it is also required for UK and Canadian citizens to either be part of a group tour or have a private guide to receive a visa to Iran.

How does an American citizen obtain an Iranian tourist visa?

Obtaining an Iranian visa is roughly a two-step process: 1) a travel authorization number from the Iranian Ministry of Foreign affairs, and 2) the actual tourist visa issued by an Iranian consulate.

The tour company you work with will help you with the paperwork you need for your visa. All you need to do is fill out an application form, inform them of the Iranian consulate where you’ll pick up the visa, then summon some patience.

The difficult part of the process is the authorization number; this usually takes 30-40 business days for American citizens. Once you have that number, getting your visa from the Iranian consulate is almost a sure thing (2-3 days).

Update April 2015: We've been informed that some Iranian agencies have been able to get the authorization numbers for US citizens in about two weeks right now. However, for your planning purposes we still suggest you assume 30 days so you're not down to the last minute.

Our advice is to get the visa process started as early as you can so that you don’t have a heart attack waiting for your visa to arrive on the same morning as your flight (true story from a member of our tour group).

But there is no Iranian Embassy in the United States. How will I get my visa?

Although Iran doesn’t have an official embassy in Washington, DC, there is an Iranian “interest section” at the Pakistan Embassy that handles Iranian visa requests. If you don’t live in the DC area, you’ll need to send your passport, application form and passport photos by mail (e.g., DHL, FedEx, etc.) with a prepaid return envelope.

Or, if you’re traveling like us, you can pick up your visa at an Iranian consulate abroad. You just need to specify which consulate location when you apply for the authorization number. We collected our Iranian tourist visa in Istanbul, Turkey . The process was relatively easy and painless. We highly recommend it.

Just leave a few days cushion if you can and make sure you show up promptly at the time stamped on your visa application receipt. The cost was €70 for a 20-day Iranian tourist visa.

As an American, how will Iranians treat me?

Iranian people were often shocked to discover that we were American and that we were able to get a visa to their country, a rather unusual destination for most Americans. Once this fact set in, they often went over the top in welcoming us — everything from cordial greetings, to smiles, hugs, gifts and invitations to homes — especially when our guide was out of sight. We joke that it’s the closest we’ve felt to being rock stars.

Iran: Group Tour or Private Guide?

Whether you choose to travel Iran on a group tour or with a private guide will likely boil down to cost and travel style.

We traveled on a group tour for two weeks, then concluded with a private guide for a third week. We enjoyed both experiences, but each comes with its own benefits and potential drawbacks.

One of the things we loved about our G Adventures tour was our group. There were seven of us – four from the United States, two from Australia and one from Denmark –and we all hit it off immediately.

During our private tour, we had a bit more freedom to determine the itinerary and schedule. However, having a private guide (possibly with you at all times, depending on the guide’s style and adherence to the rules) can be intense, and at times almost stifling.

Regardless, in both circumstances it’s best to continually express your wishes and find creative ways to help facilitate your guide in meeting those wishes.

Keep in mind: the Iranian tour company who sponsors your visa is technically responsible for you during your entire stay in Iran. As a result, you can’t really mix and match tour companies in assembling your itinerary. But you can use the same tour company for both a group and a private tour.

Did you ever have problems with Iranian authorities? Were you ever tracked or followed during your trip?

We encountered only one incident in three weeks where a uniformed guy with a gun followed us for a bit through a market and asked to see our passports . Our Iranian guide yelled at him and told him that he had no right to ask for our papers. The guard backed down and left us alone, but our guide insisted on calling him an “uneducated donkey” as we walked away. As unsettling as the episode was at first, it eventually made us laugh and left us with a good story.

It’s impossible for us to know whether or not we were being tracked, but it certainly didn’t feel like it. We walked the streets and engaged with local people. It all felt very safe and normal; we were never concerned for our personal safety.

Is there a dress code for women traveling in Iran?

Women visiting Iran are required to wear a headscarf that covers one's head when in public. In addition, women should plan wearing a long shirt, sweater or jacket over your trousers (jeans are OK) or long skirt. As a foreign woman you will get less scrutiny than local women, but it's still best to dress modestly and respectfully.

What I did during my visit to Iran was wear a long, black cardigan sweater over whatever shirt I wanted to wear. The sweater covered my butt and thighs, and I could wear it easily over jeans and under my winter jacket. And, of course, I had my headscarf on a all times.

Just because Iran has a dress code for women, don't expect Iranians to be unfashionable. In fact, it's the complete opposite. Headscarves and outfits are perfectly matched, and many women are pushing the boundaries of what is considered acceptable by the authorities. This sophisticated sense of fashion crossed with a bit of rebelliousness is fascinating.

What should I expect in terms of immigration and security entering and exiting Iran?

For us and everyone else in our tour group, entry into Iran was a non-event. We were fingerprinted on our way into the country at the Tehran airport , but we did not experience exceptional scrutiny of our camera and travel equipment.

Upon exiting Iran into Turkey (via the train from Tabriz to Istanbul ), Iranian passport control was similarly uneventful. Iranian border officials aboard our train were jovial and interested in what we saw, where we went and how our experience was.

What should I expect in terms of immigration and customs upon re-entry into the U.S. after a visit to Iran?

Stories circulating from other American visitors to Iran indicate that experiences vary. Again, ours was a non-event. We listed Iran on our inbound immigration and customs form and the Homeland Security agent said, “ Iran. I have to ask .”

We explained that we are travel bloggers and photographers. He asked where we went, mentioned that he’d seen a show about Iran on the Travel Channel and we were on our way.

Going through U.S. customs was similarly uneventful. Agents waved us on without asking us to open our bags.

What about American sanctions? Can I buy Iranian souvenirs?

Americans are technically only allowed to bring $100 of Iranian goods per person into the U.S.

Does that mean you need to restrict your shopping? Well, not really. It’s up to you. Many businesses offer special receipts with “adjusted” amounts that are a bit lower than what was actually paid.

Iranian carpets are also subject to U.S. sanctions as well. So if your heart is set on a Persian carpet, you may want to find a shop that has a presence or partner in Dubai (or elsewhere in the Middle East) so that they can ship the carpet to you from their partner location.

Can I get money out of ATM machines in Iran? Can I use credit cards in Iran?

Iranian banks are also subject to international sanctions. So although Iran is full of banks and ATM machines, you won’t be able to get money out at any of them with your ATM card. So cash is the name of the game. Come armed with U.S. dollars (or Euros) and exchange them in major cities at currency exchange outlets where exchange rates are 20% higher than in Iranian banks.

Don't count on using your credit card. Only some of the more sophisticated Iranian souvenir and carpet shops will accept credit cards and route transactions through a partner business in Dubai or elsewhere in the Middle East.

Recommended Reading and Guidebooks for Iran

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood : The story of the author, Marjane Satrapi, growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. While on the surface this looks like a comic-strip book, it is a powerful story.

Reading Lolita in Tehran : A memoir of a literature teacher who formed a secret reading group of women to read and discuss forbidden Western classics.

Lonely Planet Iran : Several people in our group had this book and we ended up buying a copy of it while in-country as we found the restaurant and activity recommendations useful. We also used the city maps when going around on our own.

Iran Bradt Travel Guide : This specific Iran guide was not out when we traveled to Iran, but we have used other Bradt Travel Guides and have found them thorough and comprehensive on history, culture and context.

Have other questions about traveling to Iran? Let us know in the comments.

About Audrey Scott

564 thoughts on “traveling to iran as americans: all you need to know”.

Fascinating Journey. Thanks so much for sharing.

@Amanda: Thanks, glad you enjoyed this and hope the information is useful! We had heard beforehand that Iranian people are welcoming and hospitable, especially to Americans but the reality exceeded all those expectations. Just shows that travel is one of the best ways to turn stereotypes upside down.

@Erik: Yes, it was a fascinating journey. Still so much to process.

Very informative and interesting post! Thanks for this.

It’s awesome to hear that the Iranian people were so welcoming. That really made me smile. It just goes to show you that a lot of those stereotypes we are fed by the media are just that – stereotypes.

Hi , i live in iran in tehran , i will be so glad if i could help you when you visit iran, or if you need any information from my country that i can help you! you can connect me! anyway im so glad that you enjoyed from iran and i should add this that our country’s history is comparable with egypt and china histories but for some reasons people around the world can not understand it because we understand world from media! generally speaking i’m here to help you 😉

Hi I’m mike and I was wondering if it is legal to have a relationship with a girl from Tehran but I wasn’t sure if it’s ok. Does Tehran have any restrictions on those kind of things? And i need to know a whole lot more about their culture because I was thinking about going there to possibly spend time with her and her family, and if they have any restrictions on that also I would need to know. Thank you aziz-am.

@ Mike, Are you an American? If so, you would have to start with going through a Travel Agency which is difficult to do now days. By being difficult I am referring to you wanting to spend time with the girl and her family. From what I have been hearing as far as Americans go, it is a No Go! There are no Taboos or anything with regards to having a relationship with a girl from Tehran. My wife is from there. With a little more details on your particular case might help you find the answers you are looking for on this page. There are a lot of helpful people you can find here. They might not have the answers that you hope for, but they might know at least a yes or no. Best of Luck to you! Marvin

Are you American? if you’re not you probably can have an awesome trip to hang out with the girl and her family. if you’re American it’s what Marvin said and you might read in previous comments. There is no restriction about the relationship. girlfriend/boyfriend/friend is something personal. I might be able to help you with your cultural questions if I know a bit more about your case since I am from Iran and my Husband is an American. BTW Aziz-am was so cute! LOL

A. As an American you cannot enter or visit Iran without a CERTIFIED Iranian guide.. B .Bit difficult to familiarize you with 12,000 (at minimum) years of “culture “.

Hi mike, haveing relationship’s like that is something personal, i’m from tehran & there is no restrictions like this kind, you have to visit & you’ll see that the news is almost wrong about iran! just buy the ticket & enjoy the ride Azizam 🙂

Hi Michael, why dont want come and visit iran? I can help you with everything. I’m a guide and I can confirm visa, accommodation and etc for you, in my land.

Iran is completely OK for getting around and having relationship going to cafes restaurants or any were is OK.. Except kissing or and kind of that you come close to each other more than usual in public is not OK and policeman gonna ask you about your relationship that is because the safety of Iranian girls of dangerous,

Iran is undoubtedly one of the safest places in he world today. I have personally arranged tours for hundred of Americans and have traveled throughout the country recently and only saw great welcomes from everyone. I have even more people traveling with me or on individual tours in 2016..so please travelers…ignore comments from unvetted individuals..

Be careful, you never know who is inviting you, and who is commenting here. It can as well be a trap… Surely, Iran is undoubtedly a wonderful country with not only cultural heritage but also nature to marvel at. However, keep in mind that as an American, you can easily end up in prison, like many others did. The nuclear deal has changed nothing in this respect..

Eduard, it is always important to be careful who you meet with when traveling, no matter where you are. I do disagree that it is easy for American travelers to end up in prison. The recent prison cases that I know of (and I know one personally) were Iranian-Americans with dual passports and the Iranian government only recognizes the Iranian passport. Sadly, these innocent people became part of the internal political game. However, that the United States now has a relationship with Iran thanks to the nuclear deal I do believe does make a difference.

My friend and I are planning to visit Iran in April. Do you know any good tour guides or can you recommend any agencies? You may email me directly.

Hi Jeffrey, We went to Iran with G Adventures and then extended our time there with their local tour operator. If you are looking for a private tour for just your friends there are several Iranian tour agencies mentioned in these comments (e.g., Norma from Iran Custom Travel, Iran Adventures on Facebook, Iran Traveling Center, Pars Tourist Agency). As we did not travel with them ourselves, we cannot endorse them, but other travelers have had good experiences with them so perhaps you can send them emails and provide what you are looking for with your tour and select the best match for you and your friends.

Good luck with your Iran adventure! Audrey

Audrey, Thanks for your message. The part where you mention Norma from…? was truncated. Would you please tell me which tour operator she works with?

Hi Jeff, Sorry about the confusion. I edited the comment to share Norma and other agencies mentioned in the comments here. As mentioned, we cannot vouch for them ourselves as we have not used them personally. Good luck!

Audrey – I’m headed to Iran in early 2016 and am looking ath the G Adventures Persia trip. I want to extend like you did, so have been talking to customer service at G Adventures to see how I might arrange that. Question for you – Do you remember the name of the local tour operator that you ended up extending the trip with? I’ve tried to get this from G Adventures themselves and they’re still working on getting that for me. Would like to see what that local operator offers (am particularly interested in skiing in Diniz.) Thanks!

Hi Paul, I’m not sure of the local tour operator G Adventures uses in Iran as I think it may have changed since our trip. What we did is book the Discover Persia tour and then as we sorted visa details with the local operator (e.g., to apply for a longer time than the G tour) we asked for a private guide and sorted out our itinerary for our remaining days. I’m sure that even if the local operator doesn’t have a specific tour to Diniz, they can set you up with a guide to go out there for the time you want.

Thanks for the reply! So did you make those arrangements with the local guide before you arrived or after you got to Iran? Last question, I promise. 🙂

The local operator that takes care of the Iranian visa paperwork usually needs to outline in the application process the traveler’s itinerary and number of days he/she will be in Iran. So, it’s best for you to start making these arrangements when you submit details for your visa application so that they have the right visa dates for you. Then, if necessary, you can work out the final details when you get to Iran.

Good luck and hope you have a chance to go skiing. Sounds like it would be a great experience!!

Hi American friend, I am incoming tour manager of persia Tour&travel agency in Tehran. for your further information we are among those travel agencies that can apply for the American, British and Canadian. If we apply for your visa it takes about at last 2 official weeks. to submit your reference and 3 days for visa sticker .If you refer to Washington personally then it might be less than that. However its very easy to get it!. The needed documents are : A scan of the first page of your passport (picture) in JPG form. also an application that will be sent to you . It must fill by passenger and send back to us. If you are group that would be cheaper , If you are individual and customized it would be more expensive. However you can travel to Iran free of charge if you collect a group of 5 people. Just pay your return ticket from the origin . Your visa also will be free. For your more information we have also two offices in Tokyo and Osaka . We are expert in Incoming tour ! you can start ! certainly you will be our propagator!

B.Regard S.Mehdi

Hi Jefferey, I’m Golshan from Tehran I I’d like to be your interpreter for free during your visit. Contact me if you needed any help.

Hi Mohsan, Nice to hear about your travel plans. There are many suitable and reliable travel agencies in Iran which you can get help from. They handle different types of solo and group tours such as historic, cultural, Eco, religious and so on. Some also design tours according to your own requirements and interests. Our company as a Travel Agency gives all these services and much more. Happy to give you further info! Good Luck!

Hello I’m a Black American woman. I’m interested in traveling to Iran In January of 2016 would I be accepted by Iranian people.

Hi Sandy, Great question. I can’t speak from first-hand experience, but I have heard of other black Americans who have had good experiences traveling in Iran. They mentioned that people are quite curious as Americans are rare in Iran, and black Americans even more so. Perhaps expect some unusual questions, but I believe you would be accepted.

Perhaps Norma, one of the women on this thread who has sent many Americans to Iran through her travel agency, might be able to comment with more specifics from her experience.

This is a total non-issue.

Obtaining a Visa depends on your reasons for visiting the country, career and citizenship. As an American, you will need a gude…contact me ..happy to help you out.

Hey Guys, do you know what day the train departs from Tehran to Turkey and where in Turkey does it ends. Ankara or Istanbul? or do we have choice to pick?

@ James The train leaves Tehran every wednesday around 22:15 and arrives at Ankara on Saturday around 10:22. I think you can go to Istanbul by local buses. Royal Safar Iranian also offers 37 hrs cheap bus trips from Tehran to Istanbul. I hope it helps 🙂

Great to see you are interested in Iran. Of course you will be accepted in Iran. We are so friendly and welcoming. We love American and European.

I am an 30 years old Iranian woman living in Tehran. Please contact me at [email protected] when you are in Tehran and need any help. Remember not many Iranian know English! You may count on Youngesters more.

Hope to have a wonderful time in Iran. Bests,

Hi Sandy, Just wanted to add another comment that came in on email regarding this from Ray:

“As an American, you will find many Iranians interested in speaking with you. Some people may be very curious about you, as there aren’t many black people in Iran. Iranians are traditionally very hospitable and I’m sure you would be accepted as a foreign visitor.”

As for people speaking English, we found that many young people spoke some English, as well as older people who went to school before the 1979 Revolution. In fact, we met people who had done their university and even military training in the U.S. in the 1970s.

Hope this information helps and makes you more comfortable with the idea of visiting Iran. If you have other questions, let us know.

hi James, The train leaves Tehran for Ankara every Wednesday at 22:15.

Thanks Shahireh and Sepideh,

Which one has better views for this long journey or is a better trip overall , train or bus?? and what are their charges separately ? Does it worth sitting in the bus for 40 hours or taking a train for 60 hours? I am assuming they both are around $40-50.

@Shahireh, you mean local bus from Ankara to Istanbul ? If yes, buses must be leaving pretty frequently throughout the day, right?

On a side note, has anyone stayed in Paris or Frankfurt for a day due to change of planes timing last for 15-20 hours. If so, are there any day long good trip guide that could be taken right outside the airport

@ James 1) it highly depends on you. Both have disadvantages and advantages. For bus trip: it is considerably cheap ($30 to $35 per person), passport checking is very quick at the border (Bazargan land border is open round- the clock), you are not worried about the delay (normally trains in Iran have about 2 to 5 hrs delay in some destinations. Zanjan-Tabriz is very freaky one. Last time, my tourists arrived on Sunday afternoon at Ankara instead of Saturday morning). Despite these, roads are not very safe in Turkey. Pickpocketing is very common where buses stop midway. The food served in local cafes not have good quality and restrooms are not very hygenic. For train trip: It is not very expensive ($67 to $70). you are more comfortable. Each compartment have room for 4 people. Train crew are very kind and their English is not very bad. The food has good quality. The train passes through Iranian and Turkish villages and lots of natural perespectives. In spite of these, traveling with train is suffocating. Firstly, the train has long stops for passport check. Mainly because it arrives with delay and the border is closed. Then, passport checking takes a long time. Some times, you have to stay out in cold nights of Turkey for more than 2 hrs (take a small blanket if you go with the train). Also, you have to change trains at Van station and have a three hours free boat trip on Van lake (it is a nice place but train arrives at 3 am and you see nothing in darkness). You have to carry your luggages and bages yourself to the boat and again to Turkish train. The food served in Iranian train is very cheap but in the Turkish one, prices are three times more (we usually take cans and fastfoods for the Turkish part). The turkish train has no delay (however, I heard due to constructions on rails, there had been a few delays). Personally, I prefer to have a flight to Istanbul ($140 per person). It is more quick and more safe considering the nowdays situation of ISIS near Turkey borders).

2. Yes, Ankara-Istanbul buses leave every 15 mins and takes 6-7 hrs (40 TL-80 TL per person)

3. If there is more question, dont hesitate to ask 🙂

Hey Shahireh:

Thank you so much for that well – detailed and elaborative explanation. Loved that how people on this blog are willing to help others.

It’s easy to make the decision now. Just one question, $140 flight to Istanbul is from where? and do you live in Iran or Turkey?

@ Sepideh: Thanks for you response. Indeed train would be more comfy.

@ Audrey: Thank you. And yes, that blog of yours is the reason I am here. Are you guys planning to travel to Iran anytime soon ? If not there, where to, can I join?

James, great to hear that it’s because of that blog post that you are here! Don’t have any immediate plans to travel to Iran, but always have it in the back of our minds in case another opportunity comes up. We’ll keep you posted on upcoming travel plans we have to see if our paths do cross. Thanks for asking!

I am glad you find it useful 🙂 and the answers…

1) the flight ($140) is a charter one departing from IKA (Imam Khomeini International Airport) to Istanbul. There are normal flights as well but cost more ($229 per person). Usually, Zagros and Taban Airlines offer more cheap flights. If you want to book the flight in Iran, please remember to tell the travel agency you are looking for charter flights. Turkish airways also have cheap flights but unfortunately they are offered two-ways.

2) I live in Iran 🙂 but I had many tours for different destinations in Turkey

Oh, yeah . It’s true that the iranian people are so warm and friendly. I am Iranian.we like tourists and we are so glad to meet them in our country. If you haven’t see Iran so far you should travel it. 

Can an American travel for a Kidney Transplant that is legal to buy in Iran?

Nick, I’m afraid I have no expertise to answer your question. I would contact both the Iranian Interest Section in Washington, DC and the State Department to find out what restrictions and requirements might be.

Nice article! I definitely agree with Amanda about the stereotypes, great to hear. And that was interesting about the “custom” receipts hahaha, I’ve had unmentionables show up on my receipts with a price only, no description, but never had to worry about fake receipts.

Travel and learn, right? Anyway, keep it up, best wishes!

Thank you for the Q&A. Iran is a place that I’ve honestly never even thought about visiting, so thank you for demystifying it a bit for me. I’ll definitely pass this information on to others.

What a great post! You become ambassadors for those wanting to visit Iran and the people that you made connections with will remember the friendly Americans. Thanks for sharing.

Yet another fascinating journey for the Uncornered Duo! Audrey- you and all the other women have headscarves on in all the photos. Is it required for all women, or just recommended? We were in Morocco recently and were surprised that even many Moroccan women don’t wear headscarves. Especially those under 30.

I know about Iran & India & Andaman Islands area

Wearing scarf is compulsory. But these days even Iranian girls don’t use it.(while they must)

@Margaret: Headscarves or more precisely ‘hijab'(covering, i.e. (what locals consider) moderate dress)) is required by law in public places. The key phrase here though is ‘public places’, as what that constitutes is completely cultural. In private many Iranian women dress very fashionably and similar to Europeans/Americans. I should also mention that men too are under similar constraints (no shorts, etc).

@Audrey: Great writeup, with two small caveats:

1.) Since it’s the tour operator who has to start visa the process rolling and it takes considerable time/patience on their end, almost all charge some sort of fee for this service. The fee may/may not be included in the cost of your tour and can vastly vary from $20 to $200. Since visa support is required for quite a number of nationalities, one can easily check on what your operator is charging you. (This is not unusual and is the norm is the CIS for example).

2.) The special interests section in Washington might ask you not to include a return envelope and charge you an extra $16 to send it themselves (or at least that was the case for me). Very kind folks there.

Thank you so much! When people start questioning my future trip to Iran, I’ll be sure to direct them here!

Really informative post. We have heard nothing but great things from other travelers on the road who had traveled through Iran about the kindness of the people and how their time there truly captivated them. We never met any Americans, however, who had been so really glad to hear you were as warmly received. I am anxious to see more photos from your journey and here about some of the highlights. Glad to here the group tour still allowed an authentic experience. Our visit to Tibet was far more restrictive. Our every move seem monitored by our guides and cooped up with a group full time gave us little interaction with the locals. Glad to hear group travel in Iran isn’t as bad. Thanks for sharing.

Very informative article and it did answer my questions. Were you guys afraid when the guy with the gun was following you?

Im glad I came across your Iran travel blog! I first took a heaping of interest on Iran when I was researching Shiraz wines and the likes; I then met this guy in Istanbul who was staying in the same room as I from Croatia who met a girl while in Tehran. He told me nothing but wonderful things about Iran and ever since then I’ve been wanting to see this place for myself. As much as I travel solo, I do prefer to go with people/friends; unfortunately noone’s wanted to go with me. Hopefully I’ll still get to see the country! You guys did a wonderful job with informing fellow travelers about your experience! I hope to write about my own someday!

I am quite curious about Iran and other “off limits” countries, but I won’t go somewhere that requires women to dress a certain way. I know there are many feelings on the subject (hello? breast feeding in public debate in the US?), and different people have different boundaries, which is fine, but that’s my personal limit. That being said, I’m glad you went and were able to experience the human side of a country whose people are so often demonized.

Thank you guys so much for this post! My (awesome) mom traveled to Iran back in the 60s, and it has always been some place I have longed to go. I remember hearing stirrings about people visiting a few years ago, but never saw anything detailed. I’m glad you had such a positive experience and thank you for the comprehensive post. I now know it is possible to go and am very excited for the day I can make it happen!

Great post! I was considering visiting a friend in Iran but got deterred by all the regulations. This clears things up for me.

BTW I’ve been following your posts since we met in Sucre, Bolivia two years ago! Thanks so much for sharing!

This is really fascinating! I have a question about money; what do you do if you run out of cash? If you can’t use credit cards or withdraw from ATMs, what are the back-up options?

@Christy: Dear Christy, I`m from Shiraz,Iran. now you cant use credit cards by ATMs or Banks, so you have to keep enough cash. But if you have some paypal , webmoney or master cart credit account only a few shops in major cities may could help you to cash your credit. But its realy very risky!

Hello, If you have a guide and you aren’t alone or travel with a group, you don’t have any problem. Also, when you arrive in IKA (Airport in Tehran), you can pay your money to the bank and receive prepaid card and you can use your card anywhere (All shops and ATM). If you need more information and help, don’t hesitate to contact me [email protected] Sadrollah

Have been curious about visiting there for a long time but was very nervous being American. This post helped me get past that a bit. Thanks!

I am a military guy deployed currently in Afghanistan. would i be permitted for traveling to Iran as a tourist?!

@Derek: Thanks! In a vast majority of the cases regarding customs issues for tourists who visit Iran, there’s little to worry about. Having said that, it’s always wise to be aware and prepared.

@Jenni: To be ambassadors of the ordinary, citizen diplomats — one of the aims of our travels. Things on the ground are quite different than they appear on TV. Iran proved to us that it’s difficult if not impossible to truly understand a place without actually going and spending time.

@Margaret: Thank you! Excellent question, one that Audrey planned to address in a separate post regarding traveling as a woman in Iran…coming soon. The only thing I’ll add to John’s response to clarify: both Iranian and foreign women are required to wear a headscarf while in public.

@John: Thanks for your comment.

I didn’t realize that men were technically under similar constraints of moderate dress. Having said that, it would never occur to me to wear shorts in Iran, even if the temperatures were well into the 100s.

One question for you that our reading can’t seem to definitively sort out: is the hijab the headscarf or the whole uniform of moderate dress. I ask because many refer to “the hijab” meaning the headscarf. However, we’ve also seen “wearing hijab” which seems to be referring to the entirety of dressing moderately (the uniform, if you like) including a rear-end covering jacket or sweater called a manteau plus the headscarf.

Thanks also for the added details, re: visa support. Very, very helpful.

Regarding paying extra for the visa support, ours was included in the price of the tour. However, your suggestion to specifically ask about this is a wise one.

@Lauren: Glad this thread could be of use and support. Looking forward to hearing about your experiences!

@Sutapa: I was concerned mainly because of the uncertainty — What was in his head? What was his intent? Where would all of this end up?

Having said that, I wasn’t too worried because we’d played things more or less by the book. And there was no reason we shouldn’t be admiring pistachios in the bazaar while making our way with our guide to a kebab lunch. All pretty innocent.

Also, I should mention that most other Iranian officials, police and military people we happened to interact with seemed pleasant, friendly.

@Laura: More photos and highlights coming up. Normally, we reserve advice posts like this until last, but we were getting too many questions by email. It was just easier to write this and point readers to it.

We are definitely looking forward to sharing photo essays from our time in Iran as well as some travel highlight pieces.

As for Tibet, we understand. When we were in China (and Nepal), we decided to focus our time on Tibetan villages outside of Tibet for the reason you stated.

@Katrina: Everyone has their boundaries and must make their own decisions. I’m happy to say that we don’t regret our decision in the least.

@Antoinette: Perhaps this Iran segment of our around-the-world travels will indirectly provide you with some potential travel companions when you head to Iran yourself.

@Susan: Glad we could add to the conversation. I imagine your mom must have terrific stories from her visit to Iran. Looking forward to hearing about yours should you decide to go!

@Adam: Wow, Adam. So cool. Great to hear from you!

@Christy: If you run out of cash while in Iran, I imagine your guide could put you in touch with someone (likely from a carpet shop) that could manage a cash advance from your credit card via a merchant partner in the Middle East. You’ll likely pay a hefty commission, though. Plan accordingly using your tour’s (or another tour’s) suggested meal/expense per diem.

Of course, you could always ask to borrow money from someone you befriend on your tour.

@Jack: That’s one for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Seriously, we have a call out to friends on the ground who can better answer this question. I’ll post a follow-up comment when we get a response.

@Lisa: Hope you’re not tired of our Iran posts yet…still have a few more stories and posts to go! Iran was a fascinating place to visit for so many reasons, but especially because of the people. We hope we can encourage others to experience this themselves by taking away some of the fear of the place and process.

And yes, G Adventures groups are usually pretty great from our experience (4 tours) – good mixture of people, ages, nationalities and interests. And, their tours are a nice mixture of group stuff with independent exploration time.

Loved reading your Iran posts guys. Something different. Something very special. This Q&A was great. I am not surprised they were warm and welcoming. I have found people in the middle east to be the most hospitable. I can’t wait to go. Looks like G Adventures will be a good group and tour! 🙂

welcome. im iranian and if you like to come and visit iran i will help and be hospitable. my humble home is for you as long as you stay.

@John: Thanks for the clarification. Am chuckling at the meaning of chador. Someone has a sense of humor.

@Jack: Our contact on the ground in Iran says that he and the Iranian tour companies he’s worked with have managed to get visas for *retired* members of the U.S. military. No experience with active members of the military, however. That’s not to say you couldn’t try. We’d be interested to hear what you decide — and if you decide to apply for an Iranian visa, how it all works out.

@Dan: Good point, I was referring to the traditional definition (modest dress, which is how most Islamic legal systems define it) as opposed to a colloquial/cultural one. I got the feeling that in Iran most of the locals considered hijab to be only the head covering, even though the legal system defines it otherwise. This is due to the fact that the term “hijab” is an Arabic linguistic “loan word”, which have a habit of either slightly changing over time or having entirely different meanings. Take Lonely Planet’s British English language guide…..written in English. 🙂 Lots of French words in there with the exact same meaning (or German for that matter) as their root language. On the opposite side of the spectrum, modern Japanese is ~20% loan words (mostly English with some German/Dutch and Portugese). If a native speaker says “ice-sue” (my transliteration of the verbal sound), most English speakers would hear “ice” when the actual loan word import means “ice cream”. Perhaps a better example would be “machine” in Farsi (which is the Arabic word for Persian), which I was told meant car/automobile 🙂

While hijab did make it into the local Persian lexicon, abaya (“cloak” in Arabic) did not with chador (“tent” in Persian) being used instead. Manteau itself is a French language import.

@Dan @Jack: If I were you, I’d check in with your local USO where you’re stationed (if possible). Most active duty servicemen/women also have travel restrictions placed on them and it’s best to start out with what is possible from that standpoint. In addition, they will more than likely run/work with a travel agency that can help you though the process and potentially get you a great discount as well. (We used Apple Tours @ Camp Kim in Seoul once for a Chinese visa (the local embassy doesn’t take them and you have to go through an agency). Apple charged $10 for the service vs $120 that every other agency was trying to get).

I love articles like this that dispel common and uneducated myths about country’s. Thanks for the post. It was a great read. Would like to get to Iran one day myself. If Ian Wright can go there then so can I. 🙂

Maybe you should add something about money. I would love to travel to Iran. Second on my list of destinations, behind Bhutan, but like Bhutan (although not quite as spendy) the money keeps me from visiting.

It seems as if things are getting a little scary in the middle east with a drone shot down and cia officers captured by iran. Is iran travel, in your opinion, still a good decision? Thanks!

My boyfriend is Iranian, as in his parents were born there but hold American citizenship. He was born in the U.S. and has two passports – U.S. & Iran. I want to go with him to visit some family there – I read that if they submit an invitation letter on my behalf I can skip all the tour stuff? Do you know anything about this?

He’s been there himself several times, speaks Farsi, etc, so otherwise shouldn’t be a difficult trip for me.

@T: That is correct, if you have family who are Iranian citizens they can apply for you to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (which is what a tour company does for you). I can’t say what is involved in the process, but from what I’ve heard from friends who are in similar situations it sometimes pays to have them go though a 3rd party due to the bureaucracy involved (i.e. some tour companies do this as well since they’re familiar with the process, etc). I’d have him call the Iranian Special Interests Section in Washington (mentioned by Dan and Audrey above) and ask them for the details. Good luck!

I don’t have any questions but just wanted to say how much I am loving all these posts about Iran. Tell us more about the food that you guys ate!

@T: One of my childhood friends is Iranian and she visited a couple of years ago with her American husband without a tour. As you and John mentioned, you’ll need to get a letter of invitation from the family for the visa and it will be a different sort of visa (i.e., not a tourist visa). It likely takes time to sort out all the paperwork, so make sure you start the visa process early.

Being able to stay with your boyfriend’s family in Iran would be wonderful. Although, you may come back a few pounds heavier – they like to feed guests!!

@Akila: Don’t worry, a food post is coming up soon!! So glad you’re enjoying all these Iran posts.

@Samuel: We had also heard really good things about Iranians from other travelers, but we were surprised at how the reality even exceeded expectations regarding their hospitality towards Americans.

I’ve only heard excellent things from travellers who have visited Iran. I’m glad to hear you had such warm encounters with locals.

How is it at the airport and the customs/immigration area, both entering and exiting?

re-T: i am an iranian living in england.ten years ago i took my then girlfriend who is english, to iran by my family’s invitation who live there.it took about $100 and a month to arrange, all done in iran and her passport posted to our home address.the process should still be similar, even easier if anything.your boyfriend’s family need to find a good travel agent in iran, pay them, and the rest is pretty much done.ps.iran is a heaven if you like gold.my girlfriend was like a kid in a sweetshop when we were there;she loved it. good luck.

Thanks for the post…it killed the apprehension within….I believe it would have been a nice journey…

@Roger: I assume you are asking about the Tehran airport. Entry was a non-event. We exited Iran via train over the land border with Turkey. However, other American friends exited Iran through Tehran airport without immigrations or customs issues. For more detailed information about entering Iran by air, check out our Flight to Iran: The Full Story post.

@kourosh: Good point about Iran…a goldmine, quite literally!

I am an American who visited Iran last May with the Fellowship of Reconciliation, an NGO based in Nyack, NY. I had a wonderful time, although I was not able to travel independently from our group. I love the people and the culture. It’s unfortunate that our government and the mainstream media continually demonize Iran and the Iranian people.

For those who are considering a visit, I would say definitely go and experience the friendliness, hospitality and warmth of the Iranian people.

@Ray: I’m familiar with FOR. Although you were not able to travel Iran independently (or travel from your group independently), it sounds like you had an experience which underscored the humanity of the Iranian people. Thank you for sharing you Iran experience with us!

@Robert: If you bring a bible for personal use, that shouldn’t be a problem. I think the authorities would only have a problem if someone was bringing in lots of bibles with the intention to distribute them.

Hi. Just wanted to ask are you allowed to bring a Bible into Iran for personal use? I am a Christian. Thanks!

re:Robert, some of my cousins are iranian christians (all living in iran). they are free to practice their faith and i attended one of their weddings in a church number of years back. conditions are even better now. i also think audrey’s reply to your query is spot on. ps. you can always double-check with an iranian embassy, they ARE helpful.

First off, I wanted to thank you for responding to my post and for posting this entire site. It gave me the courage to actually enter Iran with my wife shortly after you responded. I just returned.

I must admit I was nervous, especially with the notion of the drone, the media, etc. My wife is Persian-American and I’m American and I was going in with a visa for family visit as opposed to the travel group visa. (My wife holds an Iranian Passport)

I cannot say the entrance was a complete non-event as you had described – although it was probably the most feared part of the trip that I anticipated – and I was not going in with a visitor/tourist group. There was some questioning as to my visa status and purpose of travel (probably not unlike an Iranian trying to do the same in the US), but they were very polite.

Once in the country, I couldn’t agree with you more about the people in the region. 99% of the people I encountered, family and non-family were about as friendly as any mid-westerner in the US or better. For no reason at all, they would step out of line, reverse on the highway, or do other crazy things just to help you out. Of course with an American Accent, or broken Farsi you will get overcharged just about everywhere — but that is expected. The country as a whole was VERY BRIGHT and colorful – even in the month of Muharram. The street lights changed colors, the bridges were all up-lit.. I cannot imagine what it would look like throughout the rest of the year.

I hope and pray to enter Iran again at some point in the future. Hopefully by that time the tensions ease further. Until then, I have fond memories of Persian Tea 3-7 times a day, Aub Ghosht, Chelo Kabob and pictures of some of the finest architecture in the world…

@Roger Great to hear you had a good time. Just curious if you arrived/left though IKA or one of the regional airports?

@Roger: I’m grateful that you’ve taken the time to write about your experience — from reading on this site, to your visit in Iran. I’m even more grateful that you had such a good time. The words you choose to describe it all really resonate with us, down to the last one.

I love this: “For no reason at all, they [Iranians] would step out of line, reverse on the highway, or do other crazy things just to help you out.”

Here’s to better days, eased tensions and more people like you making the journey along the way.

I’m an American, but hold an Iranian Passport also(not visa.) I was in Iran in 2008 and absolutely loved it. I have family there (from my husband’s side.) Yes, they are the warmest people and the most hospitable and welcoming than anywhere else I’ve traveled. (although while in Tehran I did see a negative comment on a wall about America.)I thought your experience with the gut with the gun was funny. Try yelling at a cop here in America! No don’t, because you’ll end up in jail. Please make sure you all get your experiences out there (as much as sharing on FB as possible.) Maybe some American’s will open their minds to Iran.

@Regina: That’s the idea. Ever since our trip to Iran, we have been sharing our positive experience on Facebook, Twitter, our website, and other websites as well.

Regarding the negative comment you saw on the wall in Tehran…was it a mural or did it look like some random graffiti? I ask because there’s plenty of anti-American murals around Tehran (including just outside the old American embassy).

Here’s an example of something we saw on the streets of Tehran, which to us was clearly a bit of government-sponsored propaganda work: https://photos.uncorneredmarket.com/Travel-Photos-Around-World/World-Street-Art-Graffiti/i-dJv94ww/A

@Regina, @Dan,

One thing to note may be the various murals’ age. From what I saw, most of the anti-western (not just American, plenty of British stuff too)/pro-Iranian/pro-republic stuff was quite dated (~30 years) and not that unexpected. Throughout history almost all new forms of government try and throw the last one under the proverbial bus. Almost 242 years later, Paul Revere’s depiction of the Boston Massacre ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Boston_Massacre_high-res.jpg ) still invokes what must have been fervent anti-British feelings at the time.

@John: The murals never bothered me, so I didn’t pay much attention to them except to photograph them. I never figured their age into the equation, but you make a good point. It’s likely those Tehran murals have been around for decades, getting a fresh coat of paint so often. In any event, they hardly seemed to accurately capture a grassroots, Iranian (wo)man-on-the-street sentiment towards America and American visitors. That’s what mattered to us.

Audrey and Daniel– Thank you again so much for the information. When planning my trip to Iran this spring, it always puts me at ease to know you two visited so recently and have such positive things to say about your trip. I have a question about your exit method– Were you two accompanied by a guide on the train? I am planning to exit Tehran via train to Turkey as well. The travel agency I am using (key2persia.com) says I do not need to be accompanied on the train, but friends and family and also others who have visited Iran question the wisdom to go unaccompanied on a train to the border. Also, if anyone is visiting soon and has emailed you with questions or info, put them in contact with me pretty please! I am dying to talk to others who don’t think this trip is (too) crazy and are planning to do it themselves. [email protected] Best wishes on your current travels! -Lauren

@Lauren: You are welcome. Glad our travel information on Iran is useful. Regarding our exit from Iran by train and whether or not we needed a guide: If your tour company says you don’t need a guide, go with that. We departed from Tabriz (you will stop there on the way) which is several hours from the border. Our guide bid us goodbye at the Tabriz train station and that was it.

Practically, there is no need for a guide. In fact, without a guide on the train, you’ll have more fun interacting with people on the train. That your travel agency says you don’t need to be accompanied by a guide just seals the deal. It really is a great journey, one of the great highlights of our trip. Not to mention, the train is really nice, pleasant, very clean, decent food. However, you should bring a lot of snacks with you, not only because you’ll want some variety from the train food, but it will be nice to have something to share with others!

For more current on-the-ground information regarding the situation in Tehran and in Iran in general, we recommend following our friend Jason Rezaian on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrezaian . He lives, reports from, and helps coordinates tourist visits from Tehran.

This post is extremely informative! I have been interested in traveling to Iran for quite a while now. I am twenty years old and from the US as well. My family and friends all think I am absolutely crazy to even consider traveling to this country.. Unfortunately for me, it means I will have to visit Iran alone. I myself am a little scared of the country only because the things I have heard. I do not believe the media, but not knowing what to expect was scaring me. Your section about the customs just cleared up every worry I had. I was not worried about the citizens at all because I have also heard they are very kind and hospitable. My main worry was entering the country and government workers like custom officers, police, and roles similar to those. I am glad you had a great time during your visit. Thank you for posting. I was considering doing the Gap -Discover Persia tour as you guys did, but the dates they offer don’t quite mesh when Id like to go. So I am looking into the private tours. Thanks again for sharing this information.

@Cameron: There was another traveler in our group (the first two weeks) and he was so tired of the reaction to traveling to Iran as an American that he didn’t tell most of them including his family. When they asked him where he was going, he told them Italy. I’m glad to hear that this article has helped to ease your fears.

We will be publishing one week from now a story about our exit from Iran by train. I think that will further help put Iranian borders, customs, police concerns in perspective.

Thank you for your comment and let us know if you have any other questions regarding travel in Iran.

@Daniel: I can’t blame the guy! Almost wish I’d done that myself 😉

Looking forward to the train post!!!

Mu husband is Iranian but has also became an American Citizen years ago. He has not been to Iran in over 25 years. He is now planning to go as his mother is ill. Will he have a problem to return to the US? He is a doctor and is afraid they will not let him return.

@Jan: Twenty five years is a long time to have been away. I understand your husband’s fears about not being let out of Iran to return to the United States. I spoke with an American-Iranian journalist living in Tehran now and he said that the vast majority of American citizens who come to visit family in Iran have no trouble at all. Those that have made the headlines for being arrested have had backgrounds in military, journalism, technology. If your husband doesn’t have any connections like that then he should be fine. He should contact the Iranian special interests in Washington, DC to find out more information.

@Jan: Being a doctor isn’t usually seen as a political or militarily oriented profession so I don’t think he would have any problems. Perhaps there is a way he can reach out to other Iranian-Americans who are doctors who have taken a similar trip recently to alleviate some fears? First hand advice is always best.

@kourosh: Thanks so much for sharing your experience. Wow, a two year break in Iran really is a long time – you really must have had a great time! So glad to hear you didn’t have any trouble leaving Iran or entering England.

Audrey: Thank you for your response. My husband is a doctor. Do you think that would have any problem? He did call Washington and they thought there would be no problem, but I am still concerned.

jan, I’m Iranian too and a number of years ago when I went back home to visit after twenty seven years, I was very nervous too but had no problem whatsoever. I ended up staying there for two years (too much good time!)and returned to England with no problem. The fact that your husband has dual nationality and hasn’t been to Iran for so long is not a problem, so long as he’s had no issues with the government in the past. Trust me, officials there are weary, but they aren’t lunatics as western press like to portray them!

i,m so glad to hear many people are knowing my country.as you said iran is so beautiful and people are so hospitable and kind. i,m living in Tehran right now, if you need any information about spectacular places,i proudly help.

I want to marry an Iranian women whom I met in Philippines. Yet I want to go to Iran to do this so the family can take part in the event. I am an American. I do not wish to go with a tour group.So how do I go about this?

@Maryam: Thank you for your kind comment and for your offer to help with more information about Iran! As you can see, we had a really great visit and can say that people are so hospitable.

@James: The best thing is to contact the Iranian special interest section at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington, DC and see what your options are. I know that it’s possible for someone married to an Iranian to get a family visa that does not require a tour, but not sure what the regulations are if you are planning to marry in Iran. Good luck and congratulations!

@James, You are in luck my friend! I am an American who met an Iranian girl in Malaysia and we got married in Iran. I sent a copy of my passport via e-mail to my wife’s family in Iran. They then went to the Foreign Minister’s office in Tehran and applied for a visa for me. After about 10 working days, I was issiued a visa number, and my In-laws had my Visa pick up set up in Malaysia at the Iranian Embassy there. My first time to Iran I was only given a 15 day visa. But now every time I go, I am given a 30 Day Visa. I also recommend that you have your girl friend’s family get you a VIP at the airport to help you get into the country without any problems since you are not going in with a tour. I do this every time. I look at it as a little insurance. Now, not sure if your girlfriend is a Muslim or if you are a Muslim or not? Let’s just say she is and you are not, like in my case. I converted at the ceremony and we were given a Temporary Marriage Lic. This says that you can live together legally. It was good for 3 years. Your girlfriend will know what this is. We had the big celebration in Iran, but a couple of months later we got married again at the Islamic Center in Malaysia. Now we are good forever! I hope this info helps you out! I just got back from Iran, and I am going back in a couple of weeks! I love it more and more each time I go there. Good Luck! I wish you the best! Persian Girls are Great! Good Cooks too! LOL!!!! Let me know if you need anymore info!

@Marvin: Thank you for sharing your story, experience and details. I’m sure readers will find it helpful. All the best to you both!

@Marvin: Thanks so much for sharing this information and new requirement to get a visa to Iran. If you already have travel insurance, can you just show proof of this? Or, is there some sort of special travel insurance that the Iranian officials require?

And yes, we also hope that people continue to visit Iran! Thanks for keeping all of us updated!

@Daniel and everyone else thinking of traveling to Iran. They have now made it a requirement to buy travel insurance. I have been to Iran many times and this is the first time that it has been required. But don’t worry, I was able to buy it at the Iranian Embassy in Dubai where my visa was sent for pick up. It was a total cost of 485 dirhams for both my visa and my insurance. I hope you all get a chance to visit Iran if you have not already been able to do it. I will just continue to do my part and keep everyone updated!

@Marvin Do you remember what you used to pay for the visa in Dubai? (for some price comparison)

@Audrey They might be going down the road of Belarus (which requires that you have Belarusian issued insurance regardless of the trip length … It’s a major pain for IT outsourcing out of there).

@Audrey Scott, I was asked at the Iranian Embassy in Dubai if I had insurance that would be accepted in Iran. I told them no, so he just wrote out a bill and then I was sent to the cashier to pay for both my visa and my travel insurance. The next day when I went back to pick up my passport, there was a guy there from another country (Not USA) and he was also told that he needed travel insurance. @John, I paid in the money of Dubai, which is called Dirhams. The visa cost me 100 Dirhams ($27.22 USD) and the Travel Insurance cost me 385 Dirhams (104.80 USD) I am in Iran right now!

A great article and so true. I went to Iran in May 2012 as a tourist from California. I was amazed by how nice the people were and by how far the American Dollar went. I bought three wonderful rugs and had no problems getting them back home. The food was great and they have many markets… but, not much available as the UN Sanctions has really hit the “every day person” very hard. Many children were asking for hand-outs. They were so happy went we gave all the pre-teenagers a $20 to each one. I think I gave away about $7000 to various people in Tehran. I was only there for 10 days but wished I could buy a vacation house, but that is not possible right now. I just how the Iran Government changes… the people rock, the Govt’ is in a shell and still living in the stone ages. God Bless Iran

@Greg: Thanks so much for sharing your experiences of your visit to Iran in May 2012. Our visit was several months before, so it is heartening to hear that you had a similar experiences with hospitality and Iranian people. Was amazed by your generosity of handing out money to people!

Very sad to hear that the UN sanctions are hitting ordinary people; we’ve heard stories of rampant inflation and shortages. Like you, we hope that politics change so that there is more open connections between our countries.

Darn those sanctions! I really, really miss those pistachio nuts from Iran. They are sooo good!

thanks for all i have read here and made me smlie. im persian from iran and God bless you too GregC 🙂

actually i was roaming sites to find out what i can do for my american friend from California who wanna take a trip to Iran.im wondering whether or not i can be his guide.(despite the fact that im not a professional tourguider and even i’ve never been in connection with any tour agency except as a client.

@Neda: I’m not sure about that. As we understand it, Americans visiting Iran must have a guide and that guide is technically supposed to be licensed by the government to guide American visitors. However, based on our experience, I’m sure there are creative ways to work with that.

@Neda, Do you have family still in Iran? If so, I was thinking that you might be able to ask your family there to go to the Foreign Minister’s office in Tehran and see if your family can sponser him. As Daniel pointed out, most Americans who visit Iran need to go in on a tour, because some of these Americans do not know anybody in Iran. My only guess is if you do have family there and they check with Foreign Minister’s office and they agree to accept full responsibility for him. Then maybe just maybe, he can go as your family’s guest and not have to worry about a tour guide. If you are able to do this, please keep in mind that you still have to abide by all rules and laws of the Iranian government. Also, if you would decide to travel with your friend and take him to different parts of Iran where you would stay in a hotel, I would suggest that you stay in separate rooms. The only time that I ever had any problems in Iran was when my wife and I stay at a hotel. The hotel turned us in to the police saying that we were not married and staying in a room together. Thank God, my mother in law had a copy of our marriage certificate that was given to us from the Iranian Embassy. If we would have not had that, we would have probably both ended up in jail. So that is something to think about. I hope this info helps you! Also check with the Iranian Interests section in D. C. They are very nice and helpful with these types of questions!

i think eventually im finding the appropriate way Daneil 😛

@Marvin, thank you for your advices. my friend has just asked them in the interests section of iran in pakistan embassy in washington D.C.they told him tourguide is for those who have nobody in iran.tomorrow i will go to the foreign ministry with the copy of his passport to invite him officially 😛 i wish every thing stay well! wish every thing stay well.

@Neda, You are welcome! One last thing that I forgot to tell you. Make sure that your friend has the address where he will be staying wrote down somewhere. Because this will be one of the first things that they will ask for upon arrival at the airport. Also, they will finger print him. I hope you and your friend have a Great Time there! I have been there twice in the last 5 months!

@Marvin, ahh i forgot to give him the address if he needs it in the iranian interests in D.C. although,ill go to the airport for him 😉 awe Marvin twice in 5 months is remarkable accourding to the distance!hence,maybe you accidentally find yourself in close seats in a flight to iran. lol. he’s planning to take his first trip to iran in october.

@Neda, I do not think it is too important now for the address. But when he arrives it will be. It seems like from reading your post that you are in Iran. Another thing that you can look into for your friend is the V.I.P. That is how I went in every time. We had an agent do all the passport stuff for us at the airport. My brother in law even figured out that you can pay a little more to the agent and they will give you a pass to where you can be waiting in a lounge for your friend when he arrives. That way he will have you as a translater if he does not speak Farsi. From my past expierences at the airport, english is very limited with the people that your friend will have to deal with. Please have the address handy when he arrives, because they will ask for it. More than likely they will ask him when they are finger printing him and you are not around. That has always been the case for me. I hope that I have been able to help you! Let me know if you need anymore info, like where and how to get the V.I.P.

@marvin, i want to know more about what i will need to do in the foreign ministry or what they will ask me there.im a little anxious if they dont give him visa 😐

@Neda, If you can give me a day or two, I can double check with my Brother in Law and find out better details. I wish there was a way that I could post his number for you, then he could just tell you from his expierence what you need to do and what to expect. Just don’t be nervous. The first time tht I went to Iran, I was not married to my wife yet and her brother was able to get me a visa. You are on the right path with getting a copy of your friends passport. I will get back to you asap.

@marvin, i thought maybe every thing stay well but right now im come back of the ministry sad and im sure i need your brother in law’s help 😐 i need to ask him lots of question.Audrey will give you my email adress. thanks alot.

@Neda, I got the message from Audrey. I will contact you soon.

I’m curious to know how you went about finding your private travel guide, about how much it cost, and about how much money a person should plan on bringing with them for about a 2-week stay. Thanks

@Talon, I know that Dan and Audrey used a different agency, but I signed up for a tour with Pars Tourist Agency (key2persia.com) which ended up being just me, one other American, and our tour guide. The whole thing cost around $1000 for 12 days and included everything except the actual cost of the visa, the plane flight over, evening meals, souvenirs, and tip for the guide. That means if you did something like I did, you’d need to bring that 1k in cash with you, plus however much you might spend on souvenirs, plus money to cover evening meals (easily really cheap…but you could just say $10/day to be safe), plus I would suggest a 10% tip. There are a lot of travel agencies you can use to find a private travel guide- I found PTA to be perfectly adequate, but you should also read up at http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forum.jspa?forumID=18&keywordid=72 for others’ experiences with other travel agencies. I’m sure Dan or Audrey will answer soon, and let me know if I can be of any more help.

@Talon: Because we started our trip in Iran with G Adventures, we had to use their local tour operator for our private guide since they had sponsored our visa (i.e., it wasn’t possible to switch companies halfway in the trip). We were able to negotiate a good deal of around $100/day, which included private transport and 3* hotels. We’re heard it’s possible to also negotiate a lower fee with public transport.

Our costs are in line with Lauren’s experience with Pars Tourist Agency – we’ve heard good things about this tour company as well. And, we’ve hear that Iran Adventures is also good and has a lot of young guides.

Often, we shared restaurant meals as they were usually large and full of meat (i.e., kebabs). Usually these cost $7-$10. Street food (i.e., sandwiches or falafel) were very cheap – $1-$2.

@Lauren: Thanks for such a thorough response on this!

Hey, I’m an independent blogger as well about to pursue a masters at AUB. I have many friends in Iran and I’m wondering if its possible that they could qualify as a private travel guide?

@James: I think you need to clarify what you’re after as it’s possible that anyone, anywhere could be a ‘private travel guide’. In this context the answer is no, as tour guides that can take Americans are specially licensed by the Iranian govt for that purpose (e.g. only a few guides from the various Iranian based agencies can do this). Friends, etc, within Iran can offer to host you while you’re in the country, but they would have to deal with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tehran directly.

yes John is right and if you are american,not only your friend cant be your private guide but also all professional tour guides are not acceptable.there will be a list of verified guides who can take Americans and you will have to choose one of them 🙂 1.easier way is to register for a semi private tour.then you wont have to follow all tour’s plan on the other hand you will have a guide. 2.your friend invites you from iran(individuals cant invite sole,your friend need to use a legal personality to invite you) i mean she/he should pay to a tour agency to invite you and they will show him/her the list and she will have to choose a guide for you 🙂

Great article! Very informative. I am half-Persian/Iranian on my father’s side. I was born here in the States. My father holds both an American and Iranian passport. For a number of years I had considered applying for Iranian citizenship, which I am entitled to because of birthright. However, Iran does not recognize dual-citizenship and I have been told that upon entering the country I would be considered solely an Iranian citizen and could be subjected to mandatory military service otherwise I would have to pay a large fine or even go to prison for refusal. Your option seems to be the better option, though do you think I could face issues upon entry since I have an Iranian last name and a father who holds citizenship? Have you encountered tourists in a similar situation?

Hi there, If you want to travel to Iran..justlink to me and we can talk personally about it. It’s the best trip you’ll ever make!

@Sean: We did meet Iranian-Americans who had traveled to Iran on American (or other nationalities) passports and didn’t have troubles in the country. But I would try to discuss with other Iranian-Americans to see what they usually do when they visit. Good luck!

Thanks for the prompt feedback! I would like to travel there next summer when my father makes his annual trip. I would likely be part of a registered tour group and he would travel independently on his Iranian passport. However, I would like the freedom to spend time with my relatives who live there and my father without violating any regulations.

Hi I just wanted to know when this article was printed by you. I have a son possibly going to play basketball in Iran and am very concerned about him going there. I know there are sanctions against them but I don’t know if he will be safe. If you have any feedback on this, that would be great. Thank you

@Sean: You’ll need to talk with the tour company to make sure there are no issues with you spending time with your father and his family. It may be that his family will need to talk with the tour company to fulfill whatever requirements are necessary without being too bureaucratic. Our experience is that tour companies are good at this. Good luck!

@Chris: We visited Iran in November 2011 and this article was published in December 2011. Since then we have been in touch with our tour guide in Iran as well as an Iranian-American friend who lives in Tehran and both of them have not reported any problems with Americans visiting there since the new sanctions.

There is a move out called “The Iran Job” that is about an American basketball player living in Iran and his experiences. It’s a few years old, but maybe it’s possible for the Iranian team to put your son in touch with other American basketball players who have lived there.

when visiting the mirad and azadi towers is there an admission charge and can you take their metro subway to these towers?

forgot to ask do tour operators include the towers in their itineraries?

