General information on Iran - October 2024

[freshcomca]

I have just wrapped up a 15-day journey through Iran and thought I’d share some general information for anyone else planning a trip. It should be noted that I am a 30 year old Male travelling on an Australian passport and was solo for the entire trip. It is certainly not a 'normal' time to travel in Iran and I will not say to you ‘it is definitely safe to travel’ – you need to make you own evaluation of all the information out there and weigh up all the risks such as flight cancellations due to military action. What I will say is this: the Iranian people have been some of the most friendly, kind, and warm people that I have met in all of my travels and at all times I felt safe and that I was not being taken advantage of. Persia is a place rich with history and amazing sights to see and I wish more people would experience the true side of Persia and it's people.

I travelled from South to North, moving through the following cities:

Shiraz > Yazd > Isfahan > Kashan > Tehran (Shiraz was my favourite city)

Visa

Australians can apply for an e-visa in Iran and this is what I first tried however it was rejected after a few days due to a ‘lack of clarity in purpose of travel’. I then submitted an application through 1stQuest and gave them my entire itinerary of cities and hotels I intended to stay at. After one month my visa was granted (this was a few days after Iran formally declared war with Israel). The cost to apply for the visa through 1stQuest was 27 Euros.

I also purchased my travel insurance through IransTravel for 18 Euros. While obtaining the visa at Shiraz the guy didn't even look at my insurance document though I did say it was in the plastic pocket I gave to him. At the airport, Australians need to pay 145 Euro + 3 Euro processing fee. My passport was not stamped and you get a separate visa paper which they put the entry stamp on. All together to get into the country as an Australian I paid 193 Euros. The visa fees will be different for other countries and there are other rules depending on what country you are from and whether you obtain the visa at an embassy beforehand or an e-visa, see the below table (this is from 1stQuest):

Nationalities.................Embassy fee....Visa on arrival fee
Schengen Nationalities.....€50...............€75
Australian/New Zeland.....€100..............€145-150
British.........................€180..............Not applicable
American.....................€60................Not applicable
Canadian......................€50...............Not applicable
Pakistani......................€25................Not applicable
Indian..........................€30...............€90
Chinese & Taiwanese.......€85................€100
Brazilian......................€60................€80

Money

There is an official exchange rate set by the banks and there is an ‘unofficial rate’. Check https://bonbast.com/ for the rate you would get on the street with ‘black market’ currency changers. You should also try to wrap your head around Tomans and Rials (10000 Tomans = 100000 Rials) before getting into the country and work out how much each note is equivalent to your own local currency.

I would definitely have small notes on you when first arriving into the country such as 10 or 20 Euro, Pound, USD notes. IKA airport does have currency changers but you will get a worser rate as is expected at all airports. The ride from Tehran city to IKA was around 4.5million Rial (450000 Toman or $6.70USD) using Snapp! (the Iranian ride-share app) and so you could expect to pay double that to get from the airport to the city with the taxis waiting outside.

If you are flying into Shiraz you should know that there are no currency exchanges, no sim card-shops, and no free Wi-Fi at the airport. Rides into Shiraz city are $5USD or 5 Euros so make sure you have 10USD/10EURO notes or smaller and ask for change in Rial. The guys at the taxi stand outside gave a fair rate and didn’t try any tricks.

Due to sanctions, Visa and MasterCard are pretty much non-existent in Iran and so your credit cards are useless. Given the exchange rate, changing into cash will leave you with a very large wad of Iranian Rial. Another option is to use a tourist debit card such as Daric Card. I went with Daric Card as they are very responsive to queries over WhatsApp and text message and support you all the way. The debit card providers will meet you at your hotel in Tehran or post it to your hotel in other cities. When you go to exchange money, you can ask them to deposit onto a card and so this avoids having a huge wad of Rials in your pocket. I would still carry some Rial in addition to your card if you do decide to go with one. A tourist debit card also lets you top up your Snapp! wallet and book ride-share cares easily. Specifically in Shiraz for Daric card, Sadoon Currency Exchange can deposit directly into Pasargad Bank accounts. For other cards, they will have their own bank and you will need to ask around to find a currency changer who uses that specific bank.

