Need to Know

CURRENCY
Iranian rial (IR), though Central Bank of Iran is considering revaluing and/or changing the currency. In this book, we use US dollars (US$).
LANGUAGE
Farsi (Persian) and ethnic languages, primarily Azari Turkish.
MONEY
Bring cash in US dollars or Euro. You cannot use credit or debit cards, travelers’ cheques or ATMs. Repeat, bring all you’ll need in cash.
VISAS
Valid Iranian visa required. To be safe, start the process at least two months before you plan to arrive.
MOBILE PHONES
You will need a local SIM card for cheap local and pricey international calls. Your home SIM will not work.
TRANSPORT
Buses are cheap, comfortable, frequent and fast. Trains are cheap and comfortable, but infrequent. Flights are useful for longer distances.

Time
GMT/UTC +3½ hours; daylight saving observed between No Ruz (around 21 March) and 22 September
Opening Hours
Opening and closing times can be erratic, but you can rely on most businesses closing Thursday afternoons and Friday (the Iranian weekend).
Banks & Government Offices: 8 am–2 pm Sat-Wed, 8 am-noon Thu.
Museums 9 am–6 pm summer, until 4 pm or 5 pm winter, some closed on Mon.
Restaurants noon–3pm, 6–10 pm. Shops 9 am–8 pm Sat-Thu, but likely to have a siesta between 1–3.30 pm and possibly close Thursday afternoon.
Travel Agencies 9 am-5 pm Sat- Wednesday, 7.30 am-noon Thu.

Important Numbers
Drop the 0 when dialing an area code from abroad.
Ambulance 115
Fire 125
Police 110
Iran country code+98
International access code 00
Local directory 118

Exchange Rates
Australia A$1 IR29,700
Canada C$1 IR30,200
Eurozone
€1 IR42,200
Japan ¥100 IR33,400
New Zealand NZ$1 IR23,643
Turkey 1TKL IR10,450
UK UK£1 IR48,100
USA US$1 IR38,180
For official exchange rates, see Central Bank of Iran (www.cbi.ir).

High Season (Mar-May)

  • Ideal temperatures in most of Iran.
  • Prices are highest and crowds biggest during No Ruz (21 March to 3 April), especially at Esfahan, Shiraz, Yazd, and the Persian Gulf coast.
  • Prices in hotels go up and availability goes down in April.

Shoulder
(Jun-Oct)

  • Warmer weather in June means fewer travelers.
  • September and especially October temperatures moderate; good for mountain trekking.
  • Prices slightly lower than March to May.

Low Season (Nov–Feb)

  • Extreme cold, especially in the northeast and west, but good for skiing.
  • Some mountain roads can be impassable.
  • Hotel prices are discounted by 10% to 50% and there are fewer crowds.

Arriving in Iran
Imam Khomeini International Airport Fixed price taxi into town: IR750,000, depending on vehicle type; ripoffs are unusual if you use the official taxi queue. Bus to Metro station: IR75,000, plus IR7000 for Metro ticket to the city center
Shiraz International Airport: Taxi into town: US$5
Turkish border at Bazargan: Taxi to Maku: US$10.
Onward bus to Tabriz: US$2