There is at least one metro station in walking distance from the Azadi tower (the Ostan Moein station and also I think the Meydan-e Azadi station, both from Line 4 (yellow)). Both are either recently inaugurated and not quite finished, or still under construction. Last time I went to the Ostad Moein station, it was operational but it lacked escalators and I had to climb up/down hundreds of stairs! But the Milad Tower doesn’t have any metro stations nearby. You would probably have to take a taxi from e.g. Azadi square.

when visiting the mirad and azadi towers is there an admission charge?

@Mohammad: Thanks for the thorough response and information about Azadi and Milad towers.

@Joseph: I do not know if there are admission charges for these towers as we did not go inside. Even if there are, it’s unlikely they will cost very much – we found tickets to be very inexpensive in Iran, an that was before the recent devaluation of local currency. Tour guides in Tehran tend to be quite flexible – just be sure to let them know that you want to visit these places.

thanks.im glad to see American friends had a good travel to Iran.i as an Iranian should add that we respect Americans and Europeans the most.cause the way they progressed is admireable for us.anyway Iran is very beautiful country with swiss styke and green highlands in the north west,duch style jungles in the north which are realy beautiful.also we have african style landscape in the west and so hot desert in center.on the other hand visiting beautiful historical place belongs to both islamic and non islamic periouds of Iran will be nice…

sorry for poor english and again thanks to you for your great jobs!

@Nima: Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting. And your English was great- we understood everything. You are right in that Iran is quite diverse in its landscapes and cultures – we felt this as we went from south to north and west to east through the country. And as we wrote, we felt very welcome in your country!

Thanks for the tips. Might give it a try and head to Iran after India. Wish I knew how much a week with a private guide cost though.

Iran is truly spectacular and the people are very hospitable. Traditional customs, known for being very good. Cities of Isfahan, Shiraz and Bandar …. very interesting, a lot of foreign tourists visiting each year from Shiraz., I would suggest you visit these cities.

@Adam: It would be interesting to go from India to Iran. Not sure if you know this, but India has a small population of Zoroastrians who migrated from Iran/Persia to India in the 10th century.

As for your question about costs, it really depends on what style of trip you want. We paid $1,200 for the two of us for 10 days, but that took some negotiation and trying to get the cheapest hotels possible. Now that the Iranian rial is quite devalued, you might be able to get a good price as the dollar goes a lot further.

@reyhaneh: We did not visit Bandar, but we did really enjoy visiting Isfahan and Shiraz. The architecture in these cities is really beautiful.

@audrey:thanks for the kind comments sir.well im 17 years old and so young to discuss about politics.but i should say,the new generation is very educated,open-minded and secular. for sure you will feel even more comfortable if you visit Iran in the coming years. my friend’s father just died recently because there was no American drug (Iran produces 97% of her needed drug but that 3% is the case) in the store to cure his cancer so he died.on the other hand Iranian medicines have saved American lives in Afghanistan war as well.it shows how unfair the sanction and the US government’s treatment is.you can visit my country so easy.but about us….even i can not imagine a travel to US.not because my pocket is empty.because of the the unfair treatment of US government.but still Iranian people see Americans and Europeans visitors as their guests.and still we love you.

sir,have you been to Karaj?my city?karaj is great.Karaj has access to the 4th most beautiful road of the world.also there is a ski-resort around the city(called dizin) that hosted world cup last summer. here you can enjoy watching thoso beautiful pictures of Iranian landscape.

again thanks. and wish you the best…

O O sorry gentlewoman! i found out that Audrey is a female name.so my apology. thanks

@Nima: No worries – many people are not familiar with my name and think it’s a man’s name. I don’t take any offense 🙂

I’m very sorry to hear about the death of your father’s friend. We also hope that relations improve between the two country’s governments so that there is a more free exchange of ideas, people and goods. No, we didn’t visited Karaj on our last visit. Iran is a big country!

It’s great to see there are people who can understand that governments don’t necessarily represent nations. I’m Iranian and live in Tehran. I’d be glad to provide information for tourists and visitors. By the way, entry to the country is not even that pleasant to me as an Iranian. I have butterflies in my stomach whenever I’m at the international airport. It’s not designed to welcome anybody I guess but once you are out of the airport it’s over.

@Fahimeh: This is one of goals of our travels is to highlight people, and how individuals quite often act independent of their governments’ rhetoric.

We’re sorry to hear about your experiences at Tehran airport. That’s quite sad, particularly since it happens to you, as an actual citizen of Iran. As we’ve mentioned elsewhere, after the initial and superficial questioning, we felt fine making our way around the airport, and eventually out the door with our guide.

Thank you so much for your comment, your perspective and your offer to travelers wishing to visit Iran and Tehran.

Hi, Thank you, it dealt honestly with the issue.I hope you all your pepole know that the Iranian people have no problem with any body.

Hello. Can an unmarried couple with non-Iranian nationality stay in the same room at a hotel in Iran? If being married is necessary in a situation like this, then would staying at different hotel rooms be the only option?

@Aoun: We always like to share what we have experienced first hand to show that perhaps there is another side to the story than what is shown on the news. During the whole time we were in Iran we had such great experiences with the people and were welcomed everywhere.

@Afsaneh: Dan and I are married with different last names, but we were never asked for our marriage certificate (we had a copy with us, just in case) at any hotel where we stayed in Iran. I don’t know of other couples traveling around Iran having trouble staying in hotel rooms together, but perhaps it’s best to ask an Iranian tour company just in case.

Afsaneh’s question is similar to mine. My girlfriend is Iranian-American (actually looks like she would be Indian). I am Euro-American, and look it.

I am concerned about being hassled if we travel to Iran together, as we are not married and I am not Iranian.

Any particular feedback on this?

I have traveled and lived in other Muslim countries and know public affection is not accepted. But, it varies a lot from country to country. Indonesia, Egypt, and Lebanon was easy-going about my accompanying a girlfriend. But, there were differences in acceptable behavior between genders. In Egypt, some people did not like that I was with a Middle Eastern woman. It was rather sketchy at times.

I really enjoyed reading your information regarding travel in Iran. I have helped many Iranians with their English on the website Livemocha, and I have made many very close friends, and one who is even closer. The Iranian people are an especially warm and gracious people. I would love to travel to Iran to meet my friend(s). Here in the U.S. I have an Iranian student who I have helped a lot. Her family has adopted me even though many thousands of km separate Iran and the US. You mention having your visa mailed to you from the Pakistani Embassy in Washington D.C. Does that still hold true? I need to arrange this right now in fact and was asked this week by someone at an Iranian university which Embassy I want to pick up my visa at. On a more unhappy note, I have tried twice to get a visa to visit Iran to attend workshops or give lectures and have failed each time because of some political event that has occurred just as my application was being reviewed. What if you want to visit friends in Iran? How is that done? Is it possible without a guide? Is any independent travel allowed at all? I know that there are Americans living in Iran that are free to travel there, how do they do that? Thanks.

@Ernest, Yes! You can have your visa mailed to you. But you will have to mail your passport to the Pakistani Embassy Iranian Intrest Section along with you application. From what I have read on here and talking with others inside and outside of Iran, you will have to have a guide to travel to Iran. I am one of those few Americans that can travel freely through Iran. That is because my wife is Iranian. So when I am there, her family takes full responsibility for me. I wish you luck!

That is interesting if her family can take responsibility for you. I wonder if my student’s family can take responsibility for me? Does that entail a formal invitation? An Iranian wife may be in the future for me as well.

@Ernest, My best guess would be that your student’s family “can not” take full responsibility for you. I know this from trying to help a young lady on here that was trying to get her friend to Iran. Come to find out, I was very lucky on my first trip to Iran. You also have to understand that I used a key word in my last post. I said that I can travel freely in Iran because my “wife” is Iranian! I am even in her Iranian ID as her husband. Every time that I have travel to Iran, I always had my wife by my side. Your best bet would be to contact an Iranian Travel Agency and talk with them. Your biggest challenge will be getting a visa. Once you get that, maybe you can ask if your student can join you while you are with a Tour Guide. Remember, Iran is not North Korea. So, you can still talk with every day Iranians once you are there. But keep in mind that they have their own sets of rules. I hope that this helps and I wish you luck!

@Marcus: Although we are married, we were never asked for a marriage certificate in order to share a room in Iran. Additionally, we do not share the same last name, so to many it looks like we are just boyfriend/girlfriend/partners. Anyhow, I can’t imagine you will be hassled about sharing a room. As for public displays of affection in Iran, best to avoid them (and anything that draws unnecessary attention) I’d say.

Thanks. I have worked in the Arab portion of the Middle East, but as my Iranian friends keep telling me, and as I am very aware of, Iranians are not Arabs. In fact, I have found Iranians to be very European in many respects. I have traveled a lot in Europe and have family there, and although there are very clear differences Iranians seem to view the world as we do. I have worked with Arabs for many decades, and just when I think I figured them out…boom they react to something in ways I did not expect. I have many Arab friends, but i will never pretend that I will ever understand them. But Iranians are different. When I talk to my friends, I could be talking to my friends here in the US. Thanks for your tips on travel in Iran. I had almost given up the idea of going to Iran. Cheers, Ernest

My gf and I will be careful. As I said, I try to observe local customs. It shows respect for the customs and religion of the people that you are visiting. I guess that is the Anthropologist in me. Respect others and they will respect you. I have a lot of dear friends in the Middle East, and some of them are very conservative Muslims.

@Afsaneh, I know that Audry Scott said that she and her husband did not have any problems while they were in Iran from any hotels. But my wife and I did have a problem one time at a hotel in Isfahan. The hotel turned us in to the “Green Police”. Thank Goodness my mother in law happen to have a copy of our marriage certificate. We showed it to them and there were no more problems. Audry and Daniel were very smart to bring a copy of their Marriage Certificate just incase. Just something to think about.

Marvin, thanks for your comment. Have you seen the movie Offside (with Jafar Panahi)? A couple of girls dress up like men and try to attend a football match but they get caught and arrested. Then the whole point of the movie is why foreign women (women with non-Iranian nationality) are allowed to attend the football matches in Iran but not Iranian women. Now, as I can understand from your previous comment, your wife is an Iranian so I’m guessing she has an Iranian nationality as well. She might also holding other citizenships but in Iran, she is an Iranian citizen only. So what I hope for my boyfriend and I (we are Danish citizen) that we would be treated as different as the foreign women that are allowed to attend football matches. If anyone can confirm this thought I would be glad because I can not find any information about this anywhere or from anyone.

@Ernest W I know it’s a while ago but about fifteen years ago I took my then English girlfriend to Iran. I’m Iranian-British.the way we went about it was for my family in Iran to employ a good travel agency and invite her as friend of the family. It cost USD30 at the time and took three weeks to process. As far as the visa application was concerned I was not in the picture. We traveled together and at the airport in Tehran she faced the immigration officer on her own, and once she was through, I followed. Once we were settled after a few days, my mom took us to the local mosque and had a word with the local Imam that we had planned to marry but needed to avoid conflict with the police. My girlfriend had to repeat a couple of verses from koran,were given temporary marriage status (an old islamic rule) and a note to show the police if we needed to. It took half an hour and there was no charge although we donated a small amount toward their charity. We traveled to different cities and stayed at various hotels but was never bothered by anyone and never had to use the note. I would imagine that the authorities are even more lax now. I appreciate that the rules may be slightly different for US citizens but it’s one avenue worth inquiring about. My only concern is that you have already been refused visa twice, but if it was a while ago it may not be an issue. I hope that helps. Good luck and don’t give up!

But always be wary of going to Iran if your Husband is an Iranian. please check the website of US state department

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1142.html

check out this movie ” Not Without My Daughter” too based on true story

Not Without My Daughter http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL844A52509A02E2FB

hi what’s the deal with visiting Iran?

What do you mean?

I am a Malaysian citizen with a US permanent residence. I am currently residing in Malaysia again for work reasons. I have an opportunity to do an engineering project in Iran but am worried that if I have an Iraniann stamp in my Malaysian passport, I will be challenged when I travel to the US. Any advice? Thanks. Allan

im Zack 21 years old that im in Iran 4 12 years that i was kidnapped by my dad that i need your help to get out of here help help help help

@zack hasheme

I don’t know if you live in the same state as vivek (above) or watch the same fictional Hollywood films or even related, but as a 21 year old you are classed as an adult (yes even in Iran!). I suggest you contact the relevant embassy or their representatives if you want to leave the country. Iran is not like N.Korea, you can leave the country if you wish. I don’t normally bother replying to comments such as yours and vivek above, mainly as a respect to Daniel and Audrey but took exception on this occasion. Daniel and Audrey have done a marvelous job creating this site and it’s a shame that some people try to sabotage it in order to push their political and often misguided agendas.

Kourosh, you might need some updating or researching. Maybe you should start from Wikipedia. Here is part of what is written in Wikipedia under “Military service” and then Iran: “…Men reaching 19 years old who are not granted exemption from the military service are not able to apply for a driving license, passport, or leave the country without special permission…”

zack hasheme, I am very sorry to hear about your situation. You might have dual citizenship, if that is the case you could apply for renunciation of your Iranian citizenship when you reach the age of 25. If the authorities approve your application, you would be more than welcome to leave Iran. Please feel free to write to me because I might be able to guide you with other alternatives. Here is my e-mail address: [email protected] (اگر مکالمه فارسی را ترجیح میدی برای من مشکلی نیست )

hi i am Zack’s dad. pay me 10 dollar to let him go! in Iran it’s much money! kidding! zack , if you have access to internet ! (what a nice kidnapper!) i think you can make a call to police! it is 110 . سفه گده!!

@ zack’s dad

Ha ha ..You must be the funniest kidnapper in the world.. I’m still laughing!!

On serious(ish) note, zack can also get his information from either wikipedia (I’ve been told) or call the Danish embassy in Tel Aviv.

@ zack hasheme Your comment sounds like a joke…

Hello Again,

You know there is real irony in life. I have been helping a young Iranian woman obtain a visa to take an 8 week intensive English course in the U.S. Yesterday after her visa interview she was denied her visa despite the fact that everything was in order. The irony…I had a applied for a visa to visit Iran as well and I received my visa denial today. Tit for tat! This was her first visa denial, this was my third. I am an academic and my visa applications were for those reasons, and yet I have been denied three times now. I have resigned myself to the fact that the only way I will ever be able to visit Iran is for someone to take my ashes after I am dead and go upwind of Iran and scatter them to let the wind carry me to Iran. You know I am not political. I am a teacher, and a scientist. I have friends and colleagues in Iran and I will never be able to see them, or talk to them face to face. I am as heart-broken as the young woman that I have been helping to take some English classes in the US. Your column is interesting, but for some of us it will never be of help.

Daniel and Audrey , such generacity, clear vision ,free heart and nice complements about Iran and Iranians are much amazing to me.I utterly personally appreciate your attitudes toward us. No other person or institute or administration (for example Iranian department of tourism )has ever could be more helpful to show the true Iran and it’s culture to US citizens and rest of the world. It shows that you both have a heart and wisdom. I read most of the other people’s comments trying to seek the truth about Iran and you as true ambassadors of America let them to find facts and figures about a place mostly bombarded with rumors false information and terrorizing ideas.

I live in the north section of the country named Mazandaran Province. In the next trip we will be so glad having you as real guests or better say real friends of ours. In our place the Caspian Sea is great.Maybe not greater than Santa Monica beach or riviera of France, but quite calm and fascinating.

All I see in this blog : Very Nice people and generous in thoughts and believes about My country.

Thank you for all you shared in this blog and also lots of nice people who commented positive thoughts about my country.

As Chris Brown says: Every where everywhere I go , I see beautiful people.

We will be so pleased to have you here again.

Dear Hossein,

I know of your province, Mazandaran. The husband of my student is from Rostam Kola and I had hoped to visit his parents there. It is a very beautiful province and similar to the area where I have come from, Washington State. It is very wet, but very green. You see I think that Iran is one of the great nations of the world, and that Iranian people are one of the worlds great peoples. I have always wanted to visit Iran. Even as a child I was fascinated by the history and culture of Iran. But it seems that my childhood dream of visiting Iran will never come true. For that I am truly sorry. My mother was German, my father’s family was German and German’s have always had a great love of things Iranian. The last two years I have been working with Iranian students on a language learning website called Livemocha. I have over 150 Iranian students who I have come to know. They come from all over Iran, from Kerman to Shiraz, from Arak to Tehran, From Tabriz to Mashhad, and many places between these cities. I had hoped one day to conduct research in Iran, because I study global change, and Iran will be one of those nations, like the semi-arid West where I live, that will adversely effected by raised temperature, and lower rainfall. We will see changes in our environment here in the Great Basin where I live that cannot be imagined by the average person. I had hoped that the knowledge that I had gained here in the West might be of help in Iran. Many of my best friends are Iranian. My student is actually the hardest working student that I have ever had. She is not only hard-working, but very intelligent, and dedicated. She was one of the top Master’s students in Iran a couple of years ago. I am incredibly impressed by Iranian students. I have even tried to learn some Farsi…so that I don’t seem the complete idiot. At least I will be able to say, “Salam! Shoma chetur hastin?” And if they ask me, I will be able to say, “Man khoobam, Mamnoon!” And of course “Man gom shodam.” Which will happen often. I have learned other phrases as well, “Bebakhshid, aya shoma Engilisi harf mizanid” The most useful of all phrases. But the main point is that all this is for nothing. I will never get that visa. Hossein, your country IS a beautiful country from green shores of the Caspian to Maharlu Lake by Shiraz with nearby Persepolis, to Mashhad, a beautifully designed city lying at over 9,200 feet. Even Tehran with its air pollution problems lies in a beautiful broad valley surrounded by mountains. You see, so many Americans forget that because the US is so big they forget that there are other beautiful nations around the world. Iran with it’s 75+ million people has a diversity of landscape that is as dramatic as that of the US. One other thing that Americans are not aware of is that Iran has some of the most beautiful and diverse people in the world too. There are over 19 languages with 53 dialects spoken in Iran. In your province, for example, Mazanderani (مازِرونی) or Tabari (تبری) is spoken. As a trained anthropologist, I could spend the rest of my life exploring the wonders of Iran, but I never will have that chance.

HI, I am an Iranian. thanks for your real expressions about Iran.I am happy that you enjoy visiting Iran.

Dear Zahra,

Unfortunately I never have, and never will. The closest I will ever get to Iran is to look over the border into Iran from Turkey, Azerbaijan, or Kurdistan.

OK but why?Do you believe that Iran is insecure? Or why ?

Come on Ernest ,what would you do when you’re supposed to be lost? Just kidding.I hope I’m not offending .You’ll get your visa if my application for green card works.Someday both of us reach our dreams. You’re quite an Iranian I suppose .You got a lot of information .You learned a lot.That’s fair enough.But what would I do if I were lost in the Washington forests? Maybe I would face a huge BIG FOOT.Definitely I would run for my life. I love to see huge trees of California . Canada is my dream.Every time I see a movie which is made in the jungles of Vancouver or Alberta I imagine myself in there camping & enjoying the pure nature.For instance the movie The Edge(Antony Hopkins & Alec Baldwin ) is one of my favorites . You said about a fact that rain falls are much lower than before.Here in my place we’ve got less rainfalls these years.Climate change is global.No place can be away from it.

Washington And Oregon ,I believe very beautiful amazing and breath taking.I love to see Montana.Some quiet and endless landscapes .I remember one of the scenes of the movie Dances with wolves(Kevin Costner)in which large numbers of Buffaloes were grazing endlessly.(maybe that was CGI)

You said very good things about Iran & Iranians .That shows you got the heart and good feelings about everything around you. I do hope someday you can come to my country and enjoy what you were waiting for.If there’s anything I could do to make it happen I would be so glad to do it. Sorry , Do it , do it , reminds me of a movie by Burt Reynolds always saying it. Actually Our family is quite an Iran by itself.I was born in Tehran.My wife was born in Khorasan . My daughter was in Isfahan .And finally my little son was born in Mazandaran. You see we’re strange enough to show you Iran!!! I believe Adventure is good for living.I try to show my kids the beauty of nature and respecting it. Don’t get me wrong , my website is about my fancies about Hollywood.I’m a family man.I love The Earth and all it’s people. Thanks . We listen and appreciate all you say about us even about our dark sides.It’s true.Nobody’s perfect.

I’m sure you’ll get that chance.For me? Far far away.

Dear Hossein and Zahra,

First of all, dear Zahra, when I travel I have traveled I have never worried about anything except meeting new people and become friends. I have traveled in many nations. I have cycled with a bicycle over 3,000 miles through Europe, I have traveled in Brazil, and Mexico and Canada. I have worked over 6 months in Egypt both in Cairo and the Western Desert. I have lectured in Syria at Damascus University, and at the Baath University in Hamah on global climate change. I was a Senior Fulbright Scholar in Jordan and lived there for ten months, and taught in the Geology and Biology Departments at Yarmouk University. I was the only American in nothern Jordan at the time. I traveled all over Jordan by myself and was never concerned that something might happen to me. I have spent evenings in coffee houses drinking coffee and talking about every subject under the sun with the others who were there. On many of my trips I was alone, but I have never been concerned about my safety. Zahra I certainly would not be concerned about my safety in your beautiful country of Iran.

I mentioned about climate change, it effects us all. My city of Reno depends upon the snowfall in the Sierra Nevada mountains to our west. This year the snowfall has only been 50% of the average. That means we will have drought for the seventh year in a row now!

I mentioned part of the reason that I am interested in Iran is because two years ago in a hospital emergency room, it was a young Iranian volunteer in the hospital who saved my life! Her gentle demeanor and warm smile calmed me and brought me back from the verge of a heart attack. So I owe my life to a beautiful Iranian woman. This meeting renewed my desire to visit the country where she had come from. I had to see the country with such a wonderful people came from. That is how my desire to come to Iran was reawakened.

Hello. Marvin or other. I’m from Canada. My son is getting married in a few weeks in Iran. None of us has any experience with Iran. We have gov’t approval for entry. Can I get a visa during a stopover in Istanbul? I need to have it for some other travel in the next 2 weeks, so I can’t send it to Washington. Also, apparently, the husband’s family is expected to pay for the celebration, but we have no idea or control over it. If so, is it not dangerous to take large amounts of cash for something like this? Is there no other way of transferring money to the family?

@Ron, Congrats on your son’s up coming wedding in Iran!I am not realy sure what you mean by you have Government approval for entry. I have picked up Visas for Iran in Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, and in Washington D.C. In order to pick up my visa in different places, I had my mother in law let the forien minister’s office in Iran know where I would go to pick up my visa. When I got married, as you know that the groom has to pay, I brought 5,000 USD. I would assume that you could bring as much as 10,000 USD. But do not quote me on that. Because I am not sure how much you can bring. What I do know, is that the price a wedding is a lot more expensive now than it was when I got married. Something else that you should look into before traveling to Iran is maybe have your son buy the wedding rings in Canada if he has not already done so. Also, I remember when I got married, I had to buy my wife a jewlery set. This included a necklace, braclet, and ear rings. That is also something that should be bought outside of Iran. I tell you this to where what money you do bring to Iran can be used better and help out more for the wedding. With all the sanctions, this is the only way that I know of to get money into the country is by bringing it with you. Just remember to not exchange money in the street. Your future daughter-in-law’s family should know where you can exchange your money. I hope that you have a great time in Iran! If the wedding is anything like mine was, it will be one for the books! I will be traveling back to Iran in June and August.

Hi. It’s me again. By “it”, I meant my passport. If I send it to Washington, I won’t have it back in time for my trip to Europe before Iran. Can anybody help?

@Ernest: I’m really sorry to hear that your visa application was rejected. Have you tried to apply as a regular tourist instead of for academic reasons? Although as a tourist you wouldn’t be able to overtly do research in Iran, you could still travel around the country and have a good experience. Depending upon the Iranian tour company you work with you can also arrange to spend time with your friends. There is no guarantees, but it seems that it would be easier to get into Iran as a tourist rather than an academic.

@Ron: We picked up our Iranian visa in Istanbul at the Iranian embassy. If you have the authorization number it is pretty straightforward process (2 photos, pay the fee at the bank across the street). But, I believe it took 2-3 working days so you’d have to factor that time when booking flights.

As for receiving money in Iran or taking money out of a foreign account while in Iran, that would be tricky. It was tough when we were there (Nov. 11), but it’s even more difficult now with sanctions. I think Marvin is right on in his advice.

@Marvin: Thanks so much for such thoughtful and helpful advice. I agree that it’s even more difficult than ever to get money into the country because of the recent sanctions.

@Marvin The gov’t authorization, I believe, was obtained by the lady’s family, meaning it’s OK to apply for a visa. Thanks for the tips on rings and jewellery set. So jewellery is more expensive in Iran then? And I’ll tell him about the money exchange. Thanks again. I might have more questions later if it’s OK with you. @Audrey I really appreciate your suggestions. This is an amazing way of obtaining information on travel sites.

@Ron, Actually the gold and jewlery was cheaper in Iran for me and my wife in the past. I just suggested that you migt think about buying that stuff outside of Iran. That way you do not waste what limited money that you can bring into Iran on stuff that you can bring into the country plus the money.

@Audrey it is always a pleasure to try and help out. I just love this site so much! I wish that I could have met you and your husband years ago when I traveled the world even more that I do now.

Thanks dear Ernest I hope you will come Iran.its my plesasure it is my pleasure.

Thanks dear Ernest I hope you will come Iran. It is my pleasure.

Thank you! I pray for it. I am not Muslim, but my dearest friend in Iran is. Last Summer she was very ill, and could not fast during Ramazan. So instead I fasted for her, from before sunrise to after sunset every day of Ramazan. I never broke the fast. I did not eat or drink during the day throughout that whole time. I lost five kilos during that time, it was the hottest Summer here where I live, so it was not easy. She regained her health, and I was able to help an Iranian student who I didn’t think that I could as well. Maybe my fasting was rewarded. I have never seen my dear Iranian friend, I have talked to her on the mob, and chatted with her by typing. I have her picture, but I have never seen her with a cam, and yet she is the dearest person in my life. But I don’t know if I will ever see her smile in anything but a photo. That is why I am heart-broken that I cannot get a visa. She does not have enough money to travel outside of Iran either, and because of the sanctions, I cannot get money to her. I will die before I can see her.

@Marvin Thanks again, Marvin.

Dear Audrey, I will try that. Thanks. Are there any businessmen out there? What is your experience with going to Iran?

@Ernest: We spent three weeks in Iran in November 2011 – two weeks with a G Adventures tour and one week on our own with a private guide. Although we were with a guide for a lot of the time, we also had a lot of independent time and met lots of people. As for businessmen, Iran is full of them! It’s a very entrepreneurial place even with sanctions and challenges.

Good for her that have a sweetheart friend like you.

Dear Zahra, Thank you. My friend is a miracle. She is unique, and I would fast as long as it would take to help her.

@marvin or anyone else who knows. Are you able to tell me how much cash you can bring in to the country? Thanks, Ron

I guess that all I can do is to try again. I don’t have much hope though. You know what was strange is that in the visa rejection the introduction said… “Dear Sir or Madame” as if they didn’t even really know.

@Ron, You will probably need to call the Iranin Intrest Section in D.C. or another Iranian Embassy. I searched and searched for you on the internet and could not find anything. I also tried to call the Iranian Intrest Section in D.C. for you, but was on hold forever.

@Marvin, Thanks for your help, Marvin. I’ll try that.

What a fantastic post. I’ve been searching on the web for several days and now I got my answers. I am very excited about visiting Iran.

Wigder Frota

@Everyone: I hold dual citizenship (Brazilian and American) and live in the USA. Would you recommend to apply for a visa as an American although Brazil has great diplomatic relationship with Iran?

Thanks in advance for any tips on that matter.

That is a tricky question, mostly because you plan on returning to the U.S. afterwards. In general Iran (and other countries in that region) either don’t recognize dual citizenship or frown on it (i.e. carrying two passports can get you into some serious ‘waiting time’ depending on use). If I was going to Iran, I would go on the Brazilian passport (less hassle, no required tour, etc) and you are eligible for a visa on arrival (though I personally wouldn’t bank on that; go through an embassy if you can or at least give the one in D.C. a call about the VOA). I would not bring your US passport with you and only travel through countries were your Brazilian passport does not require you getting a visa.

Your comment reminded me of a time I crossed the Jordan/Syrian border in 2008 and as I waited for my visa ($16!) I started talking to a couple who were being held by the border guards. They were Iranians living in San Francisco who entered Jordan on their U.S. passport (‘great diplomatic relationship’) and wanted to enter Syria on their Iranian one (‘great diplomatic relationship’). When the Syrian border guards asked where their Jordanian visa stamps were it led to some serious wait time. Not saying it would be the same in Tehran, but something to consider.

@John Thanks for your suggestion. I think I will do the whole trip using only the American passport (easier to enter other countries in the area. Best,

@Wigder: Thanks for stopping by and commenting. So glad that this article and the advice of other commenters helped you sort through your questions. Although getting a visa to Iran for your American passport is more of a pain, it’s not impossible and you’ll not have the problems that John mentioned above.

@John: Thanks for giving your advice here. Spot on. Just yesterday we were talking with someone in Berlin whose wife had a similar problem in the Middle East by trying to use two passports. The border guards really do check those passport stamps.

If travel to US was easy as Americans come Iran. I like to visit US but it’s hard to get VISA for Iranians.

I was hesitant about visiting Iran before reading this article, not because of safety concerns but because of the fact that it is required to travel with an organized tour, but it really doesn’t seem that bad! Now I really wanna go! I experienced the same sort of “rock star” status traveling in the West Bank. However I do have a question, I have several Iranian American friends who hold dual citizenship with Iran and the United States. Is it possible to go with them as guests?

@Audrey: Please accept my special thanks for your really nice trip report. Through the full of bad news from Media of Iran, It was the first time which I could read a report with different point of view. Most of the Iranian People have friendly relations with the tourists like you from all around the world but because of the heavy sanctions over Iran by the United States and some other Western Countries, the number of tourists became so low during these years but there is no limit for any right tourist to visit the country. The most famous and beautiful cities are Isfahan, Shiraz, Tabriz and somehow Tehran. They are specially famous for their ancient places and the nature. I kindly invite you and the other people from the United States to visit Iran and view the real subjects.

@Babak: Yes, it it very difficult for Iranians to get visas to the United States. We met quite a few people on our train from Iran to Turkey who were applying at the American consulate in Ankara. It is perhaps a bit easier for students from what they told us.

@Steven: Honestly, having a guide (either in a group or private tour) did not keep us from exploring and engaging with people. We also had lots more free time to explore on our own than we had expected (which we loved). As for your question about going with your dual-passport friends, I don’t know the answer. My suggestion would be to call the Iranian interest section in Washington DC and ask them. Otherwise, you can ask a tour company in Tehran as they should know the requirements.

@Hossein: Thank you for your kind comment and we’re glad we could provide a first hand account of our experience over three weeks in Iran. You might be interested in reading some of our other stories from Iran: https://uncorneredmarket.com/travel/iran/

@Jules: In our group there were four Americans and we spoke to quite a few other Americans who traveled in Iran before and after us. We all had very similar experiences of being surprised by the welcome we received. What we found from talking with Iranian people is that many of them do not agree with their government and its views on many issues, including human rights issues. As we travel, we often find there is a big difference between the views and actions of a people vs. those of the government. And engagement and communication is usually the best way to understand to work together against human issues.

@Ernest: I agree that often governments do not represent their people, yet this is often the view that is shown on the news. The challenge is having that opportunity to make that first connection as human to human.

I feel that you are siding with terrorists. Yes, the people may have been nice to you, but you are aware of what they stand for and what they believe in. We all know that it is NOT the typical greetings that American receive in this country. You are making this OK, and therefore siding with peole who commit terrible crimes against human beings. You are promoting crimes against women and the poor treatment of their own people. Shame on you.

Jules, I don’t understand what you are saying. Are you American or what? I am not going to get into a political argument here, but governments seldom represent their peoples. On a person to person level you or anyone else could be friends with most people from other countries, even those that our government has an ax to grind with. I know Iranians. I know Palestinians. And they are good people. They have been my students for years. I am an American of German ancestry. Part of my family has been here since the 1670s. How long has your family been here Jules? I have taught in the Middle East, and I never found hate. The only place that I have found hate and misunderstanding is here in the US. And in case you are wondering…I am a former Veteran. I did my thing…even though I was sick of the propaganda that I was fed on a daily bases by our Army Chaplin. Attitudes that were not Christian in the least. So look at your statement and clean it up…and if it is hate you are pitching…take it elsewhere.

It is very possible for you to get a visa to travel with your Iranian friends, sometimes even easier as you are being approved/invited by an Iranian national. I’m presuming that your friends have relatives in Iran. If so they can ask their relatives to make inquiries at a reputable travel agency in Iran the best way to go about it. These agencies often charge a small fee (insignificant amount when converted to $) and do all the work for you. That’s how I got a visa for my then English girlfriend about fifteen years ago. If they struggle to find a good travel agent, let me know and I’ll ask my cousin. He was a resident in LA for over thirty years and now travels with Iranian national Judo team as an interpreter, he may be able to help. Good luck.

Hello Kourosh, My name is Nessa, I saw that you might have connections with a good travel agency in Tehran? My family has been trying to apply for my visa for quite some time but have not been successful. I am an American citizen and wish to stay with my family in Iran. I read here that it’s better to go through a professional agency, do you any good ones? Appreciate your help!

Hi Nessa, I’ve just read your message. I don’t personally know any good travel agencies in Tehran as I don’t have any traveling restrictions to Iran. However, I’m going to send a message to my cousin to see if he can help. Due to nature of his occupation it is possible that either he or his colleagues may know of an agency with strong connections in the foreign office, etc. As soon as I get a reply from him I’ll let you know. Either way I hope it all works out for you very soon.

Thanks for the post. I’m an Iranian and as an Iranian it makes feel really good when foreigners visit our country an enjoy it (unlike the fake things most people say about us). 20 days is not enough t visit Iran. Every part of it is full of landmarks. I’ve been to trips for 60 days and trust me, I’m no even halfway there.

@Jules I’m really surprised that you associate these wonderful people with terrorism. Governments support terrorism, most people don’t. I’m Canadian and I totally disagree with our government’s approach to Iran. They do not speak for me, but I’m stuck with them for now. My son, who was is Christian and Canadian, found the love of his life in Iran. He just went there and got married. He was treated like a prince and welcomed with open arms. They are warm and friendly people. Both your country and mine harbour terrorists unknowingly, and many are home grown, but as Americans and Canadians, we’re not all labelled that way. Open your mind. Get to know them. Ron.

Right on Ron!

Very informative. It’s a dream of mine to go to Iran. Canadian and Iranian relations have been a bit complicated recently. Iran is also on the “Avoid at all costs” advisory list, but I don’t think it is at all dangerous. Too much politics is involved.

@Natalia: You are right that there are a lot politics involved, but I do say that it is easier for Canadians to get visas to Iran than Americans. You can also travel independently if you’d like – we met lots of people who couchsurfed in Iran with great fun. Good luck!

My father escaped during the time of Revolution. The goverment seized my Grandfathers Hotels in Shiraz. Since my father fled during the time of war and is most likely wanted (if records show) do you think it is possible for them to know IF I AM RELATED to him and if they would hold me for that reason. My uncle was a GOVERMENT ENGINEER AND WELL KNOWN FOR HIS GREAT WORKS. MOHAMMAD KHAKI. Unfortunately, SAVAK used him for a project to build an underground trail for SPYS TO EXCHANGE INFORMATION in SWEDEN and after his project, he became part of an experiment to clear all of his memory away. It failed. He slowly became Schizophrenic. My Father still says to this day he was one of the brightest people he has encountered. The same thing was said by numerous of my moms family which met him later in life when he was brought to the united states thru Mexico. Yes Mexico. My father had No fear after what THE REVOLUTION in Iran took away from our families hard work. There is so much more to this story. My Grandfather, his ties, My father’s travel to America while discovering the TRUTH of what happen to my INTELLIGENT UNCLE. In whom saved my life as a kid, putting out the fire on my head that would of killed me because no one else was around but HIM. He passed away 2 years ago but he loved me so much. Even though he was not fully himself all the time, he put the effort to be in Control sometimes, especially in my early years to share me a story or walk me to the store to buy me a candy. He was a good man out of Iran with an high IQ but was part of an failed experiment. So my reason to go to IRAN is to travel to FINALLY MEET my FAMILY in SHIRAZ and speak with them these stories of truth. They have been dying to see me and my DIRECT family, but the FEAR (planted by my father)has always been there for OUR family. The FEAR of finding out whose son I am and what they will do to me if they do know. I will go regardless because I need to see where MY BLOOD LINE STARTED.

@Daniel: Your family has a fascinating story. It must have been so difficult to leave Iran and all that they had after the revolution. As for your question about whether the Iranian government will figure out your family ties and if this will be a problem, I don’t have any first-hand experience in this. My advice would be to talk with a tour company in Iran as they may have better information on this and could advise you on whether you might have problems with a visa because of your family relations. Good luck and hope you have a chance to meet the rest of your family in Shiraz soon.

I am an Iranian travel agent . I like to guide you to come to my country where is a land of friendship& hospitality.I can give visa for you. I assure you will enjoy visiting Iran.test it.

Hello Mr. Hashemi, I read your comment here dated on May 25, 2013. I have not visited my family in Iran for 6 years, I have american citizenship my mother if from Iran and cannot obtain an Iranian passport. My family has tried to obtain the authorization from the ministry of foriegn affairs in Tehran but have been rejected sicne I am american, Is there any way you can help me? I do not wish to travel with a tour, I wish to stay with my family and visit my ill uncle before he passes away, I desperately need to see my family!!! I appreciate any help you or anyone on this lovely site can help me with

You’re mobile phone is fine in Iran and though I haven’t personally had mine searched by police/border guards there, it would be a good idea to remove any ‘sensitive’ (in their view) data beforehand. iDevices in particular are looked out/asked for in certain locales (Central Asia and China come to mind) and sometimes searched. Besides, it just means there’s more room for you to fill up your device with local music and photos! (both of which are stunning).

@Kourosh: “Just don’t turn up in public intoxicated and refrain from discussing sensitive political issues with people you don’t know well.” <== Good advice for anywhere, but you forgot to mention football as well 😉

Hello. Great story. I am planning a trip to Iran and I was wondering if I would be able to take my cell phone? Would I need to delete music and certain pictures first? Thanks

@John, Boy your are fast! I was going to answer Adam, but you beat me to it! LOL! @Adam, take John’s advice. Every time I travel to Iran, I take my cell phone. I do not use it there, I just take it so I have it when I arrive back to the USA or where ever I am going to from Iran. I have never had a problem with bringing my phone.

@Adam Everyone in Iran has a cell-phone so you’re safe taking yours. It’s probably wise not to have pornographic images on your phone, but music downloads are fine. In Iran many things are illegal only on paper, and if you’re a foreign visitor authorities don’t normally bother you anyway. Just don’t turn up in public intoxicated and refrain from discussing sensitive political issues with people you don’t know well. Apart from those there isn’t really much to worry about.

@Adam: Your question was already thoroughly answered by our great commenters, but just wanted to add our experiences. We traveled with 2 iPhones and did not have any trouble. We used them for Wifi and they were never inspected or looked at coming into the country or exiting. Enjoy your trip!

Thanks for the info. I’m a dual citizen so I don’t know if that will change the way they view me entering and leaving the country. I really just wanted to take my phone to connect to Wi-Fi and take pictures… and use some Farsi apps since I don’t speak it very well.

Kudos to Dan and Audrey for a balanced and “from their perspective” informative journey. As a US citizen who works with international B schools and SOE’s on international trade issues, I concur on the wonderful openness and nature of most Iranian citizens; it is a trip worth taking. I think however some are positing a “straw man” with regard to stereotypes; all US citizens I work with have realistic views on the Iranian gov but do not extend that to the citizenry.

But to say as Ernest W. did that there is no hate there outside the gov is the height of naivete or bias, no matter his apparent belief that from his individual experience he can extrapolate universal axioms. To say that hate only resides in the US is something beyond naivete that should be obvious.

I was less than a mile from a bomb explosion in 2001 that killed over a dozen women and children, and it was placed and denoted by extremist citizens, not the gov. Academics have been not only detained, but imprisoned and worse for completely spurious reasons. The risks are acceptable to me, but they are real, and in the rare event where things go bad, they tend to go very badly, and not always at the hand of the gov.

I concur it is a trip worth taking, but one should be educated and aware, to which end I applaud Dan and Audrey for their contribution.

Hi, I am not ignorant of where hate resides in this world…especially after 65 years of life, and living in US and working in the Middle East and Europe for many years…hate resides in ignorance. It also resides in misrepresentation of statements such as Roy H. has of my statements. I have found that as a professor, there is a tremendous amount of misinformation regarding Iran among my American students. Much of their misinformation is due to the constant bombardment that we have on a daily bases from our media and our government.

I have found that unfortunately, our ignorance of the people of Iran and of how things work in Iran have resulted in a very short-sighted policy in our relationship with Iran. In this case the sanctions that we have applied to Iran have impacted the the middle and lower classes of Iran, but not the rich who support the government there. It is manifest at all levels…have you tried to get a student visa for a middle or lower class Iranian! Compare what you have to do to get them here, as opposed to the ease with which you can get a student visa for a Japanese student. Have you listened to the questions that are asked of an Iranian when they pass through customs into the US or even Italy, as opposed to the ease with which other nationals are able to pass through customs? There is a woman in the US Embassy who is so abusive to Iranians trying to obtain visas to the US that she is described on a website as the “Don’t Talk, Don’t Talk Lady” because she doesn’t even let the young Iranian students being interviewed talk. I have found that in general, on a one to one level, people get along. As I said, I have numerous friends throughout the Middle East and Europe, and even though we may not agree on politics we do get along. But their are those people who are clearly filled with some kind of hate that twists the way they deal with other people. The families of many of my students have, because of the inflation of the Iranian Rial due to both the sanctions and internal mismanagement of the economy, resulted in a destruction of the middle class in Iran. The agents of change there have been stripped of any influence that they may have had.

Regarding extremists…most whether they are officially sanctioned or not…operate with their own agenda. Most organized groups operate with greater or lesser governmental cooperation or at less non-interferance. The point is any extremists are a minority, but usually have an influence far beyond their numbers.

What I have found is that as individuals, we cannot do much, but what we do can have a tremendous impact…you know light one candle…so I will sit here (today I am in southern Italy working with my Iranian students) and try to further international relations in the best way that I can.

By the way, I had my third visa application to visit Iran rejected…and don’t expect that I will ever have one approved.

Dear sir/Madam I am an Iranian Travel agent in Tehran, also tour guide.Having M.A in tourism planning , teaching tourism at the university.much interested to deal with American travel rs.agencies and tour operators.As a travel agent, have capability to get visa for Americans who are interested to visit Iran, the land of hospitality and kindness to all people of the world. we can be the host of Americans both individual or tour groups. however form of group of paks is better. I can send you the application form of visa if it,s necessary. your intimate friend , S.M.Hashemy

In the last 5 years,we have never had a visa problem! It’s about finding the right organization to work with in Tehran and that is what IranCustom Travel.com has been doing for over 100 American travelers Plus arrange for your trip; hotels,meals,guides,fees and tours focused on interests from antiques to ziggurats.Based in New we talk with every one with Iran on their wish list.

Just got back from Iran yesterday! Had another wonderful trip there! Can’t wait for my next trip there in August!

Hi Marvin, How do you handle your visa? Does a travel agency do it for you? Or do you go via the Turkish Embassy in Washington D.C.?

@Ernest, For me, my mother in law submits an invitation letter to the Foriegn Minister’s office. Then I apply for my visa.

Thanks…I have to wait on that…we are not married yet…

hey guys,im an iranian.i read cament but i underestand a part of it.i like to teraveling American in iran.iran is verey nice for yours.my peopl love American tourists.i learn English becus I visit you.come to iran and enjoy in it

tanks a lot

Thanks for sharing your experience, and as an Iranian, hope that our minorities with the majority of power (politicians) make it so that the sanctions will be lifted soon and that the two nations can do much more business together.

Great, informative post! Not sure if you have information for my situation, but I thought I’d throw it out there because I can’t find any other info: I am an American man married to an Iranian woman. We’d like to go back for her brother’s wedding but never seriously considered it because we heard it was very hard for Americans to get visas. Your post tells me differently. Do you have any idea if someone in my situation can go without a tour guide (I’d be with her family the whole time – so it would be like a local sponsor)? We also have a baby together, and we are married under Islamic an American laws. Just wondering if you have come across anyone else in our situation.

To Chris: I suggest you contact the Iranian Interests Section in Washington directly.Or better, hve your wife call. It would be wise to have documentation of the wedding date and be certain to state you are married under Islamic law (You may have converted?) They are very helpful. good luck.let me know

@Chris, I am in the same sitation as you. My wife is Iranian and we were married under Islamic Law. You should have your wife contact that Iranian instrest section in D.C. and ask them to make sure what all you need to do in order to apply for a visa. I go to Iran at least once every year if not more. My wife and daughter are in Iran right now. I was with them there for a week and left them there for a couple of months. I will go back to get them next month and will fly in by myself. We do not use a Tour Group. Not sure if your In Laws are there in Iran or not? When I say In Laws, i am talking about your Mother in Law or Father in Law. What we do is have my Mother in Law go to the Foreign Minister’s office in Tehren and apply for me a Visa. Then they have it sent to where ever I plan to pick it up. Once they are issiued a case number which takes about 10 days, they tell me the case number then I apply with a Visa application using the case number. If I go through D.C., I send my passport along with the application, flight info and Passport photos. Also there is a charge, so I send a money order as well. It normally takes about a week on the turn around. This next time that I go to Iran in Aug, I will just fly into Dubai and pick up my Visa there at the Iranian Embassy. Since you are an American, you can not get a Mutiple Entry Visa. So each time that you choose to go to Iran, you will have to apply for a new one each time. I always get a 30 day visa even though I am never there more than a couple of weeks. You should not have a problem getting a Visa if you have proof that you have been married to your Iranian wife under Islamic Law. Also it would help if your wife has had your name put as her husband in her Iranian ID. I hope this helps! Let me know if you need more info.

Marvin – Thanks so much! We have not found any advice about an American man entering with an Iranian wife, so this is very, very useful. Her parents and several siblings live in Iran, and they were planning to go to the Foreign Ministry on Saturday. The good news is that we were indeed married under Islamic law here in Denver (I converted, and we have the certificate) and I am listed as her husband in her Iranian ID. Do you have any idea of what her parents need to bring to apply for the visa for me in Tehran? Do they just give them my name?

Her brother is getting married at the beginning of September, which means we’re on a tight deadline. As I mentioned before, we weren’t going to go at all – her parents thought the situation there might not be good for an American, and we thought the visa situation would be impossible. Now, however, I’d like to give it a shot, and it does sound doable. I essentially have about 7 weeks to get the visa. So I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

Thanks so much for the advice and help. Btw, we did call the Iranian Interests section, and the woman there said to just send them the form for a visa and that I’d probably get it. However, she did not even mention the fact that we’d need to have someone in Iran apply at the Foreign Ministry first. We found that later online. So, while helpful, the Iranian Interests section wasn’t exactly forthcoming/clear on the information. Thanks again in advance.

I’ll let you all know how it turns out.

To clarify, Marvin, my wife and I have made copies of our passports, marriage certificates (one in Farsi and one in English), the document showing I converted to Islam and her birth certificate with my name in it, as well as our infant daughter’s US birth certificate. Her parents are going to print it all out and bring them in tomorrow.

@ Chris, Once you and your daughter get your visa’s, and you and your family book your flights. Your next step should be the VIP at the airport. Their numbers that your wife’s family can call in Iran are 55678558, 55678529, or 51007994.

The price for their service is 50 USD per adult, and 25 USD for your daughter. Also if someone in your wife’s family would like to meet you and your family in the VIP while you wait to be cleared through customs, then they can pay 17 USD. They can be waiting in the VIP or what they call the CIP lounge, when you arrive.

This is what I do each time that I go to Iran and like I say it helps with the process. Last month when we arrived to Iran, as soon as we departed the plane, there was a guy waiting on the ramp with a sign with our names. They took us down a set of stairs and there was a van waiting for us. We took a short ride to the CIP lounge and never even step foot into the airport. While we were in the van, we gave them our baggage claim tags and we put a ribbon with a special design on each of our suit cases. We gave them a piece of the ribbon and this help them to find our bags. Once we arrived to the CIP lounge, we were greeted by my sister-in-law and her husband. The rest of the family waited outside the doors for us until we cleared. While we waited we were served Hot Tea and Cake. I heard latter that there was a buffet. I wish I had not missed that part, but you can believe that I will be looking for it when I return. LOL!!! Also while we waited, we were given the green light from an officer to go and be with the rest of the family while we waited for our suitcases. They are very friendly and even the officers that I have had to deal with have been very kind.

One thing that you should have on you is the address written in Farsi where you will be staying. They will ask for this when you get finger printed. With me on the finger prints, it is a hit or miss each time that I go there. Only because I have been to Iran so many times. This last time was one of those times that they did not ask me to get finger printed! I hope that you and your wife will find this info helpful!

@Chris, Sounds like you are sending everything that is required. You need to also send a copy of your daughter’s passport along with passport photos of both you and your daughter. I am sure that you are doing that. Once your wife’s family gets a case number, then you send you and your daughter’s passport along with marriage certificates and birth certificates to the Iranian Intrest Section in D.C. You need to have your wife’s family contact the VIP section of the Tehran Airport. I will get that info for you asap. This will help you get into the country once you arrive. It cost a small fee and I use it every time that I go to Iran. I like to think of it as a little insurance. You will be finger printed more than likely when you arrive. They will not finger print your daughter. Iran is fine for Americans right now. In fact this last time that I was there, we landed on Election Day. We even went out to the streets after the election to watch everyone celebrating! We walked past several police and none of them even looked at us twice. I hope that you get your visa and that you have a wonderful time there in Iran!

Christ Marvin, talking about details! Are you so meticulous in everything? Lol. As an Iranian I must say I’m well impressed with your advice.

@Kourosh I have the good advice because Man Irani Hastam! Lol! In my heart anyway! I love Iran!

You certainly display many of Iranian characteristics. We are glad to have you as part of our wider family. Shoma Irani(%) hastid.

Thanks again Marvin. Yeah, my wife’s sister used that VIP service recently and highly recommended it. Great information and advice. I hope a lot of other people find this thread if they’re considering travel to Iran. My mother-in-law tried to call the Foreign Ministry over and over again today to get info on what to bring for the visa, but she could never actually get through to anyone. She’s going to head over tomorrow. They don’t actually have a passport photo of me – I have sent one via email that they will try to print out. Did you actually send your photo to your inlaws by mail? I hope the printout works so we don’t have to send it snail mail. I figured they’d only want my photo once I actually apply myself at the Pakistan Embassy in DC.

Thanks again, will report back soon (hopefully!)

@Chris, Send only scanned copies of your passport, wife’s ID, marriage certificates, daughter’s birth certificate, etc…. to your mother-in-law via email. That is all I do. Thanks, Marvin

@Chris, Also, as you said, you only need to send photos of both you and your daughter along with your passports and other stuff that I have listed in past post to the Iranian Intrest Section in D.C. once you get the case number from your In-Laws in Iran. There is not a box or line on the application for the case number. I write the case number on the Application near the top of the page, and I lable it as the Case Number. We send our stuff to D.C. Fed-Ex. And as I told you before, it takes about a week on the turn around!

@Kourosh, :o)

@Marvin: Thank you so much for all the help and support you have provided to Chris on and off this forum. Really is so wonderful to see people helping each other like this to make something that seemed impossible a reality.

@Chris: So glad that thanks this comment thread helped you get the detailed information you needed – it’s thanks to the great knowledge and support from the people who are subscribed to the comments. Good luck with the paperwork and please let us know how it goes!

@Audrey, Anytime and you are always very welcome!

@Marvin: You’re a saint, Marvin. Back in the spring your comments and suggestions were a godsend. My son is married and it all went great. Thanks again.

@Ron from Canada! I am glad that I was able to help you out and that all went well! You are very welcome! When I go back to Iran next month to get my wife and daughter, my wife’s sister is getting married! I can not wait! Persian Weddings are the Best!

Hi! I’m an Iranian Glad to see you had a nice time in Iran. come back soon 😉

Just a quick update: Encouraged by this post, the above comments and Marvin’s advice, we had my in-laws apply for me at the Iranian foreign ministry. We just got the approval number back – it only took about 10 days! I sent my visa application out yesterday to the Iranian Interests section of the Pakistani Embassy, so our fingers are crossed. I think we’re actually going to risk it and book our tickets tonight because the prices are getting prohibitive. I’ll let you all know what happens, in the hopes someone else can find this useful. My in-laws are so excited, as it looks like we might be able to make my brother-in-law’s wedding. Needless to say, I’m excited too!

@Chris! Congrats Buddy! You got the approval number, so the hard part is done! I am so very excited for you and I can not wait to hear back from you about your trip to Iran! Have a Great Time! I am counting the days down myself, for my return trip to Iran. Keep us posted!

As an Iranian it’s excessively pleasant emotion when I see there are lots of people who are interested to visit our country after these hardships… believe it or not most of news in which show us as uncivilized population is NOT true! don’t be afraid if you just looking for visiting an ancient country with dating back over 2500 years. we are ready to give you a warm hug. I’m a mechanical engineer and I’m working in oil and gas field, it’s my pleasure to write me what you want to know about traveling to IRAN. YOURS SINCERELY [email protected]

@Thomas: Shiraz was one of our favorite cities in Iran. People are very friendly there and the market is wonderful. When we were in Iran we didn’t have any problems with theft (neither did anyone else in our group) and we felt it to be a very safe place. I wouldn’t leave your iPhone or laptop unattended at a cafe, but in terms of pickpocketing and such we didn’t find it all problematic.

As for prices, what Neda mentioned is true. There is high inflation now as the currency has fallen tremendously against the US dollar (think it’s about 1/3 to 1/2 less than when we were there). So while the price in Rial might be higher, it will most likely be cheaper in hard currency. I’ve heard that now is a particularly cheap time to travel through Iran because of the currency problems.

@Neda: Thanks for explaining the currency fluctuations happening right now. We’ve also read many reports on how the inflation and prices are really affecting middle and lower class Iranians. I do hope that things will stabilize soon.

I am a soon to be retiring English teacher,American living in Japan. I plan to visit Iran alone in March of 2014 for about 15 days. I want to spend all my time in Shiraz. One concern is theft of items. second concern is the changing prices of things, particularly services like taxis, food and even hotel accomodations. I have read several travelers blogs and they all mentioned sudden higher prices than what is/was printed in previous travel references.

thomas I live in Iran.what others had mentioned about prices is right but its wrong if you think it effects tourists,its just making horrible finantial jam for IRANIANS.Surely you’re not gaining money in Rial,hence you’re gonna exchange to Rial in Iran.SO even if any price gets more expensive it means unfortunately our currency is plunding and loosing its value and it makes goods cheaper for anyone with other currencies….Imagine a bread is $1 and you gain about 30000 Rial to exchange $1,now if a bread gets more expensive,you will also get more Rial,exchanging $1…

@Marisak: Depending upon Thomas’ nationality he may or may not need a guide. If he’s not an American citizen then he’ll have more flexibility. That said, I do recommend visiting Persepolis with a guide to understand the history and the significance of all the detailed engravings and art.

@m.qaredaqi: Also, if one is not an American citizen you can actually stay with couchsurfers. Really impressed by what an active and engaged couchsurfing community Iran has. And yes, Shiraz is an easy place to meet people and have a good time!

@Marisak: Thanks for the correction. I was focused on him being an English teacher and didn’t notice the nationality. Yes, then he will need to find a tour company to sponsor his visa and take care of hotel and guide arrangements.

Thanks also for the update about Canadian and English citizens not being able to partake in couchsurfing at this time.

you’re welcome. I had been in Shiraz only 4 times but I do love the city.it’s my first favorite city in Iran and the Second one is Isfahan.@Thomas,if you have time I highly suggest you to visit Isfahan as well 😉 (also sorry i always have too much typo! LOL! like plunging in the previous comment:P )

As I’m sure you are aware, you will need a guide..and since you want to stay in Shiraz, i’m assuming you are most interested in the poets and persopolis…so the most important factor will be to have the agency pick a guide with the relevant background.The other questions you asked have been answered. Everything else from your visa et al are no problems..as long as ou pick the right agency…one that will work with your time frame and costs. I suggest you google iran Custom Travel and get a conversation going… they were very helpful to our needs.I shoiuld add that you are perfectly safe but be sure to research for the agencyand be sure they are certified by the Ministry of Tourism.

hi Thomas,you can hang out with locals in Shiraz. use couchsurfers website to contact them. I’m sure Iranian will help you to have great time in Shiraz.