In terms of changing money on the street, to get the rate quoted on Bonbast, there are areas in each city which you can find with a quick google search e.g. search 'Currency exchange area Isfahan' will let you know that Sepah Street is one place to go. Walk around and you will hear ‘Dollar, Euro’ being spoken by people standing around with wads of Rials or tables of cash on the street. Very easy and very quick, you can get within 1000 tomans of the rate quoted on Bonbast if you walk around briefly. I was also able to change my leftover Rial back into USD at a decent rate, 70000Tomans per USD when the rate was 67500Tomans - again, just walk around.

Foreigners are charged differently to locals when buying tickets at tourist destinations, at the regular tourist areas the tickets are 2-2.5 million Rial (3-3.5USD), bigger areas such as Persepolis 3.5 million Rial (5USD), and for the famous destinations in Tehran such as Golestan Palace and Saadabad Palace you can pay between 9-13 million Rial (13-19USD) depending on what museums you want to visit in each place. Meals will generally run you 2.5-5 million Rial (3.5-7.5 USD) but you can also get a cheap Koobideh Kebab for 2USD.

Getting around

I only took the train in Tehran due to traffic being horrible and the train system being very effective and close to the tourist destinations. A one-trip ticket is 5000 Tomans or 50000 Rial $0.075USD so it’s almost nothing to get from one end of the city to the other.

Snapp! Is Iran’s ride-share app and you can get around cheaper than hailing a taxi on the street. Snapp rides will run between 500000 to 1million Rial ($0.75USD – $1.25USD) and taxis are generally 1+ million. Taxis are numerous and you’ll not be waiting long before you hail one down on the main street. Regular cars will also honk their horn and offer you a ride for some money if you're waiting on the side of the street.

If you are taking a bus between cities, you will be able to buy tickets on the day as long as you turn up around 45 minutes before you want to depart. Buses generally departed every 30 minutes and were around 1.5 million Rial ($2.25USD). After your first bus journey I think it would be wise to purchase your next ticket at the bus station before you leave so as to not be stressing when you need to make your next outbound trip.

Phone and internet

I purchased a sim card after I had gotten into Shiraz city and so it might be cheaper than at an airport. I paid 2.5million Rial ($3.7USD) for 16gb at an IranCell dealer. It took a while to get the phone working as you need to accept and make changes to your phone’s APN settings – these should be sent automatically after you insert the sim card. However, I was still plagued with connectivity issues but I don’t know if it was just my phone. I’d suggest downloading local copies through Google Maps for each city you will be visiting.

Iran does have a firewall and bars access to certain website and services. Before you visit make sure you have a VPN on your phone and laptop. I can confirm that NordVPN works on laptop but I didn’t test it on my phone. Windscribe is decent and you can get 10GB for free using a burner email. There are also other VPN services but you’ll need to download the .apk from Github and then find configuration settings to allow you to access the VPN service. I used Hiddify and a local kindly showed me how to set it up. V2RayNG is also another VPN service but I couldn’t get it to work.

Shiraz to Yazd, Persepolis Pasargadae Naqsh-e Rostam

Before I flew into Iran I booked a transfer from Shiraz to Yazd with a stopover to the three spots mentioned above through IransTravel, the cost was 68USD not including ticket entrance fees. If you do not want to pre-book such a transfer, you can easily find drivers in Shiraz around the sightseeing spots who will ask you if you need a transfer or day-trip to those places. It would be cheaper to sort this out once you’re in the country and this would follow for any day-trip type tours or transfers in-between cities.

Also, Thursday and Friday are the weekend days in Iran so you can expect shops to be closed in the afternoon and touristy sites or parks such as Saadabad Palace to be very full.

I won’t go further into the things I did in each city as this post would get rather long and would be an actual trip report. I’m happy to answer any questions regarding the above or any other questions regarding travelling in Iran. Hopefully someone finds this useful.

[Erikkkk]

Thanks for all the valueable information.

[ChrisFitz2024]

Incredibly helpful. Thanks.

Once you obtain the e-visa from 1stQuest what are the steps when you get to the Airport? Do they give you a document to bring with you or is the visa electronically attached to your passport?

[Edith]

Incredibly helpful. Thanks.

Once you obtain the e-visa from 1stQuest what are the steps when you get to the Airport? Do they give you a document to bring with you or is the visa electronically attached to your passport?

After obtaining the e-visa from 1stQuest, you receive a PDF document that you must print and bring with you. It’s not electronically attached to your passport like in the U.S. or Australia – you need to show this printout at passport control.

