Although you might never have guesses, but in fact there are plenty of options for traveling to and within Iran. Whether you are traveling with your own vehicle or wanted to get there the fastest or cheapest way possible , you will find it useful to read the following information:

:: Entering Iran:

First come fist ,"" Don't forget your visa". You need to either apply ahead of time or make sure that you are eligible to get your visa as you arrive to Iran. Although we recommend  you to check our other pages that explains your options about visa, but as an overall picture, you need to know that you need to have a valid visa with a passport that has at least 6 months left from its expiration date in order to get in to Iran.

Visa application is straight forward and cheap. it cost you about 60$ to apply and about 2 to 3 weeks to get your visa authorization number ready, after that you go to nearest Iranian embassy and collect your visa. You might be asked to pay for consular visa collection fees that varies base don your nationality. check here for more information in that regard

:: Air travel to and with in Iran:

Iran Air offers plenty of routes between many European, Asian and Iran. Iran Air is a reliable and safe airline with a good record. flight are mostly direct and fares are less than many other airlines that fly to Iran. Iran Air has branch offices all around Europe , Asia and even in Canada. Here is a link to their offices around the world. On average a round trip from many European cities to Tehran would cost you around 500 Euros. Remember that Iran Air would give a free domestic flight ticket as bonus too.

Other Airlines Such as Mahan , Aseman , KLM, Lufthansa, Air France, Virgin, Emirates, British Airways, JAL...etc also offer direct flight to Tehran multiple times during the week.

Mahan Air offers flight from Europe to  South and South west Asia via Iran. It also offers flight from some cities in Germany and England to Iran. Here is their offices around the world.

Aseman Airline is a great option for domestic flights and also flights to some regional destinations in central Asia such as Tajikistan or to Kuwait, Bahrain, Dubai and Afghanistan.

Iran has a great bus and train system that are both reliable and cheap. Each city has at least one if not multiple bus stations. Try to get Volvo Buses , since they are more comfortable and got A/C. The ticket prices are so cheap, about 8$ for each 1000 kms.

Trains are also a good way to get around , although their routes are limited . Check here for Train schedule and routes

:: Domestic flights:

please pay appropriate attention to the fact that there are limited number of domestic flight available in Iran. you really need to book ahead of time and by that i mean at least 3 weeks  in advance, contact your travel agent or nearest IranAir office for booking. We also can help you with  ticket reservation within Iran.

IranAir is the major service provider in Iran, while Aseman, Mahan, Kish air, Iran tours, Aria ,,,etc also operate limited number of flights in Iran. There are numerous local airports all over Iran and you are more than likely to be able to find a flight to wherever you wanted to go , but that is not always the case. Please consult with a travel agent or write to us to see what are your options.

Domestic flights are cheap . For example a 1,30 minutes flight between Tehran and Shiraz would cost you around 40$ . So try to take advantage of the cheap flights in Iran as much as possible. Here is an schedule of the domestic flights offered by Iran air and other airlines in Iran . Click here for Time Tables

:: International flights:

From India and Pakistan to Iran and vice versa:

Iran air and Mahan Airlines offer affordable weekly flights between Tehran , New Delhi or Mumbai fares vary base don season , but on average you need to count on 400$ one way.

There are also flights between Tehran and Karachi by Aseman and Iran air. fares vary but in average you might have to consider a fare of about 250$ one way.

Japan , China, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand to Iran and vice versa:

There are multiple weekly flight between Tehran and the mentioned destinations on Iran Air and other airlines linked Mahan. The fares again vary based on season , flight from Japan can cost up to 900$ in round trip , but flights to mid eat Asia such as Thailand are around 500$ in round trip.

Dubai, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Kabul and central Asia to Iran and vice versa:

There are multiple daily flights to Dubai from many of cities around Iran . That is mostly because Dubai is an economical , vacation and work destination for some Iranians. Flight fares vary up and around 120$ for a Round trip. Dubai is great place for you to change your flight to Iran , if you are coming from Australia , New Zealand or Africa. 

