Iran - practical tips before you go
I will share some practical tips for a trip to Iran. They reflect the situation as of December 2018. How do you get there? How do you get a visa? How do you make sense of the local currency and where should you change money? What about dress and etiquette? how do you use the internet and how much does it cost to use your mobile?
1. Visa
You need a visa for Iran. You can get one in Poland or obtain it at the border. I opted for the latter. Why? Firstly, the procedure at home is not that simple at all and, secondly, it is not necessarily the cheaper option. I was put off by the two-stage procedure, in which you first have to apply for an "authorisation" required to apply for a visa, and then for the visa itself. Since many people hire outside agents to obtain the "authorisation", once you take their commission into account it works out at more or less the same cost. At the embassy you pay 50EUR + the agent, and at Tehran airport 75EUR. This is roughly how it went at Tehran airport. Unfortunately, what I had read beforehand turned out to be true: there is no way of predicting how long it will take to get a visa at the airport. Although there were not many people in the waiting room - some dozing, others getting irritated - it took me about 1.5 hours.
When I left, some of those who had been ahead of me were still waiting to be called. Passports, together with proof of insurance and a form handed out and filled in on the spot, are passed to a "hostess-dispatcher", whose role cannot be overestimated. I was in a group of 4 people with the same passports, the same hotel booking and the same insurance. Nevertheless, one of the passports was returned "for clarification". And this is where our "hostess-dispatcher" proved invaluable: with a slightly raised voice she explained to the official that "everything is in order and he should stop fooling around" (my free translation from the Persian language of gestures). So it is a bit funny and a bit scary, but I can confirm that I have not heard of a single Pole being refused a visa, and that is what matters most. It seems that the key thing on the form is giving the phone number of the person looking after you in Iran, your driver or the hotel where you have a booking (in English it is described as the "host mobile number"). It seems these calls really were made from the back office, despite it being 2 a.m., because some people had to give a different number, as theirs "was not suitable". Much is written about the need for the insurance certificate to state clearly that "Iran" is a covered country. As our insurance did not meet this requirement, since it used the wording "all countries of the world", we obtained a document from the insurer confirming that the policy covered the "territory of Iran". And here a small problem arose: I had the impression that our benefactress, the "hostess-dispatcher"......didn't know the word "territory" and for a moment suspected some kind of trick. But it was all quickly cleared up in a relaxed conversation. In fact, I had the impression that the phone number of your host mattered more than insurance for Iran. Iranian insurance can be bought at a window near the "visa centre" for 14EUR, valid for as long as 31 days.
The visa is electronic, virtual, so nothing is stuck or stamped into your passport. For this reason you are asked not to go to passport control until "the system has refreshed". I, of course, ignored this advice, and the border official could not see the visa I had been granted in the system; he swore under his breath and let me in on the strength of the receipt confirming that I had paid the said 75EUR for the visa (a blue slip issued at the bank window opposite the consular window). The blue slip is also sometimes required by hotels, which are confused by the fact that they can't see a visa in your passport.
2. Flights
I had been preparing for a trip to Iran for several years and hunting for a good deal. During that time I noticed that the best offers came from Pegasus and the Ukrainian national airline. The former has its hub in Istanbul, the latter in Kyiv. On dates that suited me, I bought a ticket with a Ryanair feeder flight and a connection in Kyiv for about PLN 500.
3. Dress and Etiquette
It really is true! The moment the plane landing in Tehran touches the runway, all the women put headscarves on. Multicoloured, tied in different ways, not covering their hair at all, but on their heads nonetheless. And that is how it stays for the whole of your stay in Iran. Likewise, on the way back, the headscarves come off just after take-off, or even on the bus taking you from the terminal to the plane. As for men, they dress in shades of grey, brown and black. For comfort I took a fleece, a red fleece. I didn't see a single man wearing anything in that colour. Perhaps it is different in Tehran, where people may "experiment" more with clothing, but in smaller towns, and especially in the traditional pilgrimage city of Qom, casual European clothes bring a smile to people's faces. It is a smile of curiosity, but also of pity. Short sleeves and shorts are said to be frowned upon, but I was there in December (temperatures from -2 to +17), so long sleeves were a must anyway.
