My wife, my son (4) and I travelled in Iran for the past month or so. I offer some fresh info that will be useful, I hope, to fellow travelers about to visit Iran.
Before I start, let me say that Iran is a great destination. The country is beautiful and the people are incredibly hospitable. These are cliches but they hold up in reality. Iranians are truly nice with tourists. They are helpful, honest and ready to talk. We were invited in many homes for memorable lunches and conversations. Use common sense when dealing with the multiple requests that you will receive and you are certain to make nice encounters with real iranians (in contrast to sellers of carpets, etc.) Sometimes we have met people who are almost too nice (insisting on paying everything beyond tarouf politeness requirement, offering transportation to remote destination for free, etc.) which made it hard to do things on our own! Most people we met are at pains to tell us that they are not terrorists (we told them that we knew that already) and that they do not hate americans (we are canadians but who cares!).
1-The visa validity period issue:
Many have asked whether the alloted time of your visa (say 30 days) must be spent within the limits of the validity period found on the visa (i.e., usually 3 months period). What I provide here is purely anecdotal, but we had no problem leaving the country even if we left after the end of the validity period (about 2 weeks after) but within the 30 days that was allowed by the tourist visa.
One important point: a policeman on the road from Kerman to Shiraz controlled our bus and asked to see our visas. After examining it, he claimed that our visas were expired. In a friendly but firm manner, I told him that the visa required that we enter Iran within the validity period and left after 30 days...and that I was within this time frame. He let us pass. One hotel in Tehran asked the same question. No other hassle about the visa.
2-Info about hotels.
We stayed at the following hotels and guesthouses (breakfast included everywhere except at Anvari =12000 rials)
Khayyam hotel in Tehran (next to Ferouzeh): 370 000 rials get you a room with 3 beds and a complete bathroom + AC. The neighborhood where the hotel is located is pretty grim unless you are into tires and mag wheels. The room was clean but a little rundown. The hotel has seen better days but they are renovating (meaning that we had to deal with nasty paint thinner smell). Manager speaks English and is helpful, if a little money hungry. Do bargain for the price of the room. Laundry service is very cheap (3$ for a big bag) compared to other places we visited.
We had planned to stay at Ferouzeh but it was full. I had called earlier and was told they had some space. Let's say I was not happy to be told there were no free room at 2 am when we arrived from Paris. Over the phone, the day manager (the very helpful person everyone raves about) told me that he had not replied to my email reservation and I should have assumed there was no room. However, I told him that because I had no reply from the hotel and I had called and someone one (the night manager) had said there was a room. Moral: (1) Deal with the day manager, not the night manager, (2) They will not send you a mail to tell you that they have no room. The day manager arranged our stay at Khayyam.
Kashan: Sayyah hotel.
400 000 rials get you a 3 beds, bathroom, and ac. Clean, well organized and close to the bazaar. The manager helped us book a tour at Abayaneh and get info for our trip to Esfahan. There are two other hostels on the same street. The very spartiate one the LP talks about was pretty rundown (first hand knowledge). The other whose name begins with a G is okay from what I have heard from other travellers in Yadz.
Esfahan: Persia hotel is similar to Sayyah in amenities but more hostel like. Location is not so great (lots of traffic) but you are within 2 km of the Imam Place. Laundry is expensive (10$ for a small amount) but the mom and son duo on the night shift were nice enough to help us avoid such fees ;-)
Yadz: Silk road hotel. Very nice place. For 280 000, you get 3 beds and bathroom in a nice old house right next to the Jameh mosque and the old town. The courtyard is very nice. While we were there many interesting people lived there which made for some nice evenings in the courtyard. Helpful staff but you need to be proactive with them. We took the desert trip they organized and it was worth it. Nicest place we stayed in Iran. Next door there is the equally nice Orient but the social seen is more subdued (at least while we were there).
Kerman: Jalal's guesthouse or B&B. Accommodations in Kerman are expensive in my book. Hotels run in the 600 000$, so we decided to stay at Jalal's B&B. I am not a fan of B&B normally. My experience here did not change my opinion. The place is okay, clean, and Jalal is not intrusive. The price is a little steep however: 40$. Because you are living in someone else's home, there are some limitations obviously. Jalal organizes a desert trip to Kalut. The destination is incredible, but the price is high (130 $ for 2). You get up at 3 am and reach the desert at 6. The sun rise is beautiful and you have breakfast. You cannot stay too long because the heat is unbearable; we left at 9 am. We spent the rest of the day visiting Rayen and Mahad, which are okay. We were initially told that 130$ got us a private tour. In the morning, someone else joined us...but we still had to pay the same price. One of the most expensive place of the trip and I don't feel it was worth it.
Shiraz: Anvari hotel. Everyone seem to stay there. Very good price (260 000) for a room with 4 beds (200000 for 2 beds). First place with hi-tech ac that works to north american standards. The woman working at the desk is very helpful, which compensates for her boss. We had asked for 3 beds, but we were told that we had to wait the second night of our stay to get it. After the first night, we talked to the manager who curtly told us that no such room was available. A little miffed, we returned to our room, but the nice woman followed us to say that they had a room with 4 beds available for 260 000 and that we could take it if we wanted. Try to deal with her!
Tehran: Iranshar hotel: We decided to treat ourselves for our last few days. 670 000 rials get you a double bed and a single bed in this 3 stars hotel in downtown Tehran next to Ferdosi square and metro. Wireless network is a nice perk when it works. Breakfast is a little disappointing if you get up late; after 9h30 it is bare and at 10h00 they pack it up!
3-Food
Food is still fairly cheap but it is hard to go beyond kebab. Plan around 60000 to 150 000 rials for two. Often we ended up ordering only one plate of meat because portions are huge. We are vegetarians at home, but we decided to take a break for the trip and it made things much easier. Vegans must have a really hard time in Iran given the omnipresence of yogurt, eggs, etc.
Avoid the Seraya sushi in Tehran. The LP said it was great, but it is not (anymore?) and very expensive for what it offers.
People eat late (8-11pm) so expect most restaurants to be closed until 7h30.
4-Transportation
Still very cheap to travel in Iran. Bus rides are mostly under 10$ with decent comfort. Train is also cheap and a lot of fun (Yadz to Kerman). Plane is less cheap than it was and booking well in advance has become mandatory if you want to select your dates. Flights are often delayed we are told; we experienced this first hand in Shiraz where our 12:15 am flight was delayed until 5 am.
Taxi rates vary a lot from city to city. Do bargain but prices have gone up because of inflation. We paid 180000 to get to the airport from downtown Teheran to IK international airport. 60000 from Merhabad to downtown (we paid inside the airport at the counter). We had one lousy driver who tried to make us change hotel (Tehran, Merhabad); others were nice and honest. The driving in Iran is crazy; hold on tight and enjoy the ride!
Do use the subway in Tehran. It is cheap, pretty fast and it has AC.
5-Buying stuff
We did not buy carpets or other local products except food. Sorry...
6-Traveling with a kid.
Iranians love children. They would stop us in the streets to kiss him and give him candies. In restaurants and hotels, they welcome children with open arms. Do go in parks and meet families. Iranians love to picnic late at night with their children meaning that parks are full until 10 or 11 pm. They love children so much that it makes it hard sometimes to discipline your own kid. Whenever our boy would cry because we had disciplined him, someone would come to give candies, take him in his-her arms, etc.
A stroller is useful and very usable. We bought a little scooter in Esfahan for our very active boy and he was zooming everywhere in no time.
Traffic is the main danger for kids in Iran. Be very careful
If you have additional questions, ask them in the thread and I will try to answer them for the next few days.
Steve
