Pre-Trip Planning

Planning a route: For a long trip (word on shorter trips later), don't get too much into planning at home - just pick, depending on how much time you have, a few places and regions you want to see. What you often don't realize is that after several months on the road you can lack the passion for 14 plus hour bus trips or the money for internal flights to get to every 'attraction'. Equally many regions aren't as connectable on a budget as a world map might make them look. It's true that the happiest travelers are the most flexible.

Pre-Trip Planning

Entry:

What may not be taken into Iran?

 

On the basis of rules and regulation of I.R.- Iran, entrance of some goods and or its export is totally prohibited . some of those goods are as follows:

1-     Alcoholic drinks

2-     Gambling tools

3-     Weapons, ammunition and explosive goods

4-     Narcotic drugs

5-     Magazines, photos, film and snaps and those goods which is against religious and national dignity of the country.

6-     Any type of writings against the official region of the country and or discipline disturbance and public purity and national dignity.

The export goods is exempted of paying customs duties and taxes but paying the loading , unloading and warehousing is included .

Who will be denied the entry ?

Anyone without the valid passport, Iranian visa or other valid entry certificate
Anyone with a counterfeit or altered passport or anyone holding another person's passport or certificate
Anyone who refuses to accept the checks
Anyone who is deported from the country by the Iranian government with an entry-deny period
Anyone who is considered to be related to any activities of terror, violence and other antisocial behavior

Anyone who is drunk while entering the country

Insurance:

Whether you travel outside your home country on business or pleasure, any international trip may have some unforeseen factors, which may result in an accident. We suggest that all travelers take out travel insurance or any other insurance providing cover for your international travel. This will definitely protect you against any accidental events happening on your travels, including illness, injury, theft or other losses. The category of insurance you choose is dependant on your personal financial condition and requirements of course.

Pars Tourist agency can insure the travelers up to ......... EURO while charging you  ..... EURO per day. This may not be enough to cover any sudden problems that may arise during a tour. Therefore, some other kind of personal accidence insurance, purchased in your own country, is also necessary.

Health:

Pay attention to both your hands and mouth. They are two sources of bacterial infection. Better to wash your hands after returning from the outside, before eating anything and after sneezing or coughing. All the food you eat is suggested to be well cooked or heated. The fruits you eat should be fresh and peeled. Be careful when you eat any cold dishes and salads. Do not eat these at street food stalls. It is better to use drinkable bottled mineral water. Do not drink tap water as much as possible!

In Iran there is a variety of dishes, but eating some together may be problematic. While you don't know about the food you want to eat, try to ask an Iranian fellow.

Money Matters:

The Iranian official currency is the Rial. Rials are available in coins (50, 100, 250, 500 Rls.) and notes (1.000, 2.000, 5.000, 10.000 ,20.000 and 50.000 Rls.). Coins are marked just in Persian but papers are marked in Persian and English script and numerals.

Not any kind of credit card or traveler's cheques is accepted in Iran. Most of the tourists coming to Iran encounter this problem with their payments. So bringing cash is recommended!

The exchange rates may change quite often. Currency exchange costs are same both in Bazaars and exchange offices. One can exchange money in reputable exchange offices easier and sooner. Most of the valid exchange offices in the main cities are as follow:

Tehran: on Istanbul Ave.

Shiraz: on Zand Ave.

Isfahan: around Imam Square

In order to be updated about the currency rate, you can refer to the website of Iran Melli Bank www.bmi.ir

The following currencies can easily be exchanged at any money exchanger's:

US Dollars, British Pounds, Japanese Yen (hard currencies) and Euros. There are also other currencies available.

What To Bring:

Money: Just cash

Files and Documents: Passport, Visa, air/train ticket, ID certificate, destination map (if you have one), travel itinerary, address list
Personal Articles for Use: personal tooth brush, towels, bathing articles, contact lens solution, daily toiletries, comb, sun glasses, suntan oil, shaving items, disinfectant tissues and bandage

Others: camera, films, batteries, electrical converter, alarm clock (if needed), a pen and memo pad (to write down something important during your travel), necessary cold, indigestive and anti- allergic medicines, umbrella, etc.

