An American in Iran
 

Last month I spent 20 days on a private guided tour of Iran. It was an amazing, fascinating experience, made much more so by the current political climate between the US & Iran. I was fortunate enough to have obtained my tourist visa in late December (2016), such that the retaliatory ban on US tourists didn't apply to me. I later learned that my visa was the last that my tour company was able to procure for an American.

Don't expect to find any discussion of airport lounges, biz/1st class food or fancy resorts here. I don't have status with any airline, and all of my travel is self-funded in economy. I'm by no means knocking those who are fortunate to be able to travel that way, but I simply don't have that opportunity. I flew Lufthansa from the US, via Frankfurt to Tehran. It was a fairly typical European carrier experience, nothing especially great or awful. Amusingly, my flights between the US & Frankfurt were more than 75% empty in economy. I asked the flight crew about it, and they said that basically no one flies to Europe in winter.

Iran as a whole, appears to get very little tourism, even from its own citizens. It was a common occurrence to be the only (or one of just a few) visitors to a site. Part of this may have been due to the fact that I was there during the low season (February), but my (government mandated) guide told me that most of the sites were not all that much more busy even at the peak of the tourist season in the Spring or Autumn.

Much of this trip was partly inspired by a trip report ( http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...americans.html ) posted last year, and I am grateful to them for all the details that they included.

The Iranian people were uniformly friendly, welcoming & generous. At no time did I feel unwelcome or in any danger. I was incredibly fortunate to have a spectacular guide (if interested, please PM me for his contact info), who seemed to have contacts & friends everywhere we travelled. Additionally, my guide repeatedly invited me to spend time with his family (his sister's birthday party), and close friends' homes in other parts of the country. Everywhere I went, people were curious where I was from, and knowing my nationality only increased their interest to interact with me. I had numerous fascinating conversations, which almost always started off inquiring about the (current) ban on Iranians to America and/or the why President Trump has said or done things. After that the conversations drifted off in many directions, and it was never anything but friendly & cordial.

Before I dive into the details of my itinerary, and photos from the trip, I should take a step back and provide some info about the process that I went through to put together this trip. In addition to the trip report referenced above, I spent hours researching the country. I knew that I was limited to about 20 days (excluding travel time to/from home), so that was the biggest factor that controlled what I could see. My research focused on what I wanted to see, where I wanted to go, etc, but I was never sure how much time was required. I knew from the beginning that if I was required to be on a guided tour, I wanted it to be a private tour, such that I had full control over where I spent my time, without having to cater to the interests of others. In some ways that increased my options, but in others it limited them. Here's a summary of the tour companies that I contacted, and my experiences with them during that process:

* RO Nature: What originally attracted me to them was their multi-day desert expeditions. I could only find a small number of reviews of them, all of which was very positive. However, they were slow to reply to me. They kept trying to talk me out of doing the type of private tour that I wanted, claiming it would be too expensive (without providing a quote). When they sent me an alternative tour, I replied with questions, and they never replied to me again after that. No clue what their issue is, but I got the impression that they just didn't want to work with me for who knows what reason.
* Iran Travel Service: They had lots of positive reviews, but my experience trying to work with them was utterly disappointing. They were very slow to respond to emails (many days, versus less than 24 hours for the others below). When they responded, they seemed to be attempting to coax me into doing a group tour, or one of their pre-designed tours, rather than what I explicitly told them I wanted. Eventually they just stopped replying to me, and I gave up.
* Let's Travel to Iran: they were super friendly & easy to work with. In fact, they seemed a bit too easy, as they agreed to anything & everything, and were consistently less expensive than the others. It go to the point where I grew concerned that they were just telling me what I wanted to hear, and then when I arrived it was going to be a massive disappointment in some way. To be clear, this was just a gut feeling, I don't have any specific issues with them.
* Key2Persia: this seems to be the 800lb gorilla of tour companies that lots of people use. They were ok to work with but their quote for the tour was nearly 30% more than the company that I used, which is what ultimately disqualified them.
* UpPersia: this was the company that I ultimately used, and it was definitely a spectacular experience. Absolutely no regrets, they delivered on everything that was promised, and my guide, Mehdi Gharib, was absolutely amazing throughout. At no time did I feel rushed, there was adequate time to do & see everything. Mehdi made the tour incredibly personal, even inviting me to his family's apartment for his sister's birthday party, and taking me to friend's apartments to hang out. He was always suggesting random places to go just to explore (a bakery, a henna factory, random ancient ruins on the side of a road, etc). He had contacts everywhere we went (hotels, historic sites, restaurants), and was simply the consummate guide in every way. Without hesitation, I'd insist on Mehdi for any tour of Iran.

