Travel in Iran with Kids
Hi everyone. I'm writing this blog because I recently travelled to Iran with my wife and young kids. While researching the trip beforehand, I found it a little difficult to get an exact idea of what to expect when travelling there with kids. The aim of this blog is to try to put people's minds at ease and share a few tips that will hopefully help future travellers plan their trip. I will try to keep it brief and to the point.
Tip #1 - Stay at Homestay / Hostels
This is probably the biggest and most important tip, because if you do this from the start, everything will take care of itself. As most visitors to Iran note, the people there are unbelievably friendly and hospitable, and I believe this is especially the case if you have children. Instead of spending hundreds of dollars on ok accommodation at a hotel, spend 20 - 50 dollars on a homestay and get wonderful service, delicious breakfast and travel tips galore.
We flew to Tehran and stayed at Iran Cozy Hostel. They picked us up from the airport, helped us with SIM cards, future travel plans, travel tips and nothing was too much trouble. It really felt like home and set the tone for the rest of our trip. If we had've stayed in a hotel, we would've woken up on Day 2 and been clueless about how to go about things.
Other places we stayed include Anar Guesthouse in Esfahan and Nartitee Ecolodge in Yazd (well, 20km outside of Yazd) and I can enthusiastically recommend both of these places as well.
Tip #2 - If your country is eligible, get a Visa On Arrival
So glad I did this. In researching, I found conflicting information about how easy this was, and the official advice seemed to be "organise it beforehand". However, this would have involved exorbitant fees and multiple trips to the Iranian consulate to drop off and pick up passports, just to get a code showing that we have applied for a visa or something. No thanks. You can do it at the border and it's very easy and saves you paying all the fees just for the peace of mind of doing it beforehand. I read this blog, which convinced me to just do it at the border and I'm glad I did. I think it cost us quite a few hundred dollars less to do it this way, plus two trips to the consulate. Just make sure you have the address and phone number of the first place you're staying. And cash, which brings me to Tip #3.
Tip #3 - Bring cash
Bring as much cash as you need for the whole trip in either USD or Euro. If you lose your money, there's apparently no way to get it back from an international account. HOWEVER, I did spot a desk in the lobby of Hotel Abbasi in Esfahan, which offered money exchange and had the Visa sign out the front. So maybe it can be done.
Tip #4 - Take buses and trains
The VIP buses are large, comfortable and cheap. What more could you want? We also took the overnight train fro Shiraz to Tehran and that was a lot of fun.
Tip #5 - Download Snapp before you get there
Snapp is the Iranian equivalent of Uber and it's what most of the locals use. I tried to download it while I was there but didn't work due to network restrictions, I think. My VPN worked on my computer but stopped working on my phone for some reason, so I wasn't able to download it while I was there. However, some of my hosts used it to order a car for me and it was much cheaper than taking a taxi.
Tip #6 - Join the Facebook group 'See You In Iran'
This is a great page and is full of people with tips on places to go and stay. If you have any questions ahead of your trip or while you're there, ask them and you'll get a quick response.
Tip #7 - Don't stress about the dress
I mean, obviously if you visit Iran you need to obey the law and wear a hijab if you're a woman, but it only has to be worn loosely and you'll see people pushing the limit as far as they can, especially in Tehran. I know it's not great (and yes, I'm a man so not entirely qualified to comment) but it's a condition of entry and you'll know before you go if you're going to be able to tolerate it or not.
As an aside, many people mentioned to us that they don't like wearing it and sort of apologised for the strict rules in their country. All I can say is not everybody loves the rules there, and it seems that many people identify more strongly as Persian than Muslim. So while it may be an inconvenience for you while you're there, feel for those who don't like and have to live with it every day.
Tip #8 - Relax in crowds
As it may be obvious that you're not from round these parts, you'll most likely get a lot of attention when in crowds, especially if you have young children (Iranian men in particular just dote on the young ones). My advice would be to just relax and engage with the people you meet. Unlike in some popular tourist places, the attention came from genuine curiosity and a spirit of helpfulness, often accompanied by a smiling, "Welcome to Iran. You are welcome here. Let me know if you need any help". At first, I wondered if something would be for sale at the end of it, but no, people were really just that friendly. So relax, say hello and enjoy the hospitality.
Tip #9 - Just go
You may be wondering if it's such a great idea to go to Iran after the 75th person asks "Isn't it dangerous?" or makes a joke about terrorism or something. Don't listen to them. It's a wonderful experience that you'd be robbing yourself of if you didn't go just because people who know very little about a country have very strong opinions about it.
Tip #10 - Eat lots of soft cheese
It's delicious.
If you are considering going to Iran and have any questions, feel free to ask below and I'll do my best to answer.
Tip #1 - Stay at Homestay / Hostels
This is probably the biggest and most important tip, because if you do this from the start, everything will take care of itself. As most visitors to Iran note, the people there are unbelievably friendly and hospitable, and I believe this is especially the case if you have children. Instead of spending hundreds of dollars on ok accommodation at a hotel, spend 20 - 50 dollars on a homestay and get wonderful service, delicious breakfast and travel tips galore.