Group Travel:

The simplest and most comfortable way of traveling to Iran at a reasonable price is in a group. Participants will have their itinerary, hotel accommodation and meals, and sightseeing program booked in advance. The price offered by Pars tourist agency will cover nearly all the expense occurring during the trip, so you will not have any additional costs except shopping.

As soon as you arrive in Iran, a tour guide supplied by the local travel agency will pick up you at the airport. He/she will accompany you in the future days and is in charge of taking you to the scenic spots.

All these guides are very competent, both in terms of organizing the trip and in their knowledge of the country and its sights, and their ability to communicate. They could deal with all kinds of situations and help you to avoid many difficulties, greatly enriching your trip in Iran.

Passport & Visa:

It does not matter how you intend to come to Iran, alone or in a group, we can get the Iran visa for you, only for 35 USD per person.
    Obtaining an Iranian visa for either an individual or a group is a three-part process:
-First, you will need to fill out our online visa request form Within 48 hours of submitting the form, we will confirm that we can secure a visa for you.
-Second, we will inform you when your visa has been granted and provide a reference number for you. This process usually takes 7 business days. You may then proceed to the consulate, complete some additional paperwork listed below and collect your visa.
-Third, confirm your arrival date in Iran with PARS and make payment for our service in our Shiraz office.

Pars Tourist Agency (P.T.A)

Zand Street 71358

Next to Iran Cinema

Shiraz, Iran

Necessary documents and fees required at the time you collect your Iranian visa at the Consulate:

1. You will need to fill out the standard visa application form at the consulate where you want to collect your visa.

2. You will need to bring two passport-sized photos of each applicant to the consulate (Women need to have a photo in which their hair and neck should be covered with a headscarf) Here is a sample photo:

3. You will need to pay the standard visa application fee to the consulate where you collect your visa (this fee varies depending on your nationality). The payment is usually made to a local bank near the consulate.

4. Your passport and visa will generally be available the afternoon of the same day you or the next day.

Note: PARS Tourist agency charges a separate $35 fee for our service in securing the visa.

Important Notes:

1. Some countries have more than one Iranian consulate while others have none. Please specify the exact consulate in which you would like to pick up your visa. You may click on the link above to find a list of consulates.

2. We will take appropriate actions in order to extend your visa if it will expire during your visit, once you are in Iran.

3. Visas for Malaysia & Singapore nationals will be issued upon entering Iranian.

4. Visas for all C.I.S countries, except for Russia & Armenia, will only be issued at the Iranian consulates in their respective C.I.S countries.

5. We will do our best to secure your visa and take care of all the necessary details; however the final decision rest with the government of Iran therefore we cannot guarantee when and if a visa will be granted.

6. Your passport should be valid for at least 6 months.

Exit:

Again you are required to present the valid passport and Iranian visa when exiting from the country. All travelers should leave the country within the allotted stay-period marked on their visas.

The international airports in Iran are as follow:

1.Imam Khumeini International Airport (Tehran)

2.Mehrabad International Airport (Tehran)

3.Shiraz Airport: It has flights to many Arab countries

4.Mashhad Airport: It has flights to countries north of Iran.

5.Isfahan Airport: It has flights to some Arab countries.

6.Tabriz Airport: It has flights to countries north of Iran.

For more information go to www.cao.ir.

On surface, you can go from Iran to Turkey through Bazargan and Seru, to Armenia through Julfa, to Azerbaijan through Astara, to Turkmenistan through Bajgiran, to Afghanistan through Sarakhs and to Pakistan through Mirjaveh.

if you have the time, why not even try to travel without an ultimate return ticket - or at least make sure dates can be changed with ease.