A brief discussion of monetary matters. Due to the fact that Iran is effectively disconnected from the global banking system, its impossible to use (non-Iranian issued) credit or debit cards in Iranian bank ATMs. As a result, I had to bring all of the cash that I needed with me, into the country. My tour included everything except lunch & dinner (and any other discretionary items that I wished to purchase). I ended up spending just under US$400 on food & incidentals, which works out to less than US$20/day on food. I ate quite well. Food is relatively cheap. Unless you have specific dietary restrictions or typically spend a lot on souvenirs, Iran is definitely not an expensive destination.

My official itinerary was as follows (quoted directly from the contract that the tour company provided):

Day 1- Tehran-Feb. 3-Fri: See Iran National museum Visit Golestan complex and its tiled and mirrored palaces and enjoy its fresh gardens.
Day 2- Hamedan-Feb. 4-Sat: Drive to Baba Taher tomb. Baba Taher is a renowned Persia poet. Then drive to visit Avicenna tomb. Avicenna is a renowned Persian Philosopher and doctor. Later drive to the Hegmataneh pre-Islamic town and museum. Afterwards drive to the Jewish prophet tombs of Ester and Mordkhai. Then drive to Ganjnameh to visit Achaemenid inscriptions.
Day 3- Khoramabad-Feb. 5-Sun: Falak-Allaflak castle, Broken bridge, Museum of Anthropology
Day 4- Ahvaz-Feb. 6-Mon: Drive to Ahvaz.
Day 5- Ahvaz-Feb. 7-Tues: Drive for an hour to get to Susa (Shush) and visit Achaemenid Apadana palace, Susa museum and Danial Nabi tomb (Prophet Daniel). Then drive to Choghzanbil Ziggurat and visit this Elamite registered world heritage Ziggurat from 1300 BC. Later drive through the Hafttape sugar cane farms to visit Haft Tappe historic hill and museum. Afterwards drive to Shushtar town and visit another registered world heritage site, Shushtar waterfalls and also visit the historic dams over the big rivers going through Shushtar.
Day 6- Shiraz-Feb. 8-Weds: Driving to Shiraz, visit the ancient Sassanid city of Bishapour, Fire Temple and Bas Relief en-route. Visit Vakil mosque and Zand complex.
Day 7- Shiraz-Feb. 9-Thurs: visit Nasir-ol Molk Mosque,Shah Cheragh shrine , Ali-Ebn-e-Hamzeh.
Day 8- Shiraz-Feb. 10-Fri: Drive to Persepolis and Necropolis (Naghshe Rostam), and unearth the ruins of two architectural masterpieces and world heritages.
Day 9- Qeshm-Feb. 11-Sat: Qeshm island Geopark, Tang-e Chahkoo,
Day 10- Qeshm-Feb. 12-Sun: gold wells, Namakdan cave, Harra sea forest
Day 11- Bandar Abbas-Feb. 13-Mon: visit Hindu temple, Galledari mosque and Hammam
Day 12- Kerman-Feb. 14-Tues: Drive to Kerman to discover how people adapted their life to a desert city surrounded by mountains. Visit Ice house.
Day 13- Kerman-Feb. 15-Weds: Get acquainted with Sufism and mysticism by visiting Moshtagh Alishah tomb, uncover Iranian old style hammams in Ganjalikhan hammam of Kerman, and see Kerman Jame mosque and its majestic Persia structure. In the afternoon drive to Mahan. Meet Sufis who have travelled a long way to pay homage to their Sufi master Shah Nematollah Valiin his shrine. Laze in Shahzadeh Gardens.
Day 14- Kerman-Feb. 16-Thurs: Drive to Rayen and spot the imposing deserted citadel of Rayen. Then drive to Shahdad and visit Kaluts. Visit Shafeiabad castle
Day 15- Yazd-Feb. 17-Fri: Drive to Yazd and get into the mysterious world of Zoroastrians by visiting their fire temple and towers of silence there. Admire people of Iranian plateau by visiting Yazd water museum and learn about the underground water canals, Qanats.
Day 16- Yazd-Feb. 18-Sat: Gaze at the high minarets and nice brick and tile work of Yazd Jame mosque and visit the marvelous Islamic Amirchaghmagh complex. Visit Yazd fortress. Saryazd and Zeinodin Caravansary.
Day 17- Isfahan-Feb. 19-Sun: Drive to Isfahan. On the way visit Narin caste in Meybod . Proceed to Isfahan. Get acquainted with the historic Royal square of Isfahan registered as a world heritage. Visit picturesque Royal mosque, Sheikh-Lotfollah mosque and Aliqapoo palace.
Day 18- Isfahan-Feb. 20-Mon: Ponder on the breathtaking Armenian Vank church In Isfahan and marvel around Isfahan Armenian quarter, Jolfa. Stroll aside Isfahan River and admire the masters who built several bridges over it through the history. Visit Jame mosque and Chehelstoon.
Day 19- Tehran-Feb. 21-Tues: Drive to to Tehran airport for departure


If I had to pick a few absolute highlights, I'd say Saryazd and Bishapour. Both far exceeded my expectations. I had them essentially to myself (no one else was there), and it was like exploring an undiscovered ruin, still largely intact.

