Iran - Andrew Burke [95]
To get here ask any westbound shuttle taxi ‘Azadi?’, then walk north to the huge terminal. Or take Metro Line 2 to Azadi and walk further from there. The terminal closes at 11pm.
Prices indicated in the following table are for mahmooly/Volvo buses.
Minibus
A few towns in central Iran and nearby Caspian towns are linked to Tehran by minibus. Minibuses are about the same price as a bus and slower, but depart more frequently. They leave from designated sections within the eastern, southern and western terminals, depending on the destination.
Savari
Most towns within about three hours’ drive of Tehran are linked by savari, including Amol, Sari, Kashan, Qom, Qazvin, Zanjan, Rasht and anywhere along the way. Prices are two to three times higher than the cheapest bus tickets, but are often worth paying so you can leave almost immediately (only four seats need to fill) and get there quickly; an excellent option for day trips. Savaris leave from designated sections usually just outside the appropriate bus terminals. For example, for Kashan they leave from the northeast corner of the southern terminal, savaris to Sari and Amol leave from outside the eastern terminal, and anything west to Qazvin or Zanjan from the Azadi terminal. Just say your destination and ‘savari’ and you’ll soon be pointed in the right direction.
Train
Tehran is Iran’s rail hub and many services start and finish at the impressive train station (Map; Rah-Ahan Sq) at the south end of Valiasr Ave. Destinations and arrival and departure times are listed in English, and staff at tourist information (139) are walking timetables. For planning, use the excellent www.rajatrains.com website, which has up-to-date schedules and prices. Departures are punctual.
The train station is easy to reach in a shuttle taxi heading west from Imam Khomeini Sq; just ask for ‘Rah Ahan’.
SCHEDULES
The prices and days of departure in the timetable listed here are liable to change; in particular, daily services in summer may well become much less frequent in winter.
Note that trains to Mashhad vary considerably in speed, comfort and price. The Ghazal train (IR198,000, three daily at 5pm, 7.50pm and 8.45pm, 11 hours) is best, followed by the oddly named Train Set (IR197,000, daily at 7am, allegedly taking only 7½ hours), Sabz (Green, IR179,000, daily at 6.55pm, 11½ hours), Simorgh (IR179,000, daily at 6pm, 11 hours), Turbo Train (IR148,000/128,000, daily at 8.25am, 8½ hours), Delijan (IR145,000, daily at 9.30pm, 11 hours), down through a range of sleepers to the all-seat service (IR26,150) at 10.45am, which doesn’t arrive until 1am.
Prices shown are for 1st/2nd class unless stated on dedicated services only; it might also be possible to buy tickets to Yazd, for example, on the Bandar Abbas or Kerman trains – speak to the travel agent for details. For services to İstanbul and Ankara, Click here.
BUYING TICKETS
You can buy tickets a month in advance at a travel agency – those on Nejatollahi St, among others, can sort you out. At the station you can only buy tickets for travel on the same day.
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GETTING AROUND
To/From the Airport
Tehran’s two airports have vastly differing transport infrastructures.
IMAM KHOMEINI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (IKIA)
After almost three years of operations, public transport remains a stranger to IKIA. You’ll need to take a taxi. The price from the airport is a standard IR100,000, though hard bargainers might get it for a Khomeini (IR10,000) less. Going to IKIA the price depends on where you’re coming from. From north Tehran, for example, you’ll probably pay the full IR100,000, but from the south it should cost less. There are plans to extend Metro Line 1 (red) all the way to IKIA, but for now they remain just that – plans.
MEHRABAD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
The main domestic airport is nearer to town and better served by public transport. If you’re confident, public buses