Here are some general advices on your pre- trip planning to any where in the world,

You will soon realize where the tourist trail is (the easiest and most convenient way to see all the sights) and follow it, making modifications where you want. Most itineraries are just that - dots on a map of places people would like to see or things they'd like to do, then joined up by the cheapest most convenient transport options. Maybe your desired route comes from places/regions you'd always wanted to see, are interested in or simply sound romantic/adventurous to you. You'll do a bit of research with guidebooks, the internet and hopeful the list below and add a few more to your list and equally realize which routes are feasible and which are not so, then finally do a bit of tweaking for current events and weather patterns

'Why?' is a excellent question to ask yourself when planning - What is the purpose of this trip? It's not that your trip really needs a purpose: it just can give you some focus. Why do you want to travel? Are all your friends doing it? Are GAP years in vogue? Have you always wanted to see x, y or z? Do you feel it is your only chance before you start working/have children? Do you want to see as much of the world as you can? Do you want to have a good time and party? Do you want to volunteer somewhere? Do something unique and maybe really exciting and adventurous? Get on/off the beaten track? It can be as simple as wanting to be experienced or to chill out.

Give it some thought - think what might blow your hair back. In addition, look at the list of places categorized under various headings that follow, even getting to a few of these will leave a lasting impression. Please don't feel led into going somewhere just because your mates said it was great or it sounds really 'exotic' or 'cool'. Such places are often the most predictable and touristy or conversely, the hardest work/money for limited reward (Timbuktu being a great example).

And of course it is always good to get a bit of everything, even the bad and ugly mixed in with the good! Few trips are plain sailing anyway.

If starting with little idea or a blank sheet of paper, good advice is to use travel brochures to get an idea of what countries look like (pictures), time scales and the easiest routes between interesting sites; useful information is also often included (weather, embassies, dangers, etc) STA travel and other student travel agencies produce free booklets that are great for flicking through. The problem is simply that there is just so much to see.

Limited to a shorter few week trip? For the record if you are reading this and have weeks not months to travel in, this shouldn't deter you. Sure you need to plan a little more - pick one or two destinations and remember a few internal or regional flights and a little bit more money, lets you cover a lot in a short time-frame. It's not uncommon to see and do more in a few weeks that some long-term 'backpacker' achieve in a month!

However if you are lucky enough to have the time, then pick a couple of regions and plan to spend a few days in each, of course being flexible to stay longer or move on faster. Plain and simple, caprice is a great thing to have.

It's only natural that many travellers will want to see as much as possible in whatever time they have and plan a meticulous, rigorous schedule to do so. But in such a manner you will get unstuck as totally effective planning is never possible and certainly not when sitting at home. Have a rough idea about where you want to go, what you want to see and how much time you have. From there adlib a little, taking days and their circumstances (festivals, unrest, visas delays, food poisoning, bus fatigue, hearing about somewhere new, etc) as they come - quality not quantity.

That said you can still travel fast and see a lot if you want. One breed of traveller will get pretty bored sitting in the same place for days on end and want to keep moving and see more and more. Most common is to rush around sights and then all of a sudden, when finding the right place, take a good rest and enjoy what's there.

The other breed of traveller you will come across - maybe you are one of them - tend to spend weeks in any sort of resort with good prices and facilities. These traveller's hang-outs are all over the globe and a great place to relax for a while, but not months! The main reason, and one that perhaps many of their residents might not admit to, is that travelling is hard work. No one likes sitting on buses, but that's how you get places and independent budget travelling on the whole is not about or conducive to relaxing. If you want to get the most out of your trip and make it the best value for money, to a certain extent you do have to be determined to push on. Travel as hard or fast as you like, just don't set any standards in your planning stage at home - things change.

Lonely Planet's: Read this First and Rough Guide's: First Time series are excellent planning tools with clear overview maps, routes and highlights marked.

See a list of all useful planning guidebooks here (if you are going to purchase any, doing so through this site is appreciated). Guidebooks by themselves with all their practical information, are not so good in the original planning stage. The Let's Go series are among the best guidebooks in the planning stage.

Also recommend by many is a computerised atlas on such as MS Atlas or even Google Earth - useful tools for checking out distances, pictures of interesting landscapes/places, political borders, topography and running word searches on place names unknown to you.