Audrey. He did state he is an American..therefore must have a guide and cannot stay in a private home..FYI ..the same applies to Brits or Canadians at this time.

I’ve been watching the most recent exchange with Thomas with rye interest. It highlights the misconceptions that many Americans have about traveling in foreign countries. Through the years I have traveled extensively in Middle and South America, northern, central and southern Europe, and in Egypt, Jordan and Syria in the eastern Mediterranean. I have walked the streets of the cities of those countries at night and have never encountered what I have in downtown Reno, Nevada, when I took a young Iranian friend of mine on a walk there one evening last Fall. We found a gang fight on the main street of at 8 in the evening during which one young man was nearly beaten to death. You can walk any evening in Reno and run into drunks who are panhandling, prostitutes propositioning you, or young punks ready to extort you. I have never run into this in the streets of cities in other countries…Cairo, Amman, Damascus, Athens, Rome, or Munich. Just this weekend a bank was robbed in Reno, a man was shot, a dead body was identified. For the month of July in Reno a city of about 228,000, there were: 57 commercial burglaries, 105 reports of destruction of property, 105 residential burglaries, 35 robberies 113 vehicles stolen, and 112 vehicle burglaries. So I think that shows that you might want to spend your time in Shiraz, Isfahan or Tehran rather than in Reno, Nevada! Regarding prices…oh God yes…the poorly thought out sanctions that the West has imposed upon Iran is destroying the middle class, and has made it incredibly difficult for young Iranians to travel abroad, or to go to school abroad. Many cannot even afford to take the exams that are required for entrance at universities in the US or Europe. I work with young Iranians everyday, and the economic and social cost of our sanctions upon the people of Iran is incalculable. As some of my students say, an American can live like a king in Iran at the current rate of inflation…Spring a year ago the Rial was worth 12,000 to the dollar (that is what is still quoted in the market), But in reality it is now closer to 31,500 to the dollar, and salaries and wages have not kept up with the inflation. So Thomas, travel in Iran without fear, and don’t worry about your pocket book…it will not be stollen or emptied by prices there. And definitely, see not only Shiraz, and Isfahan, but you might also check out Hamadan, and visit the Caspian Sea coast as well…Mazandaran is certainly worth a visit. And of course the town of Masuleh.

Just wanted to update everyone on here that my attempts to secure an Iranian visa were successful! It only took about two weeks total.

As a refresher, I am an American man married to an Iranian woman, and we both live in the US. I came to this site two months ago because I could not find ANY information for someone in my situation. I posted a comment on this thread and was encouraged by the response of the authors and another reader. I hope others in my situation find this thread!

We honestly thought it was not possible for me to go, and here I am now, with an Iranian visa in my passport and airline tickets in hand. I will be attending a Persian wedding, exploring Tehran and hopefully going up north and also to Esfahan.

Thanks to everyone who provided me with advice and encouragement (especially Marvin). Can’t wait to explore this wonderful country.

@ Chris Congratulations mate. I actually remember your first post and the follow ups, and it’s great to know it’s worked out well for you. I have no doubt you and your wife will have great time while there. It’s amazing what Dan and Audrey have already achieved where politicians at opposing end of the globe continually fail to do. Well done both; your objectives are taking shape nicely 😉

@Chris Your last comment made me really happy.Congratulations.My fiance will go the same way next year.Actually we never succeeded to be in my country Iran together but I’m hopeful we will finally make our wonderful persian wedding in Tehran 🙂

Having lived in Japan myself for years and being from NYC, I can tell you’ve been in Japan too long 😉 Reading Farsi (or Arabic for that matter) is far easier than Japanese, but more difficult to speak (Taarof (think Keigo) is rough) for native English speakers. Either way, you should be with a guide who will be handy for translation.

As for tour companies based in Shiraz, I personally have used key2persia and found them to be great. Most tour companies will ask for compensation in hard currency (either Euros or USD), though some might accept credit cards/bank transfers via the UAE. If you’re in Tokyo and need USD from an American account (to avoid USD-JPY-USD scenarios), the New Sanno Hotel in Minato has an ATM that issues USD on the second floor. Bring your passport as the hotel used by the US Navy (hence the ATM). It’s about an 8 minute walk to there from the Iranian embassy (where I’m assuming you’re getting your visa…be great to get some feedback on that process!)

Thanks for all the comments and reassurances. I am a little nervous, as I will be alone, and my whole condition has changed since I was a univ. student hitchhiking in Europe. I wonder if anyone can recommend a book that has at least a good sized chapter about the history and culture of Shiraz. I am very familiar with the poet Rumi, but I don’t really know much about Saadi, though I have heard both are similar? yes? no?

I was supposed to receive my text on Farsi for dummies, from Amazon.com but it hasn’t arrived. I do hope it will be easier than Japanese 🙁

Regarding the tour company, there are probably a huge number…should I just Google Shiraz and tour company?

@Chris, Congrats on the Visa and you are very welcome! If you need anymore help, let me know.

@Everybody else on this blog. If you go back and read some post that I made in the past (Post 67 & 71) you will see where I had said how much it cost to get a visa at the Iranian Embassy in Dubai. Last year it was 485 Dirham for the Visa and that they required you buy Travel Insurance. (132.02 USD for both visa and the Insurance) Well this year the price has gone up. It is now 525 Dirham (142.93 USD) for the Visa and the Travel Insurance. I also got a Visa earlier this year from the Iranian Interest Section in Washington D.C. In D.C. there is no requirement for you to buy Travel Insurance. However the Visa there will cost you approx $128 USD for just the visa, plus another $30 USD for return postage. I thought that I would throw that out there.

Also, for those of you who are thinking about going to Iran and “DO NOT” have to use a tour group… I can not recommend enough using the VIP service at the airport in Tehran. They call it CIP. I met a couple in Dubai at the Iranian Embassy two weeks ago. The wife was Iranian and her husband was German. It was going to be the husbands first time to go to Iran. They really did not know what to expect upon arrival at the airport. I told them to use the CIP service and they did. I was able to meet up with them a couple of days ago here in Iran. They told me that they only used the CIP service for the husband and that the wife went in through the regular immigration process. They told me that the husband was processed and cleared in less than 5 minutes. They laughed about how he had to wait almost an hour for his wife to clear immigration and customs. They also thanked me for telling them about the CIP and said that they will both use it in the future.

Hi Thomas, There have not been many books written about Saadi. you will probably get your best info on his life by googling Saadi of Shiraz and following link. Suggest you contact IranCustomTravel, whwther you and start an e-mail dialogue with them. They were extremely thorough with many orientations before we left…and the guides were excellent. Whether you travel with them or not, they will be helpful.Great you’re learning Farsi,but you won’t be lost with English.All signs are in English,hotel staff and more people than you expect speak English.

@Thomas: I’m not sure what sort of services/products that were being purchased by the western travelers that you read about. We didn’t find that the situation about charging higher prices for foreigners was bad in Iran (e.g., it’s worse in places like India, Turkey, Egypt, etc.). That said, it’s always good to take precautions to protect yourself from overcharging.

Always ask the price in advance for a service or thing that you’re buying. Sometimes things that we think of as cheap might be expensive there because of import issues and things that we think of as expensive might be cheap there. What we always did was ask to see a menu or price list ourselves instead of trusting the information that our guide told us (because we realized after the first few meals he was taking a hefty commission for himself). The Persian numbers are different, but we learned them pretty quickly and we also downloaded an app for our iPhone that translated them. As for other services, we negotiated our guide in advance (before we got to Iran) and the hotels were part of the price of our tour/private guide so we didn’t have to negotiate those. As an American citizen, your tour company will likely need to make your accommodation arrangements for you as part of the visa & bureaucracy requirements. One thing to note is that tour companies will try to offer you first 4* hotels, but if you insist on it you can also negotiate accommodation at 2*-3* hotels. Or, what we did is we just told them our budget and they made accommodation arrangements accordingly. We took a few taxis, but the rates were negotiated for us by Iranians we trusted. Also, we paid for our tour in hard currency but everything else we paid in local currency.

Good luck making all the arrangements and let us know if we can be of other help.

I had an earlier question, not clearly expressed, that of Western (American/British) tourists who were told a significant higher price for the service/product than what they expected from their other information. They implied that they believed the prices were jacked up specifically for them and not for others. Comments here have assumed that the price is the same for everyone, however that was not my impression from reading those travelers blogs, but they couldn’t know for sure. The price in one case involved a hotel room at a “cheap” hotel. Cheap is a relative term, I can’t afford the higher priced hotels, but I am not going for the cheapest ones as I am thinking of staying at least a week so the jacked up rate in my case is multiplied by 7 or whatever. In the other case it was a taxi service, and a few have already commented here that you should not hail a (possibly unregistered?) taxi on the street.

If the country is going through such a severe inflation rate as suggested by some of the comments here, then it seems that such turmoil will have a strong influence on how hard or how far some people aware of the tourists will go to get access to hard currency/ or as much as possible. I have a sympathy for hotels and restaurants that have to get supplies from outside Iran, so I can understand rate hikes that are associated with that kind of situation.

What anyone like myself is asking for is justice, to be treated fairly, or equally (with any other visitor).

I see there are a surprisingly large number of “learning Persian” blogs. Does anyone have any recommendations?

@Thomas, It’s unfortunate that you have heard such negative comments. There are “Uncertified” agencies swimming around the net , that went into” business ” and are not certified by the government. The Ministry of Tourism has strict controls on handling tourists and if you work with them, you will not experience the dishonest practices. Though as an Australian you do not need a guide, for just the reasons you noted,you are better off paying for a guide who cannot allow such fooling around, or they will loose their job.I strongly suggest you contact IranCustomTravel.com and ask their advice. As Audrey wrote, you can tell them your budget and they will eiither work with it or suggest a direction for you to take.Let me know.

I have just spent some time reading from this lengthy comment section! I have read them with a somewhat sinking heart, as I still feel the same way about Japan, as these Iranian/American couples feel about Iran, but I will be leaving in 2015. Iran is my first venture outside.

I appreciate the responses to my worries, and the practical advice to anticipate these kinds of problems. Here among the Japanese I teach of my generation, all of them think I am almost crazy to choose to visit Iran, even though I understand there are some large Japanese companies doing work there. The reason for their fears is not so much political, I am pretty sure it is religious. Japanese I know are not prejudiced about religion, but there is a vast ignorance which can easily become fearful from the day’s news. I am still waiting for my Farsi language text.

@Thomas: I think that if you are able to get a visa to visit Iran you will have one of the most wonderful experiences of your life, even if you are as old as I am. I have so many friends there, but am not able to get a visa, perhaps because I am an environmental scientist, or perhaps because they think I must be a grumpy old man. You know from your experience teaching in Japan that visiting other countries and meeting the people and interacting with them is the most incredible experience you can ever have in your life. I just returned from working in southern Italy for two months. I was so stimulated that even on only four hours of sleep a night I was ready to go the next day, and I am ready to go back again. In fact, I find Reno, Nevada, an incredible let down. I would rather be somewhere in Puglia dancing the pizzica. Oh, and the Pimsleur language program actually is pretty good if you want to learn some basic phrases in Farsi. You can even load it onto your smart phone and practice anywhere. The cost is not too bad.

I have a question for the rest of you. Have any of you heard of, or have you had experience with a program called “The Hospitality Club”? Is it worthwhile investigating? If someone knows please post here. Thanks.

@Ernest: I’ve heard of the Hospitality Club, but we’ve never used them. Looks rather similar to CouchSurfing (which we have used).

Love “Humans of New York”! I assume you know about the portraits he took on his trip to Iran last year. Just fabulous photos and stories of ordinary people.

Oh, and has anyone checked out the website “Humans of New York”?

Hello everyone I’m Mehdi and I’m from Iran I found you guys interested in Our beloved Iran 🙂 so i’m gonna give you a useful link to Brandon’s (i guess this guy was born with no sure name! ) Famous Website , Humans Of NY , Brandon traveled to Iran last year , here you can find his astonishing photographs: http://www.humansofnewyork.com/tagged/iran

and after all , if you decided to come to Iran , I Can Show You around as a guide in some provinces. have fun 🙂

Thank you Audrey. I have been trying to get to Iran for the last year and a half now, but can’t get a visa. Three strikes and your out I guess. It is really discouraging for my gf and I. We are beginning to wonder if we’ll ever get together again. And on this end the US State Department is so tight with their visas that it is very difficult to get into the US. I have had one of my students turned down twice now. And another student who is finishing her BA and her mother has not been able to visit her the 4.5 years that she has been going to school here even to see her daughter graduate from the university. Anyway thanks to you and Dan for this website. It does give us some hope.

Well, all I can say is that your blog is as amusing and it is informative, and I truly enjoyed reading it. Not only because I am an Iranian myself – I actually found your blog when I was looking for some info regarding traveling to Turkmenistan and loved your article about the rules and regulations there. Then, as any good axis-of-evil-citizen would do, just found the Iran section and as a result, stopped working and started reading your blog. A couple of hours already and I have not yet covered all. I am very glad to see that you had enjoyed your trip. I am now an expat in Turkey, but when I was working in Iran I always had many business partners traveling over and they often left with satisfaction. There are pros and cons while considering traveling to Iran, and sure enough, the determining factor for enjoying your trip would be to set your expectations first. You should know what to expect and decide if achieving those expectations, as a result of your trip, would make you happy. Anyhow, as I said, I am an expat in Turkey now so I will be very glad to see you guys next time you come over to this part of the world. If you decided to visit my city, me and my wife would be honored to host you in our apartment.

Hi all. We’re set to leave for Tehran in a few days. Very excited, but apprehensive at the same time. The Syria situation – and Iran’s potential response – has us concerned. So I’ll throw this out to Dan, Aubrey and other readers: Is this a valid concern in your estimation for an American traveling to Iran? It increasingly looks like the US and its allies will respond to the Syrian situation in some fashion – the latest news saying America might launch missles – and Iran has already warned that such action would be unacceptable. Not sure if that’s the best time for an American to be traveling around Iran… Thanks in advance.

Er, sorry, Audrey, not Aubrey 🙂

@Chris I understand your concern but you’ll have very little to worry about. Any response by Iran to attacks on Syria will be done through proxies and won’t be immediate anyway. Also Iranian politics and politicians have come a long way since the 70’s!

If you ask me, this is not a legitimate concern. The issue with Syria is a governmental thing, and like all the other things of that nature, does not have much to do with the people. Even if it did, no one would blame it on Americans traveling inside their country. Go and enjoy your trip. The Syria issue will not change anything for you as a visitor.

Hi sweet Americans!

Of course, I hail from within your great and beautiful country as an international student ORIGINALLY from Iran.

This article was pretty good and I am glad to see there is a steady increase in such eye-opening writings.

I have had the fortune of meeting many American-European tourists (Americans with both citizenships). They were all such nice people.

Unfortunately, a vast majority of American tourists who have visited Iran since the Islamic Revolution of 1979 have been seniors, mostly people in their early seventies. Not that that is bad really. In brings income and employment to my homeland and it is certainly better than no American tourists. But I would feel much better if there will be an increase in the number of younger American tourists in Iran.

My dear Americans! Iranians are one of the most misrepresented (and, therefore, misunderstood) people in the world. The 1979 revolution and the international isolation that followed for two decades after that really damaged my country’s image in the eyes of Western minds, especially those of Americans. Prior to the revolution, Iran and the US had such close relations that it seemed that geographical distances mattered not. As my parents say, Iran was the only third-world ally of the US that was not viewed as a puppet.

The people in Iran who have anti-American sentiment are undereducated fanatics who blindly support the Islamic regime’s detrimental foreign policies and sell themselves out to the authorities in exchange for a small financial compensation or a little status. An absolute majority of Iranians are xenophilics, they are especially curious toward Americans (as much as you guys are curious about them!) because Europeans have been around even after the revolution. So, Iranians are bored of Europeans!!! lol

If you really love Iran, don’t hesitate! Get that visa, get that ticket and travel to the REAL cradle of civilization and the REAL ancient bridge between the east and the west. Ancient Persia! Iran! 🙂

Chris. You never know if there will be a response or not that might affect you. But don’t worry about your safety. I was all set to go to Iran last year when the Egyptian Copt and Jewish Car Dealer in Hollywood produced the anti-Mohammad video. The response of the Iranian government was to cancel visas for Americans at the time. It just shows you that a very few persons with sick minds can create havoc for the rest of us.

Time is ticking down. My current concern, Managing money; Adurey says to carry cash. Yikes! how much cash and in what denominations do you carry around with you? Do travelers checks work? Here in Japan we are used to doing almost all transactions in cash. So, compared to the US I carry around alot more money ($200.USD, say, compared to $20USD), BUT Japan is not Iran. How much cash are we considering? I know it depends on how much you want to shop….but I tell you 1 I want to visit Shiraz and Persepolis. 2. I want to visit Saadi’s memorial, 3. I want to try to hang out with some high school math and English teachers at a local high school. 4. Yes, I will have to buy half a suitcase full of cheap souvenirs for my students, but that’s it. Nothing fancy. 5. all the time I want to eat good authentic,mostly cheap Persian food… 6. I am thinking of 10 days. so the per day load of cash is what????

Finally, you said the tour operator is the one who starts the process rolling. How do I make a choice on that? Thomas

Dear Thomas, I am an educated inbound marketing manager . I have M.A in tourism planning so I know how to plan an itinerary for the American who like to visit the most famous tourism destinations and attractions of my country where is land of history and civilization with many Unesco registered attractions..Tot.price for 8 days visiting Shiraz, Isfahan and Yazd (F.B)in 4 * hotel with(visa, taxi, Guide,lunch&dinner)is approximately 2000$ . Actually it is a customized tour. Visa duration from receving your certificates (pass.scan and application form) will be 14 official days for submitting reference visa. Think about it Thomas and dont waste your time! Welcome to Iran . Time is gold! Regards, your intimate friend, Mehdi

@Chris: Realize you have a difficult decision ahead of you but hopefully the perspective and advice here (and on email) helps with it. Good luck!

@Thomas: Yes, finding a tour operator to work with to sponsor your visa, provide a guide and help you sort through your itinerary is probably the fist thing you should do. Marisak mentioned a tour company based in New York. We’ve also heard good things about Iran Adventures ( https://www.facebook.com/IranAdventures/ ) based in Tehran from an Iranian-American journalist living there. Best thing is to send emails to 3-4 places with what you want to do with the style of accommodation you want and have them give you a suggested itinerary and price. Then you can choose the one that you feel most comfortable with and trust. Ideally, you can pay these tour fees in advance so you don’t have to worry about bringing this cash with you into the country.

As for how much cash to bring this is another difficult question as we were in Iran before the last round of sanctions so prices have likely changed (higher in local currency, cheaper in US dollars). If I remember correctly, entry prices to everything were rather cheap. I believe Persepolis costs around $1-2 for the entrance fees. A big Persian dinner with kebabs and rice would be about $7-$9 (we often shared this between the two of us), but you can also get falafel sandwiches on the street for under $1. Local tea houses are usually not very expensive either. You can probably negotiate a good rate for a taxi to take you (and your guide) around for the day (tour company can tell you how much that would cost) to take you to Persepolis and Saadi’s Memorial. In Shiraz you can probably walk around or take public transport if you’re meeting with teachers or exploring the city. As for souvenirs, as long as you’re not buying a Persian rug or master miniaturist paintings these should probably be under $5-$10 for small things.

Hope these prices help. My suggestion is to add up what you think you’ll need to spend and then add an extra 20%, just in case. Always better to have extra USD in your pocket than try to find a way to get money wired to you.

Thomas.Your first step is to contact a company with which you can communicate. Without a tour operator you cannot even begin planning your trip,before you have their cooperation in getting your visa processed and they will give you all the answers you need. Forget about doing this on your own. Iran is unlike any country you may have visited. I recommend again you just send an mail to IranCustomTravel.com. They are based in NY. We tried many agencies and found them to bethe most knowledgable.

Thanks yet again. I have acted on your advice and sent an email to the two tour agencies mentioned recently. I am studying free Persian survival phrases online, and practicing Arabic writing. Persian sounds remind me of my French studies, is this accurate. Secondly, I cannot catch the final consonant sounds from the Persian 101 speaker….but Inthink if Iam close enough. Tashakor mikonam! Honto(a little Japanese )

Have you ever tried to memorize Persian vocabulary by playing the piano and singing the words?

@Thomas: When we traveled to Iran we just learned a few Persian words on the go, so didn’t try to memorize words. Good luck with your language learning!

@Amanda: Only US citizens are required to have a guide. You could either a private guide (only you) or you can have a guide with a group. It’s up to you in terms of what style of travel you prefer. As for meeting your friend, you may have to have your guide come with you or you might be able to meet privately. Just let the tour company know if the situation and they can provide some options for you.

As for clothing, you will need to wear a head scarf and “manteau” on top (long shirt or jacket that goes almost to the knee and covers the bottom). You can wear jeans or other pants under the manteau.

Enjoy your trip!

Basically i would like to know when you said a private guide do you mean it can be just yourself and the personal guide or will there be others as well? And as a female is there cerain standards on how i should dress? Im intrested in going to Iran, to be specific Tehran since i have made an iranian friend and he lives there and i would like to visit him but that being the case would i be able to do so on my own or would the guide have to come along or would i have to contact my friend and get him to meet me at a designated area?

@Thomas: I’m sorry for the frustration and disappointment you are experiencing. And that our blog post here might have contributed to this. We tried to be clear on the regulations and hoops that you have to go through to get the visa and have a guide.

The tour companies do yield a lot of power when it comes to traveling to Iran for American citizens. That’s why it’s good to speak to a variety of companies as they can offer different types of services and perspective. Before we went to Iran we thought we would be escorted all the time. That’s why it was such a pleasant surprise when we weren’t.

Just to note, everyone (including 2 other Americans) in our group had similar experiences to us in terms of having flexibility to go to the market and wander the streets after the organized tour stuff. The flexibility wasn’t because we are bloggers (we didn’t advertise that). In fact, the knowledge that we were bloggers would have caused a tighter leash in the eyes of the government.

When it came to our private tour we negotiated hard for almost two months because the first approach was to put us up in 4-5* hotels and include expensive restaurants. We ended up in 2* hotels and ate (and paid for) all our meals in markets/simple restaurants so we had control of our spending and where we ate. We also requested public transport and they agreed, but perhaps the regulations have changed since then. We almost gave up but a friend who had traveled to Iran before encouraged us to just keep asking for options and we came to a compromise.

As in many countries, tour guides do make a good income compared to other people. And they do sometimes try to take advantage of the situation (see my note above about asking for menus and not relying on the guide to tell you the prices). But in terms of ordinary people who came up to us all along the way who were curious about us (and others in our group), hardly any of them were not involved in business or money. They wanted a chance to meet foreigners. Many also asked us to go back home and tell people what Iranians were really like compared to what Americans saw on the news. Many have relatives abroad and know what the reputation of their country is around the world. They want to change that.

We did not buy our airline tickets until after we had our authorization number. So, my suggestion is to do the same – go through the visa process and when you get the authorization number then purchase your ticket. We picked up our visa in Istanbul, which was straightforward and easy.

Good luck with navigating the process and hope you’re able to find a compromise or solution that still meets your needs.

Hi folks, I am about to give up my plans to travel to Shiraz, etc. Since the posting you informed me about the tour company agent go-between as the most basic step. I have been in long email conversations with 1 in NYC.

She enlightened me over my ignorance. Yes, in this blog all the info is here, but some aspects did not leap out at me. So I will tell you what I understand from my email communications. 1. Iran is not N. Korea by any stretch…but for Americans, and someone like myself, the restrictions stretch my imagination to the extreme. For example Shiraz is a 2 night 3 day place. I cannot stay any longer in Shiraz because it is judged that there nothing else on the approved list to see. Yes, it is possible to add things, but there is a limit to the flexibility, hours, not days of extra time. If I wants to stay longer in Iran, I must go on to another city.

2. the guide is with you where ever you go outside of your hotel I suppose. I was told NO public buses, NO walking on the streets to some interesting restaurant that is not a “reasonable distance” away. This means taxis and chartered tourist buses.

3. I am preaching to the choir here, but some new folks may wander in and I would suggest that Audrey edit a little their initial presentation.

The tour agency that hires the guides is THE representative for the tourist to the government. If anything happens, the hammer falls on the tour company not on the tourist. So, if audrey has a free wheeling tour guide, that person is gambling that such a cute, sexy-looking couple who have some Internet PR clout can be allowed to bend the rules. The corporate-like agency I emailed in NYC, knows the big picture of what is happening in Iran, but is not about to endanger its relationship to the gov. over a tourist like me.

4. BIG US dollars speak LOUDLY, or in the case of Audrey Scott, the personal factors in #3 can compensate. But in the case of me, a single traveler of modest, not poor, but modest means, the rules are not as flexible. The tourist with alot of US dollars and spending, after the new devaluation, an imam’s 3 month salary just for a few days is TREATED royally. The money creates a leverage so that ALMOST any problem can be blamed on local authorities, and they will SINCERELY make an unusual effort to clean up the situation. I was given a few examples of this.

5. Yes the ordinary citizens are super kind because think of the brush with the ideals and MONEY Westerners represent. In most cases our ordinary hotel meals cost a day’s salary. Our clothes and everything speak loudly of affluence and connote POWER.

6. Under the surface, the tour guides…I could say more about what I have learned about their job, and their inclination, but it isn’t relevant to us. They are paid handsomely to do what they do. And they know it. How many of the young men and women who rush up to the US tourists to say hello, dream of being a tour guide? And how does one get that opportunity, and who are chosen?? I have learned alot from the tour agencies I have contacted, or am trying to contact.

7. THE Biggest problem for me, in my desire to visit Iran is none of the above

The biggest problem for me is that my visa might be disapproved and if I have already bought my airline tickets..This is what worries me the most…Of course if this were solved, I may grumble about all the points mentioned above (at night in my hotel room) I think I would still go. At this moment I am still studying Persian language for speaking. And I downloaded the PersianPod101 app for my iPad. regards, Thomas

@Thomas I have to chime in here. The companies have to say that you will always be accompanied by your tour guide. The reality will vary by tour company and especially by tour guide, but I was also tacitly “allowed” (as in, they turned their heads, but did not necessarily tell me I was allowed) to wander around by myself after tour activities were over. In my case, the tour guide would go to his/her own home in the afternoon after our activities, so I was alone at the hotel and often basically “free” to do as I pleased for the rest of the evening. It will also vary based on city, as one of my guides informed me the tourist police are more active in some cities than others and requested that I be back to the hotel by a certain hour. @Audrey/Thomas Unfortunately, I think that if you are an American you must buy your plane tickets in order to submit your visa application to the Iranian Consulate (Pakistani Embassy). At least this was true in my case as an American applying for the visa within America–and I wasn’t able to find any way around this other than to first leave the country and then apply for the visa at another embassy, such as an Istanbul like Audrey. I went ahead and bought the tickets without knowing if I would get the visa, and it was a big risk.

Also, I took an “IranLife” tour, which had us taking public transportation and sleeping in lower quality hotels. I wasn’t chartered around on a bus; I was able to walk in the streets, talk to people, and get a feel for Iranian life, in my opinion. At least as good a feel as I can get as an American. It definitely stung when I saw Australians or European backpackers wandering around as they wanted, but I was still pleased with the experience that I had.

@Lauren: Thanks for your long and very helpful comment sharing your experiences. I remember being in touch with you guys in advance of our trip and you were both so helpful with your advice. Do know that feeling of envy seeing the European and Australian travelers couchsurfing their way across Iran 🙂 But we both had a good experiences even with the restrictions.

As for buying the ticket in advance of getting the authorization number, perhaps it differs consulate by consulate.

@Lauren, @Audrey

My experiences with Pars mirrored that of Lauren’s, but tickets were not required at the US special interests section ( Aug. of 2011) and the price & service vary from consulate to consulate regardless of the visa in question ;-). We ended up buying very last minute as a result of not wanting to have tickets without a visa (open jawed JFK->SYZ, IKA -> JFK both via IST). In hindsight (and for Thomas), I would have the visa routed to Istanbul and buy long haul tickets to there. Picking up low cost carrier (Pegasus Air) tickets to Tehran is extremely inexpensive if done early enough (or even last minute; 40€ OW for tomorrow). Worse case scenario you get a great time in Turkey. 🙂

hi again folks, Audrey, NO apologies needed here, Everything eventually works out, just sometimes not as we expect it to. So, I just learned that my future Peace Corps application would not be affected by a trip to Iran. I continue to study! The pendulum continues to sway from great hopes to lack of hope, and now turning back in the other direction.

Another reason for me to visit Shiraz. How many great places can you think of visiting, anyone, during the end of Feb. and the first 2 weeks of March? Even my alternative dream, recently investigated, is Konya, Turkey, location of Rumi memorial, and maybe a nice place, is rather cold. In the part of Japan I live in, probably our summers over the last 5 years have gotten longer, and coldest days, reducing. So that I don’t a single HEAVY winter coat for severe cold, anymore.

@Thomas: Glad to hear that things are working out, one way or another. And, that a visit to Iran wouldn’t affect the Peace Corps application. A few years ago I met a former Peace Corps volunteer who was in Iran in the 70s. Fascinating to hear her experiences from that time.

Where can I find the travel agent to help initiate the paper work to get the visa? Or where can I start can I do the paperwork myself?

Hi again folks, Sorry to subject you to a blow by blow account of my process.

1. I suggest Audrey/Dan, (whomever likes revising and clearing up details) that you say going to Iran is 3 step process 1. decide on a tour agent 2 and 3 you have already covered.

2. Next, in the section choosing a tour company, you say that it is a question of cost and travel style. BUT, Dan, Audrey, you don’t tie in the “cost factor” in the above discussion. This leaves one to wonder which is bottom line cheaper for the same tour. “individual” or “group”?

3. It seems to me that if I want to visit a second city,Tehran, for example, (not really,but I may be forced to by requirements…wait I know you will object, but this is how I see the situation at this moment) and as well as my mythical Shiraz, there may be not group tour choice to combine those 2 cities, or those two cities on the dates I want to go. So there is no choice but to go by individual tour.

4. One of the individual tour companies IRAN BY NATIVES, the name may be correct, is on vacation during the last week of Feb. Why is that? What is the special holidays?

5. I don’t know why this shopping for tour agents is so stressful, for me. I think the big factor is the visa approval schedule and the purchase of airline tickets. Right now by just an internet search of cost of tickets round trip it seems Turkish Airlines and 2000USD is my only choice. I did a search of most? the standard US huge airline ticket supermarkets online. double gulp. well I haven’t traveled anywhere except to the US.

oh one more needed addition to your web presence. Make a link that will jump to the bottom, or top, PLease.

@YM: If you are an American citizen then you will need a travel agent to start the visa paperwork process for you. If you’re interested in a group tour, we can recommend that we went on with G Adventures called Persian Design. Their local provider will take care of the paperwork.

If you are interested in an individual tour, I’d recommend contacting a handful of tour operators in Iran to see which company is best suited for your desired style of travel and itinerary. A few of the ones mentioned here include Keys2Persia, Iran Adventures, Iran Custom Travel. It’s hard for me to recommend a company we haven’t used ourselves.

@Thomas: As I’ve mentioned earlier, we also spent months trying to sort through the individual part of the tour. It’s definitely a back and forth.

As for your questions:

1) Thanks for the feedback. We’ll try to make things more clear above.

2) What’s cheaper, a group of individual tour? There’s no definite answer here – it really depends on the itinerary and the style of travel you want. Our daily rate was about the same for our group and private tour because we wanted lower end hotels for the private tour.

3) If you have a specific itinerary that doesn’t fit with a regular group tour (e.g., Tehran, Shiraz, Yazd, Esfahan) then you’ll need to go with an individual tour.

4) Have no idea about holidays at the end of February. Nowruz is around Spring Equinox which is March 20. Just ask them what’s the situation.

5) Not sure of the itinerary you’re after, but you might also want to check skyscanner.net or momondo.com as they tend to include more low cost airlines (e.g., Atlas Jet, Pegasus, etc.) than sites like Kayak or Expedia. I wouldn’t buy the ticket until you have some confirmation from the tour agent that things are looking good with your paperwork.

As a iranian Skier who ski almost every week in dizin, You are all welcome here in iran! Dizin is a great place to blow some powder off! if you have any question to ask or problem, feel free to ask, Also my email address: [email protected]

I want to visit Iran within the next two years (possibly as a reward for earning my master’s degree). Would there be any problems if I said part of my interest in going is to do firsthand research for some of my historical fiction? The cities I’d be visiting for research are Isfahan and Fereydan, but for the moment, any other cities would only be visited for the pleasure of travelling.

Are there any items that would be dangerous or incriminating to bring? Is it safe to bring a computer even if I don’t use the Internet? Besides obviously not photographing military or government facilities, are there any other photography no-nos?

When I renew my passport next June, I’ll request a second passport so I can visit Israel again within the next decade and not get in trouble with either Iranian or Israeli customs for having the stamp of the other country in the same passport. However, my ex is insistent that it’s unsafe for me to go there even with a dummy passport, since he claims authorities look up everyone’s name online and would link me to Jewish organisations and such. I’ve told him there are many Iranian Jews who love their country, and that minority religions aren’t forbidden. I also blog under my pen name, not my real name, so the odds are low that authorities would find anything personal by Googling my name. I find it hard to believe that the authorities have the time to do background checks on every tourist!

Supposing one is applying for a visa,I wondered about the information revealed on a passport. If one has the stamp of entering/leaving Israel, would the Iranian authorities know in advance?

2. Would they check at the entry point and then refuse entry to the person with Israeli stamps?

3. Regarding what the poster above mentions, getting a second passport. Is this commonly done? Is it legal?

Anna, Please contact me via my web-site and I’ll be happy to clear up your issues…all of which are non-issues,except for not having an Israeli visa in your passport, at least at this time.

Anna, Web-site was not allowed ..so google my FB Iran Trip Planner….happy to help Americans travel to the Iran behind the media muddle.

@Anna I would strongly advise you to refrain from mentioning carrying out any type of research in Iran however innocent the intentions. As for for your other concerns, travel to Israel is only forbidden for Iranian nationals and not foreign visitors. I also cannot see a problem with taking a Laptop or Tablet into the country as most Iranians own Smartphones anyway, although you can check this issue with an Iranian Embassy. The concerns about traveling to Iran is often exaggerated and with the current government in office in Iran for the next five years it would be the best time to travel there. As Audrey mentioned earlier, once you’ve obtained your visa and got through the airport the rest will be plain sailing.

@Anna: We traveled to Iran with our laptops, DSLR cameras and iPhones. We were a bit nervous before since we felt like we looked like journalists. So we backed everything up on external hard drives and left them with a friend in Germany before our trip. Our friend in Tehran told us that we might have to put our stuff through an X-Ray machine at the airport to be examined, but we just walked through without any issue. The tour company you go with should be able to advise you if anything has changed on that front since our visit.

We also recently applied for a 2nd passport so we could travel to Israel (without the Iran stamp). My advice would be to use the main passport to travel to Iran as I believe that Israel is more use to Americans visiting with a 2nd passport. As for the background check, that will be done before your visa number is issued. So if you are accepted for the visa, then it’s unlikely there is any problem with you visiting the country.

Like Karoush advised, I’d probably not list any research that you’d want to do as it might raise alarms. But, the tour company handling your visa will be able to advise best.

I see that Norma has offered to help, but let us know if you have other questions.

@Thomas: It is legal for American citizens to apply for a 2nd passport. It’s quite easy to do and just requires you to state why you want the 2nd passport (e.g., travel a lot and need 2 passports for visas, want to visit Israel, etc.). The authorities did look through our passport upon arrival so it would not be wise to have an Israeli stamp there as they might deny entry. We don’t have any firsthand experience with this, but better not to push things.

@Norma: Thanks for providing help and advice here.

@Karoush: Thanks for offering your advice here for Anna!

Travelling to Iran is really safe and the best place to visit, every foreign passenger believes that Iran is a real paradise, if you ever need any information on Iran and its attractions I`ll be happy to help you since my field is Tourism management and I work in a travel agency. I can show you the real Iran. My email is [email protected]

Iran is a big country with many beautiful places for travel : In city of Shiraz we have Pasargad and Takhte-jamshid Palce from 300 yeasrs BC. In Isfahan city we have many ancent bridge and palace from 12th centery. Iran has long and beautiful beaches in north with meditranian weather.

Iran is a safe place to travel .the security in Iran for tourists is in high level. Iran has many ancient and beautiful places for travel. In north of Iran beautiful beaches and in central and south of Iran we have many ancient places for travel. Shiraz and Isfahan and Tehran are cities with many ancient places from 3000 years BC to Now. Thakhte-Jamshid Palace and Pasargad in Shiraz . Siosepol (33 bridge) – Naghshe-jahan Sq. and chehsoton (40 column) in Isfahan are ancient places. In tehran ghajar Palce and Pahlavi palace and Old-Iran musiume and old market are places for visiting tourist.

Hey Dan and Audrey, thanks as always for keeping this thread such a resource. Audrey, you mentioned that you applied for a second passport in order to travel to Israel without the Iran visa. I have an Iran visa, am an American, and am traveling to Israel on the same passport next month. I did a little research and I didn’t find any specific cases of this being a problem. Did you?

hi y’all, I am still actively searching for a trip to take place. Still studying spoken FarC on my daughter’s electric piano (5 octaves only). And now I’ mcrazy about Hawaiian music… (Well what do you expect of a expat living in Japan for 20 years?).

Correct me please if is am wrong, but I have the impression that most of these posts are concerning into Iran. But hardly anyone writes about a story of being there…..Except Dan and Audrey. So why is this?

Dan, Audrey, a tip of the hat to you in walking a line in this blog between letting tour guides take over with self promotion, and offering a space where we are free to express almost anything. As for my lengthy posts, I have had a criticism or two based on cherry-picking an exaggeration or two, but I have not been called a liar, only a pessimist. I have contacted 4 agents mostly inside Iran. ( I just now red your tiny blurb about G Adventures, and I regret I didn’t include them.) I am now waiting for a reply to my amended and restrained wish list from one agent. I am hoping that “no news is good news”….. I wonder if they have this proverb in Iran?

Dear Behnaz, I`m glad you took my advice and wrote here, you were really helpful. I had to travel to Iran because of my friend,. At the time( in Sep 2013)I thought I was too brave and I`m taking a risk. My family were all worried so I told them that I am going to Dubai instead. When I step foot in Iran, I realized how stupid I was. Iran is certainly the best place I have visited. Its really hard to believe your eyes there. I booked a 15 days 14 nights tour with a famous travel agency (with Behnaz, Pardisan) and visited most places in Iran. I loved Shiraz and Yazd, so beautiful,and then Esfahan was amazing, I also loved the northern parts of Iran(Masouleh and Fuman), so green 🙂 The people were friendly and really warm. Make sure to stay at Zeinnodinn Carvansaraei for a nigh(near Yazd). Moshir or Dad hotel in Yazd (4stars) and Abbasi (5 star) is Esfahan, were amazing.Make sure to fit Meibod and Kharanaq (around Yazd)in your itinerary, which totally worth visiting. If anyone has any question about my trip to Iran please ask here I`ll check and answer you 🙂

I’m thinking of traveling through Iran after completing the Trans-Siberian Railway, and of course was wondering what it’s like for an American. It’s nice to hear the good side of a country we only hear negative things about, which is a huge reason why I’d love to see it myself.

(Loved your closing speech at TBEX, by the way!)

@Lauren: We applied for a second passport to travel to Israel just to avoid any trouble with entering/exiting the country. I have had various friends with “unusual” visas (e.g., from the Middle East and Central Asia) get questioned upon arrival in Israel. But, they were always let into the country. Let us know how it goes as our 2nd passport is about to expire and we haven’t yet visited Israel.

@Thomas: We do try to keep this post and comments as useful and open as possible. Hope you receive a response soon from the agencies you contacted and they are able to come up with a solution that works. We did travel initially with G Adventures to Iran for the first two weeks, but it was a group tour that probably wouldn’t work for your desired trip.

@Kelly: So great to hear that you had a good trip to Iran! We had a person in our group who also told his family he would be in Italy instead of telling them he would be in Iran because they wouldn’t understand. We also really enjoyed the time we spent in Massouleh & in the north. The area around Tabriz is very special. Thanks for sharing your experiences!

@Jen: One of the reasons we really wanted to visit Iran was that we knew there was another story than what we usually saw on the news. We had quite a few Iranian friends when we lived in Prague who would tell us about this other side. And we’re so glad that we went and spent the time there that we did. If there are any other questions we can help answer for your trip, just let us know!

And thanks for your kind words about the TBEX speech! You might also enjoy our TEDx talk where we speak about our trip to Iran and the contrast between what we saw on the TV vs. our reality on one day in particular (anniversary of the taking of the US hostages): https://uncorneredmarket.com/story-filled-life-what-if-tedx-talk/

Hi, I’d like to know if you encountered any Americans living in Iran and how they were able to do if you did. I’m interested in the possibility so anything you know about it I’d appreciate it. Thanks and loved reading about your time in Iran.

Hi folks, Its me again. I am having a strange experience getting connected to a tour agent. Well, I didn’t know what to expect when I latched my heart onto the idea of visiting Iran. I received encouragement from this web site. And that is the only encouragement I have received. Family and friends here in Japan, (away from Tokyo)think I am totally crazy to waste money trying to enter a country that is so restrictive. Colleagues who travel much more than I can afford to, are definitely curious, as I have insisted that it “is safe”, (relatively speaking as all comparisons are made to Japanese social conditions) since I am not going to the border area near Afganistan, and the weather is somewhat pleasing in March.

I will probably be able to tell you something definite in the next week, I hope. I can’t believe that other, nonIranian, not married to an Iranian Americans have gone through the same experience. So I will share what I have learned thus far.

@Mark – I never did, and I thought it was impossible for a while until I read in the Lonely Planet, of all places, about some universities in Iran that apparently accept Americans to study Farsi and allow them to get a student visa. I contacted the university in Tehran and confirmed this. I guess it all depends on if the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will decide to grant the person the student visa or not. So maybe it’s possible, though I don’t know anybody who’s done it, but I might try myself 😉 Here’s the website for the department from the university.

@Mark: The only American citizen we encountered living in Iran was a journalist who had permission to be there as a foreign journalist. I also know that at some point (maybe now?) there were also American basketball players living and working in Iran. But, we didn’t meet (or hear of) any American business people working in Iran during our visit. Lauren’s response with a link to the program to study Farsi is a good option.

@Lauren: Thanks for following up with your comment and link to the program. Sounds like it could be a fascinating way to study Farsi.

@Thomas: It’s not unusual for people to think that an American traveling to Iran is crazy. We also received lots of strange responses when we told people of our plans. As mentioned, there are restrictions on itinerary and needing a guide for American citizens entering Iran on a tourist visa. You’ll have to decide whether it’s worth it to give up some of your original plan in order to fit these restrictions for the visa or to wait until the situation changes (hopefully). Good luck!

@Dan and Audrey– Just to update you on my recent experience traveling to Israel (through the BG airport) with an Iranian visa in my passport–no problems whatsoever. Upon arrival, after receiving my temporary stay permit (the piece of paper they give you instead of a stamp) I was pulled aside for brief questioning about my time in Iran: why did you go? do you have any contact with Iranians? do you plan on going to Palestine, Egypt, etc after Israel? do you plan on staying in any private households while in Israel? I guess the answer to all these questions should be no, whether that’s true or not. The questioning was friendly and lasted about 3 minutes, after which I was free to enter Israel. I thought the security process would be a lot more intense when leaving through the airport, but I didn’t have any extra questioning whatsoever on my way out, just the normal stuff about who packed my bags and nothing about where I had gone in Israel or questions about Iran.

I hope you guys go soon and I really have to suggest that you visit Palestine–the Palestinians’ friendliness and hospitality rivals that of the Iranians. Palestine took me by surprise and I will surely be back. I stayed in Hostel in Ramallah, which was a great homebase for exploring the West Bank. I would love to hear about the stories you guys find in this region–you are so good at drawing stories out of people, and the people here have many stories that need to be told.

Thanks again for all you do!

@Lauren: Thank you SO much for following up with your experience. It’s quite a relief not only to hear that you were able to enter, but that the questioning was not horrible. The timing could not have been better as I just realized that I won’t be able to use my 2nd passport for Israel after all because it expires too soon. Now I don’t have to renew my passport as I can use my regular one. Thanks for the heads up regarding the questions. We do hope to visit Palestine during our trip to Israel, so I’m heartened to hear of your experiences there. Might be in touch by email to find out the name of the hostel and any other recommendations you have for the area. Thanks again!

Dear Thomas Please be careful about the agents you choose to organize your trip to Iran. There are lots of travel agencies in Iran providing trips for foreigners, but not all of them worth trusting because some of them may charge you very high, just barbecue you are Americna , and some may charge you very low and then while you are happy of the good offer you got, you`ll realize later that the services are really poor or they charge you with other stuff while you are in Iran. I myself found Pardisan Travel Agency, and Behnaz via one of my Iranian friends and totally enjoyed my trip and I`m thinking of going back to visit other cities. The price and services were all perfect but there were times I encountered different tourist groups at hotels or in different cities were totally unsatisfied with the tour services unlike me 🙂 and the were blaming their agent the tour guide, everything!!! so be careful not to choose a agent from the Internet without knowing them . If you ave any questions about Iran or need any trip ideas or itineraries, you can email [email protected] the agent who help me for my trip, and she is kind enough to answer and help you in every way possible, any time.

I am dealing with Behnaz at Pardisan Travel as well. You are quite right, she seems very good at her job. She has been very helpful and responsive to my questions, as well as enthusiastic. I think that the important point about Ms. Tanha is that she loves Iran and wants to show people from outside of Iran her country so that they understand it better. So my experience with Pardisan has been very positive.

I am a 26 year old female US citizen looking to travel into Iran to visit family. My father has lived in the US for over 30 years but has not become a US citizen. I will be traveling with him into Iran and staying with family. I have never traveled abroad so I have many questions! My first question being will I need a tour group or guide if I will be with my family?

@Amanda: I am not an expert in your particular situation, but I believe that you can get a visa to travel to Iran for family reasons instead of tourist reasons where you would need a guide/tour. My suggestion would be to contact the Iranian Special Interests section in Washington, DC and explain your situation and what paperwork you would need from your family for your visit. Good luck and enjoy!

@Craig: We did not travel to Mashhad, so unfortunately I have no first-hand experience on the area and whether non-Muslims are allowed in Iman Mosque. My suggestion would be to contact a handful of travel agents to get your questions answered about Mashhad and also get an estimate for the pickup at the border and private tour. Given that it’s quite a long distance, I imagine the pickup won’t be cheap but perhaps you could find other travelers to help with the costs.

If you scroll through the comments, you can see recommendations for a few travel agents (Iran Adventures, Iran Custom Travel, Pars Tourist Agency, Pardisan Travel). But, of course, there are many more than this so just sample around and clear in your email on what you’re looking for in your private tour (e.g., style of travel, interests, budget, stars on hotels, etc.). Good luck!

Seasons Greetings! I had a couple of questions about Iran. I’m an American Male it seems most U.S. Citizens that travel there are women. I’m heading into Mashhad from Ashgabat Turkmenistan for New Year (Late March) did you travel to Mashhad? Is there anywhere in the area would you recommend (if you have traveled there)? I’m wondering if non-Muslims are allowed in courtyards of Iman Mosque ?? Was the private tour guide expensive? I would have to be met at the border then driven 4 hours to Mashhad. Thanks for any tips/answers you could provide me. Note: I’ve never been to Israel so that should work in my favor :>)

@Craig: non-muslims are allowed in Imam Reza complex courtyards. The only place they are not allowed to visit is inside the shrine itself. Everywhere else you can wonder. I’ve been to Mashhad number of times. My favourite time to visit Imam Reza complex is 2nd half of the day. Sunset over domes is stunning. And people gathering for namaz on the main square of the complex is a breathtaking sight. Mashhad bazaar is worth visiting too – it’s less touristy than the ones in Tehran and Esfahan. Enjoy your trip to Iran!

about visiting shrine inside, if you wear like a iranian, I think you can go inside. you must see inside of shrine. there is much beauty inside!!! if strongly suggest you visit there!

@m.qaredaqi and @craig: foreigners can go everywhere inside the complex – courtyards, mosque, etc., but entrance into the holiest part of it is allowed to muslims only. Even if you wear clothes similar to what locals wear. Of course, visiting the shrine complex require dress code. For men it is – long trousers (no shorts) and preferably a shirt with long sleeves (everywhere else in the country they should wear long trousers, but on the top they can wear T-shirts or short-sleeved shirts). Women, in addition to scarf and long sleeved tunicas + trousers that are required everywhere on the territory of Iran (apart from the privacy of hotel room and/or someone’s home), are given a chador before entering Imam Reza complex.

@Masha: Thanks for sharing your experience and advice from Mashhad regarding the Imam Reza complex and what is not allowed for non-Muslim travelers. Mashhad was one of the places we missed during our trip to Iran. Hope we have a chance to return to see it…

hi dear its a very good pic i want to do business about iran give me addvise what i do

hi daniel such an good question that you answered i’m iranian and live in shiraz . it’s pleasure to me that you enjoyed from my old country and city it’s my pleasure to contact with you by Email thanks a lot

hi D&A I’m very happy for came to my country to special my area gilan.i read this information of VOA news and really glad . i hope you had good time in hear.

hello to all Americans

I am from Iran. I love all Americans. I love your country a lot. I am an English teacher due to my sincere love to the USA. I have only one wish in my life and that is living in the Unites States.

I wanna say that all Iranians love the US and Americans a lot. we love to see Americans and all of you are welcomed to my country.

Iran has the oldest history in the world.

I love you, all Americans.

this is my mail. [email protected] if you come to Iran, you have to call me. I say you have to. You have to eat with me in restaurants.

I love youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

Abbas you don’t need to talk like this! the way you talk reminds me of Comic series, when they want to make fun of middle easterners! I mean being kind like this is weird to Americans and Europeans! I mean I don’t hate them and when I see an American I meet them without considering the stereotypes. I know they have lots of stereotypes about iranians and middle easterners. Iranians are hospitable people ,not only to Americans, but to all of foreigners.

Hi, I think this information is from the perspective of an American couple, iranian and Easts nation in general, Americans and non-Americans, Does not matter. in Iranian culture, we have Proverb, that say guests are friend of God, so irnian are very hospitable.

I’m so glad that you visit my country and found there the peaceful people, but please note, the regime that thirty-five years ruling in our country under the name of Islam (a completely non-Persian religion) absolutely are not reliable. Be safe! بامداد

Thanks for visiting Iran. You are always welcome to Persia. But! with out having “Chelo Kabob” and Persian foods,and persian desserts your travel has not finished!

PLUS!just try to cross the streets and drive on Tehran streets!!!hahaha

We hope to see Americans more in IRAN. We love you all.

Hossein, Hamed, Kamyar, Ruhollah, Abbas, Yaser, Amir and Nawaz – Thank you for your kind comments and words to welcome visitors to Iran. We hope to have an opportunity to return to Iran one day.

If you want more pic from IRAN please send an email for me to tell you about iran.I’ve visited almost of this beautiful country and i want to help you guys.i wish best for all of you people 🙂

Hello I hear visas are not currently being granted to the US citizens. Any one aware of this?

Absolutely un true! I have confirmations for 21 people in April & May.

I recently travelled to Iran, spending four days in Tehran, with my 24 year old daughter. Being Australian, it was not necessary for us to be part of a tour group or use the services of a guide. We were thus free to roam as we wished. It’s a shame that Americans have some degree of restraint when visiting. Iran does have an embassy in Australia, thus obtaining a visa merely involved making our passports there. They were mailed back to us a week later. Like many others, we found the Iranians to be very warm, friendly and helpful.

@Chris: Thanks for your report. Hopefully, one of these day it will be as free and easy for Americans citizens to travel to Iran as it was for you. At the moment, a few more hoops to jump through. Thanks for taking the time to comment.

@Norma: Not sure if you’re referring to us when you mention “some bloggers”, but just to confirm we did visit Iran and we did go with a certified agent. We also tried two different variations of allowed travel in Iran – a group tour and a trip with a private guide. As we’ve mentioned repeatedly, if you find an authorized tour operator then they will take care of the paperwork and things will go smoothly before and during the trip.

I believe that the “hoops and problems” are connected to the current requirement of US citizens needing a certified agent and tour/guide. Out of the 80+ countries we’ve visited only Iran and Turkmenistan required this. We wholeheartedly recommend that people still visit these countries. However, it’s important that people understand the legal and other requirements. This isn’t only to get the visa to enter the country, but also to not put the guide/tour company at risk or the person himself at risk.

Hi Daniel, I have sent hundreds of Americans to Iran..no hoops,no problems…It’s unfortunate that some bloggers post their opinions without ever actually ever been there. or gone through the certified agencies. try… Iran Custom Travel.

Hi Audrey, I should have added the caveat. that I certainly didn’t mean you & Scott. Your input & experience is first-rate. It’s the posters who often write from reading other posters & blogs. I sent 4 passports 10 days ago..and just recived confirmations. The Guides are educated-almost all University graduates- and all must go through extensive training. They are there to guide not ” mind”,norn does Iran require the paperwork et all of many other countries. as all my travelers who have visited countries such as Russia & China et al..have confirmed. I have never had a ‘safety” issue”..quite the opposite. I fell at the tomb of Hafiz and my guide rushed to the office..telling them they must fix the path..her American tourist fell. They immediately asked if I needed a doctor and for 3 days called her to ask if I was alright.As long as anyone respects the culture they have no issues…as any traveler to any country should understand. Your Blog is great!

Thanks for compliment about my country .Glad to hear you liked it and enjoy being here Greetings from Iran

What is the photo size required by the Iranian embassy when I go there? And can I get it on the same day?

If you are NOT an American,Brit or Canadian you still need to download the application from the Embassy in the country you live. Fill it out, take it along with a fee,passport, and passport size pictures to the Embassy.Every Embassy works differently, so go at least 3 2eeks before your departure and bring your flight data. The Visa is NOT a slip of paper. It is stamped onto a clean page. If you are one of the 3 nationalities,you MUST have a guide and an invitation from a tourist agency.Send me a mail and I’ll help you out..either way.

Thanks for this I’m half Persian half American nd I really want to take my kids and American husband to Iran !! Did you see Esfahan and Persepolis ??

I am interested in traveling to Iran and would like to visit and travel a little with friends who are professional biology colleagues there. They have offered to take me around, but I’m pretty sure none are certified tour guides. (They are just so friendly they want to show me their favorite places to see natural wonders in Iran!) Do you think there’s any way I could spend any time with them? Perhaps if a guide was willing to tailor my trip just for me, and come with us?

Assuming you are an American, of course you must have a guide..and most likely..IF you take a private tour with a private guide..it would be possible, however more information is needed. Please contact me by googling IranCustomTravel and I will try to assist you.

i am from Iran.I invite Americans to visit Iran. here is no gun,no violence, people are lovely

even i wanna host americans and guide them if you planning to travel Iran,Tabriz send me a mail [email protected]

What can you tell me about Kashan?

@Joe: I don’t remember any special visa photo size requirements for our Iranian visa – we used a passport photo that was taken in Bangkok earlier in the year. We had heard that photos of women might need to have a headscarf, but the Iranian consulate accepted a photo of me without a headscarf. But, I want to note that we went to the Iranian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey so perhaps there are different requirements if you get your visa in the United States. Best thing to do is to call the Iranian Special Interest Section in DC or ask the tour operator who is arranging your paperwork and trip.

When we picked up our visa in Istanbul (this is after waiting several weeks to get an authorization number that was coordinated by the Iranian tour operator) it took 2-3 business days to process. We paid for the visa when we submitted the application, authorization number and photos. Then we got a slip of paper with a number and time to return to pick it up. I don’t know if there was an expedited option. Best thing is to contact the Iranian consulate where you plan to get the visa and ask.

@Rose: It would be such a great trip to take your husband and kids to Iran. Yes, we visited both Persepolis and Esfahan. Both places are highly recommended and I’d suggest spending at least 2-3 days in Esfahan, and about the same time in Shiraz and Yazd. You can read about our visit to Persepolis here: https://uncorneredmarket.com/persepolis/

@Alisande: I believe that Norma kindly answered your question. Best thing to do is contact a couple of tour operators and explain your situation. They’ll be able to advise you on your best options. Good luck and hope it all works out for your friends to travel with you for at least part of the time!