At the airport in Iran, you first go to the "Visa on Arrival" counter (if you didn’t collect your visa beforehand at an embassy). There, you submit the printed document, your passport, a passport photo (though they don’t always ask for it), and you pay the visa fee in euros. Then, you receive a separate paper document with a stamp, which serves as your visa – they don’t stamp your passport.

If your visa was already approved in advance, the whole process is fairly smooth – in my case, it took about 20 minutes I recommend having the exact amount in euros, as some places might not accept dollars or may have trouble giving change

[leconte]

2025 Feb Iran Travel Notes

Visa
I found a travel agent/guide https://www.facebook.com/saeed.ghodrati1 to apply.
I am from Taiwan.
Payment via PayPal: 19 GBP / 23 EUR / 25 USD.
Print the document and apply for a visa on arrival at Tehran airport: 110 USD + mandatory insurance fee of 14 USD.
The visa office will give back change in USD. Be sure to check for any damage on the USD notes.

SIM Card
There were no SIM cards available at the airport when I arrived around 8pm Friday.
MAybe its because of Friday is holiday.
Some people get one in city but later had their service suspended due to insufficient registration data.
I bought mine from Tehran Baharestan Heritage for 6 USD, plus 1 USD for 12GB of data.
It was the owner's personal SIM card because after logging into Snapp, I saw travel records from months ago. I guess that after I left, he will report it as lost and get a SIM replacement.

Snapp (Taxi App)
Can be used for intercity travel. Sometimes, drivers will call or message to negotiate a new price, which is common because some locals told me the app’s intercity prices are too low.
Can also negotiate stopovers with the driver, which is sitll cheaper than hiring a private driver from online/FB/IG/hostel.
Example: Isfahan → Shiraz 800 Toman (~10USD).

VPN
Sometimes, NordVPN works on hotel WiFi and stays connected when I switch to cellular network, but once disconnected or lost network, it won’t connect unless I return to the hotel.
Ended up asking other travelers about good VPNs during the whole trip. (Beepass, Turbo, WARP...)
JumpJump worked well in the last few days.

Currency Exchange
Exchanging money on the street isn’t particularly risky. At most, the guy I met first dont really has the cash, he will get someone to show up in a few minutes. So he’ll ask a 100 Toman (1.3USD) commission, which you can refuse to pay. Or pay him 50 Toman.
If staying for weeks, exchanging money onto a card can give an better rate of 300 Toman (3.5USD) per 100 USD.
For the card I recall Tehran Baharestan Heritage hostels charge around 20 EUR for card issuance, so it may not be worth it.
Avoid exchanging money at the airport—only exchange enough to cover a taxi to your accommodation. I got 3300 Toman for 50 USD. (2025/1/24)
Many hostels allow you to pay the next day after exchanging money.
Heritage Hostel also offers currency exchange, but the rate is 100-200 Toman lower than the street rate.

Accommodation
Regardless of any booking changes, it’s best to clearly specify the check-in and check-out dates.
Shiraz - Setayesh House: Owner's English is poor. My flight changed to the 7th, so I messaged him I will leave early (5,6,7 → changed to 5,6), but the owner misunderstood and thought I wanted to check in on the 7th, so I heard his suprise voice when calling him from the guesthouse the the place is fully booked.
Tehran Baharestan Heritage Hostel: Lively, great for meeting people. However, rooms are extremely hot deu to heating, and rumor says their bed sheets don’t get changed.
Isfahan Heritage Hostel: Poor facilities—broken bathroom doors, faulty showerheads, and only three communal male bathrooms. The wooden cabins use air conditioning instead of heating, offers privacy but can’t keep you as warm as a shared dormitory since some cold air keeps leaking into the cabin.
Kashan - Saraye Amir: Highly recommended, owner speaks excellent English and is great to talk to. 10 USD per night.
Qom - Mahsan Hotel: 1200 Toman for a double room (1000 Toman for one person). New and comfortable.
Shiraz - BB Hostel: 700 Toman per night for a private double room, but the bathroom is outside shared. Most of the time I only see 1 staff. Feels poorly managed, and dorms have no personal lockers or free tea.

Domestic Flights
Recommended booking via 1stQuest—credit card payments accepted, and pricing is transparent. Same price as Saeed’s (the guide helped my visa) quote.

