Iran is a country in southwest Asia and in the Middle East. Its official name is the Islamic Republic of Iran and its capital is Tehran. Its vastness is 4.7 square kilometers (7th in the world) and, according to the latest statistics, it has a population of about 74 million, with about one million being added each year.
Iran as a land and a nation of history and is one of the most historic countries in the world. Iran is known as the capital of rhinoplasty and has a lot of clinics for eye surgery and hair transplant.
Here are 11 Tips for Travel to Iran.
1. Ethnicities and Languages
Iran is made up of many ethnicities including Azerbaijani, Kurdish, Lur, Bakhtiari, Baluch, Mazandarani, Turk, Arab, Armenian, and Jewish, etc. They speak more than 75 different languages and dialects that The most important ones are Persian, Turkish, Kurdish, Lori.
2. Entering the Country
With Airplane
One of the most important tips for travel to Iran in entering. Most of Iran’s cities, including Tehran, Shiraz, Isfahan, Tabriz, and Mashhad, have international airports that host daily flights from various countries.
By Train
The train departs from Istanbul each week, crossing from Ankara and Lake Van to Iran and Tabriz and then to Tehran. Travel time from Istanbul to Tehran is approximately 70 hours.
From Syria
The train departs from Damascus, then arrives in Turkey and, after stopping in Turkey enters Iran, Tabriz, and Tehran. The Damascus to Tehran trip is approximately 55 hours.
From Afghanistan and Iraq
The Tehran-Herat and Khorramshahr- Basra train route is under construction.
By Car
You can travel to Iran with your own car through countries that have a land border with Iran (Turkey, Iraq, etc.). Of course, if you can translate your International Certificate into Farsi by the relevant agencies, it can make your trip easy.
By Bus
From Armenia
Good buses come from Yerevan to Tabriz and most of them go to Tehran.
From Turkey
You can go to Iran from Istanbul, Ankara, and Antalya by traveling to Tehran for about $ 35.
From Iraq
Buses run daily from Erbil to Orumieh, as well as from Sulaimaniyah to Sanandaj and Kermanshah.
From Afghanistan
Bus from Herat to Mashhad daily Go from Herat to Islam Castle and come to the Docharoon border and from there to Mashhad, this road is made and secured by Iran.
3. Within the Country
You can travel within any city of Iran by taxi, bus, subway or personal car. Of course, you must have international certification to use your personal device.
4. Talking
Talking is one of the tips for travel to Iran that you can easily solve it by hiring a translator. The official language of the people is Farsi (Persian) and can be spoken in almost all cities of Iran. In the big tourist cities of Iran (Shiraz, Isfahan, Tehran, Kish, etc.) a large number of people can also speak a little English.
5. Money
Iran’s money and exchange are very complicated that is important to know about it before traveling to Iran. The Iranian currency is Rial, but the general public is using Toman. The difference between Rials and Tomans is in their zeros.
For example, 100 Rials equals 10 Tomans.
6. Foods & Drinks
In Iran, lunch is usually served between 1 and 3 pm and dinner after 8 pm. Alcohol and pork are also forbidden in Iran. Every city in Iran has its own traditional food but in all cities of Iran, you can find delicious food such as Kabab and rice. Iran also has delicious desserts that are kind of soup called Ash. Traditional breads such as sangak, lavash, and barberry can also be found in Iran.
International Food and Fast food
In every city, you can enjoy quality international restaurants such as Chinese, Japanese, French, Italian and order food from them. Also, Iran has a large number of fast-food with great variety and quality.
Fruit and Sweets
Every city in Iran has its own traditional and delicious pastries. Everywhere in Iran, you can easily access natural pastries and fruit shops and buy them at very cheap prices.
Beverages
You can find all kinds of non-alcoholic drinks in every corner of the cities.
A popular Iranian drink is tea, which is eaten with sugar slices called ghand. Coffee is also widely found in Iran, as is French and Nescafe.
A variety of tasty fruit drinks are sold on many streets in the form of cherry juice or cantaloupe juice, and other beverages that mix milk and bananas that are considered Shirmooz.
7. Safety Tips
In Iran, crime is low and it is safer than many Western countries. the emergency number is 115, the police office number is 110 and the Fire Stations number is 125, and they know English at least a little other than Persian. Iranians are not opposed to European and American countries and instead, they are very kind to European guests and want to be associated with them. The atmosphere inside Iran is very calm and friendly.
8. Women
There is not much difference between Iranian women and the rest of the World. Women like men can go anywhere and even dress like Westerners.
9. Respect
The Iranians are friendly and warm and help the foreigners in any way. Don’t call them words like Arabs or Muslims because they are not Arabs and their Islam differs from other places.
10. Dress
The most important tips for travel to Iran especially for Women is dress and Hijab. A woman should cover their hair with a scarf as well as their wrists and ankles. You may be told to wear a Chador when entering Muslim religious sites. Removing shoes in most homes is also common and may be disrespectful to you because they also care about cleaning.
11. Behavior
And the last tips for travel to Iran that is very unusual is that If you encounter an Iranian couple, just shake hands with your same-sex partner and never do it with a non-same-sex partner. When you encounter a couple, look less at your asexual eyes.
Iranians are very polite, for example, when they enter a room and say, go first, this action called Taarof and means they respect you, for example, even if an Iranian worker who does a job for you is complimented when he receives his salary. And some times when you want to pay for some things, they say: be my guest, and it is most of the time just for the compliment and you can just say thanks and pay the price.