@Reza: Thank you for your kind welcome and offer. We really enjoyed the few days we spent in Tabriz. Great city.

@Joe: I’m afraid that I can’t tell you too much about Kashan. We stopped there for a quick visit to Khan-e Borujerdi Traditional House and Fin Gardens (both highly recommended), but didn’t explore much of the town. The view of the town from the rooftop of the Khan-e Borujerdi made it look like a nice town. Wish we could have spent more time there.

@Philip: Thank you so much for commenting and sharing this. I’m so glad that the articles here and sharing our experiences in Iran helped convince your wife to travel there with you to see for yourselves. If she still has any questions or concerns, please have her contact me. Safe travels and enjoy your trip!

Thank you all for this wonderful site. As a seasoned world traveler , I have always wanted to visit Iran with my wife. Up until now, she has refused to go. Although she has accompanied me to many little visited world destinations, the media distortions and general American paranoias about Iran have frightened her . ( she declined to come along with me on a recent visit to Pakistan.) This site has helped convince her that Iran is a welcoming place for us Yanks, so we are in the planning stages for a visit . Thanks again to all who have posted and especially to the bloggers who went to Iran.

@Joe KomaGawa,hi u can go to this site for get informatin about kashan http://wikitravel.org/en/Kashan my email is: [email protected]

@Audrey Scott: your welcome! merci beaucoup madame i have not been in Kashan,because of my university lessons,i did not have time to travel far cities recently i decided to start my tours inside and outside of Iran the first place that i am planing to go is Armenia.(45 day latter) 😀 as Ruhollah bayat said you can search about Kashan in google. all places in Iran is wonderful.

if anybody has questions about Iran,i am here to answer!( specially East Azarbaijan, Tabriz my lovely state) and i can be your free translator in my free times in your travel. as usual my mail is [email protected]

Ok, it is done. I spent the whole day getting to and from the embassy. They didn’t have my visa number as my guide said they would, but I expected that to happen. So I gave thenm my passport after filling out a comprehensive form. Paid them a lot of money. It is now preparations for the trip.. I am studying actively.

I am Australian, and have visited Iran maybe 5 times. I also lived there for a year. Just want everyone to know Iran is perfectly safe – just stay away from the borders. I visited the US last year and I was expecting some scrutiny given the 5 Iranian visas in my passport – but they didn’t even blink. I reccomend Iran to anyone.

Really good to see there are Americans who care about these stuff. I live in South Florida and guess what, no one absolutely give a s to not only me or my country but anyone else from any other country!! Sometimes when I see Americans in media or Internet that show passion like you or some of people commented, I ask myself “Am I really living in US or I just think so!!?? I do not see these people??”

Amazing article. I am Iranian and have tried to tell people about it. Literally the most dramatic thing people may witness is Iranian citizens fighting each other on WHO will get to entertain you for the evening and bring you into their home and feed you haha. People are so brain washed in the US to think Iranian (and many other cultures) are just war mongering, terrorist and ANTI-American. It could not be further from the truth. I wish people would get sent to Iran for educational purposes alone. Especially the ones who bash it and the people. Iranian people strive to do things for other people and take care of people. No matter color, race, religion appearance. The crime rate is non-existent almost, and homelessness is hard to come by because everyone in the neighborhood fights to take care of the people in need. And we talk about “bad kids” here in the US??? Kids are literally raised by the whole “village” or neighborhood. It is every day practice to reprimand a child or younger person by someone other than their parents if they area acting out in any way. And they kid listens and takes the punishment as if it WAS their father/mother. Glad to see you enjoyed your visit. There is SO much to see and experience in the country. Hopefully more people will wake up.

Dear Mokhtar, Actually if Americans would simply invite some of the many Iranian students attending universities in their cities to a dinner sometime, they would get to know what the Iranian people are like. Where I live we have many Iranian students, and I actually celebrate Yalda, and Nouroz with them. A year ago we had not only Iranians and Americans celebrating Nouruz, but Japanese students were with us as well. Americans should spend more time connecting with the Iranians living in their own cities to see what the Iranian people are really like. I actually have two Iranian Goddaughters now. Khoda hafez

As an iranian I cannot say how much I appriciated your article. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I live in Switzerland (Geneva) and you are welcomed if you are traveling to europe… wish you the best

as iranian i have to say uniformed guy with gun is joke you said in this article who’s care you arrogant americans what think about iran and iranians america is rookie country in this world that these days try to play role of empire of world ?!?!? iranian were empire from the beginning of this world and act like royal i’m sorry for that loser guide for insulting others by the way you americans are terrorist and you learned lesson to taliban and al quade and support extremist in saudi arabia you can travel iran and see things are different contrary to what media feed you because jews control the media and iran is number one enemy of israel for surviving people of plastine

@ali [#349] You better shut the fk off. I live here in US and I know pros and cons of Americans. They have some son of b* just like you guys, that we have in Iran. But the majority of Americans are as harmless as regular Iranians that do not say Down with or Long live to anyone, and just live their lives and have their own personal problems to solve. Fortunately wrong Americans as in minority and almost in same quantity of Iranian brainwashed mf*. I hope you guys fight and kill each other, both nations will rest in peace.

I just got the posting of the last few comments here. As I mentioned I am finally on my way to Iran in March. I wish I could give a small token of my appreciation to the counselor staff at the embassy here.

Regarding the comments made. I think the point is already made that at least in the US we have the freedom to express ourideas..(well of course, gov. and Google is collecting these comments, and there could be consequences, and then you have to get your lawyer, 🙂 but comparatively, you can speak your mind without fear, though I wouldn’t suggest saying certain things in some places 🙂 compared to beloved Iran. Most Iranians know this, but there are some who are supported by their kind gov. with jobs, and there are well-intentioned mullas who really believe they are more pure than the USA currently is. However you folks in the US have to remember that according to Islam Christians are people “of the Book”, I think is the expression in the Holy Quran. (Yes, I’ve read it, but only once) You can all be forgiven.

There are two other somewhat humorous thoughts I have to say before I return to looking for lost tax documents, which I have noticed in myself, when we move to another country,outside our native land, we tend to sound more “patriotic” than the natives!

Secondly, it is all right for natives to criticize their own country, but not “visitors” who see the same problems. “Visitors” can only say positive things, or else keep quiet.

We would love Americans to visit Iran or even stay and study/work. I totally agree, people are lovely, let politicians do the politics which hopefully is progressing everyday.

@Joe: Thanks for the updates with your visa process. So glad it worked out in the end. Although we didn’t have many complications connected to our visa, we also found that the staff at the Iranian consulate were very helpful and friendly.

Good luck with your trip next month!

@Brad: Great to hear of your experiences traveling through Iran. And, that you didn’t face any scrutiny at the US border. That’s certainly a relief. We’re with you – stay away from border areas 🙂

@Alireza: Certainly there are parts of the United States where people are not curious about their neighbors from around the world. One of the strengths of the United States is its diversity. I’m sorry to hear that about your experience in South Florida. Hope you find more people – online or in other areas – who do share that curiosity and openness to learn.

@Mokhtar: We joked in Shiraz that our biggest danger was having to turn away ice cream bought for us at the bizarre since we were so full. Yes, travel is perhaps one of the best educational tools and ways to break through stereotypes. It’s so different to read or see something than it is to experience it firsthand.

@Ernest: You bring up a great idea here on how people in the States can learn about Iran (and other countries/cultures) by inviting people over or going out for a meal. Actually, coming together over food is always a great opportunity to learn 🙂

@Elham: Thank you for your kind comment and invitation if ever find ourselves in Switzerland!

@Ali: We shared our experiences as they happened and we’re sorry that you took offense to what we wrote. Even if we don’t always agree with the actions and words of a country’s governments we do have hope that people from different countries connecting with each other as people can bring understanding.

@Alireza: Yes, it is unfortunately the case that a few people can create difficulties and sound like the majority because they have the loudest voice. As you said, everywhere in the world has its share of different types of people.

@Joe: Thanks for your thoughts and hope you found those tax papers 🙂 I’ve also found that I have become more aware of my country’s strengths (as well as weaknesses) when I’ve been abroad and have been asked many questions about why it does this or how that works. And yes, always good to start a conversation with a local person anywhere in the world by saying something positive (and true) about that country. After trust is built you may move into a discussion that asks some difficult questions, but best to focus on the good things first. Have a great trip!

@Ali: Very much agree!

So, I Am in the home stretch of preparation. My flight is just after lunch. I live 2,5 hours by train and bus from entering the airport. The flight will put me into the 5tehran airport a few minutes after midnight. My tour guide said he would be there. And we would be off to Qom to catch the dawn prayers somewhere in the city. I am not usually an early rising person, but I told him I want as much as possible to experience the prayer cycle… I worry about jet lag, as I am 63 and not as physically strong as I used to be, esp. From an economy flight across Russia. We will see how well I am on the second dawn prayer cycle ;-). I am not Muslim, so I can’t enter any of the mosques. But just to say prayers in English for peace in Syria would be nice.

@Joe: By the time you read this you’ll already be in Iran. Hope your flight went well and everything worked out to meet you at the airport and take you to Qom before dawn. That’s quite a journey for one day, no matter what age you are!

You have a beautiful prayer for Syria. Thank you.

Hi, I didn’t want to say anything until it happened, but I am in Iran, and having an incredible time. I have been giving talks, and the university students and professors here are treating me like a visiting movie star. I have been so warmly received by all. I have always know that the Iranian people were wonderful, now I have experienced it in their homeland. Anyone who is afraid to come here should forget there fears, and just come. The weather in the north is cool, but I just spent three wonderful days in Mazadran Province where it is warm except there is a cool breeze blowing off the Caspian Sea. I was in the market in Sari today, and the fresh fruits and vegetables are really something. The Elborz Mountains are snow-covered on the top, and very beautiful right now. If you have any doubts about traveling here, get rid of them. It is a once in a lifetime experience!

I have been invited by Iranian acquaintances who live there to visit them and the country. I read about the necessity (?) for being with a tour group or private guide. Is is okay to use my friends as guides? What problems could it create? Does the gender of my friends create any problems? The are both male and female. I await your answers.

Bob…that’s a big NO..you can’t. Americans Must have a certified guide.That’s not a ? it’s a law..and if you try..you will get your friend in trouble. Also..folks do nOT use any of the “passport Services”they have no clue and will cost you money..their fee and possibly all your costs. The Interests Section does not take 3rd party applications. Getting a visa is in reality a very simple process..if you do it correctly.

Before an Iranian immigrates/travels out of country, it is so proud of him/her to hear how foreigners are talking about Iranian hospitality.

After s/he immigrate/travel to any of those countries who s/he warmly hosted its people, it just disgusts him/her to hear these compliments.

@Ernest: So happy to hear that everything worked out with your last visa application and you were able to finally visit Iran for yourself! And so glad that you’re having a great experience.

The markets of Iran are pretty spectacular – this was something we tried to visit in every place we went in Iran. Enjoy the rest of your trip!

@Bob: Unless your friends are authorized guides for American travelers, it won’t be possible for them to be your official guides that you need to get your tourist visa. Hopefully, these regulations will change in the near future and there will be more flexibility for Americans visiting Iran. But, until they do you will need to go with an authorized tour operator/guide as Norma indicated.

@Norma: Is it possible for a US citizen to get sponsored by Iranian citizens who are not relative and get a different type of visa than a tourist visa? There has been discussion here about family-oriented visas, but wasn’t sure if there were other types of visas available to US citizens. Thanks!

@Alireza: Thanks for sharing your opinion, but I have to disagree based on my own experiences. My Iranian friends that I’ve met in Europe in the US are still proud and are happy to hear compliments about Iranian hospitality and kindness experienced in Iran.

Audrey, Americans MUST have a guide.There are no other Visas available for Americans. IF..and the critical word is IF..an American is married to an Iranian and travels on her/his valid Iranian passport and has proff of a Muslim marriage, the family can apply to host/sponsore them. But is must be a Mulsim marriage certificate. Just being a Muslim or not doesn’t matter. By the way,. the Visas I have recently applied for arrived within 10 days..so the process is getting better, but again it must come from a certified ,registered agency in Iran.

@Norma: Thanks for clarifying! I knew there was a non-tourist visa option for family-oriented visits, but wasn’t sure about other kinds of visits.

Glad to hear that the visa processing is going smoothly and quickly these days.

I didn’t know this! Something to think about for down the road. :)!

Well folks, the next time you hear from me, I will probably be in Moscow’s international airport on the way back. But if I have an earlier chance, I’ll take it. I have put in the time preparing for a “one week in and out”. Like going to the drive-in. Are any of you old enough to remember that;-)(outside of CALIF)? So we will see if what I have prepared flies or not. I have to leave my home at 5;45AM, and I will see the inside of the Tehran airport some time after midnight this coming Sunday.

I am travelling to Iran in early April on my New Zealand Passport and have just obtained my Iranian visa with no problems. However, the friend I was to travel with is on a UK passport and his visa application has just been declined by the MFA in Tehran. It appears that a new regulation requires British and Canadian passport holders to follow the same process as US citizens – they can only get a visa if travelling in a group or if travelling privately with a private guide. The timescale looks too long to get his visa now so it looks like I will be making the trip on my own!!

Hi Drew, I`m so glad to hear you want to make a trip to my country. wishing you have an enjoyable trip and don`t hesitate to let me know anything you need. You can count on my full hospitality.

To Drew, This is not a new regulation. It has been necessary for Brits, Canadians & Americans to have a guide for at least the past 3 years. If a country does not have an Iranian Embassy..i.e diplomatic regulations…it should be obvious.

I’m looking to travel to Iran for a kidney transplant. (Iran is the only country where you can buy a kidney legally) my wife and Dad would travel with me. How would this work as far as a guide goes? How much American cash should a family of 3 bring for a two week stay?

Sean.I certainly care for your situation, however understand that transplants are under the Ministry of Health.who clearly state the kidneys must come from a donor of the same nationality.Are your family members willing & compatible?I admit not to know much about transplants, however I assume you must have a doctor in the US willing to follow you up. The fist thing you must do is call the Iranian Interests Section in Washington D.C and clarify your case & time frame. Perhaps before that you should google Kidney transplants in Iran..as well as Kidney transplants for Americans in Iran. I wish you luck.and certainly feel free to contact me at [email protected] .

@Sean: I’m very sorry for your medical situation and need for a kidney. Unfortunately, I can’t advise on anything connected to this situation. Please take Norma’s advice and call the Iranian Interest Section in Washington DC to get more information on what is possible for your situation. Good luck

@Norma: Thanks for this advice and help. Really appreciate it.

Now I am in Isfahan at the Iran hotel, using their WiFi, tomorrow I go to Shiraz. Yes the experience here Iis everything I expected and almost hoped for. This is an incredible. I will come again, but not too soon. Yes, all the worry and concern was worth it. Like eating a pomograte. And feeling rose water sprinkling from the sky instead of rain. Khoda hafez Joe

hi joe komaGava happy to hear this i suggest you to come Tabriz the great and historical city.

hi i’m iranian and livin since day1 in iran for over 40 years. let me tell 1 or 2 things almost 80% of iranians praise / envy americans and their life style. and 90% of iranians hate arabs/afghans/tajiks/… but worship almost all european/western/nordic/japanese/korean people. in other word, we have no sense of reality toward other nations, we are polarized one way or the other regarding our real place and the other nations in the world. however no harm woulda/shoulda happens to westerners in iran, they always will be greeted lovingly cuz iranians feel lesser in front of them. its not like we love all peoples/tourist from all nationalities, only a few selected ones i mentioned above will be treated with respect, the rest will suffer and are not welcome at all, and it is harsh reality of simple naked truth. for example all near/far neighbors like people from india/pakistan/afghanistan/iraq/all arabs/syrians/turks would be treated bad or normal at best, no fancy and heartwarming greetings and involvements and chitchat with them. thats how we r. and these are not our government policy, these are deeply rooted in iranians psyche from long time ago, not politically/religiously motivated, simply racially/culturally embedded in our minds.

@Joe: Really happy to hear that your trip is going so well and that what you’ve experienced in Iran is worth the effort in concern to get there. Hope you enjoy Shiraz – it was one of our favorite places in Iran.

@fery: We understand how cultures and people can have deep rooted prejudices and stereotypes. Our hope is that as people begin go meet and get to know people from other cultures and places that those prejudices go away with the understanding that we are all people in the end.

Im Iranian and i want to invite every body to visit Iran,the real one not the one that you have seen or heard in the media.you may have heard that Iranians love their guests and treat them like gods! Iran is a 4 season country,you can have sun bath in south or ski in west. here is full of historical places,art and culture. meanwhile as Rial is very chip comparing with $ or €, it will be a very cheap traveling.

I’m not too fluent in English, that’s why I ‘ve used Google translate to SQL Iranians are very hospitable and kind, I am sure you will experience a great trip to Iran Iran has a lot of historical attractions ( more than seven thousand years of history and civilization of two thousand and six hundred years Hdd ‘s Empire ) and natural attractions and culture of Iran is a beast in his radicalization of certain groups Azmslmanan there. Between Americathey are not considered a good average poor . , with expressions of love and friendship from Isfahan , Iran

@Farzaneh & Mehdi: Thanks for your kind messages of welcome!

Norooz Mobarak (Happy New year) to our Iranian friends and family!……Actually , it was yesterday.

My name is Semira and I am currently looking into going to Iran this summer for an internship. I was wondering if you could e-mail me. My parents are still on edge about me going to Iran, and there are not that many Americans that go to Iran daily, so I was wondering if you could contact me to tell us about your experience. I think that would make them feel better than reading it on a website.

@Ron: Many thanks for the Nowruz greetings!

@Semira: That would be quite exciting to get an internship in Iran for the summer. I understand that your parents may have concerns. Please ask them to read the articles on this link as they cover our experiences in Iran: https://uncorneredmarket.com/travel/iran/

Hope this helps and good luck with the internship!

Iam from IRAN, and I live in isfahan! your text was really good and i am so happy that you had a good journey in iran.

Nowdays western country have a bad imagination about iran. for example: Have you seen Homeland? in s3 they show IRAN like i dont know Afghanistan or… in fact they wanna say that in iran we always have war and there is no freedom here!

Now Iam so happy that you wrote this text and i hope other people have your idea about IRAN! (forgive me if I couldnt write english verry well!)

Mohammed: I agree that the news and TV shows usually do a very poor job in accurately representing a place and its ordinary people. That’s why it’s so important for people to connect and see for themselves. We’re very glad that we were able to travel to Iran and share our experiences with others.

I totally agree. For the most part, the U.S. mainstream media paints a bleak and distorted picture of Iran. I am American and visited Iran in 2011, receiving a warm welcome by Iranians everywhere I went.

thanks for sharing this, I’ve a friend who likes to go to Iran i think this could be useful for her.

Robert, you’re welcome! Hope this information is useful for your friend.

Hello everyone. I’m from Iran. If anyone is planning to visit Iran and want to find a friend who welcome you and probably be my guest any time you want , here I am . Please contact my email or facebook page. [email protected] http://www.fb.com/mousavi.66

Hi, I just wanted to let you know that I just spent five of the most incredible weeks of my life traveling around Iran. I visited the Caspian Sea coast by Sari, Spent two weeks in Tehran, a week around Ahwaz, another around Shiraz, and spent some time around Bushehr as well. Iran is a spectacular country, and its people are among the most wonderful in the world. I was welcomed everywhere I went. I was invited into private homes, and visited with my students. I even danced at a traditional wedding. The Iranian people are a warm,, sincere people, and nowhere did I feel unwelcome. The sights and food, the culture and the people all combine to make it one of the greatest nations of the earth. I actually left my heart in Iran. I hope to return soon.

@Ernest I have been following and enjoying various comments made on this site for a while now and I must say that the one person’s comments that have always drawn my attention was yours’. I think I may have even replied to one of your comments. Anyway what I would like to say is that I am genuinely so pleased that you have finally visited Iran. I know it seemed at one point like a distant dream to do so and almost gave up, but I’m glad you didn’t, and most importantly your visit lived up to your expectations (although I’m not sure what fascinated you about Ahwaz that warranted a week stay there!). Now that you have been there, I think you would find it much easier to obtain visa for your future visits. Remember Ernest, it’s not just you that find Iranian people in Iran fascinating and interesting; people there are also equally fascinated by you and your opinions and those of your fellow Americans. Wishing you all the best in whatever you do.

@Kourosh Regarding why I would spend a week in Ahwaz. There are two things….the archaeology. This area was the capital of the Elamite Kingdom. The earliest empire in Persia. It was also an important part of the Sassinad Empire. So there is the ziggurat, the water works at Shushtar, and Dezful along the Karoun and Dez rivers. There are Islamic monuments and of course the bridge dam built by captured Roman soldiers. It is the furtherest east example of Roman architecture. Tha land is rich agricultural land. But most of all are the people. They are really wonderful. It is the center of the Mandeaen people, a unique religious minority with roots that go back before 2000 years ago. You are also right against the foothills of the Zagros Mountains and the scenery is spectacular. The canyons east of Dezful are amazing. Sure there are other wonderful regions in Iran, but don’t sell the Ahwaz region short at all. In fact, Iran is filled with hidden treasures, that would take many lifetimes to explore…certainly more than I have.

Which travel agency did you use? Can you please let me know?

Thanks, Jeremy

Jeremy, Is your comment directed at me? I didn’t use any travel agency at all. I traveled independently at the invitation of an Iranian agency. But my experience shows what other European travelers experience in Iran. I met some young people from the Czech Republic and Slovakia and they traveled everywhere freely. They picked up their visas at the airport as they entered, gave a hotel address and that was that. I wish our government would get its act together so that we could all travel like that. Our policy definitely needs reevaluation. Isolation of Iran does not make for better relations. Communication with the people of Iran does. The Iranian people think highly of Obama, and hope for changes toward the better in relations between the US and Iran. And I pray to God that will happen.

The thing is I am an American citizen. I believe the rules state that I must have at least a private guide. So I am looking for the right agency to use with a cool guide that will let me have some free time to explore and hang out with a few Iranian friends I have there.

Jeremy, you are correct in that the current rules for U.S. citizens require an authorized private guide. Please see my comment below regarding the tour & agency we used. We were able to balance following the regulations for U.S. citizens and connect with local people as well.

Jeremy, Yes, there are guides that give you free time, however,it is strongly recommended that you not “hang out” independently with your Iranian friends. It’s for their benefit. .You leave and they can be questioned . The only thing you may be able to do is invite them to meet you at your hotel. Please..for the benefit of your friends..don’t meet them outside.

I visited Iran on 2012-07-03 and quite independently. To be honest, i didn’t expect iran gave me a visa [ as I am a military man]. so if you wanna really go there, do it

I know you posted almost a full year ago, but I figured I’d see if you’d respond. I’m in a similar boat as you (almost military– ROTC), but am also learning Farsi and would love to go visit Iran. What different things did you have to do to get your visa on both the Iranian and American sides?

Please send me an e-mail via my site. Anyone studying Farsi shows genuine interest and I’ll be happy to help you & clear up.. what is a non -issue …….whether you travel with me or not. .irancustomtravel.com

Hi Jim, Great to see you are learning Farsi 🙂 If you would like to improve your Farsi or know more about Iran’s culture, customs and etc, please do not be hesitant to email me. I’d love to chat with you and other Americans in Farsi or English.

[email protected]

You should know Iran is very safe, with a lot of amazing cities. In some cities, you go sight seeing and you feel you are at heaven. Iranian are famous for being “hospitable”. We treat American and Eropean tourists surprisingly wonderful. Just keep in mind, all Iranian can not speak English, especially in small cities, so find young people and ask your questions. Of course you’ll probably have a professional tour leader.

Good luck, Faezeh

Jeremy, our trip to Iran had two parts. The first was with a G Adventures small group tour – http://www.gadventures.com/trips/iran-discover-persia/ARIR/2014/ – and the second part of the trip was with a private guide. The local tour operator who took care of our visa support & individual guide was AITO. If you decide to go with them be very clear with what you want and the style of travel that you want (e.g., we wanted budget).

If you look at the comments above you will also find recommendations for other Iranian travel agencies and tour operators. Good luck!

Thanks for the feedback and responses. They are much appreciated. I am definitely going hopefully August 1st if I get the visa. Now it’s just a matter of finding the agency in Iran. I will go private guide.

Dear Jeremy, From your comments, I can understand that you are eager to visit Iran and I hope you can manage your travel on time. My name is Mohammad. A 31 years old teacher in Iran (you may google my name). My deep interest to History, ancient palaces and nature made me an expert tourist. So, as the second part time job, I became a private tour guide.

So, it would be my pleasure to help you on your trips in Iran. I am sure you’ll enjoy my accompany! For any question or more information please do not hesitate to contact me via email: [email protected]

I may send additional information information if I receive your email,

Best regards

hello Americans

I am Abbas from Iran.

I love the United States and Americans a lot. I have one goal in my life and that is visiting your country, I really love Americans.

so I do apologize if you see that some stupid Iranians use dirty words. they actually don’t know that this is the governments’ words that cause this quarrel between Americans and Iranians.

Dear Americans:

99% of Iranians love Americans. we are really kind, friendly and hospitable. we really respect foreigners and the reason that we love the American people more than other nationalities can be stated like below:

1- we love American movies

2- in the past, our leaders used to have deep communication with Americans

3- media. we believe that what governments say against the US is wrong.

4- we love American singers. people listen to their music a lot.

5- we love this language and we learn it like professors.

Iranians are really kind. we really welcome you to visit our country to get sure. seeing is believing. if you get here, you will definitely enjoy it.

Iranians are calm and open- minded. we are not like Arabs who like to fight and have the hostile ideas.

Pls, hope for me that I can get to the US and visit my favorite people.

Love you all.

Hello, I think,you liked My country Im very happy to see here That People come here and sending message for knowing about iran:)

Audrey is correct.I should add that there is nor problem with ethnicity or religion (don’t belive the media.However , at this time it is not wise to visit family,if any are still there though they can visit you in the hotel. contact me at irancustomtravel.com . Happay to l assist you, whether you go through me or not. Like that your friend wants to see her roots.

Audrey, my girlfriend and I are interested in visiting Iran, as her family was originally from there (though they fled the country during the 70’s) and I have always wanted to travel through the Middle East. She is a British citizen and I am an American. I also have a punjabi hindu last name – kapoor – (although I look like I’m from Ireland or Sweden – genetics is odd no?). Anyway, I was wondering if this could have any effect on our ability to get visas to Iran, or our treatment while we are there (UK persian girl with white american might not be looked upon so nicely).

Thanks Brendan

Hi Brendan, Given your nationalities (US & UK), you’ll both need to go through the process of getting a visa through an authorized tour operator (and booking a tour or private guide for your trip). I believe that there are quite a few people of Iranian descent (i.e., their families left a generation or more before) who travel in Iran without problems, but the best thing is to ask the tour operator if he foresees any problem with the visa. As for your treatment while you’re there, I can’t really comment on that with first-hand experience as we didn’t see this situation on our trip. However, one of our Iranian-American friends traveled in Iran several times with her (white) American husband and didn’t have any issues. She was visiting family for much of the time, but they also traveled a bit around the country. Hope this information helps!

Again thanks for the information I received here. I had some mysterious problems with a Shiraz tour agency featured with a prominent web site. I had to change and search through several others before I decided on ToursbyLocals.com that experience was great, though as an American national traveling without connections to any relatives in Iran, I was strictly monitored. I traveled with my tour guide at all times. Our itinerary was set to agree with what the Iranian government would accept. The most important factor for me was visiting Shiraz. I didn’t really want to go anywhere else, but to stay there more than 1.5 days could not be justified to the Iranian gov. by my tour agency. I went there in mid-March. the weather was perfect, a little cool. there were several high points (outside of Shiraz). For example I went into the interior of one of the most famous mosques in Qom (the sister to one of the Imams) for dawn prayers. I am not a Muslim, but I have a great respect for Islam. I also bought a prayer rug from a tribal woman in the desert. My next trip is next March to Siberia. So I am studying Russian now, almost every day.

Joe, sorry to hear about your problems with the first tour agency, but glad you had a good experience with ToursbyLocals. Although you weren’t able to stay in Shiraz as much as you had liked, it sounds like you had a good trip. We never visited Qom, but we’d like to when we return to Iran.

Good luck with your next trip to Siberia!

Thank you Audrey for your post. All of you Americans are welcome here. I wish best for you.

Thanks, Hamad! We appreciate your kind words and welcome.

Hi, I’m Glad you visited our country and hope you made the best of it, the photos say so I think! If you need to know more, or revisit iran some day in future, perhaps my blog could help you or others who consider iran as a destination for traveling. god bless

Hi. I’m from Iran. Found this article by chance. Thank you for writing such a nice article 🙂 I hope one day this fear of Iran disappears 😉 Wish you all the bests!

Hey guys , that is so interesting to find people or websites that show truth face of Iran and I am so happy to see American guys are eager to visit my country after reading this informative post. I’ll guarantee that traveling to Iran is safe and you will enjoy your journey.This is my pleasure to help those who wants visiting Iran. Welcome to Iran and thanks to Daniel and Audrey.

Hi Majid, Thanks for your kind welcome to visitors coming to Iran. And, we’re happy to have been able to visit your country and share what we experienced there. All the best, Audrey

As an American I got my visa to travel to Iran for 11 days with a private tour guide. The process took 3 weeks. I’m leaving in two weeks and I’m looking forward to it. I’ve traveled extensively and I’m sure this will be my best trip yet. I’m so ready to practice my farsi as well. Also my special surprise waiting for me ,, 🙂

Hey Jeremy, When I went to Iran in 2012 it took several months for them to process my visa… in fact I didnt receive my visa until the day before my flight. Could I ask what company you went through for your visa and the private tour, and also was it pretty pricey for a private tour?

Get in touch with Parisa at Iran Traveling Center. She will help you from start to finish. Interest section in Washington was great help as well once I received the number. It took 3 weeks to receive the number and 4 days to process the visa by mail. I expedited it for extra fee. The cost was 3000 usd. For best hotels.

Search Iran Traveling Center and talk to Parisa. Tell her Jeremy sent ya. 🙂

Jeremy, thanks for sharing your experience here with getting a visa, the costs, and the company that helped you organize your private tour in a short time. Have a wonderful trip!!

I am American and traveled to Iran in 2011. I had a wonderful time and I am sure you will also. Iran has an extraordinarily rich culture and history, and the people are really friendly and most hospitable. I want to visit Iran again, hopefully when official relations have improved between our two governments.

Hi Ray, Thanks for sharing your experiences from your trip to Iran in 2011. We can definitely relate to all that you write here, as we had a similarly great experience. We also hope to be able to return one day and travel independently when relations between our countries improve. Cheers, Audrey

thank you for sharing your experiences especially this one about Iran. Here is my website about Iran that i would suggest to visit if you want to get practical information on the country

Let me explain something to you about Iran. From the appearance perspective, it is mainly rooted in culture. Persians are poetic people, and have always valued aesthetics and luxury living. From the most remote ancient Persians, who built the most luxurious city on planet called Persepolis (515 BC), and used textile and gold as a way to present wealth, to the modern Iranian people of today who share the same cultural values. They take on the finer points of life, and they definitely take care of their looks. Everything from the materials used in your house to how you decorate it, designer clothing to how you wear, and walk in it are of importance to Iranians. That’s one of the dominating reasons that the majority wealthy group of Iranians are usually good looking.

In terms of facial and physical beauty, just like any other nationalities there is a wide variety of attractiveness. Some races might find Iranians excotic due to their strong facial features, and natural body tan. But again beauty can be found in any races, and it also depends on the eyes of the beholder.

I challenge u ,Ask u big questions ,If you can answer my questions……… Which Country Has the most hospitable and warmest people? Iran Country has the most hospitable and warmest people in the world .. . Iranian Hospitality Iranian people are friendly and helpful and will extend a helping hand to even strangers so you need not really worry when you approach someone and ask for help.

Iranians, both men and women are fashion conscious and love to dress in their best. Life in Iran is governed by fashion and trends that change very quickly. The Islamic dress code is applicable everywhere in Iran and is strictly enforced, something all visitors need to be aware of and adhere to.

Iranians are family oriented people who take pride in their heritage and you will almost always find families hanging out together. Be it at restaurants or gardens and tourist places across Iran, families drive around, shop, eat and celebrate together.

Friday is the weekly holiday and families drive out, even camp overnight in tents in gardens, cook in the open and enjoy food, tea and conversation under a star lit sky. This is a common sight in Iran and speaks volumes about the close knit families that Iranians have.

Iranians love having people over and a visit to Iran almost always means your friends will invite you over for a meal or high tea. You will be treated to tea, dry fruits, gez, sohaan, salted nuts, cream puffs and delicious meals of freshly baked breads, broths, chicken and meat with rice.

Should you be invited to an Iranian home, do not forget to carry gifts – soghaati, that could be anything you would like to give. Flowers, sweets, cakes and cream puffs are commonly carried to any Iranian home you plan to visit.

If you have a meeting with an Iranian, typically expect people to arrive a little late as they tend to be very laid back. They are passionate and easy going all at once because they strongly believe in certain things and are ready to go all the way in their pursuit of something.

Most celebrations in Iran are governed by the Zoroastrian faith which was the first religion in Iran until Iran was invaded by the Arabs in the 7th century. However modern day Iran has a majority of Shia Muslims and a number of Sunnis, Christians among people from other faiths

Iran , the land of mysteries , great civilizations , cheerful & hospitable people

We invite you to a journey to our beautiful country , Iran with the optimum kind of services which is what we are expert in . we are a trustable center for all you may need in Iran such as hotel bookings , Visa , Transportations , tours , guides & translator etc .

I want to take a very short 3-day weekend visit to see the sights in Tehran only while I’m in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Considering the guide requirements, how can I do this? And do I need to pay hotel bills in cash? Is there such a thing a a 3 day quick visit? I’m a US citizen, and I could do this in the Spring.

Hi kalman Yes you can see Teheran in 3 days..but it is a shame not to see more of the country. As an American you must have a guide and be hosted..from Visa to hotel etc. with an Iranian company. .who will make all your arrangements. Feel free to contact me and I’ll be happy to assist you..whether you come with us or not. However don’t wait too ling oto make yur arrangements. With the surge in tourism..hotels and guides for April- high season- are fast filling up.

Dear sir, I am an intl. sales manager of Persia tour& travel agency in Tehran . We can apply for The American, British and Canadian to get entrance visa you can send us your copy of passport(page 2 and 5) to my email. I will send you an application then you will fill and return it to me. After 14 official days we will send you a reference number then you will collect your visa from I.IR embassy in Riyadh. You can offer an itinerary yourself or we will choose destinations for you to visit. a bilingual (an English-Persian) accompany you from meet and greet from the first till the last . we will also book hotel as you offer. However we do our best to provide a nice vacation for you ..My Skyp name: s.mhashemi Awaiting for the reply soon Regards, Hashemi .

Hi Kalman, I believe your question was kindly answered by Norma and Hashemi. As an American citizen you will need to go through an authorized tour operator in Iran for visa support, organizing your tour and a guide. It is a shame that you will only stay three days – there is so much to see in Iran (e.g., Shiraz, Esfahan, Yazd) outside of Tehran. You will need to work out with the tour operator you choose how you can pay. You might be able to pay for the entire tour (including hotels) in advance via bank transfer. Or, you may need to bring some cash with you to pay the remainder of the balance.

Good luck with planning your trip!

I think I sent you full information for travelling to Iran . By the way our main office is in Tokyo and we can give you an account for paying the tour expenses. But I think 3 days for visiting a land of civilization , a land of history and a land of 4 season tourism destinations is not enough to visit. At least 7 days is necessary to visit Shiraz, Yazd < Isfahan and Qazvin , If you send me your offer I will provide you a nice itinerary according to your time limitation. You should know that Iranian are famous for their hospitality You can come and have a personal experience yourself..

Regards -Hashemi

Hi Audrey, I just came upon your site and am really grateful for all the information you’ve got here! I am American and I have a dear friend from Iran, whom I met while she was studying in the US, who has gone back to Iran and invited me to visit her there. I want to just visit her and her family, so I was disappointed to hear about the requirement for Americans to go to Iran only through a tour. Is there any way to avoid this if I have an Iranian host whom I would promise to stay with all the time, etc? Could she and her family be my “private tour guides”? Sorry if these are dumb questions . . . and I am assuming that the answers are “no,” because I’m guessing the government needs there to be some kind of official tour organization involved, but I thought I would just check. Also, do you know if there are any different requirements for the island of Kish? I read on the US Dept. of State website that a tourist visa is not required for Kish, so perhaps the regulation of a tour guide doesn’t apply here? (My friend’s sister lives in Kish, so I’d be able to go there to see her.) Thanks so much!! Betsy

Besty, The only thing you could do is have your friend’s family go to the Foreign Ministry in Tehran and apply for you a visa. That would be your first step. If you get approved, your friend’s family will receive a visa number and can have that info sent to the Iranian Interest section of the Pakistan Embassy in D.C. or where ever you want to pick up your visa. I am an American and I have picked up my Iranian visas in Kuala Lumpur, Dubai and D.C.

Other than that, I do not think you would any other choice but to use a Tour Group, or go through the back door and go to Kish Island. But you would be restricted to Kish Island.

I wish you Luck!

Hi Marvin, Thanks so much for your note! I will ask my friend about applying for a visa for me in Tehran. I really appreciate your help! Best wishes, Betsy

Hi Betsy, As anAmerican tour leader for Iran..I regretfully musttellyou not towasteyour friend’s time. A.Americans must travel ONLY with certifiedIranian tour guides. (the guides are professionals who have studied for 3 years before taking a test..so your friend is not qualified. B.Americans cannot stay in the home of”friends”. C. There are no direct flights to Kish Island..so you need to go through Dubai(need a Visa there)Pand fly or take a boat.

@ Besty, Norma Lee is correct about the tour group. I apologize, I was half asleep when I wrote on here and had a lot going on where I am right now.

I checked with another young lady that I met on this form and I asked what the deal was on trying to get her boyfriend at the time, now her husband into Iran. She said it was a no go. She said that he would have had to go through a tour agency and stay at a hotel.

As she told me, if you do go through a tour, you might be able to work something out so you could meet up with your friend through the Tour Agency. But I would ask if this is possible to start with. Meaning don’t wait until you get there and surprise the Tour Agency.

I remember one time when my wife and I were seeing the sites in Tehran, we met some Americans on a Tour. We were able to talk with them with out any problems from the tour guide.

The reason I was lucky to get into Iran my very first time with out any problems was that the restrictions were more laid back then they are now. I now go at least twice a year without a tour. The reason that I can do this as an American is because I am married to an Iranian. So I stay with my In-Laws when I go to Iran.

Your best guess, might be going through Dubai and flying to Kish Island. But as I said before, you would be restricted to Kish Island.

Thanks, Marvin

Thanks, Marvin and Norma, for your helpful responses to Betsy’s questions!

Betsy, as was said before it seems like your options to meet your friend include meeting her in Kish or getting a tourist visa (which requires an authorized guide) to meet her in mainland Iran. Good luck with your planning and decision!

Yes, thank you so much, Norma Lee and Marvin! I appreciate your helpful responses . . . I am disappointed, but it’s good to know for sure how things work, and I’m glad to not waste my friend’s time as well! Thanks!! Betsy

I hold dual citizenship from US and Ukraine. I am thinking doing VOA at the airport once I arrive there using my Ukrainian passport, since it is eligible. Will merely having a US passport in my possession complicate matters further? Would you be so kind to find out from your contacts within the country what would be the best way to go about this?

Hi Jack, Best thing to do would be to contact an Iranian travel agency (there are several listed in the comments here) to see if they have any experience with that type of situation. I would imagine that if you complete your entire journey with a Ukrainian passport (e.g., don’t depart one country with a US passport and enter the other with a Ukrainian passport) you would be OK. I do know of dual-citizen travelers who entered Iran on their non-American passport, but I don’t know whether they had their American passport physically on them when they did. I’d check with a local expert who has more experience with current Iranian regulations than we do. Good luck!

It depends on which country is your place of birth. ..(as indicated on passport) If you were born in the US using your Ukrainian passport is useless ,actually illegal. Do not under any circumstances..assume you will be given a Visa at the airport. Either way…get your Visa..from Iranian mission in your country of residency

Thanks, Norma, for the practical advice here!

Jack, not sure of your situation, but if you were born in the United States then it looks like you won’t be able to get a VOA with your Ukrainian passport. The friends I knew of were born in Ireland, but got their US citizenship later on. So that’s why it worked for them to travel independently. Good luck!

I was born in Ukraine and my US passport lists birthplace Ukraine. If I travel via Turkey (which does not require visa for Ukrainian passport holders), then I guess I should be fine.

Traveling through Turkey?????What does that have to do with entering Iran. You had better contact me…via my site..happy to give you advice. . irancustomtravel.com

I was there in September of 2014. Everything was great. People treated us wonderfully. There may have been secret police watching us but I did not sense that like I did in Cuba.

And yes, the Iranians were very surprised when I informed them I was from the U.S. I would recommend anyone to go.

Hi Frank, Great to hear about your good experience traveling to Iran a few months ago and for sharing it here. We also found that people were surprised when we said that we were from the U.S., but then they were even more excited to ask questions and take us around.

Hi. I live in Iran and I would be so glad if i will be given the opportunity to help foreigners who visit my country especially the north of Iran. It will be an honor for me to be with you on your tour around Iran or at least Guilan, the north of Iran.

Would you please send me direct email: [email protected] ; I can discuss my itinerary with you in more detail.

I am an American thinking of traveling to Iran with a group tour. The tour says that as an American, I must purchase an airport transfer (US $65) and cannot go from the airport to the meeting point hotel on my own. Is this true? What will happen if I arrive at the airport, go through immigration, and just get a taxi into town-which seems to cost less than half the price!

Hi Brian, Contact me via website http://www.irancustomtravel.com and I’ll be happy to advise you. Send me your telly #. While there are certainly fine agencies operating direct from Iran, there are a few who advertise low costs…and then there are add-ins. in the small print. It is not recommended to have to transfer yourself…among many other issues.

Hi Brian, When we visited Iran that was one of the requirements for us as well – kind of a pain, but we’ve had to go through this in other countries so it wasn’t too much of a shock. Our guide met us at the airport with a driver. No official escorted us out of the airport to check the guide’s ID (i.e., that he was a guide rather than a normal taxi driver) so perhaps it is possible to just exit on your own. But I honestly wouldn’t want to risk it after coming all that way. Also, since we arrived in the middle of the night I was thankful to have someone waiting for me with a sign rather than have to negotiate a taxi at 3AM.

Perhaps an American who has traveled to Iran more recently can share their experience on this?

I am thinking of traveling to Iran and was curious how you were able to come and go by way of train from Istanbul? I only ask because I see the tour officially starts in Tehran.

Hey Mark, I don’t know if this is what Dan and Audrey did, but what I did (as an American) was fly into Tehran, start the tour, and then leave Iran via the train to Turkey.

Hi Mark, We did the same as Lauren — fly into Tehran (from Istanbul) to meet the tour and then when it was all over, we took the train from Iran to Turkey. While it might be possible to take the train to Iran, the agency handling our visa said that we might need to have someone meet us at the border if we took the train and it was a bigger hassle than flying into Tehran.

Good luck with the trip & planning!

Hi there I was really surprised when I visited Iran which ones have been very surprised! I would love to travel to America, but unfortunately I do not have money … However, if you want information from inside Iran. I can help! I’m living in Kerman. [email protected] mail address here And I am honored to be your guide in the country. Hope to success

Hi Audrey, I am an Iranian woman. I got surprised that you and yr husband enjoyed travelling to Iran. I’d like to boost foreigners’ information about Iran’s culture, customs, history and heritage. Plus, I’d love to have some American friends and get in touch with them time to time. So, please do not hesitate to email me and ask yr questions. I am looking forward to seeing Americans’ emails. After that we could add eachother on the Facebook.

Wish you and yr husband a long happy life

Love, Faezeh

hi all.my bf is a canadian guy ,he is so scared of traveling to iran because he has read in canada government website ‘avoid of traveling to iran’….it says u might be arrested or some other stuff .i am worried is it really safe if he come to iran? pls help me

Hi Mina, You can take a look at Amir’s response below regarding his experience and views traveling in Iran from Canada. If your boyfriend is coming to Iran as a tourist then he shouldn’t have any problems as long as he follows the basic rules (e.g., no drinking, wearing offensive clothing, etc.). Government websites usually are overly cautious in their warnings.

well, where do I start? i’m 15 and I spent most of my life in Canada, in fact i’m not even an Iranian citizen anymore. but I visited iran for 3 months last summer and it blew my mind. first of all the people there are amazing. they will help you with anything and I mean ANYTHING. its not what they show you on fox news XD. there are no public executions or harsh police violence. you are free to follow any religion you want as long as you don’t advertise it in public. in iran you can find jews, Christians and although most of the people are shiya muslims, you can even find some sunis here and there. oh, just make sure not to drink or eat in public during the ramazan month, its not like anything’s gonna happen to you but its mostly a question of respect. oh and please, DONT CALL US ARABS. I swear to god, we hate being called arabs and to be fair, I don’t even know why. its just a thing that has been engraved in our heads from a very young age. we are Persians, not arabs. it is normal to see police officers with heavy assault rifles such as AK-47s but don’t be afraid, its more of a symbolic thing and I can assure you that its not for shooting people. keep in mind that iran has its own fair share of crime and Iranians don’t like criminals, that’s why sometimes you see heavily armed police officers in places you might not expect. the food is to die for, i’m not even joking, its amazing. and in a tourist’s point of view, there’s something for everyone. whether you’re a 6 year old kid or a 30 year old man, you WILL have fun in a once considered “terrorist” state -,- .

Amir, thanks for sharing your experiences visiting Iran and offering advice to others on what to expect, and how to respect the local culture.

Just wish some good thing happen between two nation(government). With an embassy travelling would be easier than now.

Mehdi, we are also hoping for better relations between the two governments. Maybe in the near future…

My brother told me today that he is traveling with one of his good friends to Iran and Dubai for a couple of weeks in July. His friend has family a few minutes outside of Tehran as well as in Dubai. I was initially very concerned for his safety after reading the travel warnings on the government websites, but your blog helped me to feel a little bit more at ease. I was wondering if they would still need to have a government sponsored guide with them at all times given that my brother is an American and does not have dual citizenship, or if his friend and his family would essentially be able to sponsor him?

i,m so glad to hear many people are knowing my country. do not forget a trip to northern Iran (Chalous road)

Mersad, the Chalous Road does look like one amazing road up the mountain! Hopefully we’ll have a chance to see it at some point!

There are two roads from the North. One does go high above the clouds through high mountains. The Chalus road is more scenic, winding through various landscapes,but not high up. However, during rainy season, or when the snow is melting, a good driver will not take this route, because of the possibility of boulders and mud slides.

Leigh, so glad that our blog helped to ease some of your worries and anxiety over your brother visiting Iran. It is possible for Iranians to sponsor an American for visit, but I believe that this is usually reserved for family members. I don’t believe it would work if he’s only a friend of Iranians, but he should check with a couple of Iranian travel agencies to find out for sure. He can call the Iranian Special Interest section in Washington, D.C. and ask there. Hope he has a great trip!

As an American agency, let me clear this up. Americans are totally safe. In fact Iranians are excited to see and talk with us. However, we must have a certified Iranian guide, not a family member! At this time Americans cannot visit homes,more for the sake of their hosts. I advise my travelers to invite their Iranian friends to their hotel. Since Iranians must enter the country with their Iran passport (even if they have US citizenship), they don’t have this restriction..

Iran is a totally safe country for foreigners,.In fact, Iranians are excited to see & talk with Americans and are warmly greeted . However, they must have a guide and it is seriously not advised to visit Iranian homes, more the sake of their host. Since Iranians must enter Iran with their valid Iranian passport, they can stay with families, however your friend cannot. When I send Americans withIran Custom Travel, I advise them to in vite their Iranian friends to their hotel.

traveling to iran surly is nit as described in some media like CNN BBC or others .For sure any one who likes to travel here will be wellcomed nicer than any where else because iranian people are warm hearted and kind to others but of course there are always exceptions. I just wanted to say that some times even you wont need a guid in cities like shiraz one of the fun jobs that hildern are adviced to do is learning english and with shiraz as one of the most beatifull cities of iran it would be a very nice place to visit for somebody who could not see iran before . and of course with sadi and hafez (the two great poets ) your gonna love the place and for sure you can enjoy shiraz’s exclusive gifts for travelers (called KHATAM ) you can allwas remember this trip . I wish you a nice trip a boy living in shiraz in iran (safest country in the area)

Thank you Arp You gave us a great image of Iran, especially Shiraz. I live in Tehran and sadly,I’ve never visited Shiraz. But, I know people of Shiraz as the most warm blooded and hospitable people in Iran. Hope to take a trip to Shiraz as soon as possible. By the way, your English is great.

Regards, Faezeh

I have recently traveled to Iran and it was an amazing experience. Completely shattered any false imagery I had for this country. My question is this. I bought two carpets. One medium sized and one small sized. I also purchased half a kilo of pistachios.and a box of famous antique gaz nougat candy. Will I have problem bringing all of this stuff back to US? Did anyone have similar experience of bringing Iranian goods back to US?

Hi Joseph, Great to hear that you had such a good experience traveling in Iran. We did not buy carpets, but a couple of Americans on our trip did and they got through customs without any problems. I believe that they did have receipts in case they were asked, but the price on there was less than what they paid. We returned with gaz nougat candy and didn’t have any issues. Good luck! Audrey

Thanks for all the info I’m used to traveling on my own. It seems the only way I can visit Iran is to Pay $4000 for a tour.. Is this the only way?? I am a US citizen

Carolyn, Absolutely not! I did a guided tour in 2012 for $1000 for about two weeks (IranLife tour with Key2Persia) including food, hotels, transportation, etc. I prefer to travel alone too, but there was only one other person in the tour, and our guide was a fun young guy. So it didn’t feel restricted or rushed or anything. I highly recommend the Orient Express train, too–it was relatively cheap, and I didn’t have to have a guide during that time 🙂

While it will be more expensive doing a private tour than a group one (like the tour we took ), you should be able to get a private tour for less than $4,000. Lauren provided a good example with her tour for 2 people (note: prices are likely higher now than in 2012).

My suggestion is to: 1) contact a few more travel agencies to get other price points and 2) let the tour company know what level of comfort you want. For example, when we went off on our private tour after our group tour the initial itinerary had us in 4* hotels, which we didn’t want. We were able to get the price down by reducing the level of hotel, transport and by choosing to pay for our own meals.

Hi I am Ali from Iran . I am a resident of Isfahan . I was happy that you visit my country . If friends can email me any questions about my country down . From a distance , you can kiss all . Thanks to Ali [email protected]

I live in Iran and I’m a tourism management student. I am willing to help those who are interested in getting information about Iran. you can email me and I’ll reply soon. [email protected]

Hello! I’m an Iranian.come to Tabriz 🙂 it’s a great city!

Agree! We really enjoyed our time in Tabriz, as well as visiting Kandovan and the Armenian churches in the region.

@James I have used non of them, so I can’t tell you which one is better for sure. But I think train is much more comfortable. train: about 180$ to 65$ bus: about 50$

James, we took the train from Tabriz (overnight from Tehran) to Istanbul and would recommend that option over the bus as it’s more comfortable (and more fun). Here’s our story from our experience: https://uncorneredmarket.com/iran-turkey-train/

Do you have to go through a tour company to visit Iran? I”m studying in Istanbul for a semester and would love to plan a weekend trip, but want to do it sans tour guide.

Hi Victoria, The answer to your question depends on your nationality. If you are a U.S., Canadian or UK citizen then you will need to have an authorized tour guide with you in Iran (and that tour company will help with paperwork for visa). Given the bureaucracy needed for the visa and such, it may make sense to visit Iran when you have more time than just a weekend.

If you are a different nationality then you will not need a guide and tour company.

Hello i’m iranian and i live in Yazd. Yazd city is very beautiful and Clay city ! I invite you to see Yazd. Goodluck

Hello every body.I’m Ali from Iran. I live in Qom but Qom is a Hot city. if you wanna come in Iran Go to Isfahan or Tabriz or NORTH OF IRAN.North of Iran has a fantastic weather and superb sightseeing also you can see the biggest lake of world.anyway it would be a great travel.tnx

As an Iranian: We are neither amazing, nor cannibals or terrorists We are the same as the other people of the world would be Many of us are frauds and criminals and many others are truthful and kind-hearted Thanks for your beautiful blog

Mahdi, I completely agree with you. I’m an American who had the privilege of visiting Iran for 2 weeks in 2011 and I enjoyed my visit tremendously. I found the Iranian people to be very warm, friendly, hospitable and highly cultured. Both our nation’s news media tend to demonize the other side, in part due to foreign policy differences.

I do hope to visit Iran again someday. It’s still very difficult for an American to obtain an Iranian visa. I hope that visa restrictions will loosen up some day when US-Iran relations improve.

Ray, delighted you enjoyed Iran, but for the benefit of other potential travelers …the Visa process is quite simple..it has been streamlined since , and if you had a problem, it wan NOT the Iranian government,..more likely the agency.

Hi. I am Iranian and want to help others to know Iran better, so I made a blog to help other. But my English is not so good and I need a person to help me with its English Text. Thanks

Your exciting idea is actually what I’d been thinking of too! I’d be glad if I can make some times to help you. Let’s chat more about what you need to translate and how much time it requires. Feel free to ask Audrey for my email address if you like to discuss more.

I am dual citizen of Germany and the US. My parents are German and were sent to Iran for 5 years for work. During that time I was born.

Would I get into trouble with iranian authorities if it says “Iran” as place of birth in my passport? I would so love to see where I was born.

Hello Cornelia,

You should not have any problem regarding your birth in Iran. assuming your parents registered your birth at the US or German Embassy? However, if you reside in the United States, you will need to travel with your US Passport and apply through an agency and process your Visa through the Washington D.C. Interests section..

Feel free to contact me through my web-site irancustomtravel.com or call me in NY. 212 288-3289 and I will be happy to help you out whether you travel with our tours or not.

Dear Cornelia,

I am a 30, Iranian woman, was born and live in Iran, Tehran for my entire life.

If I were you, since Iran’s political situations in the world,I would not say I was born in Iran in “documents”!!

But you should visit the place where you were born, Iran is an amazing country to travel. If you need any information about Iran, please do not hesitate to contact me. [email protected]

Hi Dan and Audrey,

I’m a US citizen working in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and I’m interested in visiting Tehran from Dec 23-27 (I know quick trip). I perused G Adventures’ website but they didn’t offer any trips to Tehran for the dates I put in. Is there another company I can inquire with?

Thanks in advance!

Hi Tony, If you take a look through the comments you’ll see a few other travel agencies recommended by other readers (e.g., Iran Adventures, Iran Custom Travel, Pars Tourist Agency, Pardisan Travel). As we haven’t traveled with these companies ourselves we cannot vouch for them firsthand, but they do come with good reviews from others. Good luck with sorting out your upcoming trip!

I really liked your photos and hope to see you again in my country, Iran.

BTW, I suggest 1stQuest tour agency for travelers to Iran, it offers customized tours for tourists based on their preferences.

As Other said I am an Iranian student If you come to Iran, I am really interested to show Iran to you. my email: [email protected]

Please do not encourage people to travel to my country At least do not do this in a website There are many places in the world to travel, please ignore Iran Iran may be unsafe to the tourists, you must warn the others from dangerous trips…..

Hi Mahdi, We respect your opinion, but we also disagree that Iran is dangerous for tourists. In fact, we felt more safe in Iran traveling there than we have in many other parts of the world. And we know many people who have visited Iran who feel the same way.

Hi Audrey, I am an American and have been in Iran twice in the last year and a half. I have spent about two months in Iran. I have found the Iranian people to be the most friendly , and genuine people in the world. I have lived and worked in the Near and Middle East, and I would recommend Iran over any other country in the region. I have traveled to Tehran, Sari, Urmiyə, Ahvaz, Bouchehr, Shiraz and other places. And everywhere the Iranian people have welcomed me, even local officials. It is time that the people of Iran and the US recognize what they have in common, and forgive their differences. After all, God/Allah asks of us to respect each other, have compassion for each other, and forgive each other. Even Mohammad forgave those people in Mecca who had persecuted him and driven him out years earlier. It is clear that we must leave the past in the past and look to the future…we must all work together to overcome the problems of global warming. Mahdi, you should really try to meet some Americans. Those that are coming to Iran now are doing that because they have a real interest in Iran, and others, like me, have a real love of Iran. Khoda hafez

I’m interested to know how you managed to get such a long visa. I’d heard that the visitor visa would be for 14 days for Americans. That’d be helpful for me to know.

