Iran - Andrew Burke [0]
Getting Started
Itineraries
Snapshot
History
The Culture
Arts
Food & Drink
Environment
Tehran
Western Iran
Central Iran
Persian Gulf
Southeastern Iran
Northeastern Iran
Directory
Transport
Health
Language
Glossary
The Authors
Behind the Scenes
World Time Zones
Map Legend
Return to beginning of chapter
Getting Started
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WHEN TO GO
COSTS & MONEY
READING UP
INTERNET RESOURCES
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WHEN TO GO
When deciding when to go to Iran you must first work out where you’d like to go. Temperatures can vary wildly: when it’s −5°C in Tabriz it might be 35°C in Bandar Abbas, but for most people spring and autumn are the most pleasant times to visit. At other times, the seasons have advantages and disadvantages depending on where you are. For example, the most agreeable time to visit the Persian Gulf coast is during winter, when the humidity is low and temperatures mainly in the 20s. At this time, however, the more elevated northwest and northeast can be freezing, with mountain roads impassable due to snow. Except on the Persian Gulf coast, winter nights can be bitterly cold, but we think the days (often clear and about 15°C in much of the country) are more pleasant than the summer heat.
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Climate Charts for more information.
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DON’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT…READING THIS FIRST
The best preparation for visiting Iran is to read as much of the front and back chapters in this guide as you can. If you can’t read everything, at least read the following:
How do I get a visa and how long can I stay? Click here
Credit cards and travellers cheques don’t work. Bring cash. Click here
This money is confusing. Rials or toman? Click here
Prices will be higher than what we have in this book; Click here and Click here.
How do Iranians think? Read about the National Psyche, Click here.
Is he really giving me that for free? See the boxed text Ta’arof Click here.
As a woman, what should I wear? Click here
Books to take with you (see Reading Up, Click here).
There is not much you can’t buy in Tehran or the other big cities, though the selection can be limited. Things you should consider bringing:
Sunscreen and a hat
A head-lamp
A short-wave radio
A universal plug
A small stash of toilet paper (to be replenished throughout the trip)
A phrasebook and pictures of your family to better communicate with your new Iranian friends
A couple of decent books to soak up the free hours at night and on transport (but nothing with pictures of scantily clad women on the cover)
Earplugs for when you’ve finished reading and want to sleep, or if you’d prefer to sleep than watch that Bollywood flick on the overnight bus
Tampons: they’re hard to find, so if you use them it’s worth bringing enough to last the trip
There’s just one more important thing: try, as much as possible, to leave your preconceptions at home.
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And when we say ‘heat’, we mean it. Between May and October temperatures often rise into the 40s, and in the deserts, southern provinces and along the Gulf coast, very little is done between noon and 4pm or 5pm. For women, who need to wear head coverings whenever they’re outside (Click here), summer can be particularly trying.
Seasons & Holidays
Iran has two main seasons. High season begins with the mass national movement accompanying No Ruz, the Iranian New Year holiday that begins on March 21 and runs for two weeks. During this period cities such as Esfahan, Shiraz and Yazd are packed. Hotels in these cities and resort destinations, such as Kish Island, charge their rack rates, and finding a room can be harder than finding a stiff drink in Qom. But it’s a great time to be in Tehran, which is virtually empty.
No Ruz also marks the annual government-mandated price rise in hotels, usually about 20%, and in most of the country a change in opening hours. For the sake of clarity, in this book when you see ‘summer’ opening hours it refers to the period from March 21 to mid-October. Mid-October until mid-March is ‘low season’ (referred to