Buses
Bought a bus ticket from Isfahan to Yazd (270 Toman + a 10% service fee) through Isfahan Heritage Hostel.
Possibly arrived late or went to the wrong terminal—missed the bus. Even the Yazd hostel owner couldn’t figure out from the ticket where I was supposed to board.
If traveling in groups of two or more, Snapp is a better option.
Bus stations are large, hard to find the departing bus, and taxis to the station can be delayed due to traffic.

Restaurants
Lamb is expensive due to import costs—one of the few items priced at international standards.
Braised lamb leg or lamb neck costs 10-12USD , and lamb chops(ribs) are even pricier (13USD+).
Some restaurants charge a 10% service fee or additional tax—if spending the last of your cash, check before ordering.

Rants on Tour Guides (Those were recommended by others, but I found them disappointing)

Nasser Khan (Tabriz, Kandovan, Babak Castle, Aras Valley, St. Stephanos)
WhatsApp：+98 914 116 0149
Email：[email protected]
His "tourist center" seemed privately run and possibly not official. He offered reasonable prices (20 + 60 USD) for two days.
58 years old, likes to lecture a lot.
Changed my itinerary. I planned Babak Castle, Aras Valley, St. Stephanos on 1st day (thinking might be some surprise on the long drive).
But he strongly suggest we go city tour and Kandovan on 1st day, and go to airport directly on 2nd day.
Due to bad luck, we had a minor car accident on the second day...
Although Nasser frequently taught me how to read Persian numbers, on 1st day there was a coffee shop price dispute
Charged 200 Toman(2.5USD) for a small Turkish coffee, later reduced to 100 Toman after discussion. Still ridiculous since the everything on the menu is 2 digits. I think my order is just 50 Toman, but Nasser said there were also chocolate and saffaron tea (which should be complimetary).
I guess Nasser didn't take any benefit from that coffee, but he handled it badly.



Mohsen (Kashan, Abyaneh, Natanz, Isfahan)
𝐈𝐆: @mohsentourisminiran
Spent too much time chatting with acquaintances.
Ignored me at Fin Garden to explain things to a random stranger for over 10 minutes.
Not fluent English, talked to locals in Abyaneh over 4 times and each time is long.
Buying his oranges but didn't try to introduce me more about the place (ex. popular roadside basil noodle)
At lunch I thought I ordered double kebbab but when we seat at the table I saw 2 plates sereved...and Mohsen thanked me for the lunch...
Seems its a 2 person meals not double Kebab. But I think Moshen and the restaurant staff should confirm with me.
Since the lunch cost on us was 660 Toman.
At the end od the trip I wanted to pay him in 45USD in equivalent Rials but he took out a 50USD note and wish I give him 100USD. And the 5 USD (~400Toman) extra as his tip.
He then asked the ticket he paid for me earlier in Abyaneh (150 Toman). I said cant you take that from the tip? He said he is so soory or maybe give him 100 Toman.
In the hostel other travelers said they spend only 20USD on the same route by booking a Snapp driver.

Shila (Yazd, Pasargadae, Persepolis, Necropolis, Shiraz)
Whatsapp：+98 917 701 8164
Because her lives in Shiraz, Shila initially offered 87 USD. I negotiated to 80USD.
The trip was on February 5th, and a few days before, Shila asked me if she could bring her parents along, and I told her about Mohsen’s condition, and she said that she wouldn’t do that. I agreed.
Turns out that her parents are 72 and 67 years old. They delayed the trip a lot, slow on going to the toilet, and took an hour to eat breakfast next to the car. If she had sense, she shouldn't even ask it....
Also, Shila might be a bit old, plus she's short, so it would be difficult for her to follow along while introducing the big area in Pasagadae.
In Persepolis she introduce very rapid. After giving a one-hour introduction, she went back to the car to wait for me.
(She told me that her parnets would find a car to go home from Persepolis , but they didn't).
When we were at Naqsh-e-Rostam (Necropolis), we missed a corner because I was not familiar with the area. After 30min I told her that I want to walk around it by myself and she could go back to the car. She did not remind me that there were two carvings at the end. I discovered them by myself.
Her introduction was actually no more than the commentary signs, and she would actually keep cutting into my direction, blocking my path, and blocking my views to take photos, I had to ask her to move several times. At the end of the day, we had to send her parents home and then pick up her cousin, which took me another half an hour to arrive in Shiraz city center. .......Then two days later she asked me if I could help bring 2 kg of pistachios and cream to Oman. Cream? She really need some common sense.

Conclusion: Just use Snapp.