Salam Neda. Hale shoma chetori ast? Khoobi? Che khabar? Most American visitors unfortunately do not get long visas, two or four weeks. My case is unique. However, what is most important is that Americans take the time to really get to know Iran, and its wonderful people.

Thank you Peter for nice comment. I am over the moon you enjoyed your stay.

I am an Iranian woman who has lived in Tehran, Iran since ever.

I am not religious at all but I agree with you. We are all human beings and the earth is our home.

I, personally, would love to see tourists_especially Americans_ in Iran and do my best to make them feel like home. I usually ask tourists if they need any help, and enjoy communicating with them.

I am not agree with the government’s performance and political decisions but I am quite sure Iran is the safest country in the middle east.

Most Iranian are well-educated and knowledable, we are famous for being hospitable and compassionate. We like to be in touch with other nationals and have great relations with other countries and western world. We follow western fashion and singers. Iran has places which looks like heaven, great museums and historical places, rich culture and remarkable scientists, doctors, engineers and authors. We are very smart and intelligent with high IQ.

We have everything, expect people are not happy with political and religious issues such as compulsory Hijab which is forced by the government.

Our weekness is not knowing “team work”.

I apologize on be half of those who disrespect you and other Americans. We love Americans. Hope to see more American in Iran.

If you or any Americans have any questions associated with Iran and issues such as global peace, please do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected]

I sincerely appreciate the authors of this blog who are making the world a better place to live and also work on global peace.

Thank you, Bests, An Iranian woman,

Salam Faezah. Hale chetori? Khoobi? Che khabar? I have been very lucky and honored to spend time in Iran. Because of this, I hope that I can show those whom I meet that there are Americans, who know and respect Iranian culture, society, and religions. It is important for visitors to Iran to understand the incredibly long history of Iran. And it is important for us in the West to understand the debt that we owe to Iran for our own culture. Today is Yalda. If you search on the internet…look for the connections between Yalda and Christmas, and between Mithra and Christ…you will be amazed. The links between Christmas and Yalda are only part of the story. There are also strong links between Nowruz and Easter as well. You will learn that because the major religion of Roman soldiers was that if Mithra our cultures are intricately linked together. In Italy there are temples to Mithra that lie under Christian churches. Many years ago I studied Islamic philosophy, literature and culture. I also studied Arabic, and I studied Islam. Although I did not learn Farsi at that time, I am learning it now with the help of many friends. The Iranian and peoples of European origin in the West are linked through our languages. There are many words that are very similar. In German for example.. mother = mutter, father = vater, brother – bruder, daughter = tochter. There are hundreds of words like this. And most of all we are linked through genetics. I recently had my DNA analyzed. Through my mother’s DNA I am a descendant of the Indo-European tribes that moved throughout the Europe and western Asia 4,000 to 6,000 years ago. Some of my closest genetic links are in the Zagros and Elborz mountains, and in Lake Urmia region! That is why Americans and the people of the West, and Iranians need to come together again. Because we are not only human beings, but cousins, and even brothers and sisters. America made many mistakes in its recent relations with Iran…and I believe it is the people of both nations that can heal the wounds, and bring our family together again. I have walked through the streets of Persepolis marveling at the greatness of Iran, and finally I prayed a the tomb of Hafiz in Shiraz that our family would be united again. Inshallah, Faezeh, it will happen. Khoda hafez, Peter

Salam dear Neda and Faezeh, Happy Yalda! May the warmth of this night as you gather with your families bring you continued warmth through the winter until the rebirth of Spring at Nowruz.. May the pomegranate seeds and nuts, and water melon that you eat tonight remind you of the good things in life that we all share. I wish you a most Happy Yalda!

hello i am an American citizen and i am trying to visit Iran for a medical treatment and i was asking if i need a permission from US authorities before i go

Suheil, we have no experience or knowledge about traveling to Iran for medical treatment. It’s best if you discuss with the Iranian representative in Washington, D.C., what is needed for your visit.

Because my dad is from iran I have dual citizenship in iran and the US but have not gone back to iran since i was 16. I am 25 now and my family is worried they will try to put me into the military or at least it could cause some problems. Does anyone have any information on this?

I have had friends who are Iranian-American (with both citizenships) who have had great trips to Iran visiting family without any problems. But the situation is a bit trickier as I believe the Iranian government doesn’t recognize a second citizenship, even if you were born in the United States. There have been cases where Iranian-Americans have been questioned and detained, usually on charges of espionage. But these are the minority as many Iranian-Americans visit each year. Best thing to do would be to contact an Iranian agency that might have experience in this issue to get updated advice, perhaps like Norma from IranCustomTravel.

Audrey, I appreciate your support , not just of me but Iran. TI have sent Iran Americans, (though most of my travelers are Americans.)..and we have had no problems. The key is to be through & familiar with the correct processing of Visas. Also.RE: the recent Visa confusion. I spoke with an US official, who stated that the Visa situation is a non-issue for Americans. I have traveled ,just last week , through 3 countries and return to US with 3 Iranian Visas in my passport …and not a peep! Thank you You are doing important work!

Hi I m Azra ,from Iran and work in travel agency also I have leader tour card i can show Tehran completely, if any one wants to come to Tehran,I will be glad to help

HELLO every one I’m Azra if someone loves to come to Iran and lives with nomads and going with them in a beautiful Zagros mountain range ,know about their life and how did they live?,I know that is different for you when you coming close and touch the experience soon… my email address is : [email protected]

Greetings From Iran This is Ali. I’m a licenced tourist guide/driver guide with 8 years experience in handling different tours around the country. I’m also eligible to guide the Americans/Canadians and The British in Iran. So if you are looking for a guide to make your trip a memorable one, just feel free to contact me now! Instagram:nokhostin.alireza

beautiful place rich with the culture of Muslim and here is the Muslim heritage and you will love the tour

Absolutely do NOT attempt to outwit your guide or the laws in the country..you can find yourself politely escorted to the departure lounge at he closest airort

Thanks for the reminder, Norma. I agree that travelers should follow the guidance of their guide so as to not put themselves, nor their guide, at risk.

Hi.I hear about travel to Kish Island in persian gulf for American people without visa.Is it right? Have you ever heard?

Hi Hassan, According to the U.S. State Department travel information website it is possible for Americans to visit Kish Island without a visa. However, it’s not possible to travel to the rest of Iran from Kish Island without a proper Iranian tourist visa.

Hi Thanks for your nice and informative article about traveling to Iran and some situations that american traveler are faced in with them. sometimes it is not so interesting for travelers don’t have their own schedule and without presence of a tour guide with them, but right now, some conditions are still there and preventing that to happen. i hope it get passed as soon as possible.

Hope it be helpful 🙂

If you guys want to travel to Iran and you have questions, feel free and ask me! I’m from Iran and I love to help people 🙂 arminshirzad [[@]] gmail.com

As someone who works in an agency and issue visa for foreigners a lot, I know that American travelers can be free in most of their trip and hire guide only for part of their trip, just to get their visa. Same about British and Canadian travelers. They can hire guide for 3 to 4 days and get their visa.

Mona, although this might be possible it does mean that travelers from the United States, Britian and Canada are taking a risk for not having a tour guide assigned to them during the course of their trip. I’m not sure I’d want to take the risk.

Potential travelers..take Audrey’s advice! Iran is safe, however, don’t take a chance that you meet-up with an over-zealous official or citizen, who wants to make points. A certified agency,in the US or Iran, will not process a Visa, without a guide. Plus, you cannot make hotel reservations, safely, on-line nor navigate the country alone. We are organizing tours for the Fall..so feel free to contact me. Happy to help, whether you travel with us or not.

There are still American tours going to Iran. A friend of mine is taking a group for a fifteen-day tour in October-November with Fars Travel. It is more difficult to obtain a visa…thanks to Trump the “Grump”, it is still possible. I was to go last November to give a paper at a conference, but my colleagues did not get my visa into the Ministry in time. However, my paper was still given a the conference and my research on Lake Urmia is making the circuits in Iran. Personally, both my friend and I have walked around the streets of Tehran sans guide. And I have walked the streets of many other cities in Iran sans guide. And despite this, I would suggest to those Iranians who make the rules…that now revolution began as a result of my independent forays without a guide, and Iranian security was not compromised.

Hello, I am an American citizen, and am Armenian by blood. My father grew up in Iran, and I was hoping to visit my uncle and cousins there next Summer (all of which are Iranian citizens). I would be entering from Dubai upon completion of a study abroad program.

I am hoping to meet my uncle upon arrival, and stay with him for the entirety of my trip. I speak fluent Armenian and nearly fluent Farsi. I am also completely familiar with the culture.

Please let me know if the is anyway around me bringing a guide given my situation. If so, how should I go about planning my trip.

I suggest you call the Iranian Interests Section in D.C 202 965 4990. Before you call, ask your family if they are ready to go through the process of “sponsoring” you in Iran. It’s more than having a guide..it’s also being able to stay in a private home.

Currently, Americans get their Visas through the travel agencies, in the US working with Iran partners. However, since we take responsibility for our travelers, no credible agency will apply on your behalf, so please be careful if you are told differently. Feel free to contact me.

Thank you for your helpful article about Iran. beside this i suggest all travelers visit Qazvin and its mysterious valley(alamut) that is called valley of assassins

Hi ! I am an american citizen living in France since i was a kid, but i still only have an american passport, no french citizenship yet (the french paperwork system takes a loooong time!). I have a very good friend in Iran that i would love to visit. Do you think if i went with a private guide, they would let me hang out in peace and privacy with my friend? Do you think the guide would let my friend and i travel together? My friend would love to show me different places in his country… Of course i would prefer to travel freely but if it’s the only solution, i might have to compromise my freedom and accept it! i would love to have your opinion, thank you Sophie

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Borders Of Adventure

Leading Culture and Adventure Travel Blog by Becki Enright. Looking at the world with a different angle to change perceptions of misunderstood places, for the best in travel.

Iran , Misunderstood Destinations

This Is How to Travel to Iran – Everything You Need to Know

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links to handpicked partners, including tours, gear and booking sites. If you click through or buy something via one of them, I may receive a small commission. This is at no extra cost to you and allows this site to keep running.

Many travel to Iran to experience the delights of the ancient Persian Empire yet are unaware of the limitations faced by the rules and regulations of what is now the strict Islamic Republic.

As travel warnings persist and diplomatic relations with other countries continue with varying degrees of existence, many are confused about how to go about entering Iran and travelling in Iran safely, efficiently, and within the boundaries set by the current regime.

However, an Iran trip doesn’t have to be difficult at all – tourism is growing as relations develop; hatred of the western world is not as rife as the media likes you to think, and travel in the country is safe. Ancient Persia is within easy grasp, most notably in the central region where key sites have been maintained and the infrastructure linking them is growing, and tourists are not subjected to as heavily enforced rules as the locals.

With enough pre-planning and prior research, you can easily avoid the limitations and stresses of travelling in what is perceived as a closed and tricky country to traverse.

Use this checklist and list of tips for when you visit Iran as a comprehensive guide to help get you started. This Iran travel guide shows you how and is constantly revised with the help of an authorised tour guide on the ground in Tehran, alongside access to regular Iran tourism updates via tourism business partners. 

Travel Warning: Due to the volatile security in the region and the recent developments in April 2024, check your government and official advisories before visiting Iran. 

Check Before you Visit Iran

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Inbound bookings for Iran usually change when something has severed particular diplomatic ties, which then reverberates to tourism apprehension and a halt to tourism altogether. Always check the news and the political landscape before travelling to Iran to see if you (and your nationality/country) are affected by visas and entry to Iran. It’s always a matter of time and patiently waiting to see how the political landscape plays out following these events. Here are some of the more recent ones.

On 3rd January 2020, it was announced that the Iranian Major-General Qasem Soleimani was killed in a US airstrike, with Iran calling for ‘severe revenge’. While the outcome is not yet known, this does ignite fears of a conflict in the Middle East , and it pays to be more aware of travel warnings at this time. American citizens, in particular, may face more restrictions. 

Following the Ukrainian Airlines plane crash near Tehran, several flights routes to Iran have been cancelled following the news that the Ukrainian jet was ‘unintentionally’ shot down . If you have any Iran travel planned, check your airline to see if the service is still running.

The arrest of the UK Ambassador to Iran in Tehran as part of government protests have further sparked an international row between the two countries. UK travellers should be on alert for developments. 

Both Iran and Persia are used interchangeably about the country and also while you are on the ground. Reference to Persia is more so in the context of the history and legacy of the ancient kingdom of the Persian Empire; Iran is about the modern-day Islamic Republic of Iran in the Middle East.

READ MORE: Best Places to Visit in Iran to See Ancient Persia

You’ll stumble between modern-day cities and the sights of ancient Persia, like the Persepolis, on any Iran trip.

Can Everyone Travel to Iran? Iran Visas and Authorisation Codes

Getting a visa for Iran is quite possibly the most stressful and challenging part of your entire trip. You first need to know if you are eligible and what limitations you may face.

For countries like the UK, which have strained and little to no diplomatic relations with Iran, you may find that you cannot even get an Iran visa in your country because there is no Iranian embassy. British travel to Iran means a little more legwork, where you may also have to travel elsewhere, like Dublin or Paris for example, to obtain the visa since there is no Iran embassy in the UK.

Most airlines flying to Iran will not allow you on a flight unless you show you have an Iran visa, but you can get a visa on arrival. However, sanctions have been lifted, most notably in 2016, with up to 900 Iran visas daily on average granted on arrival, according to the Office of Foreign Affairs. Tourism numbers annually have increased year on year, with 5.2 million foreign visitors entering Iran in 2015, in comparison to 4.7 million in 2013.

On the 14th February 2016, the Ministry of Iran announced that airports could issue 30-day visas for Iran, for nationals of 180 countries.

Non-eligible nationalities for Iran Visa On Arrival:

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Canada, Colombia, India, Iraq, Jordan, Pakistan, Somalia, USA, UK

A 30-day Tourist Visa Upon Arrival, for those of eligible nationality , can be obtained at the following Iran airports:

IKA:  Tehran Imam Khomeini Airport THR:  Tehran Mehrabad Airport MHD:  Mashad Airport SYZ:  Shiraz Airport TBZ:  Tabriz Airport ISF:  Isfahan Airport

Follow the signs that say ‘Visa on Arrival’ where you will be asked questions about your trip to Iran and asked to present:

• Details about your confirmed first night’s accommodation in Iran, including the address and phone number (you may also be asked about your travel plans on-going).
• Proof of a confirmed return flight ticket.
• A copy of your travel insurance policy document and policy number.
• Those people I met who were granted an Iran tourist  visa on arrival as part of the tour   were given a special letter from the company that they could present to both the airline and passport control on arrival.

You can be waiting up to 30 minutes before your visa is granted and you can proceed to immigration. You will need:

• A passport with at least six months validity
• Two passport photos, in which women should be wearing a headscarf
• The completed visa form. You can also fill out the form online before arrival in Iran, from which you will receive a visa application reference number, print it off and take it with you.

One of the many beautiful places in Iran to visit – The UNESCO World Heritage site of The Great Mosque (Masjid-e Jameh) of Isfahan.

The costs for a visa in Iran and visa on arrival in Iran – each country is different.

Iran Travel insurance is a requirement to obtain your visa for Iran. Without proof of purchase and printed documentation, you cannot pick up your visa from the embassy or secure your visa on arrival at the airport.

Aside from it being a stupid idea not to have travel insurance coverage, check that your current policy (or the one you are thinking of getting) covers Iran. Some do not provide travel insurance for Iran or only cover limited regions of the country and activities.

Getting Your Iran Authorisation Code – Non-Eligible Nationalities

For those not eligible for a visa on arrival, and those wanting to apply for a visa for peace of mind before they arrive,  you have to apply for an Authorisation Code. EVERYONE has to have one of these, which will determine if you are granted an application for a visa.

• For those who HAVE to travel in a group (see below), this code will generally be processed by your tour company.
• For everyone else, you can use 1stQuest which offers essential travel services for Iran travel. Otherwise, source an Iranian travel agency local to you at the time of planning or seek direction from the embassy you wish to get a visa from about where to apply for it.
• When applying for the authorisation code, you will need to specify which embassy you will be processing your visa at – a pain for those travelling around with no solid plans. Once the code is released, you cannot change the embassy choice. It’s wise to choose an embassy in a city you are likely to fly to Iran from (see also timings below).

Authorisation codes (if not booking with tour) come with an administration cost of around 35 Euro, which is dependent on the agency you are working with. There is no set price for an Iran Tourist Visa since it is determined by nationality and where you process your visa.

I paid €180 for mine in Tbilisi, Georgia and a British guy on my tour paid a little more to process his in Paris. The Australians in my tour group paid differing amounts between €50-€100, as did the Germans. There’s no hard and fast rule – it’s more about luck.

If all that wasn’t enough, it is highly likely that

1. Your authorisation code will take WEEKS to process

2. It will most likely arrive with only a matter of DAYS to spare before your planned arrival in Iran or tour start date.

This means that before any trip to Iran, especially when travelling on a tour, you will be rushing to the embassy in the hope of getting your authorisation code for Iran processed quickly. You may have to pay extra for fast-tracking and organise your flight ticket to Iran very last minute. This doesn’t always guarantee the best price and the idea of getting a cheap ticket to Iran has to be pushed aside.

DON’T book your flights to Iran or any travel arrangements until you know your Iran visa will be processed. Many people travel to Turkey beforehand to process their visas and fly to Iran from there, using the country as a cost-effective flight or train route for entry.

Everybody needs to get an Authorisation Code before travelling in Iran.

Refusal of Entry to Iran

The main reason for Iranian visa refusal is when there is proof you have travelled to Israel and the government’s paranoia based on your career (think journalists, media workers and similar).

Iran tourism issues are not linear, and while anything can happen at any time that would affect a particular nationality entry, the majority of the problems are political-based and beyond our control. Diplomatic relations and any political actions for/against Iran based on historical or current affairs at the time of applying may affect your refusal of entry into the country, or an Iran travel ban put in place.

On 4th January 2020, it was announced that the Iranian Major-General Qasem Soleimani was killed in a US airstrike, with Iran calling for ‘severe revenge’. While the outcome is not yet known, this does ignite fears of a conflict in the Middle East , and it pays to be more aware of travel warnings at this time. 

On 6th October 2019, it was reported that the two Australians imprisoned in Iran for flying a drone were freed in a political swap. It is suggested that strained relations between the UK and Iran after Britain seized an Iranian oil tanker in Gibraltar are inciting such political moves to detain people breaking the rules.

On 29th August 2018, France informed diplomats to postpone all but non-essential travel to Iran after a foiled bomb plot near Paris. The following day, Iran dismissed such restrictions , proving that it is best to stay aware of any sudden changes. 

Solo Travel in Iran vs Tours in Iran

One of the biggest questions I hear is: Can US citizens / Americans travel to Iran? They absolutely can, but because of the long-standing history of coups, espionage, nuclear sanctions and everything else in between (outside of the control of the average American citizen unconnected to the historical actions of their government), all US passport holders are only allowed into Iran if part of Iran tour packages (or with a tour guide).

Despite restrictions, it is safe for Americans to travel to Iran, so don’t be put off by the bureaucracy needed to get there. US travel tips to Iran focus on this red tape. For example, it still stands that Americans must also be escorted from the airport to the hotel, and cannot make their arrangements. This all has to be pre-organised pick-up (a simple addition via the tour company) so do check this before you leave.

READ MORE: Inside The Den of Espionage – Former US Embassy in Tehran Turned Museum

The former US Embassy in Tehran, Iran

As of February 2014, British and Canadian citizens going to Iran became subjected to the same ‘tour only’ sanction (official Iran tour operator or private Iran guide). As a result, your visa is usually only granted for the exact number of days of your tour, with a couple of days on either side if you list this as part of the arrival and departure options.

British passports holders should also pay attention to Foreign Office updates following strained relations between the two countries after the oil tanker seizure, as listed above in ‘Current Diplomatic Relations’. 

Unfortunately, Israeli citizens cannot enter Iran at all, and this is unlikely to change anytime soon.

Check on any nationality restrictions before you visit Iran. It may mean having to join a tour and hire a guide.

While those booking up Iran holidays might choose a tour package for the fact that everything is taken care of on the ground and for ease of travel, I had no choice since I had a British passport.

There’s an overwhelming amount of Iran tour packages, and it can often be hard to know where to start. At the time, I travelled with G Adventures on a Discover Persia tour which operated through the revered Iranian agency AITO. I allowed myself free time to visit Tehran on either side of my trip, so I had a taste of both worlds, albeit on a small scale. Currently this trip is not running. 

The upside to a tour, however nomadic and sporadic you usually are, is that these trips pack a real punch in getting you to many sites in 14 days. On the G Adventures Iran tour, I saw places I would not have been able to access easily on my own or with public transport. Plus, my local guide to Iran was the bundle of knowledge that a history and sociology geek like me needed for an ancient civilisation such as Persia. The downside of such holidays in Iran is a lack of free time and lazy resting for an itinerary that would normally, on my terms, take about three weeks, not two.

Being in a tour group when visiting Iran does not mean being chaperoned and watched 24-7. ven while on a small group tour, we were allowed time to ourselves in each destination. 

Choosing between and small group tour and a private guide – with a local who will show you all the historical places in Iran.

Generally, under the condition that you must have two people minimum, hiring a private tour guide in Iran is also an option. This is a viable option for those with visa restrictions who do not want to travel in slightly larger groups.

Come2Persia  is a certified and reliable Iran travel agency run by a trusted Iranian friend of mine, Ali Reza Nokhostin, who I met and travelled with when in Georgia. He is both passionate about showing off his country and in changing perceptions of Iran. Specialising in incoming tours to Iran, Come2Persia also provides other travel services needed to complete the private tour package, including hotel bookings, visa application, transportation and access to various guides, not just Ali.

Note that while solo / independent travel is moderately easy in Iran (if of a free nationality), Iran is not that well-trodden on the independent travel path. There’s little to no hostels and guesthouses, and a dominance of big, expensive hotels (especially in Tehran) and even then it is rare to stumble upon a bunch of solo travellers to join.

However, solo travel in Iran is happening, and it is safe, it’s just a little more challenging than usual, which can, in itself, be pretty exhilarating. 

Note that Couchsurfing in Iran is officially illegal, but it happens anyway. Nearly all independent travellers I have spoken to have mentioned that they have travelled here via this resource with your local hosts, of course, being the best guides. However, travellers looking to Couchsurf in Iran must be aware that they can not hold the Couchsurfing host responsible if anything goes wrong because there is no official ‘filter’ in place when it comes to the hosts listed online.

In a society where women are much more restricted than their male counterparts, to travel Iran as a solo female is a little harder and viewed with surprise/suspicion depending on where you go.

Also in Iran, since public displays of affection between males and females are not allowed, any harassment or inappropriate contact by an Iranian male to a female traveller would be frowned upon and draw attention. 

Iran is one of the safest countries in the world based on tourists’ feedback. There have been many solo female travellers who have experienced Iranian hospitality and kindness.

However, it is vital to bear in mind that Iran is an Islamic country with traditional values and of course, some types of outfits would send the wrong message, especially in smaller and more conservative cities, such as Yazd, Kashan and Qom.

Solo female travel in Iran is safe, but with awareness of the conservative values of this Islamic country.

Iran is a four-season country, which means in different corners of the country, you can experience various climates at the same time. So, when is the best time to go to Iran, based on the different climates in the country? As a quick guide to Iran and its geographical mix, we can divide the country into three regions:

• From early March until late May
• From early September until late November
• There is one high season, from mid-April until mid-November
• Only one high season, from late November until late March

In between the high seasons from July to September is marked by high temperatures rendering travel on the classic route potentially uncomfortable.

The stunning Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque is Isfahan is one of the must-see sites.

Iranians love to shout about the abundance of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. As my local friend stated, “It gives Iranians a lot of pride to possess such ancient lineage”.

Iran has 24 UNESCO World Heritage Sites – 22 cultural and two natural. Each of which is the result of years of investigation and presentation of evidence as to why they should be regarded as world heritage sites. It would take more than one trip to traverse them all.

The Zoroastrian Towers of Silence in Yazd – one of the 24 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Iran.

Dress Code in Iran – Headscarves and Hijabs

Iran does have a strict dress code, and this is one of the biggest concerns for female travellers to Iran. Most importantly – PACK A HEADSCARF IN YOUR HAND LUGGAGE.  It’s called ‘Roosari’ in Farsi, and you MUST be wearing it the moment you exit the plane and are officially in Iran.

You must wear a headscarf the entire time you are in Iran (except when in your hotel room), as well as loose clothing that covers your body. But let’s get one thing straight – you don’t have to wear a burka or anything that completely hides you.

When you arrive, you will soon see that reality is far removed from the stereotype. Iranian women are super stylish and proud of their appearance – fashion being a means to stand out and make a statement.

The dress code for women in Iran doesn’t have to be complicated.

The ‘Morality Police’ you hear of do exist in Iran but are not spending their time chasing down foreign visitors, so do not worry too much with that. If anything, you will get a polite mention. Visitors have a bit more flexibility when it comes to the rules.

• A headscarf is the most immediate essential item, and you can buy more when you are there) . If your headscarf falls, don’t worry – quickly put it back on again. You won’t be in trouble for this, but pay attention at all times. Wearing your hair in a high bun or ponytail helps keep the scarf in place. Many Iranian women wear it a little loose and halfway back on their head, since showing a little hair is granted.
• Tops must be loose-fitting, and three-quarter length sleeves are ok – a little more comfortable in the heat. The general rule of thumb is that the body should be covered and arms should not be bare.
• It is said that trousers must be baggy, but some local women wear tight, brightly coloured leggings.  As long as your legs are covered down to the ankles, it is fine. For tourists, leggings worn with a long, loose-fitting top are acceptable. However, in the more conservative areas such as Isfahan, Mashad and Qum, respect the values and revert to looser fitting trousers.
• Colour of clothing. It’s a myth that you need to dress in dark colours or black tunics. Embrace fashion the ways the locals do and bring some colour into your Iran packing list!
• Open toes sandals are OK. Pack some sports shoes for longer day trips where you might be walking a lot (such as at the Persepolis). You’ll soon see how sports shoes are fashionable in Iran, especially in bright colours!
• Worried you do not have enough appropriate attire? Fear not, as soon as you arrive in Tehran or even Shiraz (if you fly into the city), hit the bazaars and the local markets . There’s plenty to be sought out. Other people on my trip stuck with two outfits and alternately hand-washed them every night.
• Strict dress codes do not apply in the same manner when travelling with children . Young boys can wear shorts and t-shirts and girls under ten are not required to wear a headscarf.

For men it’s more straightforward – you will be dressing much the same as you do in western countries, except no short shorts, no super short sleeves and no extreme tight-fitting clothing.

READ MORE: Iran Dress Code for Women (What to Wear in Iran)

Is Iran Safe? Is it Safe to Travel to Iran?

Iran’s image of being a terrorist-driven, American bashing, nuclear weapon holding, burka-clad society is something that has been highly driven mainly by western media. “Is Iran safe?” “Isn’t it dangerous in Iran?” are likely to be some of the first questions you encounter from others when you announce you are travelling here. 

In short: Iran is a safe place to visit. 

Since the election of the more moderate President, Hassan Rouhani in August 2013 and his re-election in 2017 , both international relations and internal rules have become less severe and slightly more open.  It won’t take long before Iranians give you a warm welcome, ask where you are from or even invite you to dinner or tea.

It is a part of Iranian culture to go out of their way to help you, and it’s not uncommon to be given a phone number on a piece of paper or a business card in case you need to call upon someone.

The people of Iran are just as keen to show you they are the opposite of how they are portrayed, just as you should be teaching them that the western world doesn’t hate them.

Is it safe to travel in Iran? Absoluely. Locals are very welcoming.

There’s never a right time for those who are worried, anxious or scared. Of course, you need to keep up to date with any significant political changes and your country’s diplomatic ties, but avoid listening to the hive of scaremongering out there and those who say don’t travel in Iran.

For example, in June 2018, there were protests about the economic situation in Iran, and these took place inside and around the Grand Bazaar in Tehran. It means being aware of any internal demonstrations and staying away from those areas, as you would in any country. 

Iran remains as one of the most stable countries in the Middle East. While breaking the rules of Islamic society (including drinking alcohol, taking drugs and engaging in sexual activity with locals) can result in deportation, arrest or worse, general travel here is entirely safe.

Don’t assume you can break any rules in Iran, play the dumb tourist and get away with it. Iran is a Muslim country where Islamic law is strictly enforced.

An example of harsh punishment is with the case of the two Australians imprisoned in Iran for illegally flying a drone near a military installation, freed in October 2019, but as part of a political swap. It might seem that the punishment doesn’t fit the crime, but what is justified in your country can have harsher consequences elsewhere. 

This is an Islamic State with a strict system, and if you can’t play by Iran rules, don’t go.

Given the location of Iran in the Middle East, the Muslim religion and some similarities in culture and language, the scaremongering of Iran can often revolve around the ‘it’s Arab’ misconception.

Iran is not an Arab country. Iranians are not Arabs. The language spoken is Persian (also known as Farsi) and not Arabic (although there are many languages spoken within Iran including Kurdish and forms of Turkish, Indo-European languages and Khuzi Arabic for example, due to the many ethnic groups that exist within the country).

Not only is the Arab misconception a source of contention generally, but Persians can take offence at these preconceived ideas.

Take US Dollars or Euros with you to Iran and change them up into Iranian Rial at the local exchange offices (not the dodgy guys on the street or at the hotels which have the lower government exchange rate). Before you know it, you have millions of Rials, and it all looks easy.

However, while ALL notes state ‘Rial’ there is another ‘currency’ or ‘super unit’ that is used – Toman – which is not listed on any note or coin.

Toman is used by locals and is one-tenth of the Rial total. 1 Toman = 10 Rial.

When I was first presented with a dinner bill of “37,000”, I was quietly happy that my food had cost the equivalent of $1.5, but this was, in fact, the price in Toman.

To convert to Rial, you simply add a zero – therefore my dinner was 370,000 Rial.

Lost? It takes a couple of days to get used to, but in the majority of cases, unless stated clearly, all prices are in Toman and not Rial. Hence, the basic equation anywhere in Iran is to add a zero onto printed prices (if ‘Rial’ is not listed), or ask market vendors and others which ‘currency’ they are operating in to save the confusion.

A big question is if you can use your credit or debit card in Iran. Sadly not, since there is no network in Iran for the use of international cards. It’s always been the best option to carry enough cash with you for your trip to convert to Iranian Rial on the ground.

However, there is now an Iranian prepaid debit card for tourists and temporary visitors called the Mah Card. Like most travel cards, you can instantly add funds to your card in your preferred or home currency, and it will convert it to Iranian Rial. It is more convenient than carrying cash, protects you from unauthorised purchases and is accepted country-wide.

To get 40% off the price of a Mah Card (Full price €19)  enter BECKI at the checkout.

Public Transport in Iran – Options, Usage and Cost

When traveling in Iran, you have various options for public transport:

Intercity transport:

Private car

• Domestic flight

The Metro is available in several cities in Iran, mainly in Tehran; alongside Shiraz, Tabriz, Mashhad and Isfahan. It is the best option to get around in Tehran, and the stations are also easily accessible by taxi and buses. The ticket price for one trip is 1000 Tomans (approximately 25 cents). You can also buy a card to pay for the metro trips and even the buses in Tehran. The rush hours are mainly 7-9 a.m. and 5-7 p.m. You can download the Tehran Metro app on Google Play .

Tehran metro map and the three lines that cover the city.

You can find buses in every corner of the country. There are two main types of buses in big cities: regular and BRT. BRT buses are red, and because they have designated stations and paths, they are express buses. You can pay for the buses by your Metro card, and the fares would vary between 500 to 1000 Tomans (12 to 25 cents) per trip. You can find all the bus and BRT stations on Google Maps.

There are different types of taxis inside the cities:

• Shuttle/shared taxis (khatti): It is a way cheaper way to get around the cities. The two downsides are that they are for fixed destinations and you will have to wait for the taxi to be filled. The fares are also fixed, and you cannot negotiate.
• Private taxis (darbast): You can easily hail a taxi and say ‘darbast’. It means the driver will not pick any other passengers up and you must negotiate the price before getting on.
• Non-registered taxis (shakhsi): These are non-taxi drivers who you would easily spot from the yellow and green cabs. These are people who try to earn some money by giving people a ride. Again you must negotiate the price before getting on.
• Uber-like apps: Tap30 and Snapp are the two leading apps that you can easily use on your phone. Unfortunately, they’re not available on App Store and Google Play, but you can ask a local to help you with downloading them on your phone. Tap30 is available in many cities including Tehran, Karaj, Isfahan, Shiraz, Tabriz and Mashhad. Snapp is available in the same cities and also in Ahwaz and Qom.
• Bisim Taxi: You can also call the numbers 133, 1828 and 1833 in major cities in Iran to call a taxi wherever you are.

There are plenty of taxi options in Iran.

There are two types of buses between the cities in Iran: regular buses (44 people on board) and VIP buses (25 to 35 people on board). You have more legroom on VIP buses, and you can almost lie down on the seats. You can ask a receptionist at the front desk of the hotel, go to a local travel agency or go directly to the bus terminal to buy a bus ticket in Iran. The prices vary according to the type of bus and the distance. For example, the price for a VIP ticket from Tehran to Shiraz is around 70,000 Tomans ($16).

Using trains is the best and safest option to get around the cities in Iran. There are different types of trains: 4-bed, 6-bed and the so-called ‘bus’ trains. You can also ask if the train you are trying to take is an express train or a regular train. You can book trains through the hotels, local agencies or go directly to the train station. The price for a ticket from Tehran to Yazd, for example, is between 30,000 to 70,000 Tomans ($8 to $15).

You have two options to travel in Iran by a private car. You can hire a driver or a licensed driver-guide who can not only drive you from one city to another but show you the sites en route and give you all the information you need in English and other languages. You can find a driver-guide in Iran through TourHQ . You can either go to a taxi company or a local travel agency to hire a driver or a guide. Beware a killing machine in Iran named ‘Pride’ it’s a very low-quality car produced by Saipa company. It’s the worst car in Iran. Recommended cars in Iran are Peugeots and Samand by Iran Khodro Co.

Domestic flights

If you do not have much time on your hands and you want to visit the classic route (Tehran, Qom, Kashan, Isfahan, Yazd and Shiraz), it is recommended to take a domestic flight from Tehran to Shiraz. From there, you can continue your journey by other means of public transportation eventually back to Tehran. You can buy flight tickets from local travel agencies. The price of the flight ticket is approximately 180,000 Tomans ($40), and it takes around 80 minutes.

On the Metro: Generally, the cars are mixed gender, but if women need more privacy, they can get on the first and the last car on both sides.

On the Buses:  In some buses, the women sit in the back and the men in front. Other times it is the opposite. However, a couple can sit together in the men’s section and not vice versa.

Different countries have different specifications, rules and warnings about travel to Iran – some way more dramatic than others. If you can, register or alert your foreign office about your whereabouts for safety and as a piece of mind measure. As a British citizen, with no embassy representation in Iran, this is more so a good idea.

Not that some travellers cannot secure travel insurance until they have alerted the relevant authorities of their travel plans. Hence, it is worth checking precisely who you need to inform before you depart, to be comprehensively covered.

Internet Access in Iran

Be prepared to take a forced ‘Digital Detox’ during your time in Iran. Internet in Iran is slow, all social media (except Instagram and What’s App) is blocked, and you usually are paying per hour for the privilege of a sluggish connection. While I sporadically got decent internet, which allowed my VPN to work, it was never superb. Want to look up sites in Iran? Super quick. Want to find some decent news in the outside world? Good luck.

Tell your family and friends that they may not hear from you that often, and be prepared to do without the connection, however hard it may be.

Irancell is the best phone operator in Iran which offers temporary SIM-cards designed for tourists. They offer a pre-paid 4G internet and credit balance, and when it is used up you can put in a new credit code sold at any supermarket all around Iran to increase your credit and buy internet packages.

You can only have only one VPN app on your phone, so you will need to test which one works best. For Android users, Hi VPN, Psiphon, Hotspot Shield are recommended, and for IOS users Psiphon, Free VPN, VPNProxyMaster and X-VPN are deemed to be the best VPN in Iran that work well at the moment.

Food in Iran (and Vegetarian Difficulties)

I had built up incredible visions of Persian cuisine in my mind before I got to Iran. I thought it would be everywhere – easily accessible and in abundance. Wrong.

Traditional Persian food is available, but you have to do some digging on where to go and find it. Try delicious vegetable and pomegranate stews, traditional Dizi (a lamb based strew where the broth is separated from the solids which are then mashed together and eaten separately) or Ash (a thick and tasty soup of lentils, beans, starch noodles, vegetables, fried mint, fried onion and yoghurt).

Other than that, you will realise that Iran’s streets are paved with fast food outlets, whose neon lights advertise the norm – kebabs, burgers and pizzas. Try and seek out the falafel places, since these are usually the best choice for a cheap and tasty fix.

Vegetarians have more of an issue. I travelled with a vegetarian and whether at a big buffet or a local teahouse or restaurant, what appeared to be the vegetarian option still had meat in it. It may mean living on aubergine/eggplant-based dishes, which are your safest bet, or begging for meat to be left out of your meal if not already pre-prepared.

Food in Iran is better when locals show you real Persian cuisine.

There’s no alcohol in Iran. No bars, no clubs. Nothing. The best you get is non-alcoholic beer in a variety of fruity flavours like peach, lemon and strawberry which grace most menus.

There’s no set of different rules for travellers in Iran and those visiting. A local might be being kind in offering to find you the real deal at some underground gathering, but really, don’t take the chance. They might be able to waver the punishment; you won’t.

Like any country, it is crucial to know, understand and adhere to cultural and religious customs and rules that can often be very different from those at home. Here are the main rules for etiquette in Iran and interesting Iranian culture facts:

• One of the primary forms of social etiquette is TAROF, which is where Iranians usually insist on offering things to people and sometimes they do not mean it. However, you should not accept the first time.
• In Muharram month (the mourning month of Imam Hossein) people DO NOT usually wear bright colours (especially red) to respect the religious values.
• In Ramadan month , in which the majority of people keep fast during the day, it is disrespectful to eat and drink in public.
• In restaurants in Iran , it is incredibly unpleasant to see anyone clear their nose, especially loudly. In general, restaurant or not, it is also unusual to see somebody break wind.
• Shaking hands between men and women is a complicated topic. Generally speaking, it is not okay for men and women who are not related to shake hands. However, it is entirely relative. Usually, it is not advised for female tourists to extend their hand towards men, and it’s best to wait and see if the men do so first.
• The thumbs-up hand signal a derogatory sign in Iran, and it is best not to use it, especially in the presence of older people.
• When it comes to public displays of affection , you’ll see that affectionate touching, kissing, and shaking hands between men and women who are relatives are very normal. Iranian dating customs are more complex. You can kiss your significant other on the cheek, but french kissing strictly goes beyond the line. Holding hands is not something one would raise an eyebrow about at all, whereas hugging, on the other hand, would seem to be crossing the line a little. It is relative as to what extent the public display of affection is tolerated. For example, inside holy places and religious cities, it would not be easily tolerated.

Wherever you are in Iran, it is important to adhere to cultural and religious customs and rules.

‘Persian Time’ is much like ‘Asian Time’ – things take much longer than you expect. When you travel Iran you’ll soon see that service is slower and the times you are given for things, like an arrival at a destination, are not always clear or roundabout correct, like this example:

Guide: “It takes four or five hours. So if we leave at 8 am, we will get there around 4 pm.”

Me: “But that’s eight hours, not four.”

Guide: “Yes, it takes about eight hours. We will stop at x, y and z on the way and arrive around 2 pm.”

In short, don’t rely on or worry about time, and pack a bit more patience than you would at home, especially when it comes to food, service and paying.

Ancient Persia isn’t an easily absorbed history lesson. While your guide (if you choose to have one or if you are a part of a tour group) will spout a level of information that will blow your mind, it is worth reading up on the history of Persia, as well as details on the lead-up to the Iranian Revolution in 1979. This will give a valuable understanding of the basic makeup of the country.

It will mean names like Zoroastrian, Cyrus the Great, the Achaemenid Empire, Reza Shah, Ayatollah Khomeini and Ayatollah Khamenei won’t be lost on you when you go to Iran.

Great books to read before you arrive include:

• Revolutionary Iran: A History of the Islamic Republic  for a guide on the more recent history

Iran: What Everyone Needs to Know is by the same author, Michael Axworthy, and tries to explain how there’s more to Iran than its foreign relations, with part of the book also unravelling Iran’s economy, politics, culture and people. 

Daughter of Persia: A Woman’s Journey from Her Father’s Harem Through the Islamic Revolution  is about a woman who was born in Iran, left to study in the States and returned to a country in the grip of profound change.

• The Wind in My Hair: My Fight for Freedom in Modern Iran  about a journalist in exile after being arrested for political activism

Best for when on the road:

• Easy reference for most of us came from the Lonely Planet Iran guide book . While it shouldn’t be your sole source of information, this particular Lonely Planet is a quick fix Iran travel guide, especially for historical hotspots. Having this paper guide was a handy resource for the entire trip, especially since quick access to the internet in Iran both at the hotels and while on the road is very limited.

Have you been to Iran? Are there any other pre-departure tips you would add? And if planning a trip there, and what difficulties are you facing, if any?

Any plagiarism of this Iran travel blog or any of its descriptions used on other sites and blogs without attribution is not information authorised by myself for use. Know your source. 

About Becki

Becki Enright is a British Travel Press Award-winning writer whose work focuses on changing perceptions about misunderstood aspects of destinations. Her writing combines storytelling with insight into the social, historical, political and economic factors that shape the country or place in relation to tourism. Becki has appeared live on Sky News and CNN and has contributed to high profile media including National Geographic, Time.com, Guardian online, New York Times, Grazia and Buzzfeed.

Marcela says

19 April 2022 at 7:42 pm

Hi, is it possible to rent a car without a driver in Iran? Thanks, I loved your post!

28 April 2022 at 11:39 am

I think you can, yes! However, it isn’t something I know much about.

Hanieh says

28 March 2022 at 8:19 pm

Iran and Tehran are great🤩

7 August 2021 at 4:02 pm

Hello. I want to thank for this text. It is completely true about Iran and I as an Iranian approciate that describe Iran and Iranians truly. I really enjoy it. Most of Iranians think people of world consider us as a terrorist country while people of Iran differ from Republic Islamic Iran.

Miranda says

24 October 2019 at 8:53 am

I really like to travel to Iran, but I don’t know when is the best time to travel there, what is your recommendation?

24 October 2019 at 10:52 am

Hi Miranda. All the details are in the article. You can find an overview of the best time to visit Iran here: https://www.bordersofadventure.com/travel-to-iran-things-to-know/#When_is_the_Best_Time_to_Visit_Iran

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Travel to Iran: A 2019 visa update for US, UK and Canadian citizens

Information updated on 22 January 2019.

Post-revolution Iran developed a reputation of being anti-west, anti-tourism and completely closed off. But in 2013, when President Hassan Rouhani came to power he made tourism a key priority in order to rebuild the struggling economy.

The visa process was overhauled (he made it much easier to get a tourist visa to enter Iran), restrictions on US travellers were removed, and the Iran nuclear deal was negotiated in 2015. Slowly, the reputation of Iran started to shift.

We saw continuous global growth of travellers to Iran until Trump’s travel ban in 2017…

A summary of 2017 happenings

It’s now been almost 2 years since Donald Trump’s executive order to suspend entry into the US from seven Muslim-majority nations threw airports around the world into chaos. We all recall heartbreaking stories of those left stranded …

One nation affected by the travel ban was Iran, a country with prickly US relations at the best of times. Iranian citizens were denied entry to the United States (although Canada opened its arms to those affected).

Jameh Mosque of Isfahan

In retaliation, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs ceased issuing visas for US (as well as Canadian and UK) travellers for a short period of around two months.

Unfortunately, decisions like that can really damage the reputation of a country and many travellers can be put off travelling all together. We certainly hope this doesn’t stop you from experiencing what is hands down one of our favourite places on earth. Especially because it’s absolutely NOT true that US travellers cannot visit Iran.

Things are back to ‘normal’ and visas are being issued. 

Want proof? Read this blog by one US traveller, who ventured on Intrepid Travel’s Iran Adventure trip last year.

READ MORE: 6 OTHER COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT TRAVEL IN IRAN

What US, UK and Canadian citizens need to know about the Iran visa process

As anyone who’s gone through the process knows, getting an Iran visa as a US, UK or Canadian citizen is a simple but time-consuming process. Here are a few things to be aware of:

• You are not eligible for a visa on arrival.
• Your visa process will take longer due to government regulations, but it shouldn’t deter you from travelling. Please allow 60-90 days to obtain a visa before departure.
• You will need to provide additional supporting documentation when applying for your visa.
• For US, UK or Canadian travellers, any time spent in Iran outside of the duration of the tour must be facilitated by the local host (Intrepid’s local operator) and travellers must be accompanied by the leader assigned to the trip. If you would like to spend additional days in Iran, please contact your booking agent for recommendations on extra activities and extra accommodation requests.

Once you’re booked on a trip, you can complete and submit an application online for the authorisation code.

An authorisation code for the visa must be issued by the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Intrepid Travel will help facilitate this process with our local operator.

You should apply for your visa with your nominated Iranian embassy within 30 days of receiving your authorisation code. Some consulates may have different requirements, so we recommend checking this before submitting your visa application.

Visas for other nationalities

Most other nationalities, including Australian, New Zealand, South African, Irish, and most European countries have the option of getting a visa on arrival (once you’ve received your authorisation code). This process is relatively simple, fast, and therefore more and more travellers are opting to do so.

Regardless of your nationality, the best thing you can do when preparing for your trip to Iran is familiarise yourself with the process relevant to you.

The best news? All of our visa information lives on our website. Simply select the relevant nationality in the drop-down list to access detailed visa information: intrepidtravel.com/iran-visa-application-form

READ MORE: 5 UNIQUE EXPERIENCES YOU SHOULDN’T MISS IN IRAN

What about US citizens with Iranian-American nationality?

US-Iranian citizens who are traveling to Iran with their US passports are subject to the same visa and travel regulations as other US citizens. Therefore they must complete the same visa process.

US-Iranian citizens who are going to travel to Iran with their Iranian passport are not required to obtain an Iran visa.

A US passport holder whose father is an Iranian is also under the same visa and travel regulations as other US passport holders/citizens.

Further reading

• Why you should travel to Iran as an American (and what to expect)
• Everything you need to know before visiting Iran
• Why you should visit Iran now, more than ever
• 5 unique experiences you shouldn’t miss in Iran
• What to wear in Iran: a packing guide

We  love Iran and think visiting is the best way to dispel misconceptions about it. Check out Intrepid Travel’s range of small group tours there.

Intrepid Travel

Intrepid has been leading small group adventures for over 30 years. We’re a certified B Corp, which means we want to be the best travel company not just in the world, but for the world. To create positive change through the joy of travel. You can read our latest adventures right here.

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What You Should Know About Travel in Iran—and the Rest of the Middle East—Right Now

As tensions escalate after the assassination of iran’s top general, we turned to travel experts for advice on visiting the middle east right now. in short, don’t cancel anything just yet..

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In the aftermath of Qassem Suleimani’s assassination, President Trump threatened to strike Iran’s cultural sites. The country is home to 24 UNESCO World Heritage sites, including the Jameh Mosque in Isfahan.

Photo by Shutterstock

Traveling to Iran has never been simple for Americans. For one, credit and debit cards issued in the United States simply do not work there. There are a number of local customs to observe (alcohol is illegal and women must wear head scarves). Americans ( as well as Brits and Canadians ) also must be accompanied by a guide. But those who have visited since the 2015 nuclear agreement saw an easing of travel restrictions to Iran know it’s a trip worth taking.

In addition to two dozen UNESCO World Heritage sites —including 22 cultural ones like the ancient royal city of Persepolis—Iran is home to an exciting contemporary art scene. It is also one of the fastest growing tourist destinations in the world, with nearly 50 percent more visitors arriving in 2018 compared to 2017.

Yet the ability—and safety—of travel in Iran was jeopardized when the United States killed Iran’s top general Qassem Suleimani on January 3, 2020, in an airstrike at Baghdad’s international airport. Since the assassination, tensions throughout the Middle East have escalated. On January 8, Iran retaliated by firing ballistic missiles at Iraqi military bases that house American troops. A few hours later, a Ukrainian jetliner crashed near Tehran, killing all 176 people on board. Evidence indicates it is “highly likely” that an Iranian anti-aircraft missile is responsible for the crash.

Shortly after these events, the FAA restricted American pilots and carriers from flying in Iraqi, Iranian, and some Persian Gulf airspace. Several other international airlines, including Air France, Qantas, and Lufthansa, suspended flights over Iraqi and Iranian airspace indefinitely.

However, while many call into question the safety of traveling to Iran —or even in the entire region at the moment—there’s no reason to cancel any plans just yet. As the situation continues to evolve, AFAR talked to tour operators with decades of experience in the region as well as our own Travel Advisory Council for advice on visiting the Middle East right now.

Jess Silber, GeoEx: “Look into insurance policies like Cancel For Any Reason—or CFAR”

Jess Silber is the director of Global Sales at GeoEx , a tour operator that has been organizing trips to Iran since the mid 90s.

“For now we haven’t formally canceled any trips. We’re still consulting with our private security firm and checking with our colleagues on the ground,” Silber told AFAR.

“There have been some transfers though for guests who were booked to go to Iran this spring and have decided to go on a different trip with us, so we’re working on re-accommodating guests who want to transfer. We want to be advocates for our guests no matter what they choose and are waiving cancellation penalties. If they do want to stay on board . . . they can wait it out with us and check in as we continue to get reports back,” Silber said. “If there’s a huge escalation in tensions, then we would cancel the trip and do our best to accommodate the guests wherever else they wanted to go. Most of the trips (to Iran) take place in spring, so they’re still a couple months out.”

One thing to note is that while medical evacuation insurance is included in GeoEx trips, trip cancellation insurance isn’t.

“For regions that might have unstable security, insurance won’t help you if your own comfort level changes. You have to look into policies like Cancel For Any Reason—or CFAR as it’s known. You might not get all of the trip cost back—often they cap it at 75 percent—but then it gives you total flexibility. If you think that might be a possibility, if you feel extra concern going to some of these areas, I definitely suggest looking into various policies and comparing them,” Silber said.

Megan Bailey, Intrepid Travel: “No changes have been made at this time.”

As the North American director of Sales at Intrepid Travel , Megan Bailey assured AFAR that safety of its customers is always the number one priority.

“At this time, we have not canceled any itineraries and our local operations team in Iran, as well as our regional operations offices in Cairo and Istanbul, are closely monitoring the situation,” Bailey told AFAR.

“We appreciate that under the current circumstances some travelers may be reconsidering their trips to Iran and we are offering those customers the opportunity to move to another trip or cancel bookings and hold funds towards another trip,” Bailey said.

However, Intrepid’s Uncharted Expedition Mystery Trip , which is scheduled to depart from Tehran on April 18, remains unchanged.

“If it becomes unsafe to travel to a place, we may reroute the itinerary, but no changes have been made at this time,” Bailey said.

Jennifer Wilson-Buttigieg, Valerie Wilson Travel: “It really depends on a traveler’s comfort level.”

A member of AFAR’s Travel Advisory Council as well as the co-owner and copresident of Valerie Wilson Travel , Jennifer Wilson-Buttigieg told AFAR that her clients haven’t canceled their trips to the Middle East—nor should anyone else.

“There are still many trips planned to these countries and it is important to note that these areas are excited to welcome travelers who want to have memorable experiences,” Wilson-Buttigieg told AFAR.

“Any clients who have already booked trips to the Middle East are, of course, being kept aware of any risks that may impact their trip. However, as with any change in any political climate, it really depends on a traveler’s comfort level. I always recommend that travelers book with a professional travel advisor to have an advocate, take out insurance, make sure to have plans A, B, and C, and truly understand their own tolerance for risk,” she said.

The Associated Press contributed reporting to this article.

>> Next: 15 Photos That Show What It’s Really Like to Live in Iran

25 Things to Know Before You Visit Iran

• Last Updated: February 6, 2024

We’ve been all around the world, spent a lot of time in a lot of different countries, and if there’s one thing we can honestly tell you it’s that we’ve never felt as welcomed, fascinated and humbled as we did when we visited Iran.

Iran is such an incredible country to travel. The architecture will amaze you, the friendliness of the people will leave you speechless, the culture is fascinating and the landscapes are out of this world.

Iran is also very misunderstood, with many people believing whatever propaganda they hear on the media about how dangerous or difficult it is to travel there.

Table of Contents

Iran is Safe!

There’s a lot of customs to follow, you need a visa for iran, have a head scarf in your carry-on luggage before arrival, bring a phrase book or have google translate on your phone, bring a lot of cash, the currency has two names, bring comfortable footwear, research the food and don’t just eat kebabs, bring a backpack rather than a suitcase, draw up an itinerary, but keep it flexible, let your guard down and talk to locals, always ask the price before buying, book domestic flights with your accommodation or travel agent, team up with other travellers and share tours, be on time for your appointments, the traffic is horrible, you need a vpn to access some social media platforms, there is wifi, but be patient with it, pick up a local sim card, iran has its own uber called snapp, you can drink the tap water, good coffee is hard to find, there’s a female-only carriage on the metros, what to know before you visit iran.

The truth is travelling in Iran definitely has its quirks, and being an Islamic country means there’s a few things you need to know about the religion and culture before you go so you can show absolute respect.

Luckily these are easy enough to know before you go if you do a bit of research. We spent one month travelling around Iran and learnt so much during our time there.

To help put your mind at ease about travelling in this incredible country, here’s our list of the most important things to know before you visit Iran.

All of the mainstream media outlets portray Iran as an unsafe country, somewhere that you’ll be at risk if you visit.

The mainstream media is wrong.

We did not feel unsafe once through the whole 4 weeks of us backpacking independently in Iran.

We weren’t with a tour group, had no tour guides, don’t speak the local language, took public transport and taxis, wandered the streets on our own – basically everything you shouldn’t do if you’re in a dangerous country.

And guess what? Nothing bad happened to us at all!

The Iranian people are so friendly and helpful. They want you to have a great time and tell your friends so more people will come and visit.

We were walking around one morning on a quiet street when a car passed us and turned around. A group of young people stopped the car, came up to us, and asked if we were ok or if we needed help.

Once we told them we were just looking for a coffee they pulled out their phones and started showing us where the cafes were on a map.

They even offered us a ride, and said if the cafes were closed they had coffee at their home and would love to make us some.

This is just one example of dozens of interactions that happened to us when we were in Iran. Iranians love that tourists are coming to their country and travelling around.

The locals know what the media says about them and what a lot of the world thinks of their country, and the people just want to show that they are nice, generous people.

Theft against tourists is very rare and even the Religion Police (secret police) tend to leave tourists alone.

Just be careful around the bazaars and crowed places for pickpocketing. We didn’t have any issue and didn’t hear of any other travellers having problems, but this is common sense in any busy place in the world.

With all that being said, there is a large military and police presence in Iran. Do not photograph any military areas or government buildings, and stay away from any protests if you see them.

Obviously there are some areas of Iran that are no-go zones, such as the borders of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq, so do your research and talk to locals if you’re thinking about going anywhere near them.

When you travel somewhere you want to take in everything about the country and its people, and that includes the culture and customs.

Iran has quite a few local customs that may take some getting used to, so it’s important to learn about them before you go so you don’t accidentally offend or disrespect anyone.

Some of the most common ones that throw tourists off are:

• Women must wear hijabs (headscarves) at all times in public. They must also wear loose-fitting clothes that don’t show their figure.
• Giving a thumbs-up sign is considered rude, similar to giving the middle finger in Western society.
• Men can wear short-sleeved shirts, but long pants must be worn at all times.
• Men and women who aren’t related shouldn’t touch either. That means no shaking hands or hugging someone of the opposite sex.
• If you are travelling with your significant other, avoid any public displays of affection.
• Always bring a gift if you are invited to someone’s house. Candy, pastries or flowers are fine.

Now we want to give a special mention to ta’arof – This is a hospitality trait where it’s customary for someone to refuse payment for a service, and is probably the most confusing thing for any tourist to get their head around.

Basically what happens is if you make a purchase (a souvenir, taxi ride, etc), the person may refuse your payment out of politeness. It is then up to you to insist despite their refusals that you want to pay. After two or three times they’ll then accept your money.