Women do not shake hands with men, nor men with women. One day, sticking to these conventions, we greeted wedding guests who were celebrating at our hotel. There was no end of effusiveness, mutual smiles and handshakes, but nobody could touch a member of the opposite sex. If someone from our cultural background had watched the scene, it would probably have looked hilarious.
4. Cards and Money
With credit and debit cards things are very simple: ours don't work in Iran. You have to pay cash. If you are accompanied by a driver or a guide, they can pay with their card and you settle up with them. You can bring dollars or euros and change them at exchange offices. Black-market money changers stand outside them, but it is better not to risk it. In any country, such under-the-counter exchange carries a high risk. The exchange rate fluctuates a lot; the Iranian rial was losing value fast, in other words Iran was getting cheaper by the day. In December 2018 you got about 100,000 rials for 1 dollar.
Of course, as in Poland before the redenomination (at one point we "cut off" 4 zeros), amounts are quoted in a simplified way. Instead of "one hundred thousand" people say "one hundred", because everyone knows it means "thousand". Sometimes a "virtual" currency called the "toman" is used. It doesn't exist anywhere, but a price given in tomans is the price minus one zero. Some banknotes have two denominations: on one side the current one, and on the other the one that would apply if a redenomination were carried out. In general, it is quite hard to get the hang of at first, but people are honest, and over time you get an idea of what things cost.
5. Accommodation
My stay was short, and I spent each of my three nights in a hotel. Hotel procedures are standardised, just as we are used to. Check-in at reception, buffet breakfast, bathroom, air conditioning and so on. The only exception is that you have to hand in your passport for safekeeping; it will be returned after you check out and the staff have inspected the room.
Something definitely worth recommending is the option of a 6-hour stay at the airport hotel in Tehran. The airport is about 50 km from the centre of the capital, and planes often take off at dawn, so this option is definitely worth recommending. The familiar Novotel and Ibis are in the same complex. In either of them you can stay for those few hours and pay a fraction of the price.
At the Novotel you pay $23, at the Ibis a few dollars less. You reach the terminal in a 10-minute walk across a convenient footbridge over the motorway.
6. Prices
Iran is generally cheap, though not always. The weakening local currency helps, as you get more and more for a dollar or a euro. What are the prices like? An ordinary meal for two costs about $10, admission to a tourist attraction $2, the "Abbasi" hotel in Isfahan $80 for a double with breakfast on special offer, and the "Negin" hotel in Kashan $35, also with breakfast. Both are converted caravan inns, so-called "caravanserais". The first is known throughout Iran for its sumptuous decor and garden courtyard. A coffee in a hotel costs $1, and a freshly squeezed pomegranate juice in a good café $2.5.
Sometimes you pay absurdly little......in the village of Abyaneh, for 5 warming cups (4 teas and 1 coffee), plus a biscuit each and sweets to share....1 dollar in total.
7. Internet
To connect with the whole world you need a VPN (Virtual Private Network). This add-on app encrypts your internet connections so that the server doesn't know which country you are connecting from. In other words, connections coming from Iran are not blocked. I used ExpressVPN. Another advantage is that for the first 7 days you use the free trial version.
8. Traffic
City traffic is governed by a certain law. The law of the jungle. Although Iranians do obey traffic lights at junctions, some behaviour will make your blood run cold. Pedestrians have no say. You have to plan your crossing so that your path is not on a collision course with a moving car. You can be sure that a car will not slow down, and when you cross on green at a zebra crossing, it will drive at least halfway onto it. The only consolation is that Iranians drive slowly and rarely use their horns.
9. Phones
In December 2018 Orange charged 8 PLN a minute for outgoing calls and 5 PLN for incoming ones. An SMS cost 1.5 PLN. You can buy local SIM cards at Tehran airport, but I didn't. I sent one or two text messages and switched off mobile data.
I hope these tips will be useful when planning your trip. Having to pay cash always and everywhere, women having to wear a headscarf and the need for a fairly expensive visa are certain inconveniences. The rest is pure pleasure! Iran is not that far away, and its exoticism, landscapes, buildings, culture and people will stay in your memory for a long time.
