Iran for a month in October

Adiboo

Just booked a flight to Iran for the 30th of September till 30th October, for myself. Travelling on my own, as usual.

Want to hit up the usual cities, Shiraz, Esfahan and Tehran, preferably a week each? I've heard Qom, Kerman are quite nice also. What other places are worth checking out?
For those who have been to Iran before, how long before the trip should I start working on the visa? Was planning on using iranianvisa.com.

Cheers.

RATM

The mountain village of Masuleh in the north near Tabriz is worth a visit. Chilled out place with some good hill walks. Its alot cooler than the rest of Iran too. Ahvaz near the Iraqi border has a cool ziggurat on its outskirts past the oil fields. The mud city of Yazd is also excellent for a few days.

You know there is an Iranian Embassy in Blackrock, right ? They might take visa applications by post which would save you going through an agency.

Either way you should apply for it at least 3 weeks before departure.

Adiboo

Aye, I know about the embassy. Just think going through an agency would be a safer bet.

How much money should I expect to spend - accommodation, train/bus tickets, food and shopping being taken into account?

RATM

Iran is filthy cheap, I mean its one of the cheapest countries in the world in which to travel. It ranks alongside those other ultra-cheapies Laos, Bolivia, Syria and Nepal. Oil is heavily subsidised by the govt. ( its around 4-5c a litre for petrol ) so that makes a lot of things there very inexpensive.

I spent a month there 4 years ago and barely managed to spend €500 in that time. Transport is for buttons and beds are very reasonable too. If you have a student/ISIC card then make sure to bring it- a lot of entrance fees will be half price or in the case of Persepolis, free.
Of course what helps travelling there remain cheap is in many ways the fact you won't be drinking:D

Adiboo

Is accommodation easy to find while backpacking there?

Adiboo

Bump.

RATM

Yeah it is. Every major town/city has guesthouses of some description. Most owners speak a little english, some are even quite fluent.
If you are on a real tight budget some places away from the big cities will allow you to sleep on a mattress on their roof for 50c-€1 or so.

Gaz

I got my visa issued in 24hours , rang the embassy, they sent me an application form, once i sent it back it was approved that day.

Tabriz is nice, especially the capadocia style cave homes up in the mountains, just rent a taxi for a round trip.
Tehran is hectic , my favourite part though was just getting on a motorbike taxi and seeing the city.
Esfehan and Shiraz are obviously great but make sure you get out to Persepolis ... its incredible, as are the tombs carved into the mountain side. Both can be visited on a day trip.

In a little over 2 weeks I spent 200, thats for everything. Lonely Planet is good for Iran, especially for the accomadation.

Now all you have to do is brush up on your Farsi !!

Adiboo

Thanks for all the answers. I'm sure I'll be back with more closer to the trip!

Can't wait for this one

Adiboo

Well this trip has been called off due to the recent violence in Tehran, at a loss of €200. Thanks Air France.

I appreciate all the travel advice given. I will get to Iran someday as it's on the list of countries I have to visit before I die, despite the rocky political situation.

breadmonkey

Adiboo wrote: »

Well this trip has been called off due to the recent violence in Tehran, at a loss of €200. Thanks Air France.

I appreciate all the travel advice given. I will get to Iran someday as it's on the list of countries I have to visit before I die, despite the rocky political situation.

Wow, I can't believe they charged you for cancelling the flight. I had a flight to Fiji changed for no fee because it had just been hit by natural disaster. Do you have any emails or anything from them?

RATM

Wow how come they cancelled Adiboo? I know theres a bit of grief there at the moment but arent you due to fly Sept 30th? As they say a week is a long time in politics and 3 months is an age. Things will surely have settled in another couple of weeks dont mind 3 months....

Why not re-book with Qatar- cost me €470 return a few years back, quality airline and they gave me a free stopover in Doha,Qatar ( which is really only worth a day or two) . If you do Id get an insurance policy that doesnt have any Middle East exemptions first though.