If they still keep refusing then perhaps you have just experienced some amazing Iranian hospitality! But chances are they’ll accept the payment once the process has been completed. Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it.

The locals are so lovely, that if you do something wrong someone will approach you and nicely let you know. For example, if you are a lady and your headscarf falls off without you knowing, a local will kindly let you know.

Don’t stress about getting your outfits beforehand as shopping in Iran is cheap. Just bring one headscarf and set of loose-fitting clothes, and buy more once you get there.

The culture is the best thing about visiting Iran, and after a few days, you’ll start to understand and fall in love with it just like we did.

In order to visit Iran, you’re going to need to get a tourist visa. This used to be a very difficult process, but luckily things have gotten easier with the introduction of visa on arrivals in 2016

On the 14th February 2016, the Ministry of Iran announced that citizens of 180 countries can now apply for VOA of 30-days at most international airports, including Tehran, Shiraz, Mashad, Tabriz and Isfahan.

There’s an exception to this rule though, and if you are from Canada, the UK or the USA, we have some bad news for you…You can only visit Iran if you join a guided tour, so no chance of getting a VOA and travelling independently.

Your tour company will help organise your visa for you.

Check out our article on how to apply for a  Visa On Arrival in Iran.

You Need to Dress Appropriately

This follows on from the customs section above, but in a bit more detail.

Iran is an Islamic country, and as such you need to follow the Islamic dress code. Here are some things to keep in mind.

Women need to cover their arms, legs and head. This including a Hijab, loose long length shirt with long sleeves and pants.

Leggings or tight jeans are ok as long as your top is long and covers your bottom. When wearing pants, you need to be covered down to your ankles.

The most common way to cover your head is with a scarf. The local women wear bright colours and are very stylish with their clothing, so don’t think you need to wear all black.

Black is still worn a lot but not so much among the younger generation.

You can wear sandals. Some guesthouses and hostels will allow you to take your headscarf off on their premises but do check first.

Men aren’t allowed to wear shorts in public, so bring long, lightweight pants as the best option. T-shirts are fine to wear in public. Men can wear sandals too.

If you do wear inappropriate clothing it’s not the end of the world, and besides some angry looks from some of the older generation, you’ll probably just end up having a friendly local let you know what’s best to wear.

In Tehran, the locals push the limits in terms of what they wear in public. At the end of 2017, an uprising occurred and supposedly women were no longer required to wear the Hijab in public in Tehran, but wait until you are in the country to find out for certain.

When you land at the airport, it is respectful to put a scarf straight on your head ladies. This will cause no trouble for you by locals or the officials at the airport.

Once you’re in the air on an international flight you’ll see most young ladies take their hijab as soon as the plane leaves the ground. Just follow what the locals do.

We were quite surprised to discover that a lot of Iranians could speak a little bit of English, but that wasn’t always the case, so do yourself a favour and bring along something that can help translate English to Persian.

We always travel with Google Translate and offline languages saved on our phones, but at times having a phrasebook is the best (and most social) way to interact with people who don’t speak any English.

Remember, you are in a country that doesn’t have English as an official language, so don’t be that rude tourist that gets upset if people aren’t understanding you.

Persian (Farsi) is difficult, and no locals expect you to learn much beyond hello and thank you while you are there, but do your best anyway as a few extra words will go a long way in showing respect.

Also don’t be surprised if you are constantly invited out for tea with people so they can practice their English. If the opportunity comes up, make time for it, as it’s an amazing experience for both the local and yourself.

Don’t forget your cash when visiting Iran, as none of the ATMs in the country accepts foreign credit or debit cards thanks to the embargo. So if you forget to bring all of your cash for your entire trip, you’re out of luck.

Figure out what your usual budget is for a trip ($50 a day, $100 a day, etc), then bring a bit extra just in case. USD is best for all around the country but Euros and British Pounds are also accepted in Tehran.

There’s two exchange rates in the country – official rate and black market rate – and the black market rate is of course much better.

We actually found an exchange booth at Tehran airport that gave pretty close to the black market rate, so we traded some cash there.

As a tip don’t exchange all of your foreign cash into Rials at once, because you’ll either get ripped off on the exchange rate back if you have any left over, or you’ll be unable to trade it outside of the country.

Also don’t be too concerned about travelling around with thousands of dollars in your backpacks. As we mentioned earlier theft is rare. Do keep your money stashed in different spots though just in case.

UPDATE: If you’d prefer not to carry all your cash with you, can actually pre-order a local Iranian debit card from the company, Mah Card . It works just like a normal debit card in your home country.

You order it on their website and they’ll deliver it to your hotel in Tehran when you arrive. They have an online system too where you can top up the funds if you’re running low.

Use the code ‘ NOMADASAURUS ‘ at check-out to get a 40% discount on the card when ordering. Instead of a 19 Euro issue fee, our code brings it down to 11 Euro.

“Toman or Rial?” Get used to asking that question, because if you don’t it could end up being a costly mistake.

The currency in Iran is officially known as the Rial, and is valued at roughly 30’000 IRL to USD$1. That’s a lot of zeros, so what the locals have started doing is dropping a zero and calling the new value a Toman.

1 Toman = 10 Rial

When you hear prices quoted in Tomans you need to add a zero on the end and pay the amount in Rials. It sounds confusing, but you’ll pick it up pretty quickly.

That’s why it’s important to always ask Toman or Rial, so you don’t accidentally pay too much on an item. Most vendors quote in Tomans anyway, so chances are if the price seems too good to be true, you need to multiply it by 10.

Rumour has it that Iran will officially introduce Toman as a currency in the coming years, but that hasn’t come into effect yet.

You are going to do a lot of walking in Iran, so bring comfortable footwear. The towns here are so amazing that you’ll probably end up walking at least 10km every day, so look after your feet.

These don’t necessarily have to be hiking boots (unless you’re planning on doing some treks). Just make sure you have some flat shoes that you can wear all day without a problem.

Don’t bring heels. You don’t need them, and you won’t wear them. We had a pair of hiking shoes each and a pair of sandals. That was perfect.

Persian food is varied and delicious, and there’s plenty of different styles to try, so be adventurous!

Most people travelling on a budget will end up eating falafel sandwiches when they’re in Iran because they are cheap ($1 !), filling and delicious, but there’s plenty more to Iranian cuisine then just kebabs.

We don’t consider ourselves to be foodies, but luckily we were travelling with our good friends Dan and John and they are all about culinary travel, so they had a huge list of food they wanted to try. And boy were we thankful they did!

They had looked up the different types of food they wanted to try, so we basically followed their advice and tried it all. Of course, it was super delicious too.

One particular dish we all loved was dizi. It’s quite confusing how to eat the first time, so we had the restaurant owner show us how to mix and grind all the ingredients. If she didn’t show us, we wouldn’t have a clue how to eat it.

If you are a vegetarian, there are food options but they can be limited. There is a lot of eggplant, lentil and chickpea dishes. There are simple salads and rice also.

Try to get away from the popular tourist areas as well, as the prices are going to be a lot higher than the average place.

Move away and you will be surprised how much the price drops, and the portions are larger. If you are passing a local restaurant and it is packed with locals, that is going to be a winner.

We always recommend people travel with a backpack rather than a suitcase, but this is especially useful when you visit Iran.

The road and paths are uneven, and wheeling a suitcase would be a nightmare. A lot of hotels don’t have lifts, so unless you’re feeling strong it’s going to be hard to carry your suitcase up a lot of flights of stairs.

Always choose a lightweight backpack that fits you perfectly for the best support.

There are also hybrid backpacks, that have harnesses and wheels on the bottom for the times where you just don’t want to carry it.

Unless you are on a whirlwind 7-day trip of the country we recommend you design an itinerary of what you want to see and do, but don’t book anything until you are in the country.

Iran is one of those countries that is best to research beforehand so you can make the most of your time and you don’t miss anything, but don’t be surprised if some places you end up liking more than others.

Be willing to change your plans if you get somewhere that you want to stay an extra day, or if you meet a backpacker that raves about one town you hadn’t considered before.

Don’t stress about booking buses, flights or trains before you arrive. Everything can be booked in-country, for a much cheaper price than you’ll find online.

By not locking in your travel plans, you can change and swap your itinerary easy enough.

Disclaimer:  The one time that you may need to book everything ahead of time is during Nowruz, which is the Persian New Year. If you’re planning on travelling to Iran during this time (it happens around the spring equinox in March) you’ll find things are extremely busy with millions of locals travelling around the country to spend time with their families too.

Looking for somewhere else to check out when you visit Iran? Don’t miss our article on the best  things to do in Shiraz!

One of the best experiences you will have in Iran is spending time with all the friendly locals. And trust us, you’ll get plenty of opportunities if you are open to it.

The city squares are usually where locals will approach you to welcome you to their country, have a chat and practice their English.

Don’t shy away from this, even if you are a solo traveller. We found out so much information about Iran and how the locals live simply by chatting away.

Most people asked us questions about where we are from and were very happy to answer our questions. It was a true insight to Iran and we made some beautiful friends from it (many of whom we still keep in contact with).

Don’t be surprised if you get a lot of invitations to people’s homes as well, and this may be one of the few countries where we’d say hanging out with strangers is highly encouraged. The Couchsurfing scene is huge here too if you’re into that.

Do be wary of some people who will take you to an expensive tea house though. They are nice people, you will have great conversations, but they can be a little cheeky.

Also always look at the menu before you start ordering to make sure they haven’t taken you somewhere that has crazy prices.

Some will invite you out and try to sell carpets to you. If you are not interested just be firm and move on with the conversation.

We only had this happen to us once out of more than a dozen great experiences, and once we made it clear we weren’t buying a carpet we still had a great chat with him.

There is only one thing with all this – Expect to be stopped every few minutes by people wanting to chat! Make sure you’re mentally prepared when you go out around town to have a million friendly conversations.

You shouldn’t just do this in Iran, you should do this everywhere you travel, but it’s important to keep in mind.

In some countries, there are tourist prices and local prices. To be honest, we almost never felt ripped off here, but it did happen occasionally.

Before you buy anything, whether it’s a souvenir, a meal, a pot of tea, a tour, a taxi ride or whatever, ask to see the menu or how much it will cost to avoid any unpleasant surprises.

Get out of the tourist squares too. Chances are if you walk a couple of blocks outside of those popular areas, the prices will drop dramatically.

When buying survivors, ask the price at a few places, get the vibe from the person/place and then buy. Try your bartering skills, but don’t be offensive.

We always try to settle in the middle so both parties are happy. This is their business and they need the money more than you do.

If you are flying domestic, book through an agent or your local guesthouse in the country. All the local airline pages are in Persian, and these are where the best deals are.

Online booking agencies like Skyscanner and Momondo will not bring up these flights. We were in the west near the Iraqi border and wanted to fly to Tehran. Our local guesthouse helped us out and we booked it for $50 USD including snack and bags.

They were charging $200 USD on one of those online booking agencies above. We never were questioned at the airport about the local price and everything went smoothly.

If you’re not travelling in a group of four, ask at your guesthouse or talk to other travellers to see if you can share the cost of a driver with them.

Sometimes hiring a driver between towns as private transport would work out to be the same price as 4 bus tickets. You get there faster and can stop when you like along the way.

This will save you money and you might even make some awesome friends out of it.

Iranians are very punctual. If you plan to leave for a tour at 8am be in reception at 7:45am, and the driver will most likely already be there.

Buses and trains also won’t wait for you if you aren’t there. The last thing you want to do is miss your tour because you slept in or hadn’t packed yet.

If you’re heading to the airport, bus or train station make sure you leave plenty of time in case of bad traffic.

When we say horrible, we’re being polite. The traffic in Iran is actually insane.

If you’re exploring Tehran don’t be surprised if you have plenty of “Holy s**t!” moments as you go to cross the street or you get around in taxi.

It’s not that Iranians are bad drivers…they just don’t have a concept of space when driving around. In one way it’s almost as entertaining as it is scary.

No one is actively trying to run pedestrians down, but if you do try to run the gauntlet of crossing a busy road it’s best to wait for a local to join them on their hell-bent journey to the other side.

Some social media platforms are banned in Iran and you cannot access them without a VPN (Virtual Private Network).

You cannot access Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Twitter, YouTube or Pinterest. You can access Instagram , but the rest only with a VPN.

We used ExpressVPN and had no issues. Here is a link to get your first 30 days for free .

Make sure you download your VPN before you arrive in Iran, because a lot of the VPN sites are blocked by the government.

If you can, we also recommend having access to a few different VPNs, because every now and then one might be blocked in Iran.

ExpressVPN worked for us during our trip, but some people have reported that it didn’t work during their own trip. Last we heard it’s back up and running properly now though.

Most of the guesthouses we stayed at had free wifi, but don’t expect it to be fast.

Some hotels had wifi available in the rooms, while others were only in the reception area or dining rooms. It all depends on how upmarket your place is. In popular cities, tea and coffee houses had wifi also.

One thing to keep in mind though is that just because there is wifi at your hotel, be respectful on how much you use it.

There are no unlimited data plans in Iran, so the hotels have to pre-purchase data in small packets.

Please don’t be that person that streams Netflix or tries to download the new season of Game of Thrones, because all that will happen is you’ll end up using all the net for everybody else in the hotel, and cost the owner more money.

Yep, we met a guy that did just that in Varzaneh, and because it was a weekend it meant nobody in the hostel could get internet until Monday. Thanks, mate.

Despite what you may have been told, you can buy a local sim card in Iran as a foreigner, and it’s a great idea to do so.

This way you can call hotels to make bookings use WhatsApp and Snap (more on that below) on the go, and keep in touch with friends and family back home.

We bought up a sim card with the telecommunications company IranCel through our hostel in Tehran, however, they marked the price up by double.

We found out later that you can buy sim cards at the airport or at any store, so our suggestion is to do this yourself.

When going into the phone store bring your phrasebook or a local friend. You will not need to show any ID, just pay in cash, but it helps to have your passport with you just in case.

You can top up at little general stores that display the IranCel sign. They will do it all on your phone and charge a small fee for their time. Please don’t argue with that, it’s maybe 25c USD.

We were getting 5GB of data for about $10 USD.

There is an app in Iran called Snapp, and it is similar to Uber. It’s a rideshare app where drivers register and customers can order cars to get around town.

This was a lifesaver for us!

What makes Snapp so great is that a price is determined by the app and you pay in cash once you get to your destination. There’s no metre, so the driver will take the most direct way possible.

When you book it you’ll get the driver’s name, their car model and their registration number, so you know you’re getting in the right vehicle.

Yo drop a pin on a map for where you want to go, so there’s no need to try and explain it to the driver in case he doesn’t speak English (or your pronunciation is crap).

The other added benefit is you can rate the drivers afterwards, so they are more likely to be honest rather than a taxi driver.

The only thing is you cannot easily download it onto an iPhone, as Apple is an American company and does not support Iran. It doesn’t show up in the App Store.

If you go to the Snapp website  you can download it to your Apple phone through a special link there. Downloading it on an Android phone is easy with no issues.

This one was a big surprise to us, but you can drink the tap water just about everywhere in Iran.

It’s totally safe to drink, even if you’re new to the country, so don’t worry about buying plastic water bottles everywhere you go.

Bring a reusable water bottle instead and simply fill up as you go.

Don’t drink river water tough if you are out hiking.

Iran is a nation of tea drinkers, so it’s no surprise that you’ll get delicious fresh tea for cheap (or free) just about everywhere.

But what about us coffee drinkers??

The bad news is that getting good coffee is very hard in Iran. Despite their close proximity to places like Turkey, the coffee culture phased out years ago and so now the best you’ll find is usually those horrible instant packets.

There is a silver lining though, and some entrepreneurial locals have discovered that coffee is basically the second greatest thing on earth (after a delicious IPA, which you also can’t get in Iran), and some Western-style coffee shops are popping up in major towns.

They’re not cheap, but when you need that caffeine hit in the morning it’s totally worth it.

When you catch the metro around Tehran or Esfahan, there are carriages designated just for women, which is great if you’re a solo female traveller.

These are basically sections that males aren’t allowed in to stop accidental touching of non-related mixed genders, but it also adds a sense of security for women taking public transport.

Occasionally if the mixed carriages are full you’ll see one or two men in the female ones, but they tend to stand next to the door away from everyone.

[box] Those were just some of the things you need to know before you visit Iran. Has the article helped you? Do you have anything else to add? Leave a comment below and let us know![/box]

Alesha and Jarryd

Hi, We’re Alesha and Jarryd!

We’ve been traveling the world together since 2008, searching for the planet’s best destinations and adventures.

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Hello friends, I read your comments and I wish I could say that I am happy that you think so naively about the Iranian regime, but the truth of Iran and its people is not what these friends say, and unfortunately the bitter truth is that all those media that They present this regime and the leaders of the Islamic Republic as terrorists and a bunch of dishonorable and inhuman people, they are telling the truth and only the oppressed people of Iran understand this! you can ask them. But for you tourist friends, yes, this country can be a paradise because your money is worth many times more than ours, and not you tourist friends, but the unfortunate people of this cursed country feel the pressure. Our only wish was to have normal rights and a normal life like you, but this regime stole that life from the people of Iran and blackened the lives of the people of this country. Hoping for a day when this terrorist regime, which has made the Middle East and the whole world insecure, will be destroyed and we Iranian people have good and sincere relations with the people of other countries of the world . That day we will have at least a normal life and the world will not recognize this country as a criminal terrorist country. Written by a 27 young Iranian.

hi I want to just say now ( 2023-15-11 ) that the US dollar is 510000 Rials and here is heaven for people of countries where the currency is the dollar and Iran just is Hell for local people thanks to the Iran government for this situation!!!!!!

Hi dear Alisha and Jerry My name is Raziyeh. As an Iranian, I wanted to express my sincere gratitude for your kind words and appreciation of our beautiful country. Contrary to media propaganda, Iran is safe, and Contrary to media statements, we are hospitable and genial people who do everything to ensure you have a fun time in Iran. Please do not believe the lies that social media tells about our country. We’ll be happy to see tourists and give information to them. I hope you revisit our country. Best regards, Raziyeh.

Hi everyone I’m from Iran. I’m happy that you liked your trip to Iran. Iran has a lot of museums and attractive places if you’ll come you should visit them. And we’ll be happy to see tourists and give informations to them.

Iran is an extremely lovely place to travel. Thank you for the trip advice. I adore your article.

For foreigners especially Westerners Iran is a very dangerous country. There is a high risk of being arrested on fake charges. Atleast 50 foreigners have been arrested recently and sentenced without a fair trail. The “friendly” citizens of Iran will not help you out unless you pay them witg Euro or Dollars…..

Well! I accidentally found this while surfing the net, and it’s a bit sad that each dollar is 450000 Rials… People are still friendly to tourists though, no matter how hard our lives are. I hope you visit our country again, after all these sad events, of course.

22 days later and its 510000. when will these evil leaders leave us alone

We are glad that you were satisfied with your trip.You pointed out great points like someone who has lived inside for years… Our people believed, but the government has crushed the people so much under the economic pressure that they have become a little unfair to each other. Be sure to use SNAP inside Iran.. Be sure to check the price before buying.. Our common currency is Toman and Rial is nominal. For example, now every 1 dollar is equivalent to 33000 Tomans.. To eat a pizza, you need 6 or 7 dollars.3 cents are required for 1.5 liter of taqriya water.. If you have an acquaintance in Iran, you can be much easier.. Don’t pay too much attention to the capital because it has very beautiful cities with a very old history. Thank you for choosing which country for your trip. Good luck

Thank you for the excellent information and for taking an interest in the lovely country. really nice tips for visiting Iran.

I’m glad you liked Iran. Unfortunately, due to the difficulty in managing economic affairs, the Iranian people suffer from the high cost of goods. Now each dollar is equivalent to 277,000 rials, which is really terrible, of course for our people! Of course, Iran is still full of beautiful places and amazing places! I hope you have good trips …❤

Hi guys I am Ava. I am from Iran/ Isfahan. If you want to come to Iran I would be happy to help you. I have a beautiful Iranian old house.

Can you please write about traveling in Iran at the moment. I would be traveling on a New Zealand passport. Thank you. Evan.

Iran holds many surprises for visitors; like the climate which can fluctuate greatly, depending on the area and time of year, dispelling the long-held myth that Iran is nothing more than a vast, sweltering desert. But Iran is a historical place and i like to visit this type of places that is why few days ago i read this type of article on another site it contain huge information. While some surprises are nice when travelling, it’s important to be as well prepared as possible.

Is $1000 for 7 days visiting 5 cities everything included except airline tickets a reasonable price? Please let me know what you think! Cities included are Tehran, Yazd, Esfahan, Shiraz, and the desert side with Caspian sea. Thanks,

Definitely if you stay at budget accommodation, take public buses as transport and not eat at fancy restaurants. Have a good trip

it’s very good

Indeed it is 🙂

I am Iranian. You described Iran very well. I am glad that you visited Iran

Thank you for your comment Masoud. We really enjoyed travelling around Iran. 🙂

Hi Thank you for your essay about Iran. As an Iranian I do hope you have good memories generally from Iran. No country is perfectly free of any trouble but please do not believe propaganda against Iran unless you travel to Iran and live with Iranian for a couple of weeks (at least) and then judge.

Hi there! I’m an Iranian, and i’m REALLY happy that you loved our country! I hope other tourists enjoy their travel to Iran, and I wanted to say, that Pinterest doesn’t need VPN! 🙂 And also about hijab, if you’re thinking that it’s gonna make you struggle, well, it definitely isn’t. I mean, it’s not such a big deal, and you’ll get used to it and continue enjoying! Anyways, hope you like our country

Reasons for a Group Visit to Iran Experienced travelers may want to look away. Guided tours can really be the best option for some travelers going abroad. Of course, they limit you a little and lose a little freedom. You will not have enough time to fall in love with a place and you will not have enough time to stay there, and other companions may not be with you. But no matter what the veterans might say, there are good reasons to tour for those who want to.

Salaam All, I’ve travelled extensively in the Middle East (Egypt, Palestine, Lybia, Qatar, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Iran and India. My wife, daughter and myself went on holiday to Iran in 2012 and 2015 (for my 60th birthday). An Iranian couple came to sing happy bithday to me in farsi. It was an inexplicable experience, no crime on the street, no fighting, very, very safe, people very friendly and warm, food and confectionary very good, not expensive to shop but hotel accommodation could be expensive, public transport (bus and metro rail) very good and effecient, metro stations very clean and very easy for foreigners to use. Although we were based in Northern Tehran (Eliheyah), we once drove by luxury coach to Ishfahan to spend one week there (2012), the other trip we flew to Shiraz to spend one week there (2015). I fell in love with this country, it’s absolutely beautiful. In Tehran, we even went in the cable cars on the Azborg mountains. O, I just cannot stop raving about IRAN. I’ll visit there anytime. Please don’t believe the media with their negative reports, go see for yourself and discover this amazing country. Salaam from Riedwaan Salie (Cape Town, South Africa.

That is so nice. What a great birthday trip. We are so glad you had a wonderful time with you family. We found the country very welcoming and friendly also. Thank you for your comment. 🙂

Your itinerary was perfect! I hope you come back again very soon! I heard now you should ask for visa only from agencies. Also now for your money matters you can use a local debit card like Daricpay to charge and transfer money online

We hope to visit again one day. Take care

Hi Im am an iranian person and your information was totally correct about iran I am very glad to see you were anjoyed traveling to iran If you come to iran again you can visit other cities like shiraz,Tabriz,Isfahan,Hamedan they are as beautiful as Tehran

Thank you so much for your comment. 🙂

Hi all, I have been 2 weeks in Iran the last month, my friends and I were travelling the west part of this huge country touring the famous cities and recommended places over the countryside. I could never thought how beautiful were every little point that we stopped by: landscapes, restaurants, seacoast, food… persian landmarks will remind forever in my mind. As we were travelling by car we trusted (company removed, you can message below if interested), a notorious iranian company which offers a wide variety of car for rent. The service was excelent and they provided us whatever we need in order to make our trip easer. I would definetely recommend this company If you are thinking about renting a car to shuttle from a place to another, they are serious and reliable. Thanks persian people and the company for making our dreamt trip happen!!

We love Iran!!!!

Sounds like you had a great trip. We are so glad so had a great time.

Hi Alesha and Jarryd, Thank you for the useful info and your interest in my beautiful country. I’m Zahra Mazaheri an English – Farsi translator. I would be more than happy to help the tourist to Iran in having a pleasant journey.

Glad you liked our article. All the best

Iran is a wonderful country for all nations to visit. Whether you’re interested in going to cultural and historical places, try local food, shopping, or visiting new people, the country is one of the best places for all of these.

Thank you for your comment. It is a magnificent country

thanks so much for your tips, and i want to add this there is something that we call it “Taarof” This is a polite exchange that takes place in all aspects of life in Iran, in shops, in streets, in businesses, at homes. Simply stated, it is a form of one person making an offering and the other, refusing it. This ritual may repeat itself several times before the individuals finally determine whether the offer and refusal are real or simply polite. Be very careful how and with whom you taarof so that it does not interfere with your stay. Use common sense as to when to do it and when not to.

Thank you so much for this. After travelling the country for 3 weeks, we only experienced this once in Tehran on the outskirts of the city, We ate locally, bought locally, stayed locally, bought a lot of items on the street but only experienced it once. We were shocked. We had read about it and was waiting every time but it never came. Maybe if you are a foreigner they don’t do it as much. Thank you the explanation.

I really appreciate for your thoughts on this topic. Thanks for sharing this information with us.

Hi Alesha and Jarryd, this was so helpful. We’re off to Iran in a couple of weeks and great to get some tips re luggage, local currency cards and communication options. thanks david

Hi David, We are so happy the article was helpful. You will have a great time in Iran. Do not over pack. Woman have to be covered. Loose clothing is a must and a long top/dress is best as it covers the figure. Her arms and legs have to be covered. Sandels can be wore. A hijab is a must so bring scarfs. For the men, your arms do not have to be covered. Do bring pants as you need it for mosques. Our advice is to bring zip off pants. They are great. We did not use local currency cards. We bought all our cash in euros and exchanged it in Tehran on day 1. We did it with our guesthouse. They gave us a great rate. As for communication, do download Farsi offline before you go so communication can be easier. Surprisingly a lot of people do speak broken English. have a great trip.

Hi guys. Im so glad you had a good time over here. I believe Iran is the most misunderstood nation (thanks to media!) and articles like this may help people see Iran for what it is. One thing i need to point out is the currency exchange rate. the rate of 30,000 to 1 USD is no longer valid. 1 USD would be exchanged to about 110,000 rials now (11,000 Toman). Hope to see you back here soon! cheers

i promise to passengers ( our guess ❤) that we can make nice memory for you , and hope you enjoy that

Hi guys, great article! Just wanted to suggest that you include information about the Pocket WiFi and Travel Debit card services offered by MahCard (www.mahcard.com) as well… We travelled from Amsterdam to Iran during January this year and we used both services from MahCard and they really made our trip much easier…

Thank you for your tip Lotte. We have never heard of these guy. Definitely would be helpful. We strongly encourage travellers to do their on research on companies and make their own judgements. All the best

Hello! Very useful info about Iran. I am preparing a trip with car from UAE to ROMANI so it will be Bandar Abbas to Turkey Border. Any info and advices are welcomme! Thx

Hi Als, not too sure about that border. We flew in to Tehran. All the best.

Hello Dear Guys, I’m really glad to find your blog. It’s really interesting to me. I should say thank you to you for giving this good information about my country to people. It would be our honor to be host in your next travels to Iran.

I have been to a lot countries. I have been to super cold areas like Norway and have lived in the snowy Switzerland, and have also been to warm countries such as Bali, Sri Lanka, etc… What I love about Iran is that whenever and in whatever season you go, there are always 4 seasons. The southern part (Persian Gulf) is known for its golden beaches and hot climates, other areas such as Shemshak, Darbandsar, etc… are known for their snow and mountains. I recommend going to ski resorts in winter, and as a person who has lived in Switzerland I can tell that they are better. At the same time where you find snow in Iran, you can also travel to the other side where there are hot deserts. I recommend you go to these desert areas with a local tour called RONATURE, which is an ecofriendly tour and provides vegan and vegetarian food, furthermore supports locals and the environment. The Persian Gulf is unimaginably beautiful. Qeshm island in the south is probably the most beautiful place in the world, unfortunately there are not many photos of this island online because not many people know about it yet, but I do recommend taking diving courses there. The water park in Kish island is the best I’ve ever seen, much better than the ones in Dubai. I could go on for forever but you go to Iran once and experience all the four seasons. You get snowy mountains and sunny beaches. You go skiing and after a short flight you are tanning on the beach. This is a miracle and not something other countries dont have to offer. I can say nothing more but to recommend this marvellous country. Do not listen to the media, Iran is safer than Europe and Im not even slightly exaggerating.

Thank you for helping people to travel to Iran, I believe everyone should visit Iran beyond the media portrayal.

We totally agree with you Vahid. Never listen to the media about a destination, we don’t. We really enjoyed our time in Iran and encourage people to experience this country for themselves. 🙂

Sorry, I won’t support Iran. The government is evil. They imprison and torture their own citizens and they execute gay people. How can you support a government like that? Oh, and if you have an Israeli stamp on your passport, they won’t let you in. That’s ok with you?

We don’t support the government, we support the people of the country, who are among the friendliest, most genuine and hospitable people we have ever encountered. If we were to boycott countries with corrupt and evil governments, we’d start with the US.

I recently moved to Iran, as I am Iranian-American (well, now mainly just Iranian). I really appreciate all of the sweet and insightful comments and your wonderful website. Since the last time I lived here I was a child and have only visited every few years, when I arrived I was definitely feeling like a Persian that came back from a lost time warp of sorts, and had to learn the deeper levels of what you all already thoughtfully mentioned like tarof and the culture. Iran is a BEAUTIFUL & AMAZING country and I am lucky to be here. Just to let people know, everything I read here is true and helpful. 🙂 Even riding a bus from Iran into Armenia (to access my american bank for my final paycheck), I started out feeling slightly awkward as the 99% Persian only passenger peers around me were playing cute little games with each other laughing, with LOTS of incredible Persian music… I started getting many happy flashbacks of American-Iranian dance parties… but this was the REAL thing! Within minutes I joined in after being invited to clap my hands and a few girls were doing little hand dances in their seats… within about 10 minutes half the people on the bus were all SINGING together, it was precious. I felt like I was home, with my (native) Iranian people, and I got little happy tears in my eyes. YOU CANNOT FIND THESE MOMENTS IN AMERICA or EUROPE where nearly everyone around you surrounds you with welcoming bright eyes all at the same time. It’s like they are making you part of their family. I recommend visiting Iran for ANYONE… You will see that Iranians are good hearted and loving, even with all the sanctions. Give them a genuine smile, and you will get 100 smiles back, with tea and poetry. 😀

What a beautiful moment. That is great you are going back to your roots. We hear you. Iranians are good hearted and so generous. It is a beautiful country. Have a great time and hope you settle in quickly. All the best

Thanks for visiting my country. Hope tourism breaks all the wall of this global village.

We hope so too. It is a beautiful country with many beautiful people. We loved our time there

Thank you so much for this amazing article! I am going to visit Iran, but just for one week, so I need to take everything that I can from this short trip. I didn’t know that I need a VPN, that is a surprise! I have Surfshark subscription. Maybe you know how it works in Iran?

Not too sure if it will work or not. We used VPN Express and had no issues. There are free VPNs if you get suck and find yours does not work. Have a great trip.

So disappointing to learn that Canada is not one of the countries included on the Visa on Arrival program…I really want to spend a week in Tehran but it looks as though that won’t be possible. That’s really too bad 🙁

I know. It is a little more of a hassle but worth it. I know Canadians, UK and USA citizens have to go on a tour but there are many great tours within the country. If you want a tour that is not a tour, check out Yomadic. He’s tours are informative but relaxed and have great reviews. All the best.

I was 10 days in Iran (Teerah, Esfahan, Yazd and Siraz) and … is a great country, good food, culture and fantastic people. Thank you Iran!

Glad you had a wonderful time Vitor. 🙂

hi im ghazal from kermanshah iran! a offer all to come here and feel how friendly people are

Yourwellcom

I’m sorry for this government rule.

Your welcome. I hope you back soon in my country.

hello,im shahzad from iran. thank you so much for your excelent content about Iran. all of the sentences are true about my country and u knew it very well.im so happy that you had good times here. As the other iranian people said,now 1 USD is equal with 141,000 Rials :).so Iran is a very cheap country for tourists,too:). come to my country and enjoy,it would be your best trip with no debt:)

Hi Shahzad, We had a wonderful time there. Thank you for the update with the exchange rate. We recommend all travellers to visit Iran. 🙂

Thanks for this guys! I am super excited leaving for Tehran on Monday I booked a small tour as I felt anxious about travelling independently first time ever in Iran. If I like it -and I am sure I will – I shall go back. I was advised to take a day travel backpack and a medium sized wheely which I hope to fill up with things bought locally. Of course I shall take essentials. Is a long skirt allowed? It might be cooler than trousers. What do you think?

Hi Alex, I hope you are having a wonderful trip, That great you booked a small tour. Sometimes it is the best way to see the country and learn about the people and culture. There is so many great souvenirs to buy. Unfortunately my bag wasn’t big enough. 🙂 Absolutely a long shirt is allowed but not a tight body fitting one. Long sleeve and maxi dresses are perfect. Trousers are great just make sure you top is loose and long past your bottom. Have a great trip.

Wow, Thanks for this. I’am glad, that I found your page. I’ll travel in october alone to isfahan. I’m already so excited

That’s amazing. You will have a great time. The Iranians are so friendly and welcoming. There is so much to do there. Here is a video we made about Isfahan if you want to check it out. https://youtu.be/XDYJ44CutT4

Great points!

Regarding bringing a load of cash though, I found a solution. In my last trip to Iran, I got a DaricPay card. It made everything easier!

Thank you for your suggestion and information. Glad that worked for you. We still recommend visitors to take cash as not everywhere will accept cards.

Hello everyone. This is Ali, an Iranian. This page is a good guidance; LIKE ! Iran is a country of different climates and has very beautiful historical monuments and natural areas. Contrary to propaganda, Iran is safe and a good choice for travel. Come to Iran and have nice time here.

Thank you Ali. 🙂

This is great ! Thank you! I’m preparing to go there in June and your article answered a lot of questions! I will come back to it just to remember everything. Thanks again.

Glad the article could help. Have a wonderful trip Joanna.

Great i read your experiences you had great fun in Iran. Everyone should need to aware about your guidelines before visit.

Hi Eric, thank you. We had a great time in Iran. Definitely everyone should read up on the guidelines, not just what we have written but from other also. It is important to do your research before travelling to a country. 🙂

Hey, great article on Iran tourism. What should I plan in terms of budget, if I want to plan a 7-day trip to Iran and cover major tourist/historical destination.

How would you rate food for just vegetarians. Thanks!

We budgeted $80 USD a day for a couple. We came home with a little bit of money but we rather have more than less as there is no ATMs that work for foreigners. As for vegetarian food, there are many options.

This is awesome article, I’ve read a ton of articles online these past couple of months as I’m traveling to Iran in May. I’ve already bought a NordVPN subscription regarding the social media access, I hope it will work fine too, saw some recommendations for it too. Other than that I really cannot wait for the trip, so I keep reading about it. Thanks 🙂

Awesome Steve. Have a great time. The people there are so friendly. It is an amazing country.

hi steve, i recommend, first travel to iran then try free vpn then buy subscription.because some vpn in iran dose not work. instagram and what up don’t need vpn.have a nice trip!

Hi I am very pleased to be pleased with your trip to Iran I hope that one day we will be able to travel to other countries as well These days, people in my country are very sad.

Hi Mostafa, thank you for your message. We did enjoy visiting your country but did hear this from many locals. We hope that one day it all changes and travel will be a lot easier for Iranians. We saw nothing but friendly and welcoming people. The most friendliest country we have visited. We hope happiness comes soon.

Glad to hear that you had good trip in Iran guys. However things get worse and now 110,000 rials = 1 USD which is good for tourists. Lol.

Thanks for that Mohammad. Not good for the locals. We thought it was cheap when we visited last year. Sorry to hear that

I glad to read this site My country has very beautiful natural scenery and tourism, as well as very caring and kind people… I hope to see you in my city, Isfahan, the city of culture and art, and we can spend good times together^_^ I hope that there will always be in all countries, including my country

Hello I am Iranian I am very pleased that you have been satisfied with traveling to Iran I wish you success

Thank you for stopping by. We loved travelling Iran. The people were so welcoming and we had a lot of great chats with many. We are looking forward to returning one day.

You were ok travelling without a guide? Is it easy to travel around without one? And is it possible to hire guides to specific places, such as Persefone of some mosque? My wife and I are planning to visit Iran on April or October? What’d say? Thanks a lot.

Absolutely. We met so many local people and had so much fun. It is an easy country to get around in. Their transport system within the cities were easy and great. Their bus system across the country was comfortable and faster than the train. You can hire guides at main attractions as you go. The hotels can help with that also. Have a great trip.

If you are from the USA, Canada or UK you need to go on a tour.

Hi We are older Australians and are wanting to go to Iran. We usually plan our holiday booking accommodation and transport before we go so are a little hesitate going without anything booked. We have not been on a tour before and they don’t appeal to us.

Thank you so much for this valuable information. My mother and I are trying to book an organized trip with Intrepid Travel. They told us that we were not allowed to be out and about without the accompaniment of a male. Which they say we would have to stay in our hotel during our free time unless we go with a male. Have you heard of this before?

I am Mehdi and I am from, Shiraz Iran. I welcome your arrival to Iran in advance. Staying you in your hotel during your free time in Iran is not right. You can go out without a male. I can help you if you have any question. please don’t hesitate to ask me. you can contact me at [email protected] . I hope you have a nice trip in Iran. Regards; Mehdi

Hi Cathy, that is so strange they would tell you this. That is wrong on Intrepid Travel to tell you this and if they are concerned about this for their guests they should provide tours for you free of charge as staying in the hotel room is not a very good experience at all. I hope you wrote to them to express your disappointment with this.

As Mehdi said above, that is not right. When we were travelling throughout Iran there were many woman travelling on their own that out and about by them selves. We did not hear of any issues. Obviously have your wits about yourself. The people of Iran are so friendly. The friendliest we have come across in our travels. I hope you got to experience this and see a lot of the beautiful country.

Hi Cathy, I’m an Iranian person, this is not right, you can go out without a male. Iran is full of friendly people and I’m sure you will enjoy your time and this would be one of the most unforgettable trips.

Hello kathy I’m very surprised by your talk I am from Iran and I assure you that it is not

Hey guys! This is one of the *very* few articles about Iran that I completely agree with. Oh, apart from one sentence: “Iranians are very punctual”… I actually laughed out loud. You must have got lucky. In any case, I’m glad you enjoyed your time, and hope we cross paths one day.

(also, feel free to edit this out: the photo of Alesha at Friday mosque in Yazd is actually Friday mosque in Esfahan)

Thanks so much Nate! Glad the piece got the seal of approval from the Iran expert himself! And I guess we did get super lucky with the locals being punctual. For the whole month we were there we were never left waiting. Will count our lucky stars, and make a note that perhaps it’s not always the case.

And thanks for the correction on the Friday mosque! Have amended it now. Happy travels mate.

Hi dears! I’m an iranian girl & I love my country… Actually my father is a tour guide & I’ve heared such lovely words from so many tourists… they mostly say they had heard many bad things about iran and they have experienced the bests when they came here… I’m so glad to here such nice words by many travelers and i really appreciate you cause you ‘re telling the truth about my amazing country!!!! I love you all dears!!

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Home » Wanderlust » Is it Safe to Travel to Iran: What Americans Need to Know

Is it Safe to Travel to Iran: What Americans Need to Know

By GeoEx Staff | May 9, 2023

With US-Iranian relations in flux and reports of shifting politics within Iran, it’s no wonder that Americans question whether they can or should travel to Iran these days. To get the latest, we spoke with Linda de la Torre , one of our Iran experts, to learn more about visiting Iran as an American.

Can Americans to Travel to Iran? Tips for a Safe Visit

Iran has been issuing visas to American citizens since the country reopened for tourism in 2021.  Normally, it takes about three months to obtain a visa, and GeoEx will walk you through the process. For curious travelers who want to learn more about the visa procedure, our Iran visa FAQ is a good place to start.

Regulations for American travelers also remain intact: Americans (and our British and Canadian counterparts) must travel on a confirmed tour with a qualified guide at all times and must respect Iran’s laws, such as observing hijab and abstaining from alcohol. If you have any questions about what’s permitted, please ask!

The countrywide unrest that has afflicted Iran over the last several months has declined in frequency and intensity, and we remain apprised of any issues as they arise. Our local colleagues have hosted a few small groups of Americans in spring 2023 without incident and with very positive reviews. From their perspective, it is very much business as usual and they have no security concerns from their side that would impact seamless trip operation.

Our guests are accompanied by a guide on custom trips, and both a guide and GeoEx trip leader on group departures. You are well cared for on these well-supported itineraries.

Perhaps most importantly, our guests continue to rave about the warmth and hospitality of Iranians they meet. Learn more about travel to Iran  and check out Iran luxury tours for upcoming small group and custom trips to Iran , and plan your trip to get to know those kind, everyday Iranians.

How does GeoEx stay informed about travel to Iran?

In addition to being advised by our private security firm, we take into account the travel advisories of the US Department of State, as well as those of other governments, and the updates from our trusted colleagues and guides on the ground in the countries where we operate. We’re quickly informed of any changes and have a carefully constructed safety net to respond if necessary.

Our security consultants assess the majority of Iran as medium-risk. (Some areas, like the border with Afghanistan, have higher risk assessments).

What makes Iran such a special place to visit?

We could go on and on about the exquisite architecture, impressive archaeology, and astounding UNESCO World Heritage Sites there are to see in Iran, but I think our guests say it best, sharing stories of warm interactions and insightful conversations. Carol A., for example, reported: “GeoEx’s Iran was one of the most astounding trips of all. The people were warm and welcoming… I came back with a whole new view of America’s relationship with Iran. This is an important trip.”

After guiding our group trip in October 2021, longtime GeoEx trip leader Sylvie Franquet sent this update: “We all had the most wonderful trip in Iran. We saw such wonders of landscape, architecture, and history, but what those traveling with me remarked most on was the kindness of the Iranian people. Whenever Iranians noticed that we were mainly an American group, they came up to have a chat, to welcome us, to ask if were well received, and to ask what we thought about their country. It is remarkable to compare the image that the media projects of Iran in the West with the experience one has once there.”

What makes Iran travel so meaningful is the dialogue it sparks between two cultures that have historically feared each other. This trip gives both Iranian hosts and American travelers an opportunity to treat each other with kindness and represent their countries well.

What advice do you have for US travelers in Iran?

If you’re fortunate enough to travel to Iran , I think it’s more important than ever to be open-minded and respectful ambassadors for the US—although being open-minded and respectful is good advice for any traveler, or any citizen, anywhere! This may sound extremely simple, but there’s no reason to over-complicate it. While there’s a lot of animosity in the world, I’ve been consistently impressed by the compassion and curiosity of our guests who visit Iran, as well as the Iranian people who greet them.

To learn more about Iran adventure travel , please call us at 888-570-7108 .

Can I Travel to Iran from USA?

Iran: location, culture, and history, unique attractions and experiences, political climate and travel advisories, how to travel to iran as an american visa requirements for americans, can americans travel to iran without a tour, is it safe to travel to iran in 2023, cultural etiquette and customs, major tourist destinations in iran, practical information for american travelers, final takeaway, leave a comment, most popular, #eavartravel, related content, pardisan park | tehran's green jewel, top 14 religious tourist attractions in iran, doulab catholic cemetery | a guide for visitors, amir chakhmaq complex | what to see in yazd, iran.

Tips and how to travel to Iran in 2024

By Joan Torres 99 Comments Last updated on April 11, 2024

Defeat censorship when traveling in Iran

Get access to Facebook and all Google services with ExpressVPN

What used to be a country that everybody believed was filled with danger and nuclear weapon lovers is, today, becoming the destination with the most exponential tourism growth in the world.

From the most hospitable people to the oldest history, stunning architecture, the most desolate deserts, green mountains, islands, and many other things, slowly, travelers are realizing that Iran is the ultimate destination.

However, since it has opened to tourism very recently, traveling in Iran is not that easy, as it presents several difficulties and peculiarities, ranging from strict Islamic rules to credit card issues and even the need to get special travel insurance.

But don’t worry.

After visiting this country twice for more than 2 months, on this blog, I have compiled loads of travel tips for traveling to Iran  which will help you to plan your trip easily.

In this travel guide to Iran you will find:

Table of Contents

• Best time to visit
• Accommodation
• Access blocked site s
• Travel Insurance
• Useful books
• Money costs & budget
• Solo female travel
• The people and culture
• Religion and Islamic Law
• Transportation
• Internet & SIM Card
• Food and alcohol
• Other curiosities
• More information

How to book hotels, flights and tours in Iran

Because of the sanctions, foreign cards or popular sites such as booking.com can’t be used in Iran, but now you can thanks to 1stQuest .

1stQuest is a local company that offers services such as visa LOI, hotel booking, tours, domestic flights, and travel insurance for Iran.

5% discount on ALL bookings with voucher code:

🪪 Visa for traveling to Iran

Visa on arrival (voa) for iran.

Everybody, except for citizens of Canada, UK, US, Afghanistan , Bangladesh, Colombia, Iraq , Jordan, Nepal, Pakistan, Somalia and Sri Lanka, can get a visa on arrival at any of Iran’s international airports.

The only real requirement is to have a valid host contact

During the process of getting your VOA, the authorities may contact your host, whether they are a hotel or a friend. If they can’t contact them, they may make you wait at the airport for a very long time.

Waiting time ranges from 2 to 6 hours

At the very least, you will have to wait for 2 hours at the airport.

On my second visit, I had to wait for more than 5 hours, as I had a brand-new passport and didn’t have a return flight ticket.

How much does the tourist visa for Iran costs?

Prices range from 40€ to 150€, depending on nationality.

I hold a Spanish passport and paid 75€ and I believe that that is the price for the other European nationalities.

You can’t get a VOA if you enter Iran overland

If you travel to Iran by land, you will need to arrange your visa in advance.

How to get your visa in advance

If you don’t want to wait at the airport, want to secure your visa or enter overland, you should get the visa in advance.

For this, you need to get an authorization code from an authorized company, which you will use to easily collect your visa at the airport or embassy (if you enter by land).

I strongly recommend the guys from 1st Quest , a very reliable company that offers plenty of different services for traveling in Iran.

The visa authorization code only costs 29€ but remember that with my voucher code, you can get an additional 5% discount. 

My voucher code: ATC-QST

Typically, they give you up to 30 days

A one-month visa is the standard number of days they give for traveling in Iran.

But you can easily extend your visa

You can extend it twice for 30 days. This means that you can be in Iran for up to 90 days. Extensions can be arranged in all provincial capitals.

Iran and Israel

For more details regarding the Israeli stamp, read: Avoid the Israeli stamp – FAQ

Iran doesn’t stamp passports anymore – An Iranian stamp on your passport can be an issue, especially if you are traveling to the USA. That’s why they are now giving your visa on a separate piece of paper.

⛅ Best time to travel to Iran

Iran is a massive country with many climatic zones, which range from the dry regions of the Persian Gulf to the wetlands of the north-western provinces.

Ideally, the northern mountains should be visited during late spring, summer and early autumn. On the other hand, the classic Persian cities of Esfahan, Yazd, Kashan, and Shiraz can get utterly hot in summer, so winter, spring, and autumn are the optimum months for visiting them.

Moreover, the southern provinces, which include Qeshm Island , Bandar Abbas, etc. should be avoided during the summer months, as temperatures may reach up to 50ºC and the air is extremely humid.

Last, Tehran has extremely cold winters and overwhelmingly hot summers. Therefore, spring and autumn are the ideal months for traveling to Iran.

You can also visit the Persian cities during the summer months, no problem, but just be prepared for the heavy heat!

What to actually do in Iran From following the classic Persian historical trail to contemplating the magnificent Islamic architecture, trekking, visiting the Persian Gulf Islands, meeting Iranian nomads , making local friends or even making a pilgrimage trip to the city of Mashhad, Iran can be a destination for all types of travelers, both history and adventure lovers.

🏨 Travel tips for accommodation in Iran

Because of the sanctions, websites like Booking.com don’t have hotels listed in Iran.

How to book a hotel in Iran?

• Via a phone call
• You just show up at the hotel and try your luck
• Via a travel agency (if you go on a tour)
• Via 1stQuest  

Yes, a good alternative would be booking your hotels via 1stQuest because, from luxury hotels to backpacker hostels, they have hotels listed in all the main cities in Iran. 

You can get a 5% discount in ALL your hotels bookings.

Use my promotional code: ATC-QST

By the way, keep in mind that the Government of Iran tends to block this kind of travel sites, so 1stQuest may not work when you try to connect from Iran. If this is the case, there are 2 possible solutions:

• Book all your hotels in advance, before traveling to Iran.
• Get a VPN to access all blocked sites. For more information, read how to find the right VPN for Iran . 

For more options, check: Best areas to stay in Tehran .

Couchsurfing in Iran

If you are on a budget, you should know that Couchsurfing is very popular in Iran and a great way to get immersed in the local culture, as Iranians are particularly hospitable and you are likely to be treated like a royal guest.

However, bear in mind that some hosts may be extremely intense and may want to be with you at all times.

🔓 How to access blocked sites in Iran

Fact: in Iran, many websites are censored, and that includes:

• Some Google services
• Pornography sites
• Against the Compass  (Yes, my website)

If you wanna post Facebook updates or just check the international news, you must get a VPN and the one I recommend is ExpressVPN

If you have no clue about VPNs, you should read my tutorial: How to find the right VPN for Iran .

🚑 Travel insurance for Iran

Because of the sanctions, few insurance providers cover travel in Iran. The one which does, however, is IATI Insurance .

Moreover, travel insurance is a must requirement for anyone trying to get a visa on arrival at the airport.

I strongly recommend IATI Insurance for these reasons:

• They have loads of different plans for all travelers: from families to budget backpackers
• Covers for up to 1 year trips
• Readers of this blog can get an exclusive 5% discount .

For more options, read How to find the right travel insurance for Iran

📚 Useful books to plan your trip to Iran

This is just a selection of a few books but since Iran is such a complex country with so much going on, I have compiled this list containing the best books on Iran , classified into history, novels, and politics.

Iran travel guide by Bradt

Bradt has always the most comprehensive guides to the most off-beat countries. I love Bradt because they give plenty of tips for the independent traveler, as well as loads of cultural insights.

Iran travel guide by Lonely Planet

I personally prefer Bradt but, if you are a Lonely Planet fan, they have just released their latest edition for Iran.

Best political novel – The Cypress Tree

The story of a writer and his family (currently a BBC journalist) who had to live in exile in the UK after the 1979 Revolution. The book is not only a critique of the dictatorial regime but also, he explains, in a very nostalgic way, all the things he misses from Iran.

🛫 How to get in Iran

It’s mandatory to have a travel insurance to get your visa on arrival in Iran. Because of the sanctions, most insurance companies don’t provide coverage for Iran, but IATI Insurance does Get your exclusive 5% discount if purchasing via this link.

How to travel to Iran by air

If you come by flight, Tehran would be the most obvious destination, as it has a large number of connections from Europe, especially Germany and Turkey. 

Read: Things to do in Tehran in 2 days

Shiraz has also an international airport and there are daily, very cheap flights from Dubai. 

Read: Things to do in Shiraz

How to travel to Iran by land

Iran shares a border with many countries but remember that, if overlanding, a visa is not available on arrival, so you will have to get it in advance.

Iraq – Surprisingly easy (the one I used). See here the full report .

Turkey – Another surprisingly easy border to cross.

Armenia – An easy, friendly border.  See here the full report .

Azerbaijan – Also pretty easy. Check Caravanistan for more information . 

Pakistan – A real adventure. See here the full report .

Afghanistan – Apparently, coming from Herat is relatively easy. Warning! In 2021, this border was taken over by the Taliban. For more information, read my Afghanistan safety guide

Turkmenistan – I am really jealous because you managed to get a Turkmen visa.

United Arab Emirates – You can take a ferry from Sharjah to Bandar Abbas.

💰 Iran Travel Guide – What you need to know about money

In Iran, they use the Iranian Rial (IRR) and approximately:

1 USD = 42,350 IRR

The Iranian Rial fluctuation is massive

Make sure to check the current rate just before leaving for Iran because the value is so unstable.

Exchanging money in Iran

Exchange offices are available everywhere and €, USD and GBP are always accepted.

Moreover, there is also the black market, which means that, in all cities, you will always find random people willing to buy your currency.

It is fine to exchange with them but just make sure to count your money twice, as some of them may try to trick you.

Wait, Rials or Tomans?

Since their currency is extremely low, in order to simplify things, most places will tell you the prices in Tomans, which is the same value divided by 10.

In the beginning, it is a bit confusing but you will quickly get used to it.

Foreign credit cards don’t work

Because of the sanctions, you can’t use your international credit card when you travel in Iran, so bring cash.

However, you can buy a local credit card

For people who don’t want to be carrying lots the cash, you can buy a local credit card and top it up. There are quite a few companies, for example, Mah Card Iran Travel .

(Note that I have never tried it but was recommended by a friend). 

The way it works is that you sign up on their website, give your passport details and they will bring your credit card once you arrive at your hotel in Tehran .

You will give them your cash and pay the 20€ service after receiving your card. I didn’t use it but I’ve been told it is a reliable company.

And you can pay by credit card absolutely everywhere

You will be surprised to know that local credit cards are accepted all across the country, including at street food stalls and grocery shops from rural areas.

Entrance fees

Most touristic sites, including mosques, gardens, and archaeological sites, charge between 100,000 and 150,000IR, which is 5 to 10 more times than what the locals pay.

⚠️ Is it safe to travel to Iran?

Iran is it safe to visit iran.

That’s it. It is a safe destination with no terrorism and a very low crime rate.

The UK Foreign advice says that you should avoid traveling to Balochistan and the area bordering Iraq. However, I think that this information is totally biased. You should be fine.

In Iran there is no Islamic State

On many occasions, my friends from back home told me: Be careful with ISIS in Iran!  I love my friends but this is a very naive comment because, first of all, Iranians are Shia, hence there are no Iranian linked to ISIS. And second of all, ISIS never made it to Iran.

If you aren’t convinced yet, I urge you to read this comprehensive analysis about safety in Iran .

Iran travel tip – Consider getting off the beaten track I traveled to Iran in 2015 and 2018 and, in only 3 years, things had changed significantly. The classic Persian cities of Yazd, Esfahan, Shiraz, and Kashan are filled with tour groups, overpriced restaurants, and souvenir shops. Local interactions, which usually involve house invitations, are less frequent and rip-offs are common. However, if you just step slightly out of your comfort zone, experiences with the locals can be totally different. Therefore, I strongly recommend visiting other places near the cities, as well as discovering other provinces, such as Golestan, Kurdistan , or the cities of Tabriz and Mashhad.

💃 Solo female travel in Iran

Iran is an Islamic dictatorship and, at the same time a day-by-day growing tourism destination, so it is not surprising at all that, every day, this Middle Eastern country is attracting more and more travelers, including many solo females. 

Many women have come to me asking for my opinion towards traveling to Iran as a solo female. Well, despite the fact that I am a man and tend to get a very different experience than most women, I don’t know a single lady who hasn’t had a wonderful experience in Iran so, based on their opinions, I can certainly tell that Iran is, definitely, a safe destination for women. 

If you want to know more details about it, I recently interviewed Eveline from Earth Wanderess , who shares her travel expertise about solo female travel in Iran . 

🕌 The people and culture

Remember that, in Iran, the internet is censored – including Facebook or WhatsApp. If you want to access them and navigate safely, you must get a VPN (Virtual Private Network) and I strongly recommend ExpressVPN , the one I personally use. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ExpressVPN

Iran is a highly educated society

Iran is the developing country with the largest number of highly educated people I’ve ever traveled to. Even in very rural, remote areas, such as Golestan, I met people who had Ph.D. degrees from Barcelona and Cambridge.

Iranians are not Arabs

People in Iran are not Arabs but Persians, which is a completely different ethnicity.

Nevertheless, it is ethnically diverse

From the Kurds in Iranian Kurdistan to the Turkmens of Golestan and the Arabs from the Persian Gulf shores, in Iran, there are several ethnic minorities.

Hospitality in Iran

Iranians are famous for their hospitality.