Here are some selected photos from the trip:

https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2902/3...cae469ab_b.jpgJameh Mosque, Yazd

https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2920/3...0a5b285a_b.jpgSheik Lotfollah Mosque, Isfahan

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/653/33...8bc84e2e_b.jpgCold

https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3693/3...ff0eb207_b.jpgAli Ibn Hamzeh Holy Shrine

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/721/33...23f30cfd_b.jpgBishapour

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/625/33...1729e382_b.jpgShiraz Bazaar

https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3754/3...2a01a268_b.jpgShapouri Bridge, Khorramabad

https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2934/3...05e67d2a_b.jpgPersepolis

https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3747/3...ebd6ebae_b.jpgKaluts

https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3884/3...7407d993_b.jpgNasir Ol Molk (Pink) Mosque, Shiraz

https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3936/3...ebc3530f_b.jpgSentry, Qeshm

https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2881/3...f448866d_b.jpg"he united us unlike any other"

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/622/33...b8b05310_b.jpgChogha Zanbil Ziggurat

https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2868/3...f5f69e1f_b.jpgShah Mosque, Isfahan

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/759/32...aafd6d2b_b.jpgFresh bread, Yazd

https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3948/3...bbe4f670_b.jpgSar Yazd

I've posted the top photographic highlights from the trip

This is incredible! And how special you got to visit at such an interesting times, politically speaking.

I would absolutely love to go to Iran, and have no real concerns on safety. I just wish the travel process (e.g. Visas) was a bit easier, even if only in terms of how expedient.

Thank you for sharing, and might I add, you have some beautiful photos.

To be honest, the visa process was much easier & faster than I expected. I'm not sure if I was lucky, or my tour company had special connections. I got the visa approval number the 3rd week of December, and got my passport with the visa back on December 30. I entered Iran on February 3, so the I had the visa more than a month early. I realize that's a much better experience than others, but I'm not sure why.

I'm glad you enjoyed the photos. To be honest, I had some really crappy weather for nearly 8 straight days (you'll notice clouds in some of the photos), and it made photography very challenging. Apparently Iran was experiencing unusually wet weather (due to climate change), and there was severe flooding in some parts of the country.

Looks like an epic trip through Iran, netllama, very jealous:)! Iran is a place I definitely want to go see and experience alot more of.

Great report and love the photos. Some of the mosque photos are stunning.

I don't need to see info about airline lounges or photos of caviar and Krug. I've seen tons of that. Show me a place I haven't been or that is out of the norm and I love it.

Well done.

Excellent TR - thanks so much!!

Did you get any trouble or special interrogation from CBP agent when you arrived back in the states informing him that you had your holiday in Iran?

What a fascinating journey! A very neat report with stunning photos of an amazing country .

Ah, if only they could abandon extremism and rejoin the rest of civilisation :(

beautiful photos. I peek into your blog and it's very sleek. complimente!
can you disclose how much the rate of your packaged tour?

to be honest, I am interested to go to Iran for some time, but with US travel ban, it's got more complicated than ever before. I keep hearing things that US visa application would be impossible if we entered the banned countries. I also remember reading Dwight Yorke barred from entering US after official noticed Iran stamps in his passport. to complicate the matter more, I happen to be muslim although not from the banned countries.

it's a shame the state of world we are living. Thai and Airasia often have a good fare to Iran ex-Southeast Asia and we kept missing that due to reasons I state before...

Surprisingly, nothing. I was only asked two questions ("How long were you in Iran" & "Are you bringing any produce back from Iran"), and then I was done.

It was about US$5700.

Netllama, gorgeous pictures! How great that you were able to photograph the Pink Mosque while it was empty. It's interesting that you saw it as having little tourism, as I was actually pleasantly surprised at how many tour groups I saw when I went there in early November. It definitely wasn't crowded like the top international hot spots, but there were a decent number of tour groups from Europe, other parts of Asia, and the US. Shiraz and Esfahan also seemed popular with Iranians from other parts of the country.

Did you get to climb either of the Towers of Silence?

