Bandar Abbas Getting there & around

Getting there & away

Land

Train

From Bandar trains run to Tehran, Esfahan and Mashhad, via points in between. The daily 1st-class train to Tehran (IR90, 000 for a berth in a six-bed couchette) departs at 2.15pm and, insh’Allah, arrives at 9am. It stops at Sirjan (IR29, 600, five hours) and Yazd (IR53, 000, nine hours), though the arrival time (around 11.15pm) isn’t that convenient.

The Ghazal trains offer meals and more luxurious four-berth couchettes. They run to Tehran (IR230, 000, 19 hours, 3pm) and Mashhad (IR230, 000, 22 hours, 3.30pm), both three times weekly.

An entirely different train goes to Esfahan (IR41, 700/66, 100 1st/2nd class, Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday), departing at 5pm and arriving at a rather unusually civilised 8.30am.

The train station is 8km northwest of the centre and you’ll probably have to charter a taxi (IR15, 000). Buy tickets in Bala Parvaz Travel Agency.

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Boat

Domestic services

Boats from Bandar to the nearby islands of Hormoz and Qeshm leave from the eskele (main pier), near the bazaar.

For Qeshm, you can make the 23km trip in an open fibre-glass speedboat (one way, IR14, 000, 40 minutes) or a slightly larger, covered speedboat with padded seats (IR20, 000, 25 minutes). If the seas are too rough for small boats try the ferry (IR25, 000, 50 minutes, daily), which leaves from the chaotic Shahid Bahonar docks, 5km west of the town centre. You can buy tickets from travel agencies or from the office of Valfajre-8 (555 5590; Eskeleh Shahid Bahonnar Blvd, near Jahangardi Crossroads), about 1km east of the docks.

Speedboats to Hormoz Island (one way, IR10, 000, 30 minutes) leave every 15 to 20 minutes in the morning, and less often as the day wears on.

International services

Valfajre-8 runs boats from Bandar Abbas to Sharjah (one way IR320, 000, eight to 11 hours, 233km), usually on Saturdays and Mondays though schedules are notoriously changeable.

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Air

Iran Air (333 7170; Beheshti St; www.iranair.com) is inconveniently located east of the centre; use Bala Parvaz Travel Agency instead. Iran Aseman (www.iaa.ir) and Mahan Airlines (www.mahan.aero) service international routes.

International flights

For the short hop to Dubai, you can choose from Iran Aseman (one way IR620, 000, 30 minutes, daily) or Iran Air (IR620, 000, twice weekly). Mahan Airlines flies to Colombo in Sri Lanka twice weekly, and to Delhi once weekly.

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