Don’t be surprised if someone who you just met 5 minutes ago invites you to his house, a random dude who you never talked to pays for your meal and, basically, everybody treats you like a king.

They love foreigners and are striving for the world to realize that they are a very peaceful society.

Do accept house invitations

You can’t say you have entirely traveled to Iran if you didn’t have a meal or stay at someone’s home.

Just say yes. If you get slightly off the beaten track and having a meal at a stranger’s house is 100% guaranteed.

Wait, what is tarof ?

If you are traveling in Iran for long enough and have experienced strong local interactions, the locals will tell you about something called tarof .

Basically, tarof is when a local tries to pay for your meal (or anything else) just because it is in their cultural code but they don’t really want to.

Say no and, if they insist more than 3 times, it means that it was a real invitation.

However, if they back off, it means that it was a bluff, so this is called tarof .

Farsi is the official language

Farsi (or Persian), which has nothing to do with Arabic, is the country’s language.

They also use the Arab alphabet.

Educated people speak English

In major cities, most educated people speak impeccable English and, in rural areas, they will speak the basic stuff.

Officially, the weekend is on Thursday and Friday

Iran follows the official Muslim calendar, so Friday is the official day off and, for most companies and the public sector, Thursday and Friday is the weekend.

Read: Things you need to know before traveling to Kyrgyzstan

🕌 Religion and Islamic law in Iran

Most iranians are shia.

Iran is the country with the largest Shia population.

However, there are Sunni minorities

In Balochistan, Golestan and the Persian Gulf, there are significant Sunni communities.

Iran is an Islamic Republic

Prior to 1979, Iran was ruled by a Shah who was a puppet of the USA and was leading the country to poverty. This led to a massive revolution, the Shah was overthrown and the clerics came to power, founding the Islamic Republic of Iran.

It’s also a religious dictatorship

In Iran, freedom of speech, demonstration, and protest is extremely limited and several rules based on Sharia law apply to everybody, including tourists.

Dressing code for men

You can’t dress in short pants, even when it is 40ºC. Other than that, you will be fine.

Dressing code for women

Women need to wear a headscarf and can’t show either their shoulders nor their curves. This means that you must wear a long, loose dress or skirt over your pants.

And of course, alcohol is illegal

In Iran, alcohol is forbidden and only available on the black market.

For more details, check the Food & Alcohol section.

Even in this situation, many Iranians are not religious at all

Across your journey, you will meet many Iranians from all ages who don’t care about religion at all, more than in any other Middle Eastern country.

This is because, before the 1979 Revolution, Iran was quite secular.

🛺 Travel tips for transportation in Iran

Traveling around iran by public transportation.

They go absolutely everywhere and are the preferred choice for locals.

There are two kinds of buses, the budget one and the VIP, which is around 70% more expensive.

Trust me, get the VIP bus

Seriously, the difference between VIP and non-VIP is so huge. VIP buses are extremely more comfortable, have AC and don’t smell. The cheap buses are horrible and, since they only cost a few USD, paying a 70% extra is not a big deal.

Where to buy your bus tickets

It was kind of a pain in the ass to buy them, as local sites don’t accept foreign cards, so you had to ask your hotel (who charges a high commission) or go to the bus station, which is always far away from downtown.

Because of the sanctions, in Iran, most booking sites don’t accept international foreign cards. Before you could book them via 1stQuest but they are not offering this particular service anymore. However, you may still use 1stQuest for visa services, hotels, flights, travel insurance and tours. 

Traveling around Iran by domestic flight

For those who are short on time, there are a lot of domestic flights, connecting most cities in the country.

You can check flight schedules and book your tickets through 1stQuest, and you can get a 5% discount on ALL flights:

With voucher code: ATC-QST

Train is also an option

Some cities have train stations. I personally took a train from Tehran to Gorgan and a 23-hour train from Mashhad to Bandar Abbas. It was pretty cool but not all cities have train stations plus they run less frequently than buses.

Get Snapp for taxis

Snapp is like the Iranian Uber and, as far as I know, it works in Tehran, Esfahan and, perhaps, in other big cities, as well. By default, it is cheaper than regular taxis plus you save all the negotiation hassle.

Tehran, Esfahan, Shiraz, and Mashhad have metro lines. They are cheap, fast and reliable!

Driving in Iran

You can self-drive in Iran, no problem, but just be aware that, like in all the Middle East , people drive like crazy.

Crossing the streets in Iran

For me, the worst thing about Iran is that nobody gives a s*** about pedestrians.

You should know that, when you cross the street, even if you go over a pedestrian crossing, cars will never slow down but will just dodge you. It’s crazy. You should always cross sticking close to a local.

💻 Internet & SIM Card

Wi-fi sucks.

A lot, practically everywhere.

But internet data is good

Wi-Fi sucked so much that, sometimes, I was using my 3G to watch movies.

Get an IranCell SIM Card

In my experience, the staff of IranCell shops speak good English. For just a couple of USD, you will get plenty of GB and calls. I suggest you check their website for the latest plans.

In Tehran, there is an IranCell shop inside Imam Khomeni metro station.

🍲 Food and alcohol in Iran

What is persian cuisine like.

Seriously, I could write an entire post about food in Iran. It is quite varied and many provinces have their own local specialties. Usually, most meals will be accompanied by tonnes of rice and bread.

The most popular appetizers have an eggplant base and main courses tend to be meat with gravy. Kebab is a fancy meal they eat outside.

So far, my favorite dishes are  bademjan , an eggplant and tomato stew;  ghormeh sabzi , a meat stew with plenty of spices and herbs;  ash , a breakfast consisting of a vegetable soup with chickpeas, noodles and caramelized onions; and dizi , lamb (or chicken) smashed with tomatoes, potatoes and chickpeas in a clay pot.

Vegetarians will be OK

For breakfast, they will serve you either ash (the vegetable soup) or an omelet with tomato sauce, as well as cheese, watermelon, and nuts.

For lunch and dinner, there are many eggplant-based vegetarian options, lentils, and rice.

The tea culture is really strong and a sign of hospitality.

The coffee culture is growing!

One of the differences I noticed on my second trip to Iran is that there were coffee places, serving authentic coffee absolutely everywhere.

It was, of course, pricey compared to any other drink but having breakfast over a good cup of coffee is a real must for me.

Alcohol is only available on the black market

It usually comes smuggled from Armenia or Iraqi Kurdistan .

But you are likely to drink

Once, I was hitchhiking in Golestan when a young couple from Tehran picked me up and offered me vodka shots. Another day, the owner of a café served me a real rum mojito.

I also drank home-made liquor at someone’s house in Shiraz and was offered a beer in Qeshm Island.

As I said, many Iranians are not very religious and, if you hang out with local people, eventually, you will be able to have some drinks.

Some curiosities you will see when traveling in Iran

You will see that in most major cities, especially in Tehran and Esfahan, a lot of women wear a bandage on their nose. That is because they just came from surgery. Many Persian women have an arched nose and some of them have a bit of complex about it.

The clerics

Those Muslim priests that you see all over Iran are Shia clergy. Most of them wear a white hat, which means that they are normal people.

However, those wearing a black one are, somehow, related to the prophet Mohammed. Within a period of 2 months, I spotted two of them. 

Creepy mannequins

In all bazaars all across the country, clothing shops have extremely creepy mannequins. They tend to be dirty, miss one eye or they have no jaw. I don’t know if the shopkeepers realize how weird this is. 

Drought in Iran

In Iran, lack of rain is a real problem and, across the country, many lakes and rivers, including the river that goes through Esfahan, are completely dry. This is one of the biggest concerns for most Iranians. 

Read more interesting facts about Iran

❗ More information for your trip to Iran

📢 In my Travel Resources Page you can find the list of all the sites and services I use to book hotels, tours, travel insurance and more.

Remember to always use my code –  From booking a hotel to visa services, hotels, flights, travel insurance and tours, if it is via  1stQuest , remember that you can use my 5% discount code, as many as you want, whenever you want:  ATC-QST

All guides and articles for traveling in Iran destination

• Iran itinerary
• Best Books about Iran
• Travel insurance for Iran
• VPN for Iran
• Solo Female Travel Guide to Iran
• Tehran Travel Guide
• Qeshm Island Travel Guide
• Travel Guide to Shiraz
• A trip to the desert of the Kaluts
• Trekking Guide to Zagros Mountains
• Meeting the Qashqai People
• Fars Province Travel Guide
• Visa Guide for Iran
• Masouleh Travel Guide
• Travel Guide to Golestan Province
• Iran-Iraq border crossing
• Is Iran Safe?
• Darband Travel Guide
• Best Hotels in Tehran

Travel guides to other countries in the Middle East

• Travel Guide to Oman
• Palestine Travel Guide
• Syria Travel Guide
• Travel Guide to Lebanon
• Iraq Travel Guide
• Travel Guide to Saudi Arabia
• Yemen Travel Guide

You might also like our Pakistan Travel Guide or Azerbaijan Travel Guide .

You will also be interested in: Where in the Middle East is safe? and The most beautiful places in the Middle East .

99 comments

Hey Buddy, you wrote a great helpful article! almost covered all the tips. Btw , I would like to introduce our hostel in tehran to readers of your blog if its possible, HI Tehran Hostel offers excellent value budget accommodation in a convenient location of Tehran, stay with us and see what a difference a stay makes..

Im so happy to see that you wrote a excellent article about my country and specially my city and its beautiful valley(alamut). i would be more than happy to help any travelers in this adventure AS WE ALWAYS SAY (Taste Iran with locals)

Most welcome! Will come back there in September :p

I have just spent a goo hour reading your articles, they are very well and intelligently written! And also more informative than other sites. I am planning a trip to Iran in September too! Safe travels and keep writing awesome articles!

Thanks and hope you will enjoy it! I am traveling back to Iran in October 🙂

Informative excellent article. Though there was small mistake in foods names.

I get what you mean about the heat and humidity in the southern provinces Joan. We house sat during the cool, rainier season in Doha, Qatar last year, across the Persian Gulf from Iran. The homeowners noted temps to 50 C PLUS humidity. Meaning sometimes it feels like 140 F LOL! Insane. Rocking post bro.

In summer, the weather Gulf Area is really bad! I lived there for a few years and couldn’t handle it 😀

Did anyone invite you? Get lost to where you came from.

Thank you for all this interesting information, accurate and recent on top of it! On that subject, something that could also help although quite new it is the mobile app Fairswap. It allows to exchange cash currency in real-time by meeting with each other at a pre-agreed location.  Widely, people post their need in foreign currency and if there is someone nearby facing the reverse need, then they can get in touch each other and if both agree, they will meet and make the swap.

By chance, this could be a pleasant way to facilitate connections with locals and get unexpected additional tips.

Thank you Joan for this beautiful blog you have. very accurate and informative, hope you enjoy Iran even more next time. Cheers

Always a pleasure to go back and enjoy Iran 🙂

I’ve also been in Iran recently the people were very hospitable. It’s good to know that there’s a better way instead of carrying cash which caused lots of stress, Daricpay is a credit card for tourists that is acceptable all around the country.

HI, i’m going to Iran in mid April. I have small DJI drone, but i’m not sure if i should take it. I saw you had drone in Iran. How is the law about drones there?

It is risky. If you get caught they will definitely confiscate it, so be careful. When I travel, I check in the main body and then I put the battery in my hand luggage. This way, they never find it.

Hello from Poland, I am planning to visit Iran this summer (unfortunatelly I only have the summers off so I am bracing for the heat). My question is about the windmills of Nashtifan. I haven’t found any info on them here on the blog. (If there is though, please direct me to it). Have you been there? Do you know what’s the best way to get there? Is that area safe since it’s so close the the Afgan border? I would appreciate any info on the matter. Thanks Igor

Hey Igor, haven’t been there, unfortunately, but maybe you should first go to Mashhad? If so, stay at Vali’s and I am sure he will know all the details about getting there

Thnks a lot Joan!

Hey Igor, I’m sarah from Iran,Nashtifan is a city in the Central District, Khaf County,Razavi Khorasan Province,in my country and it’s very beautiful and totally safe and it’s famous because the ancient windmills.

Hello. dear friend,wind mills of nashtifan is in khorasan razavi province. If you want to go there, you have to go to mashhad and then get a bus to khaf. There are taxis that take you to nashtifan. But nashtifan is hot in the summer, the degree is about 50selcius. So I recommend you to go there in spring or atumn.

Also you can arrive ther from islam qaleh- dogharoon border crossing and then get a taxi to nashtifan.

Hi There, how about traveling to Iran while pandemic?is it easy or any term and condition to apply?

Thank you Joan for information and especially the beautiful pictures

Hi You are very welcome to Iran in advance  I am SHADI a licensed tourist guide in Iran. I can speak English and Turkish fluently and live in Kashan. I can show you my city, Kashan and its around and many hidden spots in this area and even all around Iran. I can arrange your whole trip in Iran like accommodations, driver guide / tourist guide to make your trip more enjoyable here in Iran. If you like to know better about me and need more information, please feel free to contact me. It will be my pleasure to meet you in Kashan or even all around Iran and be part of your enjoyable trip in Iran. Best regards Shadi

I came across your blog since we are both members of the “Nomadic Matt’s Superstarblogging Blogging Business Course.

I loved reading your blog posts about Iran and found them very helpful. I will be heading to Iran on September 4 and I cannot wait to see Isfahan, Shiraz, Yazd, Persepolis, Kashan, Tehran and a few other places. Before leaving on this trip, I would like to publish a collaboration post “Travel bloggers tips for Iran” and I would be very happy if you contribute and write 150 to 200 words plus send me one photo (preferably in landscape format). I would love to get your impression and what you liked most. Since I am blogging bilingually in English and in German and have so far published every blog post in both languages I would love to translate the post also into German (by myself not automatically by Google Translate).

I have published similar posts before my trips to Uzbekistan, Bhutan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and before my trip to the Maldives. If you are interested I could send you the links to those posts.

My email address is [email protected] .

I would like to publish the blog post before I leave for Iran on September 4, therefore, I would be happy if you could send me your piece till August 30.

I would be happy if you contribute. Thank you so much in advance.

Cheers Vanessa

Hey joan , I’m sarah from Iran ,i would like to say thank you for your beautiful blog, you have almost mentioned everything,next time when you went to Iran go to Guilan province,Rasht city it’s my hometown I’m sure you will love it♥️♥️

Thank you for your kind message 🙂 I’d really like to go there and explore the mountains of that area

I suggest you to visit Damavand mountain which is highest volcano in Asia. And if you heard about Iranian legends and Myths you would realize that Zahak who is Villain is perisond in Damavand.

thanks so much for your tips, and I want to add that Iran has some of the best dishes in the world. The Persian cuisine consists of a delicious array of stews and different rice among many other dishes. And of course Persian bread.

Your website is not blocked in Iran. I’m using it in iran without vpn

that’s really good news to hear 🙂

Would love to visit but I just can’t bring myself to go to a country where gay men (like myself) have the death penalty.

As an Iranian and also someone who is pro-equality for the members of LGBTQ I wish the situation was different, and that you didn’t have to worry about things such as sexual orientation. It’s true that Iranian government doesn’t have a shining reputation in their treatment of members of LGBTQ community, some of what’s being reported is often exaggeration. It’s not easy to condemn anyone of “sodomy” without compelling evidence, like actual witnesses! (Not that this should be an issue to begin with) What I’m trying to get at is that officials often look the other way, unless there is a case of rape, which was reported by the western media a few months ago, but it was really misrepresented, in that case someone who happened to be gay had raped a boy, that case is not representative of members of LGBTQ community, but a criminal that was proven to be guilty of rape. In either case, I’m not defending the current Iranian government treatment of LGBTQ, and I’m entirely in favor of equal rights for them.

Finally, regarding your point about your sexual orientation, no one will know your sexual orientation unless you bring it up yourself, I for example as a heterosexual male will not demonstrate anything outside of social norms just because I’m heterosexual, for example if I’m in a county whose general female population happen to be my type, I’m not going to approach them in every single instance or be aggressive, you have to gauge the person’s interest before taking a step towards the next step in your relationship. All I’m trying to get at is that there are many, many gays in Iran whether the Iranian government likes it or not, and you may come across them.

Sorry for the long post.

Can I get some information about Tehran university through what’s app number?

It seams that entrance fees to many tourist places are highly increased from October 23. Can you tell me more? Thanks Norberto

Hi Norberto, I don’t know yet but as soon as I get the updated info, I will update the post accordingly

Hi, I live in Tehran and the increasing is not highly. for example the most expensive ticket is less than 2 dollars, visiting Azadi tower.

Hi yes the entrance Fee is increased but it is not to that value that become impossible for tourists to pay that. It is currently about less than 2.5 EUR at an average.

Hello, how are you? First I want to congratulate you on the excellent blog. My wife and I are going to Iran in March 2020. I’m sure your blog will greatly help us.

thanks Carlos, enjoy Iran!

Hello, Transasia Express has started it’s operations once again between Ankara – Tehran. 60 hours long train journey is a beautiful alternative to flights.

Hi Joan Hope You are fine. I want to introduce some more topics about Iran gradually that may be interesting for you and other followers of your fantastic blog! Now I want to talk about the nature of Fars Province and its touristic potential. In Fars Province there exists different mountain peaks that are fantastic for mountaineering. Dena is the highest one and also more, like Ghashmastaan, Delo, Ronj, Bel ans more. It is really worth having experience about that. If these exist interest, I can give more detailed information about them. 🙂

Hi I’m Aria ,as an iranian, your blog was so interesting for me but I noticed the wrong information in this topic :Iran is an Islamic Republic. You have written about shah and you said he was puppet and leading country to poverty! Sorry but you are totally wrong , everything , really everything that you see even our culture is because of shah . I wonder to know who gave you this misleading information about shah.

Lmao Joan i love that part you explain tarof Dude you know iran really well, even better than meee Come here more! -Yasi

I’ve got a big question You said almost everywhere accepts local credit card like you were really interesed… You mean thats… surprisng or something?

Yes, it was definitely surprising. Paying by credit card for a bunch of oranges from a street food stall is something I have never seen before, especially in a developing country, and when I say food stall I mean a local man sitting on the floor with a box

Thanks, Joan! This a great guide for Iran. How easy it is to get accommodation for a solo female traveler? Are there any restrictions?

Hi Joan! Amazing blog full of very useful information! Just reading about it is giving me the itch to pack my back and hop on the first plane to Tehran! 🙂 I was just wondering, how is it with wild camping around Iran? Is it legal? Is it safe? Would it be a good idea to do it in May-June-July? Also by any chance, would you know what is the covid situation at the moment? Thanks so much!! And keep safe 🙂 Aneta

Hi Aneta! About COVID, all I can tell you is that Iran is not issuing tourist visas at the moment, unfortunately. About camping, is definitely safe, not sure if it 100% legal but many travelers have done that. May to June is great time weather-wise, all across the country, The souther shores might be a bit hot though.

Thank you Joan! 🙂

Hello Joan thanks so much for this post! I wanted to ask if you’ve taken Iran Air airlines from or to Azerbaijan? I will be flying to Tehran from Baku and all I can find on Western websites are very long non-direct flights… However, if I visit websites selling Iranian airlines they have direct flights but the calendar is different and I do not understand anything. Any tips on this, please? Also, I saw your last post from January saying Iran does not issue tourist visas. Does that mean I cannot get one in the airport upon arrival? kind regards, Dre

Hi Dre, probably there aren’t any flights because the country is not open for tourism yet. No, as of today, you can’t get in Iran as a tourist. Only business and medical visas.

Hello. I’m an Iranian person. l went to Balochistan province in the southeast of iran in 2019. l didn’t have any safety problem. It’s an amazing province. In north and center of province, there are mountains and desserts, but in the south, tropical fruits are grown. The best season for north and center is spring, and for south is September or july. If you go there, visit maki mosque in zahedan, taftan volcano in khash, remin and beris and gowatr fishing ports in chabahar, kahir and tang gelfeshan in konarak(gelfeshan is a big hill that throws out muds) and tropical gardens in sarbaz and zarabad. If you be smart, you won’t have any safety problem there. Thanks.

Hello, I lived in Iran in the 70s, in Esfahan. I made several Iranian friends. If I get a visa, and a tour guide, may I see these friends when I get there? I have their address, I haven’t heard from them in almost 40+++ years. I haven’t seen them either. Will I he able to visit them? Please let me know.

Hi Katie, the question would be, why wouldn’t you? 🙂

Well I’ve heard I must have a tour guide and that I’ll be watched. I mean can I go to their house without the guide? Do I have to go on a tour. I’ve already seen everything. Thank you for responding.

Hi Katie, some nationalities like Canadians, USA or UK do need to hire a guide but this isn’t like North Korea, and the guide doesn’t need to be with you at all times.

Hello, which Iranian provinces have you traveled to, have you gone to Lorestan ??? Lorestan is one of the most famous and beautiful provinces of Iran, which is one of the best provinces of Iran for tourism. It has very tasty kebabs and food, and kind and hospitable people, I suggest you come.

I took out €400 for my Iran trip. This will create a lot of rials. Will this last enough for my time in Iran, which is 10 days?

Hi Ron, it’s impossible for me to say, since each individual has completely different needs. For me, I target at least 50-60€ a day

Hi! I bought tickets to IRAN (before checking if I can get TOURIST VISA). The flight is tomorrow :((. Do you know if country is open for tourism yet and if I can get a tourist visa at the arrival?

Thank you in advance.

Hi Denis, the country is currently closed for tourism. No visas are issued.

Hello Joan I’m tourist guide and thank u so much for your useful information, beside, I would like to note that WhatsApp is not blocked in Iran but Telegram, Facebook and YouTube are blocked that can be unblocked easily by VPN. best regards Hengameh from Iran

Thanks for this article– very helpful. I will be in Kurdistan Iraq and will have a couple of days to cross over to Iran, do you recommend what places to see that are relatively close to the border as I don’t have much time? Also, I’ll arrange for my visa at the embassy in Iraq since I’m crossing the border by land, but can I hire a driver from Iraq for my entire trip or will I have to change at the border? Thank you!

Mariwan and Sanandaj are nice places, both within Iranian Kurdistan Iraqis need a visa to enter Iran. It’s easy for them, but they need to apply, so I think it could be hard to find a driver who takes you across the border

Thank you for replying and good to know. Will I need a visa into Iran if I am only visiting the Kurd religion of Iran as a USA passport holder? I will only have the visa from the Kurd region of Iraq.

Hey, so Iran Kurdistan is just part of Iran and don’t have special visa requirements. For going there, you just need an Iranian visa. Unfortunately, USA passport holders can only get it through a travel agency.

Hello Joan, Short question. I am planning to travel to Iran in 2022. Does it still hold that ”Iran doesn’t stamp passports anymore”? I am planning also to travel to the USA this year as well through an ESTA visa application (they are not enthusiastic about Iran, as you know). Thank you! JC

Hello, as far as I know, they still don’t stamp passports

Hello Joan: This is an amazing post. My wife and I are planning our trip to Iran. We are really keen on visiting Tabriz, Shiraz, and Tehran. If we were to buy carpets in Iran and try to bring them back to the US – I mean are tourists harassed at the Tehran Airport? In our past trips we had them delivered home but not sure how it will work in Iran. Any guidance is appreciated. Thank you.

Hi there, I really can’t advise you on this… but in my experience, travelers ar never harassed in the airport

Hello people I’m ali and I’m from Iran Iran is safe in 2022, but if you’re a woman, you have to be careful about your hijab, because it is important in Iran. If you are a man, never take your wife or girlfriend in street. Because police will come and… So, WhatsApp is not blocked in Iran, But YouTube, Facebook, Telegram, BBC, twitter and porn sites are blocked. And when you want to use of them you have to connect to VPN I myself use of windscribe Oh I forgot…! PubG is blocked too And about internet… It is too expensive and it is never free

But with all this, Iran is a very beautiful country. You can see different cultures in this country. In different parts of Iran, you will see very good and beautiful cultures. You can also find historical monuments from thousands of years ago In Iran, you can have a lot of entertainment, such as a zoo, a game city, etc., and most importantly, its wonderful restaurants. You can eat local Iranian food that is amazing.You will be amazed at any city or province you visit. The climate in Iran is wonderful. It is humid and rainy in the north and hot in the south. Never miss agriculture in the south of the country.I want to introduce several cities that if you come to Iran, be sure to visit them Tehran Gildan Mazandran Golestan Tabriz Qazvin Zanjan Mash’had Esteban Shiraz Ahvaz Bandar abad Booshehr Yazd

تهران گیلان مازندران گلستان تبریز قزوین زنجان مشهد اصفهان شیراز بندرعباس بوشهر یزد اهواز

Thanks for your interesting post about Iran. have you any Instagram page? and have you had any post on Instagram about Iran?

Hi, yes I do: https://www.instagram.com/againstthecompass/

absolutely no problem 🙂 All touristic hotels welcome anyone

Hola Joan, In a couple of weeks we will be traveling to Iran. We have heard that it is difficult to get diesel/petrol as a foreigner in a petrol station and that a local fuel-card is required when refuelling. Do you have any information about the situation right now?

Mil gracias por el blog! es magnífico 👏 Saludos, Irati

Hello Irati, unfortunately, I am not aware of any of this you mention. Perhaps you should ask in a FB group called Overlanding Middle East

Iranian citizens’ fuel card is used for paying for “subsidized price”. But anyone who doesn’t have fuel card, still can pay for unsubsidized price. However, you need an Iranian Bank card (something like credit card) to pay the price in gas station. In fact, you need such a card to pay everywhere. I don’t know how foreigners solve this problem. Maybe other travelers’ can help you.

Hi Joan, I just love your blog! You have so many interesting and useful information. I have wanted to go to Iran since a long time but I will probably have vacation in December. Will it make sense to go during this month or the weather will be a problem? Many thanks

Hello Valentina, thanks for your message. December is great for going to Iran. While the north of the country will be cold, the south will be great. Personally, I’d prefer to travel to Iran in December than anytime between June and early september-.

Hi Joan, so sorry for my late answer and thank you so much!

Hi Joan, Two weeks ago I checked the search engine for flights and buses form 1stquest and it was pretty useful, but now the links are not working and the website seems to have changed. They don’t offer this service anymore?

Hi Riccardo, you are right, they removed those 2 services because they need to fix a few things on their end but they are currently working on it, even though they didn’t say a specific date

Thank you for your amazing and helpful blog! We would like to come to Iraq Kurdistan and Iran in October this year. Do you know if land boarders from Kurdistan to Iran are open for tourists at the moment? Thank you!! Daniela

It’s usually open but they recently closed due to the clashes in the Green Zone of Baghdad, not sure if they opened in back already but it should

Hi Riccardo, Thanks for this wonderful article! In the section : How to get in Iran – by land, you don’t mention Turkey. Is it on purpose? Be safe, H

we forgot it, thanks for pointing this out!

Hotels and hostels in Iran advice against getting your visa at the airport, because of high rejecting rates. There is an pre-authorisation code that one apply for through an official goverment website. The form is easy and clear. But apparently it can take up to a few weeks to be approved. So apply early! The information on the 1stQuest website is useful, BUT I CANNOT recommend their pre-authorisation application. The form on their website is truely the worst website I have seen in years. It is not even possible to fill in one’s home address or email normally. And it can take hours, even days, for anyone from 1stQuest to reply to questions about the form – and then some of the answers I received were wrong!

Hello and thanks for the great article. What about currently going to Iran? When were you last there? Have you heard from any travellers? My concern is the random arrests that the foreign offices of several EU countries are warning about. What’s your take on it?

Travelers are still going there all the time, everything is great and smooth

Fantastic article. This is one of the best travel blogs I have come across.

I have a specific question and I wonder if you would be able to provide any information by any chance. So, I hold an Indian passport and plan to go to Iran next (I am into travel vlogging), now while trying to get some pre-trip information, I came across some sources suggesting that if I visit Iran, it would be impossible for me to travel to the us in the future.

I did some more research and there is conflicting information with come people having a hard time getting visas to the us (post Iran trip) and some people are like they faced no issues at all. I am also aware that Iran does not stamp passports anymore and also, I will probably club my Iran trip with another border country so I can cross a land border and skip being on flight records to Iran too …, however. … Indian passport is a nightmare to have as it is due to obvious reasons but people like me suffer greatly… now I don’t want any risks because a US visa will open access for me in future to a lot of countries, especially south America…. What do you suggest?

Much appreciated.

I am not sure what is the policy for Indian citizens for Europeans, if you want to travel to the USA, you have to fill out a form and get a simple pre-authorization where they ask questions like: have you ever committed a felony, and stuff like that.

One of the questions is: Have you ever been in any of the following countries since 2011? and Iran is on that list. If you say yes, your entry will be denied, and you’ll have to get the visa via the embassy, but everyone gets it anyways, it’s just a slower process.

As an Indian citizen, you have to go to the embassy anyways, so I can’t tell whether they will be any additional requirements.

Hi Joan, thanks for the excellent, in-depth information in this article. Do you think wi-fi is completely unreliable throughout Iran, including hotels in bigger cities (e.g. Tabriz, Tehran)? I work remotely and don’t need much data for work. Am I just better off buying a SIM card and working with hotspot?

Mobile data is surprisingly fast, much better than WiFi!

Hi Joan, Thankyou for the fantastic article. I am looking at travelling from Pakistan via the land border crossing into Iran and eventually through to Turkey. As this route passes through Balochistan and near to Afghanistan, are you aware if it will be safe to undertake in 2023? Cheers,

Hi Sam, as far as I know, if using that border, you’ll be escorted right from the border to the city of Quetta (for free). Independent travel not allowed there due to security concerns but since you’ll be escorted there’s nothing to worry about

You note that the Visa On Arrival program does not work for US citiizens (like me) and others of problematic passport. Do you have special instructions for us? I understand we can only get a visa by booking a tour through a licensed operator. Last I checked, there were none organized and I cannot afford one on my own.

If an formal tour is still necessary, I’d like to join up with an already-organized one, especially with like-minded travelers (i.e., curious, frugal, ‘backpacker’ types, more interested in culture/life experience than product/service consumption, etc.)–but I’m willing to be flexible.

Know of any?

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Understanding The American Travel Restrictions For Iran: What You Need To Know

• Last updated Aug 05, 2023
• Difficulty Advanced

• Category United States

The relationship between the United States and Iran has long been filled with tension and uncertainty, and one area where this is particularly evident is in travel restrictions. The United States has imposed strict travel restrictions on Iran, impacting both American citizens traveling to Iran and Iranian citizens attempting to enter the United States. These restrictions have not only affected individuals seeking family reunions and educational opportunities, but have also had a significant impact on tourism between the two countries. In this article, we will explore the intricacies of these travel restrictions, their implications, and the potential for change in the future.

What You'll Learn

What are the current american travel restrictions on traveling to iran, are there any exceptions to the american travel restrictions for travel to iran, how have the american travel restrictions on iran evolved over time, what are the consequences for americans who violate the travel restrictions on iran, are there any efforts or discussions to lift or modify the american travel restrictions on iran in the future.

As of September 2021, there are current American travel restrictions on traveling to Iran. The U.S. Department of State has issued a Level 4 Travel Advisory, advising U.S. citizens not to travel to Iran due to the heightened risk of arbitrary arrest and detention of U.S. citizens.

The United States and Iran have had a tense relationship for several decades, and the U.S. government has implemented travel restrictions to Iran as part of its efforts to address security concerns. These restrictions are in place to protect the safety and well-being of U.S. citizens who might be at risk if they were to travel to Iran.

Under these travel restrictions, the U.S. government has imposed several measures that limit Americans' ability to travel to Iran. Firstly, there is a general ban on travel to Iran for U.S. citizens. This means that U.S. citizens are generally not permitted to travel to Iran unless they have obtained a special license or have been granted a specific exemption.

In addition to the general ban, there are also specific restrictions on certain types of travel to Iran. For example, the U.S. government prohibits U.S. citizens from traveling to Iran for tourist purposes. This means that U.S. citizens cannot travel to Iran simply for sightseeing or leisure purposes.

There are, however, a few exceptions to the travel restrictions. For example, journalists, humanitarian workers, and certain government officials may be eligible for a special license that allows them to travel to Iran. Additionally, U.S. citizens who have close family members in Iran may be eligible for a specific exemption that allows them to travel to Iran for family-related reasons.

It's important to note that even if an individual meets the requirements for an exemption or special license, they may still face risks while traveling to Iran. The U.S. Department of State advises that even those with a valid reason to travel to Iran should carefully consider the risks involved and take appropriate precautions.

Overall, the current travel restrictions on traveling to Iran for U.S. citizens are strict, and it is advisable to consult with the U.S. Department of State or an experienced travel agent for the most up-to-date information and advice.

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The United States government has imposed strict travel restrictions on its citizens traveling to Iran. These restrictions are a result of the tense relations between the two countries and the concerns about Iran's nuclear program and its support for terrorist activities. However, there are a few exceptions to these travel restrictions that allow certain individuals to travel to Iran despite the general ban.

One of the exceptions to the travel restrictions is for individuals who hold dual citizenship with both the United States and Iran. These individuals are allowed to travel to Iran, but they must do so using their Iranian passport. They are also required to obtain an Iranian visa before traveling to the country.

Another exception to the travel restrictions is for individuals who are traveling to Iran for certain official or journalistic purposes. This includes individuals who are traveling to Iran on behalf of the United States government for diplomatic or official business. Journalists and members of the media who are traveling to Iran to report on news events or conduct research are also exempt from the travel restrictions.

In addition, certain religious or humanitarian organizations may be granted exceptions to travel to Iran. These organizations must obtain a specific license from the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to travel to Iran. This license allows them to engage in certain activities related to their religious or humanitarian work in the country.

Finally, individuals who have obtained a special authorization from the U.S. government may be exempt from the travel restrictions. This authorization is typically granted on a case-by-case basis and is usually reserved for individuals who have a compelling reason to travel to Iran, such as for medical treatment or to visit family members in extreme circumstances.

It is important to note that even if individuals qualify for an exception to the travel restrictions, they must still exercise caution and be aware of the risks associated with traveling to Iran. The U.S. Department of State advises all U.S. citizens to carefully consider the risks before traveling to Iran and to take appropriate precautions to ensure their safety and security while in the country.

In conclusion, while the United States government has imposed strict travel restrictions on travel to Iran, there are exceptions that allow certain individuals to travel to the country. These exceptions include individuals with dual citizenship, official or journalistic purposes, religious or humanitarian organizations, and those with special authorization from the U.S. government. It is important for individuals to thoroughly research and understand the requirements and risks associated with traveling to Iran before making any travel plans.

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The relationship between the United States and Iran has been a complex one, marked by political tensions and disagreements. One area that has seen significant changes over time is the American travel restrictions on Iran. These restrictions have evolved in response to geopolitical developments and changing diplomatic relations between the two countries.

In the aftermath of the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, which led to the establishment of an Islamic republic, the United States severed diplomatic relations with Iran and implemented travel restrictions. The U.S. government issued a blanket travel ban on all Iranian nationals, prohibiting them from entering the country. This ban was a direct result of the political and ideological differences between the two countries.

However, over time, there have been several shifts in the American travel restrictions on Iran. In 2000, under the Clinton administration, the U.S. government began to relax the travel restrictions on Iranian nationals. This was seen as a gesture of goodwill and an attempt to promote people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. The new regulations allowed Iranian students, scholars, and journalists to travel to the United States for educational and professional purposes.

This relaxation in travel restrictions was short-lived, as the tensions between the United States and Iran escalated in the early 2000s. In 2002, President George W. Bush declared Iran as part of the "Axis of Evil" and imposed stricter travel restrictions on Iranian nationals. These restrictions prohibited Iranians from traveling to the United States for tourism or business purposes, further limiting the already limited avenues for interaction between the two countries.

Under the Obama administration, there was yet another shift in the American travel restrictions on Iran. As part of the negotiations for the Iran Nuclear Deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the United States eased the travel restrictions on Iranian nationals. This was seen as a confidence-building measure and a way to encourage interaction and engagement between the two countries.

However, the travel restrictions were not fully lifted, and certain limitations remained in place. Iranian nationals still had to go through a rigorous visa application process and face additional security checks before being granted entry into the United States. The restrictions were also subject to change depending on the political climate and developments in the U.S.-Iran relations.

Currently, the travel restrictions on Iran remain in place. The Trump administration, in 2017, issued an executive order commonly known as the "travel ban" that targeted several Muslim-majority countries, including Iran. This ban restricted the entry of Iranian nationals to the United States, with certain exceptions.

It is important to note that travel restrictions are not unique to the United States. Iran, too, has its own restrictions in place for American travelers. The Iranian government requires American citizens to obtain a visa and adhere to certain rules and regulations when visiting Iran.

In conclusion, the American travel restrictions on Iran have evolved over time in response to changing political dynamics and diplomatic relations between the two countries. While there have been periods of relaxation and attempts to promote people-to-people exchanges, overall, the travel restrictions have remained in place due to the ongoing tensions between the United States and Iran.

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As tensions between Iran and the United States continue to escalate, travel restrictions have been imposed on Americans visiting Iran. These restrictions are in place to ensure the safety and security of U.S. citizens, as well as to prevent them from inadvertently providing financial support to the Iranian government. However, there are consequences for Americans who violate these travel restrictions.

One of the main consequences for Americans who violate the travel restrictions on Iran is the risk to their personal safety. The U.S. Department of State has issued a travel warning advising U.S. citizens against traveling to Iran due to the possibility of arbitrary arrest and detention. Iran has a long history of detaining Americans and using them as bargaining chips in diplomatic negotiations. Violating the travel restrictions on Iran puts Americans at risk of being detained and facing lengthy legal battles.

In addition to the risk of arrest and detention, Americans who violate the travel restrictions on Iran may also face financial penalties. The U.S. Department of the Treasury has imposed economic sanctions on Iran, which prohibits most financial transactions between U.S. individuals or entities and Iran. If an American violates these sanctions by providing financial support to Iran, they may be subject to civil and criminal penalties, including fines and imprisonment.

Furthermore, violating the travel restrictions on Iran may also have long-term consequences for Americans. For example, individuals who have violated the sanctions may be denied entry into other countries that have close relationships with the United States. Additionally, having a criminal record or being involved in illegal activities such as sanctions violations may have a negative impact on an individual's professional and personal life.

It is important for Americans to take the travel restrictions on Iran seriously and to comply with them in order to avoid these consequences. Traveling to Iran without proper authorization is not only risky but also illegal under U.S. law. Americans who believe they have a valid reason to travel to Iran should consult with the U.S. Department of State and any other relevant agencies to obtain the necessary approvals and clearances.

In conclusion, there are serious consequences for Americans who violate the travel restrictions on Iran. These consequences include personal safety risks, financial penalties, and long-term implications for one's professional and personal life. It is essential for Americans to understand and comply with these restrictions in order to protect themselves and avoid legal troubles.

Understanding the Travel Restrictions for L-2 Visa Holders: What You Need to Know

The American travel restrictions on Iran have been in place for several decades, and they have had a significant impact on the ability of American citizens to travel to the country. However, recently there have been discussions and efforts towards lifting or modifying these restrictions in order to improve diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The travel restrictions on Iran were put in place after the Iranian Revolution in 1979, when the US cut diplomatic ties with the country. Since then, American citizens have been prohibited from traveling to Iran without special permission from the US government. This has made it difficult for ordinary Americans to visit the country and experience its rich history and culture.

In recent years, there have been talks between the US and Iran regarding the lifting of these travel restrictions. The nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed in 2015, was a major milestone in this process. Under the JCPOA, Iran agreed to limit its nuclear activities in exchange for relief from economic sanctions, including the travel restrictions on Americans. However, these restrictions were never fully lifted, and in 2018, the US withdrew from the JCPOA, causing tensions to escalate once again.

Since then, there have been ongoing discussions and efforts to revive the JCPOA and potentially lift or modify the travel restrictions. In early 2021, negotiations began in Vienna between the US, Iran, and other world powers to revive the nuclear deal. While the main focus of these talks is on Iran's nuclear program, travel restrictions are also being discussed as part of the broader diplomatic effort.

There are several arguments in favor of lifting or modifying the travel restrictions on Iran. Proponents argue that increased people-to-people contact between Americans and Iranians can help build trust and understanding between the two countries. They believe that allowing Americans to visit Iran and vice versa can lead to more cultural exchanges, business opportunities, and educational collaborations. Additionally, lifting the restrictions can benefit the tourism industry in Iran, creating jobs and boosting the local economy.

Opponents of lifting the travel restrictions, on the other hand, have concerns about the safety of American citizens traveling to Iran. They point to the history of tensions between the two countries and argue that allowing Americans to visit Iran could put them at risk. There are also concerns about potential espionage and terrorist activities.

It is important to note that lifting the travel restrictions on Iran would require the approval of multiple government agencies in the US, including the Department of State. It is a complex process that involves weighing the potential benefits and risks for national security and diplomatic relations.

In conclusion, while there have been discussions and efforts to lift or modify the American travel restrictions on Iran, these restrictions are still in place. The ongoing negotiations to revive the nuclear deal provide an opportunity for the issue of travel restrictions to be addressed. However, it remains to be seen what the outcome of these negotiations will be and whether there will be any changes to the current travel restrictions.

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Frequently asked questions.

Currently, there are travel restrictions between the United States and Iran. The U.S. government has imposed a ban on most travel to Iran for U.S. citizens. This ban is in place due to the tense political relationship between the two countries.

In general, U.S. citizens are not allowed to travel to Iran for tourism purposes. However, there are some exceptions to this rule. U.S. citizens can travel to Iran if they have a valid reason, such as business, journalism, or visiting immediate family members. It is important to obtain the necessary visa and permissions before traveling to Iran.

Yes, there are also travel restrictions for Iranian citizens traveling to the United States. Under the current policy, Iranian citizens are banned from entering the United States unless they hold a valid visa. This policy applies to both immigrant and nonimmigrant visas.

Yes, there are exceptions to the travel ban for Iranian citizens. For example, Iranians who are permanent residents of the United States (green card holders) are allowed to enter the country. Additionally, certain categories of travelers, such as diplomats or those traveling for medical reasons, may be granted waivers to enter the United States.

Yes, there are a few countries that offer visa-free travel for both U.S. and Iranian citizens. For example, Turkey and Malaysia allow visa-free travel for citizens of both countries. However, it is important to check the latest travel advisories and entry requirements before planning any international travel.

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How to Travel to Iran as an American

Iran isn’t on most peoples travel radar but it should be. It is home to home to 19 UNESCO registered historical sites and has been one of my top travel goals to accomplish for years. We don’t often hear a lot of positive things about Iran in the news but everyone I know who has visited has nothing but wonderful things to say. Iran is a beautiful country with incredibly hospitable people. As sanctions are lifted you can expect tourism to start growing quickly in Iran over the next couple of years.

Are Americans legally allowed to Visit Iran?

Many people believe traveling to Iran is similar to traveling to Cuba as an American but that is not the case. Americans can travel to Iran freely but they do need to know a few things about tours and visas before planning their trip. The relationship with Iran is strained due to many political and economic reasons but it is perfectly legal to travel to Iran as an American citizen. The Department of State warns U.S. citizens to carefully consider the risks of traveling to Iran but it is legal. Here is how to travel to Iran as an American.

How to to Apply for an Iranian Visa as an American

Americans will need to apply for a travel authorization number from the Iranian Ministry of Foreign affair (MFA) before you can apply for a visa. The MFA must approve your itinerary and your tour operator should be able to help you with process.

My tour company, Uppersia , completed the authorization number process for me. Once I had this travel authorization number I could apply for a visa . When I applied for the visa I included this reference number along with the rest of my paperwork. Overall, the visa process is pretty straightforward and includes a couple of forms, itinerary, flight information, and standard visa application information.

My Visa Service of Choice : Travisa

When you are ready to submit your visa information send it to the he Iranian Interests section of the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, D.C. This information is provided by Travisa . My total turnaround time was around 10 days for the visa. The invitation letter took closer to 30 days so starting this process 2-3 months before your trip is a smart idea.

Step 1: Get your travel authorization number from the Iranian Ministry of Foreign affair (handled by your tour company)

Step 2: Apply for your visa for Iran

Can Americans Travel Solo in Iran?

Unfortunately, American citizens must by accompanied by a guide at all times while they are in Iran. This doesn’t me you need to have an extremely structured itinerary (although the itinerary will need to be approved) but your guide must join you as you explore new cities and sites if you stray from the group. Work closely with your guide and tour company to plan your trip so you don’t miss anything while on your group tour.

I have a number of “free days” worked into my itinerary where I can do as I please. This allows me to have some flexibility and break away from my small group tour.

Alternatives to Group Tours in Iran

Private tours are an option but they will be more expensive than a group tour. Depending on your budget a private tour is the closest thing to traveling solo.

A private tour is handy for acting as a translator, local guide, and driver. Of course this isn’t the same as traveling solo but for Americans it is the closest option right now for trying to travel without a group.

Small group tours are another great alternative. I don’t like large group tours which is why I traveled with Uppersia , who offer small custom tours of Iran. It is the best of both worlds to save money and have a small group to travel with around Iran.

Refusal of Entry into Iran

Admission to Iran can be refused to anyone with a passport containing a visa/stamp from Israel. If you have a stamp from Israel you might want to apply for a brand new clean passport to avoid any problems. They can refuse to offer you a visa for Iran if your passport has a stamp from Israel.

If you have traveled to Israel since 2013 you might have noticed it is standard practice to issue your stamp on a separate piece of paper and this avoids the problem completely. But keep this in mind when applying for a visa for Iran if you have traveled to Israel.

How to Travel to Iran Without a Visa

Kish Island is often called the Pearl of the Persian Gulf. It is a small 36 sq. mile resort island in the Persian Gulf and you do not need a visa to to travel there.

At Kish International Airport no entry visa is required. This means if you would like to travel to Iran without a visa Kish Island is your only option. While the people there are just as friendly as on the mainland you will not get a true taste of Iran’s culture. Kish Island is tailored towards international tourists and is a resort island.

Westerners will be asked to show proof of hotel reservations and contact information for their visit to the island. Women will also be asked to wear on headscarf on arrival. If you do not have one they will provide one immediately on arrival at the airport when passing through customs and immigration. Visitors are permitted to stay up to 14 days on Kish Island with no visa.

Dress Code in Iran

It is important to respect the dress code when visiting Iran (or any country). Luckily, Iran does not have a strict dress code (when compared to many other countries in the Middle East) but there are still some important rules to follow.

Women’s Dress Code in Iran

Bring a headscarf and wear this the moment you step foot in Iran. When you are in public you need to have your head covered. Women should also stick to loose fitting clothing. Fashion is very important in Iran and contrary to what many believe, women are not wearing burkas but instead following fashion trends. Three-quarter length shirts are ok for women as well.

Men’s Dress Code in Iran

Men have it a lot easier in Iran. Stick to pants and don’t wear shorts. Long sleeves might be most appropriate in certain places but when it is hot a t-shirt is just fine.

Is Iran Safe to Visit

If you only watch Western media you might not thing so but Iran is a safe country to visit. Visitors, even Americans, will be welcomed by locals with open arms. Follow the local customs and culture and you should have a great time on your visit to Iran. Iran is a safe place to visit for Americans.

More Iran Resources

Visa Information at Travisa

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Clint Johnston

I have been traveling to over 100 countries by using the methods I share on this site. My goal is to maximize every trip and make the most of my adventures. Join me on Instagram.

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The topic of Iran and the USA is a complex and often misunderstood subject.

The western media paints the country of Iran as a pariah state and since the 1979 Iranian revolution diplomatic relations between the USA and Iran have been frosty at the best of times.

Despite the decades-long complications and tensions with western governments, Iran remains one of the most fascinating countries to visit as a tourist.

So here is the big question: can Americans travel to Iran and if so, is it even safe to do so? The short answer is yes!

The latest post from our blog breaks down how to visit Iran as an American, the visa situation for Americans and other nationalities, and what the REAL vibe of traveling as an American in Iran feels like.

It should be noted that I am from the USA and I just got back from traveling to Iran with other Americans.

Can US citizens travel to Iran? Why Visit?

What do you get when you take a country with the legacy of one of the oldest (and most powerful) civilizations in history, incredible culinary traditions, amazing architecture, and some of the friendliest local people on the planet? A world-class tourism destination. That’s what.

However, Iran is not on the radar of most tourists because of the reputation of its government and fears about traveler safety. Mass foreign tourism is not a thing in Iran… yet. Personally, I found it such a joy to be exploring this wonderful country without seeing many (in some places zero) tourists.

Most if not all of the local people I met on the street are very happy to see Americans and other nationalities visiting their country and the majority also seriously disagree with the direction and policies of their government.

Iran is an absolute gem of a country on so many levels and the potential for tourism here is boundless. It is only a matter of time before tourism explodes here – and for the time being, it remains the most un-touched-by-tourism country I have been to.

The reality is that the average Iranian person you meet is STOKED to meet and talk with Americans. When you have this experience over and over again – all the stuff you might read in the media about Iran kind of just goes out the window.

Legal Situation in Iran for American Tourists

I have been asked many times “Can US citizens travel to Iran? I thought it was not allowed by the US government.” This question might be in the heads of most Americans considering travel to Iran. So let me clarify.

The official line of the US State Department is AVOID ALL TRAVEL to Iran. That said, traveling to Iran as an American is perfectly legal. Technically, Americans can’t travel to neighboring Cuba (even though that is totally possible too) – but Iran travel for US citizens is not prohibited by the US government and vice versa for the Iranian government: Americans can legally travel to Iran.

For Americans and a few other select nationalities though, there are certain rules one must follow upon arrival in Iran.

Complete independent/solo travel in Iran is not possible for citizens of the USA, UK, and Canada. The rule is that these nationalities must have a government-licensed guide with them when traveling here at all times. Depending on where you are in the country – this rule is either strict or pretty relaxed.

As an example, in Isfahan, it was possible for various groups of Americans (and me on my own) to wander about the bazaar, main square, and pretty much go where we wanted on our own. The guide was in the hotel and we had the freedom to move about without her there all the time. Tehran is a bit more strict and our guide went with us pretty much everywhere.

It should also be noted that no police or authorities asked any of us about our nationality during the 2+ weeks we were there – so it would just be by chance if you were stopped walking about alone without a guide and asked your nationality. That does not really happen.

Visa Process – The First Steps

The visa process for the citizens of the USA, UK, and Canada can also seem tricky – but the main thing is that it just takes time. If you plan on visiting Iran as an American last minute, think again!

The first step is finding a tour operator (like Epic Expeditions) that can do the application and visa submission in Iran for you and obtain a Visa Grant Letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). The above-mentioned nationalities can not do the visa application on their own without the aid of a tour operator.

Tour operators require the following to submit your visa application:

• A short visa application document filled in with your details, planned travel dates, etc
• A passport copy
• A detailed job resume/CV
• A passport photo
• Possibly links to your social media profiles/website (if you have one).

Once the tour operator submits your application, it then takes about a month to receive the visa approval letter.

NOTE: If you have been to Israel and have an Israeli stamp in your passport dated from the last 2 years, I would get a new passport before applying. Otherwise, you could be denied.

Collecting the Visa

The final step is either physically going to an Iranian Embassy anywhere in the world to pick up the actual visa or mailing your passport to an Iran Embassy for the same purpose if you are unable to go in person. Then you are all set!

Two important things to note: 1. Getting a visa extension to stay in Iran is not possible for Americans. 2. The exact Iranian Embassy you indicate on your application of where you want to collect your visa can’t be modified either – so think carefully about your EXACT travel dates and where you want to collect the visa before you submit it!

Solo Travel vs Group Travel

Exploring Iran as a solo traveler might be the way you prefer to see the country, but traveling to Iran as an American means you need to join a group tour or find a company that can organize a custom tour in which you will need to have the Iranian guide with you at all times – which can be a lot more expensive than joining a group tour as you pay for the guide, their accommodation, their food, transport, etc on a per-day basis. The cost of traveling to Iran as an American with just you and one Iranian guide can be around $150+ a day when you factor in activities, transport, food, etc.

Are their specific Iran tours for Americans? As far as I know, very few American companies apart from Epic Expeditions are running tours to Iran for Americans. But our tours are not just for Americans though! On our last trip, we had 8 different nationalities – the majority were, however, American.

If you want to learn more about our Iran Tours for Americans (and everyone else) check out our Ultimate Iran Adventure Tour page.

Overall Safety: Is Iran Safe for American Tourists?

Possibly the biggest question on the minds of most potential travelers (and the mothers of potential travelers): is Iran safe for American tourists?

In our experience in Iran traveling with Americans, we encountered no safety or security issues and had basically no interactions with police or uptight military people. In Pakistan as an example, there are police checkpoints everywhere and sometimes police are required to travel with foreigners as an escort in some areas. We found none of this in Iran.

Some areas, like the southern border with Pakistan (Baluchistan), might be a little sketchier for any tourist – but the majority of people visiting Iran don’t go there.

The main thing when traveling as an American in Iran is to follow the rules and behave yourself. By doing so, you should have no reason to fear for your safety. I felt 100x safer traveling in Iran than I have felt (and experienced) traveling in South America in the past. Things like armed robbery or assault against foreigners are basically unheard of in Iran – and in South America, it happens every day (and happened to me 3 different times in Ecuador and Peru).

Additional Tips for Traveling to Iran as an American

Iran is a fascinating country to be explored and should be at the top of the list for any serious traveler.

Because of paperwork and silly rules and whatnot it is not the easiest place to get to – but once you go through the steps to get the visa and plan a trip here – the rewards of visiting Iran are pure magic.

Here are a few more helpful tips for Americans traveling to Iran:

• Leave your drone at home – seriously don’t even bring it into the country
• Carry plenty of cash to exchange (USD is fine). Your bank card will not work here.
• Give yourself plenty of time to get the visa. Apply for your visa 3 months before you plan to visit.
• Don’t take any photos of police or military facilities.
• Ladies – bring a headscarf as all women must have their heads covered by law when out in public.
• Bring copies of your documents.
• Come to Iran with an open mind! Leave everything you have heard in the media about Iran at home!

And again: If you want to learn more about our Iran Tours for Americans (and everyone else) check out our Ultimate Iran Adventure Tour page.

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Welcome to our journal.

Here at Epic Expeditions, adventure is constantly on our minds. 

Our blog – or Journal as we like to call it – contains epic trip stories, photo diaries, and news about new tours. 

Thanks for checking it out! 

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2023 review: a defining year for epic expeditions, the wild mongolia packing list, define adventure: a photographer’s journey – island peak, nepal, the trip we're most stoked about, mongolia horse trekking in mongolia expedition.

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Clark Tyler 🇨🇦

Adventure Guide

Hailing from the Toronto region of Eastern Canada, with a background as a former standout athlete (hockey of course) and a  love of mountain adventure, Clark is a welcomed addition to the Epic team.

In addition to being a keen photographer and adventurer, Clark brings his brilliant sense of humor, leadership skills, and positive attitude to everything he puts his mind to.  When he is not leading trips, he is working on taking over the hard apple cider game in Canada as a skilled craft brewer. 

Meet him during : K2 Base Camp Trek

Noemi Liebi 🇨🇭

Noemi grew up in the mountains of German-Speaking Switzerland where she naturally developed a deep love and respect for mountain environments.

She is a talented photographer, aspiring climber, and speaks at least 5 languages fluently including Arabic (and probably a few more that we don’t know about), which she taught herself in a matter of months by watching YouTube videos. 

Noemi has spent the last several years traveling, hiking, and photographing her way around many different countries in the Middle East, South and Central Asia, and Europe, and we could not be more stoked to welcome her to the Epic team! 

Meet her during : Discover the Celestial Mountains | Island Peak Climbing Expedition

Syerik Manap 🇲🇳

As our man on the ground in Mongolia, there is not much this legend can’t do. As a native the Bayan-Ölgii province of the Western Mongolia Altai, Syerik has been working as a guide and tourism entrepreneur…

for the past several years and is one of the rising stars in Mongolia adventure travel industry. 

He is currently building a beautiful Ger (Yurt) camp near his hometown where he will host Epic Mongolia team members on our trip as well as other travelers from around the world! 

He is the perfect guide for your trip to Mongolia. Serik did an amazing job giving us a well rounded experience in the Altai NP region and down in the Gobi… The food was fantastic and Serik gave us many opportunities to learn about the Kazakh culture in that region including traditional meals. (I can’t recommend enjoying the milk tea enough!)

– Coastal

Head of canine operations

Choriza started off life as a care-free vagabond on the streets of Madeira Island without any place to call home. From the moment we met her, we knew this dog was just different, and it was pretty much love at first sight. 

She gave up the dog street life in favor of joining her new dad Chris to become a full-time member of the Epic family towards the end of 2022.

