Hi all,

This is essentially a repeat of a message I left on Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree bulletin board, so apologies for anyone who has already seen my message there.

Basically, Iran: I want to go there, I'm in the process of investigating all the bits and bobs involved but really would appreciate any help, large or small, on this.

1) Visa

From the net, I'm getting mixed messages about what needs to be booked ahead (or not) - is this the case?

Is it easier to get a visa via a travel agency versus the local Iran embassy? If so, can someone recommend a travel agency?

2) Money

Cash is needed for Iran. If we exclude shopping for luxury items and intercity travel, how much is required for "daily living" over two weeks?

I don't want to walk around Iran (or anywhere else) with a big wedge of cash in my pockets that would be best kept in my bank.

3) Travel

Can anyone give me info / estimates / sources for the cost and travel time for intercity travel in Iran?

I'd prefer to avoid travel by plane if possible.

Thanks one and all in advance for your help.

Stephen

I haven't been to Iran for several years, so bear in mind that some info that I'll give may be out of date, but since your questions are general my answers will be general, too.

* Visas. You don't say what your nationality is, but you shouldn't have difficulty getting a visa by applying as an individual. I've always applied as an individual. It's possible that they are being tighter with visas these days, but they never used to discourage independent travellers.
* Costs. Iran is safe and you can carry money in cash and traveller's cheques with you. It's also inexpensive as any guide book will tell you. I reckon you'd be surviving quite nicely on, say, GBP35 a day, covering all expenses.
* Travel. I can understand your wanting to avoid planes, but bear in mind that Iran is a large country and if you want to use buses (which are efficient and run more or less to schedule, unlike in some Middle Eastern countries), you are going to be facing quite a lot of long, possibly overnight journeys. I remember doing Shiraz-Bam, for example, which took 15 hours plus, but that's quite an extreme example. Still, major cities like Shiraz, Isfahan and Mashhad are all widely scattered. Again, see any guidebook for transport details. The one airline I might want to use is Iran Air, whose domestic flights haven't been affected by crashes to my knowledge, unlike most other airlines. But in general I personally don't have much time for Iran Air and for your flight into Iran I'd use another airline.

Hope this helps.

Richard
www.myspace.com/rltl

(sorry, have just edited above message)

Excellent, thank you.

Further to Richard's comments: I have New Zealand and UK passports so could use either, nearest embassy is Paris, France. My main concerns are: how much needs to be booked ahead before applying for visa; and, is it better / easier to apply direct to the embassy or via an agency?

Stephen, can I make several one or two uninspired but (I hope) practical suggestions:

There are only ever two reasons to apply for a visa through an agency: (1) convenience (2) because you think that the agency actually reduces the chances of your application being rejected. Now, I could be wrong, but I can't see any reason why (2) would apply in this case. Therefore, the main reason to use an agency is because you may otherwise have the hassle of obtaining postal orders to pay for the visa and the return postage, providing a stamped self-addressed envelope that meets the embassy's requirements, etc.

What I would do, to cut a long story short, is call the Iranian embassy you intend to use. In the UK, their consular section is on 020 7937 5225 - you may not want to use London because they're not the closest embassy to you, but you have a British passport which suggests London is not a bad place to apply, and distance is not really a major factor these days. Ask them exactly what documentation you need produce - do they need to see your plane ticket (possible), do they need to know exactly which hotels you'll be in or which package tour you're on and do they need to see reservations for those (quite unlikely), what form payment can take, what kind of envelopes you need supply, etc, and of course how long an application takes to process.

Incidentally, on the matter of costs, I happened to speak to an Iranian friend of mine today who is off to Iran in a few days (he hasn't lived there since he was a child), and he reminded me that mid-range hotels and up do have higher rates for foreigners than locals, and that it's possible some sights have dual pricing too. Even with those considerations, I think it's still very much true that travelling in Iran is cheap. I found that the upper end of the budget hotels served my needs well, so most days I was never exposed to the dual pricing thing, and even when I stayed in a mid-range place I think the most I paid was around $25-30 a night. Now that was several years ago, so expect prices to have risen, but they'll still be cheap by European levels.

Hope this helps.

Richard
www.myspace.com/rltl