Iran - Andrew Burke [241]
Shayan International Hotel ( 442 2771; Sahel Sq; r/ste with breakfast US$110/280, cabana US$75; ) Shayan means ‘gorgeous’ and when it opened as the Shah’s beachfront hotel in 1973 it was the best on the Gulf. It hasn’t changed much and the angular architecture and sea of sprayed concrete have acquired a bit of retro cool. Rooms, most with balcony, are holding up fairly well.
Dariush Grand Hotel ( 444 4900-95; www.dariushgrandhotel.com; Dariush Sq; r from US$145; ) This ostentatious, Achaemenid-style monument in marble is arguably Iran’s best hotel, though if don’t fancy Vegas-like theme places it might feel over the top. The service, 192 rooms and suites, restaurants and facilities are all very good.
Roodaki Restaurant (off Sanaee Sq; meals from IR15,000; 11am-2.30pm & 6-10.30pm) Between the cheap apartment hotels and the beach, the Roodaki serves cheap, pre-prepared curries and Philippine cuisine.
Payab Restaurant ( 0934 769 1213; Olympic Blvd; meals IR45,000-70,000; 8pm-1am) Above the underground water reservoir, the Payab is cool and romantic in the evenings and the food is delicious. It offers fresh bread, big serves or fish, kabab or dizi (soup-stew). Extras (like chay) are expensive.
Getting There & Away
Most people fly into Kish, but you can get there by boat from Bandar-e Charak or Bandar-e Lengeh; see Boat (below) for details.
AIR
Several airlines fly to/from Kish. Book ahead and reserve your onward ticket before you arrive.
Kish Airlines ( 442 3922; Sanaee Sq; 8am-8.30pm Sat-Thu & 9am-12.30pm Fri) flies to Bandar Abbas (IR245,000; 40 minutes, six times weekly); Tehran (one way IR567,000, 90 minutes, at least twice daily); Esfahan (IR417,000, one hour, daily) and Shiraz (IR253,000, 45 minutes, three weekly) and has occasional flights to Mashhad. It also flies six times daily to Dubai (one way US$80, 30 minutes), plus regular flights to Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.
Iran Air ( 442 2274; Sanaee Sq) has less-frequent flights to Shiraz, Esfahan and Tehran, and Mahan Airlines (www.mahan.aero) flies twice weekly to Kerman.
BOAT
Leaving Kish by boat is ridiculously bureaucratic. On this trip it took us 30 minutes to get questioned at passport control, get the paperwork allowing us to leave, have it photocopied three times in the restaurant, then go outside to the car park to buy a ticket on the speedboat to Bandar-e Charak. And we didn’t even have any goods to declare.
Valfajre-8 shipping links Kish with Bandar-e Lengeh (one way IR120,000) – when Kish is busy enough to warrant it. As we have discovered, this means there are as many as six packed boats (with families in tents on deck) during No Ruz, but just a few weeks later no services at all. When they run, catamarans make the trip in about two hours, but the bigger Ro Ro ferries take about five hours. Catamarans usually leave about 10am, insh’Allah (if God wills it). Buy tickets at the port or a travel agency.
The alternative, often the only alternative, is the open speedboat to/from Bandar-e Charak (IR40,000, 45 minutes). For details of the Charak end, Click here. From Kish, they leave from sunrise until about 4pm, though most are in the mornings when conditions are usually better.
Getting Around
You will probably need to charter a taxi from the airport for about IR15,000.
Excellent air-con minibuses (IR1000) cruise the northern and eastern roads. (Buses are for seated passengers only, ie standing is not allowed.) From the boat terminal, you can crowd onto a local minibus or take a private taxi. Chartering a taxi costs about IR60,000 per hour.
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BANDAR-E LENGEH
0762 / pop 23,000
Bandar-e Lengeh (or ‘Lengeh’) to the locals) is a lethargic place and most travellers stop only long enough to get the boat to Kish. It is typical of the mixed Arab and Persian communities of the southern Persian Gulf, with Sunnis and Shiites speaking Arabic, Farsi