We flew to Tehran and stayed at Iran Cozy Hostel. They picked us up from the airport, helped us with SIM cards, future travel plans, travel tips and nothing was too much trouble. It really felt like home and set the tone for the rest of our trip. If we had've stayed in a hotel, we would've woken up on Day 2 and been clueless about how to go about things.
Other places we stayed include Anar Guesthouse in Esfahan and Nartitee Ecolodge in Yazd (well, 20km outside of Yazd) and I can enthusiastically recommend both of these places as well.
Tip #2 - If your country is eligible, get a Visa On Arrival
So glad I did this. In researching, I found conflicting information about how easy this was, and the official advice seemed to be "organise it beforehand". However, this would have involved exorbitant fees and multiple trips to the Iranian consulate to drop off and pick up passports, just to get a code showing that we have applied for a visa or something. No thanks. You can do it at the border and it's very easy and saves you paying all the fees just for the peace of mind of doing it beforehand. I read this blog, which convinced me to just do it at the border and I'm glad I did. I think it cost us quite a few hundred dollars less to do it this way, plus two trips to the consulate. Just make sure you have the address and phone number of the first place you're staying. And cash, which brings me to Tip #3.
Tip #3 - Bring cash
Bring as much cash as you need for the whole trip in either USD or Euro. If you lose your money, there's apparently no way to get it back from an international account. HOWEVER, I did spot a desk in the lobby of Hotel Abbasi in Esfahan, which offered money exchange and had the Visa sign out the front. So maybe it can be done.
Tip #4 - Take buses and trains
The VIP buses are large, comfortable and cheap. What more could you want? We also took the overnight train fro Shiraz to Tehran and that was a lot of fun.
Tip #5 - Download Snapp before you get there
Snapp is the Iranian equivalent of Uber and it's what most of the locals use. I tried to download it while I was there but didn't work due to network restrictions, I think. My VPN worked on my computer but stopped working on my phone for some reason, so I wasn't able to download it while I was there. However, some of my hosts used it to order a car for me and it was much cheaper than taking a taxi.
Tip #6 - Join the Facebook group 'See You In Iran'
This is a great page and is full of people with tips on places to go and stay. If you have any questions ahead of your trip or while you're there, ask them and you'll get a quick response.
Tip #7 - Don't stress about the dress
I mean, obviously if you visit Iran you need to obey the law and wear a hijab if you're a woman, but it only has to be worn loosely and you'll see people pushing the limit as far as they can, especially in Tehran. I know it's not great (and yes, I'm a man so not entirely qualified to comment) but it's a condition of entry and you'll know before you go if you're going to be able to tolerate it or not.
As an aside, many people mentioned to us that they don't like wearing it and sort of apologised for the strict rules in their country. All I can say is not everybody loves the rules there, and it seems that many people identify more strongly as Persian than Muslim. So while it may be an inconvenience for you while you're there, feel for those who don't like and have to live with it every day.
Tip #8 - Relax in crowds
As it may be obvious that you're not from round these parts, you'll most likely get a lot of attention when in crowds, especially if you have young children (Iranian men in particular just dote on the young ones). My advice would be to just relax and engage with the people you meet. Unlike in some popular tourist places, the attention came from genuine curiosity and a spirit of helpfulness, often accompanied by a smiling, "Welcome to Iran. You are welcome here. Let me know if you need any help". At first, I wondered if something would be for sale at the end of it, but no, people were really just that friendly. So relax, say hello and enjoy the hospitality.
Tip #9 - Just go
You may be wondering if it's such a great idea to go to Iran after the 75th person asks "Isn't it dangerous?" or makes a joke about terrorism or something. Don't listen to them. It's a wonderful experience that you'd be robbing yourself of if you didn't go just because people who know very little about a country have very strong opinions about it.
Tip #10 - Eat lots of soft cheese
It's delicious.
If you are considering going to Iran and have any questions, feel free to ask below and I'll do my best to answer.
Hi Nick,
ReplyDeleteI'm not a parent but still enjoy reading this. I will travel to Iran myself next month and also staying in Iran Cozy Hostel for the first 3 days in Tehran.
About the soft cheese though, I never read it mentioned in SYI. Where would I find it? Is it eaten as it is like string cheese, or as side dish like in a salad or something?
Keep writing. Your blog is nice, simple, to the point.
Best regards,
Fred
Hi Fred. Thanks very much. Hope you got something out of it. As for the soft cheese - don't worry, you'll be served some on your first morning at Iran Cozy Hostel, along with some fresh bread, home made jams , eggs, tomatoes, etc. You won't have to buy any yourself, as it's part of a traditional Iranian breakfast. Delicious. I couldn't get enough.
DeleteI hope you have a a great trip (I'm sure you will).
Thank you for emphasing again that you just need to go..like you write almost everyone is looking at you with a strange and scary face if you tell them you are going to Iran,alone. I booked Iran cozy hostel too in a few weeks time, coincidently, good to hear that's a good start!
ReplyDelete