Statistics:
- 29 days travelling in Iran
- Distance travelled: approximately 5,500 km
- 15 nights paid for in hotels
- 9 nights spent with local people
- 4 nights on buses & trains
- Number of kebabs eaten: unknown
Itinerary:
Istanbul – bus – Tabriz (3 nights) – bus – Qazvin (2 nights) – bus – Nowshahr (1 night) – bus – Mashhad (2 nights) – train – Tehran (6 nights) – bus – Kashan (2 night) – bus – Esfahan (3 nights) – bus – Yazd (2 nights) – bus – Shiraz (2 nights) – bus – Bandar Abbas and Qeshm island (1 night) – bus – Zahedan
Highlights: Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, skiing at Tochal (Tehran), Esfahan’s architectural sites, Persepolis and Naqsh-e-Rostam
Disappointments: Kashan
Budget:
- Accommodation: 266 EUR for two people
- Transportation: 315,56 EUR (including taxi rides and bus from Istanbul to Tabriz) for two people
- Food: 427,75 EUR for two people
- Total expenses: 1256 EUR (official exchange rate) or 1040 EUR (real exchange rate)
- Vasja: 646 EUR (official) – 545 EUR (real)
- Jure: 610 EUR (official) – 515 EUR (real)
Currency exchange rate:
All the prices expressed in euros are calculated based on the official exchange rate between EUR and Iranian Rials at 14,900 IRR for 1 EUR.
The exchange rate on the street is more favorable ranging from 16,000 to 18,300 IRR for 1 EUR.
Taking this into consideration we spent 520 EUR per person.
Price examples:
- Bus from Istanbul to Tabriz: 31,78 EUR ($45)
- Meal at a restaurant: from 50,000 to 125,000 IRR = 3,35 EUR to 8,4 EUR (soup, kebab, rice, bread, drink for 1 person)
- Accommodation: average 8,7 EUR per night per person (usually double or triple room, once dorm room)
- Transportation: busses usually between 3,35 EUR to 10 EUR
What we liked about Iran:
- The friendliest and most hospitable people ever
- Frequent bus services (you can literally come to the bus station at any time and expect to wait not more then an hour (that’s a lot) for a bus to whichever destination)
- Beautiful women
What we disliked about Iran:
- Internet censorship and speed
- Excessive heating, especially on public transport (they seem to only have two levels of heating – off or maximum)
- A lack of variety in food (although the kebabs and rice are delicious, you get fed up with them after a month and other dishes are hard to find when eating out)
We’re definitely coming back. The country and its people have such an enormous potential. As long as they would be freed up from the chokehold of corrupt power-hungry authorities and international brinkmanship, they would blossom and the country would become one of the major tourist drawcards and an economic powerhouse.