Yup, and I was the only person up there the entire time:

https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3948/3...86df7557_b.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2883/3...6f5e7bfb_b.jpg

Wonderful TR and photos ^. Thank you for sharing.

Incredible, netllama. Thank you!

Very interesting- thanks!

Wow, you climbed the tower with the much longer walk up? I salute you. We looked at that one, said "no ma'am" and happily followed our guide to the other tower. There were still a few other tour groups around that day so if you had the whole place to yourself January must be when things really quiet down.

I'm enjoying the write-up on your blog.

Great report and great photos. Thank you for taking the time to post. Hopefully, the chance for US citizens won't be lost for too long.

Excellent report!! I myself almost had a chance to go there, but I had to cancel it because of some hiccups in booking the ticket.

Hope to go there anytime soon. Thanks for the report and great pictures of Iran.

The walk wasn't all that much longer. The incentive was having it all to myself, so it was worth it.

Glad you're enjoying the trip report.

While I was still in Iran, the rumor was that the ban on Americans would be lifted in the summer, assuming no more "provocations" from Trump. I have no clue what the forthcoming "new" ban on Iranians will do to those plans.

I doubt visiting Iran as a tourist will affect your chance of getting a US visa. I entered the US at three different border checkpoints over the last 2 weeks and had no issues whatsoever despite my previous recent travel to Iran, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Iraq etc. My US visa interview was also all of two questions despite disclosing all my previous 'exotic' travel.

People from visa waiver countries will have to apply for a US visa if they travel to Iran. A bit of an inconvenience but they will typically give you a 10 year B-1/B-2 visa so saves having to apply for the ESTA every 2 years though.

Dwight Yorke got denied entry into the US because he did not follow the rules, i.e. his previous visit to Iran made him ineligible for the visa waiver program and he should have applied for a US visa in advance (like myself).

Great pics and writeup. Wanted to read more but the link to the blog is apparently broken (404): http://netllama.linux-sxs.org/llamaland/?p=2155

Also, did they stamp US passports?

My cousin and I spent a year in Iran, when his father worked for Bell Helicopter, we lived in Tehran in June 1978- Sept 1979. It was a great time to be in Tehran the people and food were incredible. Watching the Movie Argo was interesting, since that is how my Uncle got out of Iran, as he was stuck in Iran when the American Hostages were taken.

I'm not able to reproduce the 404, and I see many people loading that page without issues. I'm guessing something is wrong on your end perhaps?

Yes, they stamp US passports on both entry & exit. They also put a full page visa sticker in there, so there's absolutely no way that it wouldn't be obvious that you travelled to Iran.

I wonder if you will get that dreaded SSS on your boarding passing moving forward when traveling in the US

I'm guessing you mean SSSS ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second...ning_Selection ) ? Anyway, I'll find out this week, as I'm flying out of the country on business for a few days.

Really glad to hear someone actually read my trip report. :)

Sounds like you had an amazing trip, and you're lucky you took the opportunity and went when you did. The cost of a private tour makes it expensive to go for a long time, and I wish we could have spent even more time there. I'm glad you were able to go for so long.

Your experience with the various tour companies sounds familiar. The level of professionalism certainly isn't there for some of these companies. Glad you had a great guide and many authentic experiences with the locals.

We've never had SSSS on our boarding passes in the 10 months since our Iran trip. Not that we're hiding anything, but I don't think the US has it anywhere in their system that we went to Iran. The CBP kiosk knew we were coming in from Doha on a QR flight. They no longer use the blue forms where you write in the countries you visited.

nice to know, thanks for this information.

CBP definitely knew I was in Iran. The agent asked me how long I was in Iran.
While many airports have converted over to using the electronic kiosks, not all have. The airport that I flew into (SJC) has the kiosks, but they were not powered on, and I was forced to complete the stupid blue form.

Very interesting, thanks for sharing the report. Agree with the above, it's nice to see new places more than repeats of lounges. Although I am curious your route with 75% empty in Y. I am in Y often and it always feels like 115% full, I'd be happy to take flights with a few empty seats around like they used to be.

Well, VirginAtlantic from LHR to SFO was mostly empty for me back in November, and Lufthansa in both directions between SJC & FRA was mostly empty in February. If I was lucky, then it was the best luck i've had in a long time.

Really nice report!

Not to hijack this amazing Iran TR, but DanielW, I hope to read your TR about coming to USA 3 times within a 2-week period!! I'm quite impressed and intrigued!

I returned from Mexico last night. No SSSS issues, although US CBP at SFO was super unhappy with the Iranian visa in my passport, and marked my entry form with "BGC" (Background Check). That resulted in me getting sent to secondary interview, where they interrogated (harassed) me for nearly 30 minutes, while searching through my bag.