A few questions about the changes in Iran
Replies: 4 - Last Post: Mar 17, 2013 5:38 AM Last Post By: p800asia
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A few questions about the changes in Iran
In May we travel to Iran for a month, and I have the following questions:1. I read on a forum that from Febr 16 they raised the cost of entrance fees (4-5 times higher for locals, 30 times higher for foreigners). Is this possible? And if yes, does this mean all entrance fees or just special sights?
2. They say foreigners allowed into the country only via air, not land. What have you heard about this? We'd travel from Istanbul to Tabriz by coach.
3. Do you know if also the costs of public transportation were raised (bus, train, taxi etc)? If yes, with how many %? And is there a distinction between foreigners and locals here too?
4. Lastly, how about hotel prices?
Thanks for the answers in advance. If you have any important info, please share it with me.
lavanda1
1
Hi,1. Entrance fees for the attractions operated by the National Heritage Organization have been subject to the mentioned price increase. This includes most of the tourist attrications in the county. The new fees are 100,000-150,000 Rials (3-5$).
2. Foreigners are still allowed to enter by land on public transport (coach, train). Entry by private vehicles shall be authorized in advance when submitting the visa application.
3. Transportation prices are expected to rasie by May. There have been rumours on petrol price to increase by 2-4 folds. This will affect transportaiton prices.
4. Hotel prices are also expected to raise after 15 Mar.
All these price changes are the results of sharp devaluation of the Iranian currency over the last few months. So, these can not be really interpretted as price increase for foreigners. This is rather balancing the prices based on the recent currency changes.
I hope this helps.
3
Hi,We left Iran 2 days ago after one month in the country. With the price hikes mentioned above, the country will still be cheap, just not ridiculously cheap as it was. For 2 people, we spent about 10 euros per day per person, comparable to India. Obviously it depends on your budget, but for example some plain but clean 'mosaferkhaneh' can cost the equivalent of 4 euros for 2 (1 euro was about 42000 when we arrived and 50000 rials when we left) and 6-7 euros with bathroom attached; food can be as little as 1 to 3 euros for a meal (dizi is delicious and cheap); buses are excellent value and really cheap, generally 1 to 2 euros per trip in good coaches. Apparently the train is even cheaper.
Also, we were generally invited for dinner every 2 or 3 days (Iranians are incredibly friendly).
Obviously all this is terrible for locals as they are seeing their money losing value almost daily.
4
Most tourist attractions, museum and even parks have entrance fee. The locals normally pay something like 20000 rials. Foreigners have to pay 150 000. If you plan to visit 3 or 4 places a day, after a week or 2, it will add up.As of now, I haven't noticed they charge foreigners higher price for public transportation and hotels.
