Out trip so far...

Hi All

We are 2 weeks into our trip to Iran (this is the start of our Honeymoon!). We thought we would give some comments on our trip so far.

1 - Visa
We are Australian and we got our Visa through Key2Persia. The process was relatively simple. It took about 10 days to get the approval number we then sent our passports to the embassy in Canberra to get our visa.

2 - Currency
We have found that if you pay in Rials you will generally get a better rate for accommodation and travel due to the fluctuating currency. For example we have paid sometimes half as much as the amount quoted in USD when paying in rials. We have been getting around 35,000 rials per 1USD. We have found that prices are cheaper than what is quoted in the LP guidebook.

3 - Tehran
Highlights of Tehran were the Jewel Museum and the Artists Park and Vegetarian cafe which was a lovely place to chill out in a very busy city.

4 - Trekking in Alumut and Caspian
We organised a tour with Farzin of Caspian Trek. This has been one of the hightlights of our trip. Farzin has a great knowledge of the local region and was able to introduce us to many local people in the mountain villages. We most enjoyed eating the goats cheese straight off the shepherds in the mountains! We spent 3 days with Farzin and over those days covered the high mountains and villages, the lower forests as well as an amazing secret waterfall.

The start of our first days walk was in a place called Pichebon. We first got a private taxi to Gazor Khan (where we stayed the night) from Tehran which cost us about US$70. Cheaper (but potentially longer) way to get there would be transport via Qazvin.

5 - Esfahan
Not too much to add that other posts haven't already mention. Point to note - the actual travel time from Esfahan to Yazd was only 4 hours from the Jey terminal (not 5-6 per LP). Buses run hourly to Yazd from this terminal from 6am to 12pm.

6 - Yazd
We did a tour of the Chak Chaks and Meybood with a great guide Amir (can't remember his last name). He gave a good explanation of the historical and cultural features of each of the sites. He also introduced us to Dizzi which was delicious!

From Yazd we decided to stay over one night at the Farvadinn Inn (in the LP) in a small desert town called Fharaj. The guesthouse is run by Masoud and his wife. We intended to stay only one night but ended up staying on for two days to enjoy the desert offerings as well as chilling out in the modern (yet traditional) style guesthouse. We did a desert hike right through the sand dunes over to the nearby mountains where we camped overnight in a cave. It seems we bring rain everywhere we go but it was a really fun experience and another highlight of the trip!

7 - Security
No issues :-) As noted in many posts, Iranian people are the most hospitable and friendly people we have come across. Whenever we looked a little confused there was always someone there to help...lots of offers for dinners too!

8 - Transport
Buses are really efficient and roads are good. Recommend travelling by bus!

That is it from us, hope you have found some of this information helpful in planning your trip.