There are also weekly flight to Bahrain , Kuwait, Qatar , Tajikistan operated by Iran air and Aseman. flight fares vary but a bull park estimation would be around 150$ for a round trip. for update info you need to contact us.

Australia , New Zealand to and from Iran:

There are no direct flight between Australia, New Zealand and Iran . So you need to get your first leg of ticket either to Japan or Thailand and the next leg with Iran Air or Mahan which offer regular flights between those places and Iran.  Flights form Japan might cost you around 800 to 90$ in round trip to Tehran , which is a good deal. there are also flights offered by Emirates from Australia to Dubai , which you can take and then take a second flight from there to Iran by one of many carrier that operate in that route.

Central Asia to and form Iran :

  There are flights offered by Iran Air, Aseman between Tehran and Moscow, Tashkent, Almaty, Baku, Yerevan, Dushanbe in Tajikistan, Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan.  there are also some flights from Mashed ( a city in north west of Iran ) to Central Asia.

You need to check with us for the flight and fare updates. But on average you might want to count on a 300$ for a round trip ticket.

Europe to Iran:

There are multiple flights weekly from London, Paris, Milan, Rome, Frankfurt, ...etc to and from Iran . You would be much better off if you would contact a local branch of Iran Air or Mahan Airlines for fare and schedule updates. That would save you lots of money.

Also keep in mind that KLM, Lufthansa, Alitalia, British Airways, SAS, Turkish Airlines...etc would also offer regular flights between Europe and Iran. their fares are usually 30% and up more than Iran Air.

Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Egypt, Cyprus to and from Iran:

There are regular flights between Tehran and above mentioned destinations. flights are offered by Iran air, Aseman and charter flights. Turkish Airways also offers flights to Tehran and Tabriz (a  city in north west of Iran). Contact us for update timetable and new fares.

flights from America, Canada and latin America to and form Iran:

Although supposedly there are no direct flights between Iran and north American countries, however there are tons of indirect flights between them!!. One major reason is that about 1.4 million Iranians live in north America , so you would have tons of option to chose from.

flights are usually offered by Northwest , Lufthansa, KLM or British airway to European destinations and then you would get into your nest flight to Iran , among which cheapest would be Iran Air.  There are numerous flights with good connection and little layover from losAngles, SanFarancisco, New York , Austin , Seattle ...etc. You need to contact us or a local travel agency for best deals.. Remember that there are always better fares available at travel agencies than online websites. www.cyrustravel.com is a good place to contact. 

If you are in Latin-American, then you go to get your ticket through an stop over in America. please contact us , if you need help.

:: Travel by Land and Bus to, form and within Iran:

If you are traveling by your own car or simply decided that you want to give the old good buses a try , then here is for you. you can get in to Iran from its multiple border crossing with turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Traveling by bus is safe, fast and more importantly cheap. Yet there are some drawbacks such as time that takes to get you around. But if you are a serous traveler, that would not be big deal.  So lets start with folks that come with their own vehicles:

:: You own Car or Bike., yeah!

 You need to have an international driver license , plus you need to have an international license plate for your car. You need to apply for a "Carne Du Passage" , which is basically an international license plate for your car, from any reputable place that you might think of in the country that your car is originally registered. The best and first place to contact is your Automobile federation or police and transportation departments.  You need to have insurance for your self and people that are driving with you.  That is also the case with those of you who are traveling with your bikes.

Remember that traffic in Iran is kind of Crazy!!. Always drive cautiously and pay more attention to cars and drivers behavior around you that usually you would.

If you got into accident , be patient , since road police would show up perhaps one hour later . So try to communicate and wait for police to resolve the issue.

Oil price in Iran is much cheaper that water in your country, No that was just a joke! But it is really good price of around 10 cents per liter or 40 cents per gallon.

Car mechanics in Iran are miracle workers.  Major brands like Toyota, Mercedes, ...etc have branch offices and well equipped body work places, that you might want to check first in case needed.