These days she can be found listening in on the fringes of important Epic business meetings while half-asleep on the couch. She is a keen hiker, lover of mud, rare steak, and might just be the sweetest little dog we have ever seen. 

Andrew Golovachevn 🇷🇺

An experienced trek leader and IFMGA aspirant ski guide, avid alpine climber, devoted adventure photographer.

Organized and guided trekking expeditions, climbs and ski tours in Tajikistan’s Pamirs, Patagonia, Peru, Morocco, Nepal, Kyrgyzstan, Georgian and Russian Caucasus and Kamchatka. A full member and meets the organiser of the British Alpine Club. Visited over 40 countries, lived in the UK for four years. Certified first-aider.

We joined Andrew on a fantastic trip to the Fann Mountains in Tajikistan, pure nature and magnificent scenery! Andrey was super prepared and led us safely up and down numerous passes and through some rough and icy cold rivers. Thank you for a very memorable trip, your planning and prep was excellent!

– Monika Steinlechner

Meet him during : Trekking in the Fann Mountains

Sandip Dhungana 🇳🇵

Our man in Nepal, Sandip is what we like to call a “Swiss Army Knife”. There is not much Sandip can’t do when it comes to helping Epic to run our expeditions smoothly in Nepal.

His tireless work ethic, passion for all things trekking in the Himalayas, and smart decision-making mean that Sandip is a truly invaluable member of our team.

Sandip is passionate about showing visitors to his country an amazing time, and he goes above and beyond to make sure that happens. 

His company Himalayan Masters is Epic’s trusted partner in Nepal and one of the country’s top new tour agencies.

We really enjoyed the entire journey, and I would like to say that Sandip is truly professional. He guided us and he is a hardworking person, providing us with the best service and taking care of each one of us. Plus, he is super funny! The kind of professionnal you always want to find on your path for your explorations! 

– Alexandra Ruth

Fairy Meadows

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Our Favorite Experiences

#1 sunrise from reflection lake.

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#2 Hiking to Nanga Parbat Base Camp

#3 playing cricket with the locals, trips where we visit fairy meadows.

Our flagship Pakistani adventure tour.  Road trip with some  hiking and cultural immersion.

Intermediate

Trekking Among Giants

A trekking-style tour that features some very remote locations, inlcuding a K2 viewpoint.

João Frietas 🇵🇹

João has born in the mountains of Madeira Islands in Portugal. Nature lover, writer, musician, guide, for him, a day without contact with outdoor vibes is a nightmare. 

With a degree in Cultural Studies in Portugal and a Master of Arts in Global Cultures and Creativity in the U.K.

João found out what really matters in life can be found on the trails, and in the contact with people from different backgrounds and cultures.

Guiding, crazy trekking missions, and sharing observations about the natural world, – these are some of João’s passions. 

After trekking to K2 Base Camp and exploring all over Northern Pakistan, he fell in love with the country and the local people. His experiences resulted in his desire to share these feelings with the world.

João is one of the most experienced guides at Epic and his skillset and positive mindset in the mountains is second to none

When not in Pakistan, João is  guiding and exploring in the Madeira Islands trails –  discovering some of the hidden treasures on his Portuguese Island.

João I can not thank you enough for the off the beaten paths and views you keep giving. Definitely one of the most challenging and amazing hikes we did 1200m meters all the way up to Fanal forest and circling back to the hidden village. Wow!

– Jeffery 

Meet him during : Lost World of Europe | Discover the Hunza Valley   | K2 Base Camp Trek

Sohail Sakhi 🇵🇰

Sohail is the newest addition to the Epic team and we are beyond stoked to have him on board. As a veteran of the Karakoram and a native of Karimabad in Hunza, there is not much Sohail can’t do in the mountains. 

Besides having the ability to speak more languages than we can count, Sohail has explored every corner of Gilgit Baltistan and logs more trekking miles 

in a year than most people will do in a lifetime. As of the summer of 2022, Sohail has summited Gasherbrum 1, Gasherbrum 2, and K2 – three of Pakistan’s five 8000-meter peaks. Sohail guides several trips including our annual bespoke expeditions but specializes in Hunza Valley tours.

Chris and Sohail, and the team at Epic are FANTASTIC! Highly recommend anyone to do a tour with ‘Epic’. They have the perfect balance of fun, excitement and wild adventures, tied in with being super professional and ensuring your safety/health in a foreign environment. Don’t waste a moment and book a tour with these guys as the value for money is UNREAL!

– Borgan

Meet him during : Discover the Hunza Valley

Pedro Ricardo Dias 🇵🇹

Pedro’s been traveling all around the globe since 2009. His keen interests in documentary photography, rural life, and local people from different ethnic groups have been the focus of many of his professional projects. Since 2012, he has developed his passion for travel and awesome shared experiences into a full-time adventure photography tour leader position.

Pedro has found himself continuously going back to the Middle East, with his likely favorite destination being Iran. Pedro lead his 11th tour in Iran with Epic in spring 2020

When Pedro’s not traveling the world with Epic Expeditions, you’ll find him based in the western south of Portugal planning he’s next adventure missions, logistics and working out his photos in local exhibitions.

 I loved the combination of hiking, camping around breathtaking scenery mixed with the cultural aspects. The guide (Pedro) is knowledgeable and work very hard to make the trip as memorable as possible. All in all an epic adventure with some extremely epic individuals! Go for it, you won’t regret it!

Diane Bouvet 🇫🇷

Adventure Admin / Marketing

After fleeing from the corporate fashion world in Paris towards the start of 2020, Diane has been working as a web developer and graphic designer remotely from various bases across the globe

She brings all of her incredible design and organizational power to Epic Expeditions and is responsible for many of the beautiful behind-the-scenes design elements. 

Diane has been to Iran and to Pakistan twice including all over Gilgit Baltistan and KPK.

Ralph Cope 🇺🇸

Head of Operations | Guide

A veteran of Pakistan travel, Ralph is an experienced guide, photographer and writer who specializes in documenting remote locations. 

Not one to simply go where everyone else does, he insists on exploring new and lesser-known areas.

Together with Epic Expeditions, he shows people parts of Pakistan that most other operators don’t even know about. He is particularly fond of the village of Barah, which he believes will become just as famous as Hunza one day.

Just got back from EBT’s Trekking Amongst Giants 15 day tour. The experience was first class. Ralph, our head guide, ensured that the entire trip ran smoothly and relatively on time (a bonus for anyone travelling in Pakistan). We had so many unforgettable days on the tour and the trekking was well-planned, safe but also a rewarding challenge. 

– Calvin

Traveling to a non-tourist destination can be a little intimidating but EBT takes all of the worry and trepidation away. From the pre-trip call to meeting the wonderful staff in person you can tell that you are dealing with a company that has a passion for what they do each and every day. Ralph, Zahid, and Khan were supportive, kind, and always willing to go the extra mile to make sure that everyone on the trip was getting what they wanted out of the experience.

– Katrina 

Meet him during : Trekking Amongst Giants | Discover the Celestial Mountains | K2 Base Camp Trek

Chris Lininger 🇺🇸

Founder | Adventure Guide | Director

Since he started exploring the world, Chris has been seeking out every shade of adventure in various parts of the globe and had visited more than 70 countries along the way. 

Over the last 10 years, Chris has logged more than 7000 trail miles across five continents and climbed multiple 6000 + 7000 meter peaks in Pakistan and Nepal.

A few years back, a distant dream and a deep passion for the mountains and the people of Pakistan led Chris to co-found Epic Expeditions at a time when foreign adventure tourism in Pakistan was almost nonexistent. Since then, Chris has guided more than 20 expeditions to various parts of Northern Pakistan.

Chris believes in using photography and powerful adventure experiences to dismantle negative stereotypes regarding what mainstream media considers “dangerous” countries while facilitating unique and meaningful memories in the mountains for countless people from around the globe. 

For him, an ideal start to the day begins with a steaming cup of good coffee, the beam of a headlamp, alpine boots, and a camera in hand.

He lives in Madeira Island when not leading expeditions in far-flung lands. 

Chris also works as a writer and photographer on his blog Off the Atlas  –  an adventure travel blog all about Pakistan.   

Read this interview our staff did with Chris to learn more about him!

Chris believes in Pakistan and its people, and he believes in the value of journeys shared with others and family cultivated on the road. Honesty and integrity are at the heart of what he does, and this really shines through in his work as a guide. He also makes great coffee – whether at 5am in an empty guesthouse or half way up a Himalayan peak.”

– Will De Villers

Pakistan is a magical country!  Had 3 of the best weeks of my life thanks to Epic Backpacking Tours with owner, and one of our awesome guides, Chris. From detailed itinerary, preparation with an equipment list, and visa assistance. To amazing food, great porters, helpful guides, and great accommodations. Epic really hit home run after home run. […]

Their desire for adventure and amazing trip is just as high as yours. Bring a good pound of coffee for the trip. French press coffee every morning and no average tin coffee, plus you’ll be in your guides good books.

– Clark Tyler

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House Responds to Israeli-Iranian Missile Exchange by Taking Rights Away from Americans

A measure passed by the House seeks to block Americans from traveling to Iran on U.S. passports.

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Civil liberties groups are raising alarms about a bill making its way through Congress that applies pressure for a ban on travel to Iran for Americans using U.S. passports. The rights groups see the bill as part of a growing attempt to control the travel of American citizens and bar Iranian Americans in particular from maintaining connections with friends and loved ones inside Iran.

“If you’re an American citizen, the government should not be controlling where you can travel.”

“This bill is very concerning because it’s the beginning of a process of criminalizing something that is very normal for many people, which is traveling to Iran,” said Ryan Costello, policy director at the National Iranian American Council. “If you’re an American citizen, the government should not be controlling where you can travel.”

Along with a flurry of other sanctions bills targeting Iran, the bill calling for the travel restrictions passed the U.S. House last week. The bill is now slated to come before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Introduced last fall, the No Paydays for Hostage-Takers Act languished until tensions between Iran and Israel escalated into a series of reciprocal attacks earlier this month.

Among other provisions, the bill seeks to bar U.S. passport holders from traveling to Iran by rendering their passports invalid for such travel. Though the prohibition would need to be enacted by the State Department, the legislative proposal effectively encourages the move and, as with other sanctions against Iran, waiving the authority to enact the ban could incur political costs.

If Donald Trump wins a second White House term, a distinct possibility according to polls, the invocation of the travel ban would be likely. In his first term, Trump imposed the so-called Muslim ban on travel to the U.S. for Iranians, among other nationalities, and has promised to reimpose it if elected again .

The idea of banning travel to Iran on American passports was raised last September by former Trump State Department official Elliott Abrams, a right-wing hawk with a controversial history that includes covering up a Central American massacre and involvement in the Iran–Contra scandal.

Trump Revives “Muslim Ban” While GOP Courts Muslim Voters for 2024

In practice, many Iranian Americans tend to travel to Iran on Iranian passports, but Americans of Iranian extraction who do not hold Islamic Republic travel documents would be unable to travel there under the ban. The measure is viewed as a potential signal of deeper isolation for the Iranian people and severing of people-to-people ties between Iran and the U.S.

Iran and North Korea?

The bill, originally proposed last October by Reps. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., and Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., was promoted as a measure to restrict the Iranian government’s ability to take U.S. citizens hostage as bargaining chips for bilateral negotiations. Some dual-nationals have been arrested in Iran in the past amid tensions between the two countries.

Yet hundreds of thousands of dual-nationals are believed to travel regularly to Iran from across the West. Measures barring their ability to do so would represent an unprecedented step, making it difficult or impossible for people with ties in both countries to visit family or maintain personal and professional connections.

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Invalidating U.S. passports for travel to Iran would put it on par with North Korea, which had a similar ban put in place in 2017 — during Trump’s first term — when an American citizen died after 17 months of detention there.

Despite being heavily sanctioned over foreign policy and human rights issues, Iran still has relations with much of the international community and large number of Iranians live throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Middle East.

“North Korea and Iran are very different countries.”

“North Korea is really the model for this policy, as it is the only country where there is such a strict prohibition for travel on the books,” said Costello. “But North Korea and Iran are very different countries. The level of isolation of North Korea is far greater, and it doesn’t have the same diaspora that Iran does.”

This week, a delegation from North Korea traveled to Iran, with reported hopes of breaking North Korea’s total diplomatic isolation as conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine forge new geopolitics.

Costello said that NIAC is still hoping that the Senate will not approve the bill when it comes to its consideration. Still, the implications of it coming under consideration, alongside Trump’s promises to revive his “Muslim ban” policy, bode poorly for the future of U.S.–Iran relations.

“You are talking,” he said, “about a policy that could affect hundreds of thousands of people.”

Contact the author:

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COVID-19: travel health notice for all travellers

Iran travel advice

Latest updates: Safety and security – removed information for Canadians in the Middle East

Last updated: April 14, 2024 13:29 ET

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Safety and security, entry and exit requirements, laws and culture, natural disasters and climate, iran - avoid all travel.

You should consider leaving by commercial means if you can do so safely. Our ability to provide consular services in Iran is severely limited.

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There is no resident Canadian government office in the country. The ability of Canadian officials to provide consular assistance is extremely limited.

Canadians in Iran may be closely watched by Iranian authorities. Seemingly innocuous behaviours, such as the use of cameras in public places, travel beyond well-established tourist attractions or casual interactions with Iranian friends, may be misinterpreted and may lead to investigation.

Demonstrations

Political demonstrations and gatherings may occur.

Large-scale and violent protests took place across Iran in the Fall of 2022 following the strict enforcement of the hijab law by the Iranian authorities. Security forces strongly repressed demonstrators resulting in numerous arrests, injuries and casualties. In some cases, arrested individuals were sentenced to death for charges arising from their participation in the demonstrations.

The situation remains highly volatile and could escalate without notice. Even peaceful demonstrations can turn violent at any time. Security forces could use excessive and lethal force to disperse crowds. They can also lead to disruptions to traffic and public transportation. Disruptions to telecommunications services, including mobile internet access, may occur during large-scale demonstrations.

• Avoid areas where demonstrations and large gatherings are taking place
• Monitor local and international media for information on ongoing demonstrations

Mass gatherings (large-scale events)

Border areas

Pakistan and afghanistan.

Bandits in border areas with Afghanistan and Pakistan are usually involved in drug trafficking and use kidnapping to secure the release of group members from prison.

Sistan-Baluchistan, which borders Pakistan, is regularly affected by ethnic conflicts and is also a known route for smugglers. Foreign nationals have been the target of kidnappings.

Terrorist attacks may also occur in this province.

If you decide to travel overland to Pakistan and Afghanistan despite this warning:

• travel only on main roads
• travel in organized groups
• avoid travel after dark

The province of Khuzestan borders Iraq. It is regularly affected by ethnic conflicts. Foreign nationals have been the target of kidnappings.

Border with Iraq is usually closed. It can be opened on a case-by-case basis to allow the passage of certain foreigners or to give refugees access to containment camps located on the Iranian side of the border.

Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan

The borders with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan are open only to citizens of those countries.

Foreigners travelling in the vicinity of these sensitive borders often attract the attention of local security forces, which can result in short periods of detention.

There is an increased threat of attacks against Western interests and of terrorist attacks in general. The security situation could worsen rapidly and with little warning.

Attacks have targeted:

• foreign interests
• Iranian military and government establishments
• tourist attractions and popular public places
• nightclubs and entertainment venues
• public transportation

Further attacks may occur, and terrorists may also target:

• crowded places
• places with high pedestrian traffic where foreigners may gather
• commercial establishments
• local government offices
• public transit stations
• busy streets
• places of worship

Exercise a high degree of caution at all times.

Kidnapping for ransom can occur, especially in Baluchistan and in the border areas with Afghanistan and Pakistan. Foreign nationals have also been the target of kidnapping.

Use varied and unpredictable routes and schedules when moving from one place to another.

Petty crime

Petty crime, such as pickpocketing and purse snatching, occurs. Violent crime affects both Iranians and foreigners.

Thieves often target four-wheel-drive vehicles.

Plainclothes individuals may pose as police officers and ask to see foreign currency and passports. If you are approached, you should politely decline to cooperate but offer to go to the nearest police station.

• Avoid showing signs of affluence, such as flashy jewellery
• Ensure personal belongings, including your passports and other travel documents, are secure at all times
• Carry a photocopy of your passport’s identification page at all times and leave a photocopy with a relative
• Don’t surrender any documents or cash
• Stay in touch with family and friends, especially if you’re travelling alone
• Avoid walking after dark

Women's safety

Women may be subject to some forms of harassment and verbal abuse. Gender-based violence is common in Iran.

Some Canadian and Canadian-Iranian women have been stranded in Iran or mistreated by an Iranian husband or a male relative. Local authorities consider domestic violence to be a private matter and rarely discuss it in public.

Women and children require the permission of the husband, or an Iranian male head of household, to obtain a passport or travel document. They also require permission to leave the country.

The dress code is strictly enforced in Iran. Women must wear a headscarf and a long jacket that covers the arms and upper legs while in public.

Advice for women travellers

Road safety

Road conditions and road safety can vary greatly throughout the country, and city streets are poorly lit. The highway system is relatively well developed.

Trucks run mostly at night, often without headlights. Motorists are reckless and don’t respect traffic laws. They almost never give way to pedestrians at designated crossing points. Parked cars may obstruct sidewalks on main roads in urban areas. Sidewalks are rare in residential areas.

Expect roadblocks and checkpoints.

• Avoid travelling at night
• Consider hiring a personal driver who’s familiar with local conditions
• If you are involved in an accident, remain at the scene until authorities arrive

Public transportation

Most taxis don’t have meters. Drivers often overcharge foreigners.

• Only hire official taxis from agencies or hotel-based companies
• Take pre-booked official taxis, which are safer than those hailed from the street
• Negotiate fares in advance, or insist that the driver use the meter
• Never enter a cab if it already has one or more passengers
• Note the licence plate number and name of the driver when you travel
• Immediately communicate this information to family or friends

Railway transport

Trains are comfortable and punctual, but service is limited and slow.

Iran and the United Arab Emirates both claim sovereignty over the islands in the Gulf and the military patrols the waters. Foreigners navigating Iranian waters have been arrested and detained. In September 2019, Iranian authorities specifically called for the seizure of Canadian assets and vessels.

Exercise caution if travelling by sea, including for recreational purposes, particularly around the disputed islands of Abu Musa and Tunb.

We do not make assessments on the compliance of foreign domestic airlines with international safety standards.

Information about foreign domestic airlines

Every country or territory decides who can enter or exit through its borders. The Government of Canada cannot intervene on your behalf if you do not meet your destination’s entry or exit requirements.

We have obtained the information on this page from the Iranian authorities. It can, however, change at any time.

Verify this information with the  Foreign Representatives in Canada .

Canadians can verify this information with the Interests Section of the Islamic Republic of Iran of the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington, D.C.

• Interests Section of the Islamic Republic of Iran – Embassy of Pakistan in Washington, D.C.

Entry requirements vary depending on the type of passport you use for travel.

Before you travel, check with your transportation company about passport requirements. Its rules on passport validity may be more stringent than the country’s entry rules.

Regular Canadian passport

Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months beyond the date you expect to leave Iran.

Passport for official travel

Different entry rules may apply.

Official travel

Passport with “X” gender identifier

While the Government of Canada issues passports with an “X” gender identifier, it cannot guarantee your entry or transit through other countries. You might face entry restrictions in countries that do not recognize the “X” gender identifier. Before you leave, check with the closest foreign representative for your destination.

Other travel documents

Different entry rules may apply when travelling with a temporary passport or an emergency travel document. Before you leave, check with the closest foreign representative for your destination.

Useful links

• Foreign Representatives in Canada
• Canadian passports

Tourist visa: required Business visa: required Student visa: required Pilgrimage visa: required Press visa: required Transit visa: required

Overstaying your visa period may lead to detention, imprisonment and fines. You will be required to remain in Iran until the situation has been resolved.

• E-Visa Portal – Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Iran

Transit pass

If you enter Iran with a transit pass issued by an Iranian embassy or consulate abroad, you may have to obtain an Iranian passport to exit the country.

Regional travel

Canadians have been denied entry into Iran because their passports bore an Israeli visa, an Israeli border stamp or an Egyptian or Jordanian border stamp issued by an office bordering Israel. Such a stamp would indicate the traveller entered from Israel.

Children and travel

Learn more about travelling with children .

Yellow fever

Learn about potential entry requirements related to yellow fever (vaccines section).

Relevant Travel Health Notices

• Global Measles Notice - 13 March, 2024
• COVID-19 and International Travel - 13 March, 2024

This section contains information on possible health risks and restrictions regularly found or ongoing in the destination. Follow this advice to lower your risk of becoming ill while travelling. Not all risks are listed below.

Consult a health care professional or visit a travel health clinic preferably 6 weeks before you travel to get personalized health advice and recommendations.

Routine vaccines

Be sure that your  routine vaccinations , as per your province or territory , are up-to-date before travelling, regardless of your destination.

Some of these vaccinations include measles-mumps-rubella (MMR), diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, varicella (chickenpox), influenza and others.

Pre-travel vaccines and medications

You may be at risk for preventable diseases while travelling in this destination. Talk to a travel health professional about which medications or vaccines may be right for you, based on your destination and itinerary. 

Yellow fever   is a disease caused by a flavivirus from the bite of an infected mosquito.

Travellers get vaccinated either because it is required to enter a country or because it is recommended for their protection.

• There is no risk of yellow fever in this country.

Country Entry Requirement*

• Proof of vaccination is required if you are coming from or have transited through an airport of a country   where yellow fever occurs.

Recommendation

• Vaccination is not recommended.
• Discuss travel plans, activities, and destinations with a health care professional.
• Contact a designated  Yellow Fever Vaccination Centre  well in advance of your trip to arrange for vaccination.

About Yellow Fever

Yellow Fever Vaccination Centres in Canada * It is important to note that  country entry requirements  may not reflect your risk of yellow fever at your destination. It is recommended that you contact the nearest  diplomatic or consular office  of the destination(s) you will be visiting to verify any additional entry requirements.

There is a risk of hepatitis A in this destination. It is a disease of the liver. People can get hepatitis A if they ingest contaminated food or water, eat foods prepared by an infectious person, or if they have close physical contact (such as oral-anal sex) with an infectious person, although casual contact among people does not spread the virus.

Practise  safe food and water precautions and wash your hands often. Vaccination is recommended for all travellers to areas where hepatitis A is present.

Measles is a highly contagious viral disease. It can spread quickly from person to person by direct contact and through droplets in the air.

Anyone who is not protected against measles is at risk of being infected with it when travelling internationally.

Regardless of where you are going, talk to a health care professional before travelling to make sure you are fully protected against measles.

  Hepatitis B is a risk in every destination. It is a viral liver disease that is easily transmitted from one person to another through exposure to blood and body fluids containing the hepatitis B virus.  Travellers who may be exposed to blood or other bodily fluids (e.g., through sexual contact, medical treatment, sharing needles, tattooing, acupuncture or occupational exposure) are at higher risk of getting hepatitis B.

Hepatitis B vaccination is recommended for all travellers. Prevent hepatitis B infection by practicing safe sex, only using new and sterile drug equipment, and only getting tattoos and piercings in settings that follow public health regulations and standards.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious viral disease. It can spread from person to person by direct contact and through droplets in the air.

It is recommended that all eligible travellers complete a COVID-19 vaccine series along with any additional recommended doses in Canada before travelling. Evidence shows that vaccines are very effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalization and death from COVID-19. While vaccination provides better protection against serious illness, you may still be at risk of infection from the virus that causes COVID-19. Anyone who has not completed a vaccine series is at increased risk of being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 and is at greater risk for severe disease when travelling internationally.

Before travelling, verify your destination’s COVID-19 vaccination entry/exit requirements. Regardless of where you are going, talk to a health care professional before travelling to make sure you are adequately protected against COVID-19.

 The best way to protect yourself from seasonal influenza (flu) is to get vaccinated every year. Get the flu shot at least 2 weeks before travelling.  

 The flu occurs worldwide. 

•  In the Northern Hemisphere, the flu season usually runs from November to   April.
•  In the Southern Hemisphere, the flu season usually runs between April and   October.
•  In the tropics, there is flu activity year round. 

The flu vaccine available in one hemisphere may only offer partial protection against the flu in the other hemisphere.

The flu virus spreads from person to person when they cough or sneeze or by touching objects and surfaces that have been contaminated with the virus. Clean your hands often and wear a mask if you have a fever or respiratory symptoms.

Malaria is a serious and sometimes fatal disease that is caused by parasites spread through the bites of mosquitoes.   Limited malaria transmission may occur in this destination, but risk to travellers is very low.    Antimalarial medication is not recommended for most travellers. Consult a health care professional or visit a travel health clinic before travelling to discuss your options. It is recommended to do this 6 weeks before travel, however, it is still a good idea any time before leaving.    Protect yourself from mosquito bites at all times: 

• Cover your skin and use an approved insect repellent on uncovered skin.
• Exclude mosquitoes from your living area with screening and/or closed, well-sealed doors and windows.
• Use insecticide-treated bed nets if mosquitoes cannot be excluded from your living area.
• Wear permethrin-treated clothing. 

If you develop symptoms similar to malaria when you are travelling or up to a year after you return home, see a health care professional immediately. Tell them where you have been travelling or living. 

In this destination, rabies is commonly carried by dogs and some wildlife, including bats. Rabies is a deadly disease that spreads to humans primarily through bites or scratches from an infected animal. While travelling, take precautions , including keeping your distance from animals (including free-roaming dogs), and closely supervising children.

If you are bitten or scratched by a dog or other animal while travelling, immediately wash the wound with soap and clean water and see a health care professional. In this destination, rabies treatment may be limited or may not be available, therefore you may need to return to Canada for treatment.  

Before travel, discuss rabies vaccination with a health care professional. It may be recommended for travellers who are at high risk of exposure (e.g., occupational risk such as veterinarians and wildlife workers, children, adventure travellers and spelunkers, and others in close contact with animals). 

Safe food and water precautions

Many illnesses can be caused by eating food or drinking beverages contaminated by bacteria, parasites, toxins, or viruses, or by swimming or bathing in contaminated water.

• Learn more about food and water precautions to take to avoid getting sick by visiting our eat and drink safely abroad page. Remember: Boil it, cook it, peel it, or leave it!
• Avoid getting water into your eyes, mouth or nose when swimming or participating in activities in freshwater (streams, canals, lakes), particularly after flooding or heavy rain. Water may look clean but could still be polluted or contaminated.
• Avoid inhaling or swallowing water while bathing, showering, or swimming in pools or hot tubs. 

Cholera is a risk in parts of this country. Most travellers are at very low risk.

To protect against cholera, all travellers should practise safe food and water precautions .

Travellers at higher risk of getting cholera include those:

• visiting, working or living in areas with limited access to safe food, water and proper sanitation
• visiting areas where outbreaks are occurring

Vaccination may be recommended for high-risk travellers, and should be discussed with a health care professional.

Travellers' diarrhea is the most common illness affecting travellers. It is spread from eating or drinking contaminated food or water.

Risk of developing travellers' diarrhea increases when travelling in regions with poor standards of hygiene and sanitation. Practise safe food and water precautions.

The most important treatment for travellers' diarrhea is rehydration (drinking lots of fluids). Carry oral rehydration salts when travelling.

Typhoid   is a bacterial infection spread by contaminated food or water. Risk is higher among children, travellers going to rural areas, travellers visiting friends and relatives or those travelling for a long period of time.

Travellers visiting regions with a risk of typhoid, especially those exposed to places with poor sanitation, should speak to a health care professional about vaccination.  

Insect bite prevention

Many diseases are spread by the bites of infected insects such as mosquitoes, ticks, fleas or flies. When travelling to areas where infected insects may be present:

• Use insect repellent (bug spray) on exposed skin
• Cover up with light-coloured, loose clothes made of tightly woven materials such as nylon or polyester
• Minimize exposure to insects
• Use mosquito netting when sleeping outdoors or in buildings that are not fully enclosed

To learn more about how you can reduce your risk of infection and disease caused by bites, both at home and abroad, visit our insect bite prevention page.

Find out what types of insects are present where you’re travelling, when they’re most active, and the symptoms of the diseases they spread.

There is a risk of chikungunya in this country.  The risk may vary between regions of a country.  Chikungunya is a virus spread through the bite of an infected mosquito. Chikungunya can cause a viral disease that typically causes fever and pain in the joints. In some cases, the joint pain can be severe and last for months or years.

Protect yourself from mosquito bites at all times. There is no vaccine available for chikungunya.

Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever is a viral disease that can cause fever, pain and bleeding under the skin.  In some cases, it can be fatal.  It spreads to humans through contact with infected animal blood or tissues, or from the bite of an infected tick.  Risk is generally low for most travellers.  Protect yourself from tick bites and avoid animals, particularly livestock.  There is no vaccine available for Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever.

• In this country, risk of  dengue  is sporadic. It is a viral disease spread to humans by mosquito bites.
• Dengue can cause flu-like symptoms. In some cases, it can lead to severe dengue, which can be fatal.
• The level of risk of dengue changes seasonally, and varies from year to year. The level of risk also varies between regions in a country and can depend on the elevation in the region.
• Mosquitoes carrying dengue typically bite during the daytime, particularly around sunrise and sunset.
• Protect yourself from mosquito bites . There is no vaccine or medication that protects against dengue fever.

Cutaneous and mucosal   leishmaniasis   causes skin sores and ulcers. It is caused by a parasite spread through the bite of a female sandfly.

Risk is generally low for most travellers. Protect yourself from sandfly bites, which typically occur after sunset in rural and forested areas and in some urban centres. There is no vaccine or medication to protect against leishmaniasis.

Animal precautions

Some infections, such as rabies and influenza, can be shared between humans and animals. Certain types of activities may increase your chance of contact with animals, such as travelling in rural or forested areas, camping, hiking, and visiting wet markets (places where live animals are slaughtered and sold) or caves.

Travellers are cautioned to avoid contact with animals, including dogs, livestock (pigs, cows), monkeys, snakes, rodents, birds, and bats, and to avoid eating undercooked wild game.

Closely supervise children, as they are more likely to come in contact with animals.

Cases of locally-acquired   Middle East respiratory syndrome  (MERS) have been reported in this country.

MERS is a viral respiratory disease caused by the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

Some people infected with MERS-CoV experience no symptoms, while others may experience mild flu-like or more severe pneumonia-like symptoms. About one-third of reported cases have result ed in death.

Eat and drink safely ,   and   avoid close contact with animals, especially camels. If you must visit a farm or market, make sure you practise good hygiene and  wash your hands  before and after contact with animals.

There is currently no licensed vaccine to protect against MERS.

Person-to-person infections

Stay home if you’re sick and practise proper cough and sneeze etiquette , which includes coughing or sneezing into a tissue or the bend of your arm, not your hand. Reduce your risk of colds, the flu and other illnesses by:

•   washing your hands often
• avoiding or limiting the amount of time spent in closed spaces, crowded places, or at large-scale events (concerts, sporting events, rallies)
• avoiding close physical contact with people who may be showing symptoms of illness 

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) , HIV , and mpox are spread through blood and bodily fluids; use condoms, practise safe sex, and limit your number of sexual partners. Check with your local public health authority pre-travel to determine your eligibility for mpox vaccine.  

Medical services and facilities

Good health care is limited in availability. Quality of care varies greatly throughout the country.

Make sure you get travel insurance that includes coverage for medical evacuation and hospital stays.

Travel health and safety

Air quality

Air pollution can be severe in major cities. It may affect people suffering from respiratory ailments. 

During periods of high pollution:

• consult your doctor before traveling to see if the situation could affect you
• limit your activities outdoors
• monitor local media
• follow the instructions of local authorities

Keep in Mind...

The decision to travel is the sole responsibility of the traveller. The traveller is also responsible for his or her own personal safety.

Be prepared. Do not expect medical services to be the same as in Canada. Pack a   travel health kit , especially if you will be travelling away from major city centres.

You must abide by local laws.

Learn about what you should do and how we can help if you are arrested or detained abroad .

Iran is under international and Canadian sanctions . While these sanctions don’t prohibit travel to Iran, they could be relevant to your travel.

Legal system

The Iranian legal system differs from the one in Canada.

You may be held for lengthy periods without access to legal counsel or consular officials if you are suspected of or witness to offences.

Penalties for possession, use or trafficking of illegal drugs and alcohol are severe. Convicted offenders can expect severe penalties, including the death penalty.

Drugs, alcohol and travel

Iran is an Islamic theocratic republic. A conservative interpretation of Islamic practices and beliefs is closely adhered to in the country’s customs, laws, and regulations.

Islamic law is strictly enforced. Breach of public morality, non-compliance with dress-code and making disparaging remarks about Islam, the clergy and religious symbols, including on social networks, are considered serious offences. They are punished severely.

Former Muslims who have converted to other religions have been subject to arrest and prosecution.

• Respect local traditions, customs, laws and religion at all times
• Be aware of your actions and behaviour

In 2024, the lunar month of Ramadan is expected to begin on or around March 10.

In public, between sunrise and sunset, refrain from:

Dress and behaviour

Iranian customs, laws and regulations reflect the conservative interpretation of traditional and Islamic practices and beliefs adhered to by the Iranian authorities.

To avoid offending local sensitivities:

• dress conservatively
• behave discreetly
• respect religious and social traditions

Shorts are considered inappropriate attire for both men and women.

Women should carry a headscarf to cover their head at all times while travelling in Iran.

There are reports indicating that the police are using surveillance cameras to identify and monitor women who don’t wear the hijab in public places, as required by Iranian law. Employers and owners of businesses such as stores, restaurants, cafés and shopping malls face closure and prosecution if they don’t enforce the hijab law.

If you promote unveiling while you are in Iran, you could face criminal charges.

Women who fail to comply with the law may face:

• arrest and detention
• jail sentences
• restricted access to public institutions such as hospitals, schools, airports and other social services .
• restricted access to mobile phones and Internet

Intimate and extramarital relations

Public displays of affection between two people of the opposite sex, especially between a non-Muslim man and a Muslim woman, is not well socially accepted.

If you engage in extramarital relationships, you may be subject to severe penalties, including the death penalty.

Canadian women who register their marriage with the Iranian authorities automatically become Iranian citizens. They are treated as such by Iranian law.

Marriage between an Iranian and a foreigner is subject to the rules of conduct and Islamic laws. As such, an Iranian husband may prevent his wife and children from leaving Iran, even if they are of foreign nationality.

Marriage Overseas

Iranian and Canadian family law systems are significantly different.

Iran doesn’t automatically recognize the orders of Canadian courts in matters of family law.

A Canadian divorce certificate is not automatically recognized in Iran.

You must get the Canadian divorce certificate authenticated by a Canadian Embassy prior to have it sanctioned by an Iranian Court for it to be recognized under Iranian law.

If an Iranian court doesn’t sanction your divorce, and you return to Iran as a woman, your ex-husband may request the Iranian authorities to confiscate your passport. As a husband, authorities may not allow you to leave Iran if you have not paid the dowry to your wife after divorce.

Children custody

Iran isn’t a signatory to The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

Children of a male Iranian national, including Canadian-Iranian citizens, are in the sole custody of their father. They require their father’s permission to leave Iran.

To avoid any difficulties in Iran, consult a Canadian and an Iranian lawyer before travelling. If you're involved in local legal proceedings such as divorce or custody, seek legal advice regarding your rights and responsibilities.

International Child Abduction

The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction is an international treaty. It can help parents with the return of children who have been removed to or retained in certain countries in violation of custody rights. It does not apply between Canada and Iran.

If your child was wrongfully taken to, or is being held in Iran by an abducting parent:

• act as quickly as you can
• consult a lawyer in Canada and in Iran to explore all the legal options for the return of your child
• report the situation to the nearest Canadian government office abroad or to the Vulnerable Children’s Consular Unit at Global Affairs Canada by calling the Emergency Watch and Response Centre.

If your child was removed from a country other than Canada, consult a lawyer to determine if The Hague Convention applies.

Be aware that Canadian consular officials cannot interfere in private legal matters or in another country’s judicial affairs.

• International Child Abduction: A Guidebook for Left-Behind Parents
• Travelling with children
• Canadian embassies and consulates by destination
• Emergency Watch and Response Centre

2SLGBTQI+ travellers

Iranian law criminalizes sexual acts and relationships between persons of the same sex.

2SLGBTQI+ travellers could also be discriminated against or detained based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or sex characteristics.

If you are convicted, you could face corporal punishment, imprisonment or the death penalty.

2SLGBTQI+ travellers should carefully consider the risks of travelling to Iran.

Travel and your sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics

Dual citizenship

Iran doesn’t legally recognize dual citizenship.

If local authorities consider you a citizen of Iran, they may refuse to grant you access to Canadian consular services. This will prevent us from providing you with those services.

If you're a Canadian-Iranian citizen, you must enter and exit Iran using your Iranian passport. You may also not be able to leave Iran unless you meet certain conditions.

Canadians, particularly dual Canadian-Iranian citizens, are at risk of:

• being arbitrarily questioned, arrested or detained
• having their passport confiscated

Canadian-Iranian dual citizens should carefully consider the risks of travelling to Iran.

General information for travellers with dual citizenship

Mandatory military service

Military service is mandatory for male Iranian citizens aged 18 to 34, unless exempt. This also applies to dual Canadian-Iranian citizens, even those born in Canada.

If you are a Canadian-Iranian citizen older than 17 years, and planning to visit Iran, check your military service obligation prior to your travel. You may not be allowed to leave Iran without first having completed your military service.

Communications and political activities

Communications are closely scrutinized by local authorities. You may face severe consequences if you discuss, share or publish information on the political situation or criticize the regime in place, including on social media.

Photography

It is prohibited to photograph (including with drones);

• government buildings
• security forces, military and police installations and vehicles
• public buildings, including airports, ports, bridges, embassies and power plants

Such sites are not always well identified. In doubt, seek permission, or refrain from taking the photo.

Always ask permission before taking photographs of local residents.

All luggage may be subject to search upon arrival and departure.

Customs officials may screen your electronic device.

Prohibited items

Possession of prohibited items is forbidden and may result in detention and or imprisonment. Such items include:

• Magazines and DVDs with sexual or explicit content
• Satellite dishes
• Western CDs and film

Pork Products

It’s prohibited to import and consume pork-based products.

The workweek runs from Sunday to Thursday.

You must carry an international driving permit.

International Driving Permit

The currency in Iran is the Iranian rial (IRR).

The economy is exclusively cash-based. Credit cards aren’t accepted in Iran. ATMs exist only for local banking, for the use of Iranians. Due to international sanctions, it’s not possible to transfer funds to Iran using commercial banking system or money transfer company.

• Bring sufficient cash, preferably in U.S. dollars or euros
• Note that U.S. banknotes used must be in crisp condition

Seismic activity

Iran is located in an active seismic zone. Earthquakes occur.

Severe weather

Dust storms.

The weather is very dry and hot from May to October. Dust storms and sand storms may occur during the summer months.

Sand-laden winds can blow at high speeds for days, creating difficult driving conditions. Poor visibility can also affect flights. These storms can also cause respiratory problems, which can be fatal in some individuals.

If a dust storm is occurring:

• stay indoors
• keep windows closed
• be prepared to change your travel plans on short notice, including cutting short or cancelling your trip
• monitor local media for up-to-date information on the situation

Rainy season

The rainy season extends from November to March. During the rainy season, flooding, including flash flooding, can occur.

Seasonal flooding can hamper overland travel and reduce the provision of essential services. Roads may become impassable, due to mudslides and landslides. Bridges, buildings and infrastructure may be damaged.

• Monitor local media for the latest updates, including those on road conditions
• Stay away from flooded areas
• Monitor local news and weather reports
• Follow the instructions of local authorities

Tornadoes, cyclones, hurricanes, typhoons and monsoons

Local services

In case of emergency, dial:

• police: 110
• medical assistance: 115
• firefighters: 125 / 123

Consular assistance

There is no resident Canadian government office in Iran. The Embassy of Canada to Türkiye in Ankara has consular responsibility for Iran.

Azerbaijan, Georgia. Offering consular services to Canadians in Iran.

For emergency consular assistance, call the Embassy of Canada to Türkiye in Ankara and follow the instructions. At any time, you may also contact the Emergency Watch and Response Centre in Ottawa.

The decision to travel is your choice and you are responsible for your personal safety abroad. We take the safety and security of Canadians abroad very seriously and provide credible and timely information in our Travel Advice to enable you to make well-informed decisions regarding your travel abroad.

The content on this page is provided for information only. While we make every effort to give you correct information, it is provided on an "as is" basis without warranty of any kind, expressed or implied. The Government of Canada does not assume responsibility and will not be liable for any damages in connection to the information provided.

If you need consular assistance while abroad, we will make every effort to help you. However, there may be constraints that will limit the ability of the Government of Canada to provide services.

Learn more about consular services .

Risk Levels

  take normal security precautions.

Take similar precautions to those you would take in Canada.

  Exercise a high degree of caution

There are certain safety and security concerns or the situation could change quickly. Be very cautious at all times, monitor local media and follow the instructions of local authorities.

IMPORTANT: The two levels below are official Government of Canada Travel Advisories and are issued when the safety and security of Canadians travelling or living in the country or region may be at risk.

  Avoid non-essential travel

Your safety and security could be at risk. You should think about your need to travel to this country, territory or region based on family or business requirements, knowledge of or familiarity with the region, and other factors. If you are already there, think about whether you really need to be there. If you do not need to be there, you should think about leaving.

  Avoid all travel

You should not travel to this country, territory or region. Your personal safety and security are at great risk. If you are already there, you should think about leaving if it is safe to do so.

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13 Countries Where Americans Shouldn’t Ever Go

Posted: April 24, 2024 | Last updated: April 24, 2024

Exploring the world can be an enriching experience, but there are certain destinations where caution is paramount for American travelers. Whether due to ongoing conflicts, political tensions, or security risks, these countries present challenges that may compromise the safety and well-being of visitors from the United States. 

Here, we delve into a list of countries where Americans should exercise extreme caution or avoid altogether, to ensure a safer and more enjoyable travel experience. The data is taken directly from the US travel advisory as of today.

Civil unrest, human rights concerns, and political instability make Myanmar a risky destination for American travelers. Besides this, there is inadequate healthcare and emergency medical resources in the country alongside landmines and unexploded ordnances. According to the US travel advisory, there are also many wrongful detentions in the country. 

Political tensions with the U.S. and arbitrary detentions of Americans make Iran a risky destination. Besides this, there is also risk of terrorism, civil unrest, kidnapping and the arbitrary arrest of U.S. citizens. 

The U.S. government does not have diplomatic or consular relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran which makes things more difficult. They also recommend you draft a will, designate beneficiaries, leave a dna sample with a medical provide and have a plan to exit without having to rely on US government assistance.

The country faces conflict, terrorism, kidnapping, and a lack of basic services, making it perilous for Americans. There are also risks associated with health, and landmines. 

The US embassy has suspended its operation since 2015, and there is no way you can get help from a consulate. According to the US Department of State, the risk of kidnapping is also high alongside kidnapping for purposes of forced marriage

The advisory recommends sharing documents, login information and point of contact to manage your business in cases you are unable to return.

AFGHANISTAN

Ongoing conflict, terrorism, and kidnapping risks make Afghanistan extremely perilous for Americans. You can be detained, and US citizens has no access to medical facilities and may even be subjected to physical abuse.

Persistent violence, terrorism, and political instability make Iraq unsafe for American travelers. There is a potential for violence and kidnapping. The US Department of State recommends assigning a beneficiary for your insurance and drafting a will before you leave.

The US Department of State does not recommend visiting Russia because of Russian military’s invasion into Ukraine. They expect potential for harassment and singling of US citizens for detention. Besides that, U.S. credit and debit cards no longer work in Russia. The option to electronically transfer money is limited because of the sanctions imposed on Russian banks. 

SOUTH SUDAN

Civil war, violent crime, and limited infrastructure make South Sudan a risky destination. The country gained independence in 2011 but has since been mired in conflict, with ethnic violence and human rights abuses rampant.

The US government has limited ability to provide any consular services. 

Widespread violence, terrorism, and piracy pose significant dangers to Americans in Somalia. The US government has limited ability to provide consular help as there is no permanent presence in Somalia. The US advisory recommends appointing one family member as a point of contact with hostage takers and establishing a proof of life protocol with your loved ones.

Instability, terrorism, and kidnapping risks make Mali hazardous for American travelers. US travel advisory has put the country under “Do Not Travel”. 

The U.S. Department of State maintains its recommendation for American citizens to avoid traveling to Ukraine due to the ongoing armed conflict. It advises against visiting the country due to the active hostilities. For further details, it’s recommended to review the complete Travel Advisory provided by the Department of State.

Civil unrest, crime, terrorism, and kidnapping threats create a high-risk environment for Americans. Since the closure of the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli in July 2014, the U.S. government lacks the capability to offer both routine and emergency aid to American citizens in Libya.

Political instability, crime rates, and shortages of basic goods make travel here unwise for Americans. There are also many instances of wrongful detentions, terrorism, and poor health insurance. 

On March 11, 2019, the U.S. Department of State withdrew diplomatic personnel from U.S. Embassy Caracas. Due to this, the U.S. government’s capacity to offer emergency aid to American citizens in Venezuela is limited.

You are also advised to not take any unregulated taxis from Simón Bolívar International Airport and avoid ATMs in this area.

You’re advised against traveling to Belarus due to Belarusian authorities’ continued facilitation of Russia’s war against Ukraine and consistent armed conflict. Until further notice, all consular services, both routine and emergency, have been suspended.

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Middle East

The long history between israel and iran.

NPR's Andrew Limbong speaks with Suzanne Maloney of the Brookings Institution about relations between Iran and Israel.

ANDREW LIMBONG, HOST:

Both Iran and Israel appear to be playing down the chances of any further escalation since Israel launched a missile strike into Iran on Friday. That attack was a response to Iran launching hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel last week. Nearly all of those were shot down by Israel, the U.S. and other countries. But that attack itself was a retaliation to Israel's suspected strike on Iran's consulate in Syria on April 1, which killed two top Iranian military commanders and at least 10 other people.

This back-and-forth is just the latest in a conflict that goes back decades, so let's take a step back. To help us understand what's going on now and how we got here with Israel and Iran is Suzanne Maloney. She's an expert on Iran and is the vice president and director of foreign policy at the Brookings Institution in Washington. Hey, Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALONEY: Hey, Andrew.

LIMBONG: All right. So how would you characterize the situation right now in Israel and Iran?

MALONEY: I think we're still in a very precarious moment. The Iranian attack on April 13 was something on the order of magnitude that I think no one really imagined, and it was completely unprecedented. There was no damage or serious casualties, and the Israelis have responded in kind but in a much more calibrated and limited fashion. I don't think that's the end of the story from Israel. I think it will be important for Israel to ensure that Iran understands that it can't repeat the attack and that Israel's calibrated response is not a sign of weakness but rather a sign of strength.

LIMBONG: When it comes to Israel and Iran's relationship, what are their objectives with each other? Let's start with Israel.

MALONEY: Well, Israel is especially concerned about Iran's long-standing efforts to try to develop nuclear weapons capability. This is something that Israel has been drawing attention to for decades and was a major factor in American diplomacy over the course of the past 20 years as well. Iran has also supported Hamas and Palestine Islamic Jihad, which are Sunni rather than Shia groups, but which agree with Iran's hostility to the Jewish state.

LIMBONG: Yeah. And so what is Iran's goal here?

MALONEY: Iran has been hostile to Israel since the 1979 revolution, and their consistent rhetoric has been that they believe that Israel is an illegitimate state and should be expelled from the region. What they're trying to accomplish is to erode the legitimacy of Israel around the world. And so this has been a long-term strategy and one that I believe the Iranians think is succeeding, especially after October 7.

LIMBONG: Can you envision an all-out war erupting between the two countries? And if so, what would that look like?

MALONEY: I think we came closer to the possibility of a direct conflict between Israel and Iran over the course of the past two weeks than at any point in the past 45 years of hostility between the two countries. Iran's attack last weekend was unprecedented. It was a very sophisticated and massive attack that was intended to overwhelm Israel's air defenses. It's probably a preview of what a war might look like because, in effect, the Israelis can rely on the support of the United States, of regional partners, in some cases, to repel an Iranian attack. The Iranians, for their part, would almost certainly activate Hezbollah in Lebanon, which has a very significant arsenal, somewhat provided by Iran, of rockets and missiles, many of them precision guided. And so, I think, you know, this could easily implicate Israel's own nuclear capability, and one could find this getting extremely messy extremely quickly.

LIMBONG: Yeah. You've got an article in the latest issue of Foreign Affairs titled "Iran's Order Of Chaos: How The Islamic Republic Is Remaking The Middle East." And in it, you lay out the U.S.'s pretty tenuous role here. You write that President Biden urgently needs to, quote, "articulate and then implement a clear strategy to protect Palestinian civilians from bearing the brunt of Israel's military operations, counter Iran's corrosive war by proxy strategy and blunt the capabilities of Tehran's accomplices," which is - that's a lot to do, right? So can you explain the need for America's involvement in this conflict here?

MALONEY: The Biden administration has been very determined around a long-term strategy that would involve regional integration, normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel as part of a wider effort to ensure that there is - opportunities for economic growth and for political ties that transcend some of the old adversarial relationships. That's a great long-term goal, but it really isn't going to be able to be accomplished without some short-term steps that bring the very problematic war that we're seeing play out in Gaza to a close and enable a short-term process of governance and security for the people of Gaza that will enable them to rebuild, provide humanitarian assistance in very short order and then begin to build up the regional partnerships and alliances that can help us counter Iran.

At this point, the rest of the region doesn't believe that the United States is prepared to take the action that might be necessary to push back against Iran. And so unless there is a very clear American strategy that is determined to ensure that Iran can't continue to fund and coordinate and organize the kind of activities that we saw on October 7 that also make sure that Iran can't come closer to a nuclear weapon and that begins to put the pieces in place for Iran's people to have an opportunity to transition to a better regime, then we're going to be continuing to deal with the problem of the Islamic Republic that we've faced for the past 45 years.

LIMBONG: That's Suzanne Maloney, director of foreign policy at the Brookings Institution. Thanks, Suzanne.

MALONEY: Thank you.

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Iran launches barrage of strikes toward Israel

By Tori B. Powell , Sophie Tanno, Emma Tucker , Kaanita Iyer , Paul LeBlanc and Adrienne Vogt , Jerome Taylor and James Legge, CNN

Our live coverage of Iran's attack on Israel has moved here .

Iran warns its response will be "stronger and more resolute" if Israel retaliates following latest strikes

From CNN’s Alireza Hajihosseini and Eyad Kourdi

Iran has warned that it will respond with more force if Israel retaliates over this weekend's strikes, which Tehran said were themselves a reply to an Israeli attack earlier this month on its embassy complex in Syria's capital Damascus.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran will not hesitate to exercise its inherent right of self-defense when required," Iran’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, said in a statement.

Citing self-defense against repeated Israeli military aggressions, Iravani said the strikes were specifically in retaliation to an Israeli attack on April 1 against what Iran says were diplomatic facilities in Damascus.

Iran claims the attack violated international law and led to the death of seven Iranian military advisors, including key commanders from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The statement also criticizes the United Nations Security Council for “failing to uphold international peace,” allowing Israel to “breach” established international norms and “escalate” regional tensions.

Additional context: Israel has carried out numerous strikes on Iran-backed targets in Syria, often targeting weapons shipments allegedly intended for Hezbollah, a powerful Iranian proxy in Lebanon. 

Israel has not claimed responsibility for the April 1 attack which destroyed an Iranian consulate building in the capital Damascus, including Mohammed Reza Zahedi, a top Revolutionary Guards commander.

However an Israel Defense Forces spokesman told CNN that their intelligence showed the building was not a consulate and was instead “a military building of Quds forces disguised as a civilian building.”

China expresses 'deep concern', calls for ceasefire

From CNN's Philip Wang and Irene Nasser

China has expressed "deep concern" over the "current escalation" following Iran's attack on Israel, according to a spokesperson for its Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday, adding that it is a "spillover of the Gaza conflict" and a ceasefire should be implemented without delay.

In a statement, China called "on relevant parties to exercise calm and restraint to prevent further escalations."

"The ongoing situation is the latest spillover of the Gaza conflict," the spokesperson said, adding that a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas should be implemented without any more delay.

Beijing did not  name or condemn Hamas  in the wake of the initial October 7 attacks. Since then, it has condemned the war and been a vocal  proponent of an immediate ceasefire  and the implementation of a “two-state” solution.

Last month, Chinese diplomat Wang Kejian met Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Qatar, the first meeting between a Chinese and Hamas official publicly acknowledged by Beijing since the outbreak of the  war in Gaza .

Wang’s visit follows efforts by Beijing to step up its profile as a  peace broker in the Middle East conflict.

US forces intercepted 70+ drones and at least three ballistic missiles, US officials say

From CNN's Oren Liebermann and Haley Britzky

US forces intercepted more than 70 one-way attack drones and at least three ballistic missiles during Iran's attack on Israel, according to two US officials familiar with the situation.

The ballistic missiles were intercepted by warships in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, one of the officials said. Iran launched more than 100 ballistic missiles in total at Israel, according to a senior administration official.

The US Navy currently has two destroyers in that area, both are guided missile destroyers capable of intercepting missile and drone launches.

US fighter jets were also part of the response to Iran’s attack on Saturday and shot down drones launched towards Israel, another US official told CNN.

Biden to meet with G7 leaders Sunday as he condemns Iran's "brazen attack"

From CNN’s Lauren Koenig

US President Joe Biden will meet with G7 leaders Sunday “to coordinate a united diplomatic response to Iran’s brazen attack,” according to a statement released by the White House. 

“My team will engage with their counterparts across the region. And we will stay in close touch with Israel’s leaders,” the statement from Biden reads. “And while we have not seen attacks on our forces or facilities today, we will remain vigilant to all threats and will not hesitate to take all necessary action to protect our people.”

US defensive assets moved to the region earlier this week and “helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles,” according to the statement.

Biden also spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu following Saturday’s attack “to reaffirm America’s ironclad commitment to the security of Israel.” 

United Airlines cancels three Middle East flights

From CNN’s Sara Smart

At least three United Airlines flights headed to or departing from the Middle East have been canceled amid the ongoing conflict unfolding between Iran and Israel.

On Saturday a flight from Newark, New Jersey to Tel Aviv, a flight from Washington D.C. to Amman, Jordan, and one from Dubai to Newark were canceled, the airline told CNN in a statement.

There have been no changes to any Sunday flights for United as of Saturday night, according to the airline. 

CNN has reached out to other airlines regarding cancellations.

Biden told Netanyahu US will not participate in offensive operations against Iran, US official says

From CNN's MJ Lee

The US will not participate in any offensive operations against Iran, US President Joe Biden has made clear to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a senior administration official told CNN.

The comments were relayed during the phone call that the two leaders shared in the aftermath of Iran's retaliatory strikes against Israel.

Biden tells Netanyahu tonight was a win, nothing of "value" hit in Israel, US official says 

Israel should consider tonight a win because the current US assessment is that Iran’s attacks had been largely unsuccessful and demonstrated Israel’s superior military capability, President Joe Biden told Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in their phone call, a senior administration official told CNN.

The US’s assessment tonight was that almost all of the drones and missiles – including more than 100 ballistic missiles -- launched by Iran had been knocked out of the sky. No cruise missile made impact, the official said, and nothing of “value” was hit. 

Bolton: 'Passivity at this point for Israel would be a big mistake'

From CNN's Heather Chen

John Bolton, the former US national security adviser and ambassador to the UN, said “passivity at this point for Israel would be a big mistake,” warning of more attacks. 

“This is not time to play academic games and message and signal. This is a question of power,” Bolton told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. "If they came from a different location containing nuclear warheads, Israel might not be so lucky.”

A known Iran policy hawk, Bolton served in senior national security positions during the Trump and Bush administrations. A neoconservative, Bolton has in the past advocated war with Iran and a pre-emptive strike on North Korea.

In 2022, he was the target of an alleged assassination attempt orchestrated by a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. 

He has warned against underestimating Iran’s nuclear program, which Tehran has said is for peaceful purposes only.

“I think we have enough experience with faulty intelligence by now, not to be so sure, not to know how much of Iran’s uranium enrichment program is really being conducted under a mountain in North Korea,” Bolton said.

If Tehran sent “a wire transfer to Pyongyang,” it would give the North Koreans “enough time to put a couple of warheads on an airplane and fly them to Tehran. (But) if you take away their nuclear capability, that would be a dramatic hit to the regime, maybe enough to topple it.”

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