Travel By Bus from Iran to and form Afghanistan:

You need to go to Mashhad for buses to Herat. If you are traveling with your own vehicle , you got to know that the border crossing is at Doqarun near Taybad ( A border town to Afghanistan). Try to use bus , rather than your own car.

Travel By Bus from Iran to and form  Armenia:

Norduz is the only border crossing between Iran and Armenia. You can get there from Tabriz or  Ardabil by bus.

Travel By Bus from Iran to and form Azerbaijan:

 Jolfa and Astara are both good border crossing gateways for you to go to Azerbaijan. However you got to remember that if you are going to go to Baku and the rest of Caucasian , you might want to chose Astara over jolfa, since jolfa is just lets you to go to Separate , semi independent Nakhjavan province, which then you need to take a flight to baku , since you can not enter Armenia directly from Nakhjavan. Astara is much better and hassle free crossing to get to go to Azerbaijan.

There are daily buses between Tehran and Baku that you can take too. But the other way to do it is to take a flight from Tehran to Ardabil and then go by a taxi from there to border and pass the border by yourself.  On the other side of the border you can find all kind of transportation.

Traveling to and from Iraq :

There are crossings at Khosravi and Mehran borders. Situations has eased up a whole lot and going in and out is easier , if you have a visa! You also can easily take a bus form Tehran or Kermanshah to pass the border. Buses usually go to Najaf and Karbala, but if you want you can take off wherever you want.

Traveling to Pakistan from Iran:

Mirjaveh is the border crossing between Iran and Pakistan. If you are going to pakistan from Iran , then you need to take a bus or taxi from Zahen to the Mirjave and pass the border .

There are also monthly train departures between Questa and Zahedan , which if you are lucky enough you can take it. for more information about the schedules , please check here:

 Traveling to Turkey from Iran:

Bazargan is the best place for you to cross the border, since if by some reason you hade to stay overnight , there are hotels to stay there.

Crossing bazargan border is much easier and faster now that it used to be before building the nest facilities. If you are traveling by bus , you might have to spent 1 hour in the bus while paper works and custom checks going on. But if you have your own car, that might take a little bit more. make sure you have all needed documents ready (original passport , visa and in case you are going with your own vehicle you need to have car documents and Carne Du Passage " International License Plate").

There are daily departures from Tehran and Tabriz to Istanbul and Ankara.  The ride might take about 40 hours from Istanbul to Tehran , but it is worth it, since it is cheap, it is fun and you get to see lots of sceneries along the way . you really can see the contrast between eastern and western turkey.

In Istanbul you need to go to LalAli and go to one of the travel agencies that sell tickets. Departures are usually around noon from Istanbul and you get there around the same time two days later in Tehran . Tickets around 34 $ per person.

If you are in Erzerum or Ankara, you need to go to the city bus terminal to get your ticket..

Buses from Tehran leave from West terminal. Serio Safar and Tavoni # 1 are better options to look into.

There are also weekly train departures between istabul and Tehran that is an awesome way to travel to Iran, since you have your own compartment , bed, and can walk and get to see fascinating sceneries along the way.

train leave Iran on Thursdays at around 22.00 and it takes about 72 hours to get to Istanbul. the other train leaves Istanbul on Wednesdays  at around 18.00  to Tehran

the experience of train is just great, i have tried both train and bus , but train was the best. Check here for time table and details

Traveling to Turkmenistan:

BajgIran perhaps is best way to go to Turkmenistan, although there are a couple other border crossing too. There are departures from Mashhad to Eshghabad , that you might want to consider. The other option is to take a bus form Mashhad, or Quchan to the border and the cross it on your own. In the other side you will find plenty of transportation options.

Travel By sea to Dubai, Kuwait, Bahrain , Saudi, Oman and India:

VAlfajr 8 shipping company offers regular and seasonal departures between Iran and the above mentioned destinations.

For time tables please check here

If you want to go to India by ferry , you need to know that there are no direct passenger departures between Iran and India. So you need to take ferry to Dubai and then from there take other ferries to India. So far as we know there are regular departures from U.A.E to Karachi and Mumbai , but for actual reservation you need to contact a local agency in Dubai .