Solo Travelers in Iran
Solo women and men travel to Iran and enjoy it as mush if not more than others who chose come in groups. there is no restriction on solo traveling.
Solo woman travelers are fine , but it might be better that they would hire guides as companion and guide while going really far out of the towns. In cities and towns you are Ok. Iranians tend to be very curios and polite towards women tourists . In order to avoid any misunderstanding you might want to be as straightforward and direct as it may take!
You will be encountering numerous cases when a young girl or guy would approach you and try to be friendly and socialize with you. That is completely acceptable in Iran to be friendly with foreigners and people see it as a sign of politeness and support for strangers. you should not hesitate to reciprocate the same way unless you would feel that you are not really interested to socialize at this moment.
There will be certainly cases that you make friends that would invite you to their houses. Well, that is completely acceptable In Iran to invite tourists and strangers as gust to home. You will be welcomed and get to see inside of an Iranian family and get to have some really good foods, yet deciding whether you want to go or not is totally up t you and your 6th instinct.
AS a solo traveler you have much more freedom as to chose your itinerary , places to stay and things to do. Try to take advantage of that and go off beaten road and see things that not many people would go out of their way to go seeing. Places like Abyaneh, Masooleh, Kish, Dizin, Damavand, Tocahll…etc are worth going.
Some more tips
There are some of you who have traveled extensively all around the world. But there are some of you who have net, whether it was because you did not have time or whatever else. Traveling to Iran poses its own challenges and opportunities to you. if you are considering to travel to Iran in your next vacation you might want to have a look at the following travel tips. That might make your travel easier :
Buy a Guidebook Geared Toward the Single Traveler
A guide book and especially a good one is an almost vital thing for you to bring with. Nowadays guide book contain more comprehensive information that they used to. That comes handy when you are traveling to a place like Iran. Lonely Planet guide books about middle east and specially their news version of Iran is a MUST have guide book. It is going to cost you about 20$ but believe me, it is going to save you tons of hassle and help you a lot later while down here.
Dress conservatively
it is a good idea to wear conservative . That is not as much because you might offended some people , as it is to not draw unnecessary attention to yourself. Iran is extremely safe and people are extremely polite , yet you need to know that a conservative dress and attitude would help your stay to be a great one.
Check Out the Independent Travelers Meeting Places
There are some public discussion boards which are specifically serve travel related topics. You need to be aware of them and try to post questions that you have on them. You are most likely to receive lots of good advice and answers from other travelers that have been there recently or are planning to go. So you even can hock up with some great travel mates.
check this one outhttp://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/index.jspa
Start Smart with accommodations
There are many who rather to improvise their stay and try different options without committing ourselves to in advance reservations . But sometimes that turns out to be not such a smart things to do .It is absolutely a good idea to at least get your first night few nights booked in advance in your kind of hotel of choice. there are a wide range of hotel accommodations price range. A good room in a 2 star hotel would cost you about 30$ a night , less expensive but good options are around 15 to 25 in guesthouse or 1 star hotels. Try to get at least your fist day not full of surprises!. get your few days of stay in Iran booked in decent hotel, explore around, acclimate, get to know the new place and then when you get a better hang of it , try to do your next reservations on your own.
Remember that not all cheap accommodations can be also necessarily as good for single female travelers.
Nuisances and unwanted Attention
Dress conservatively and try to take clue from the local women. It is always good to know how to avoid advances and nuisances that others might advertently or inadvertently cause . You can thwart such a advances by no eye contact , moving away from the person or place where you feel uncomfortable with. Always trust your instinct and if you felt really uncomfortable with a person or situation go to the nearest hotel or store and ask the manager to help you. In worse situations you can ask for calling police . in the most of case it would not get to the point of asking any body to help you getting rid of irritation person since an angry look would alarm the obnoxious person that he or she should stop it. Believe me it works every time!
Do Talk To Strangers
Perhaps some of the highlights of your trip to Iran would come form your contact with the locals. Be spontaneous , yet attentive when you are being invited to join a person or family . You should comfortable whenever there are children and female family members are around. dress conservatively and enjoy your time.
Talking to strangers is completely fine. You are certainly are going to be approached by curious people , mostly younger generation that wanted to talk to you and know more about you. Be patient and open. Even if you are not interested a smile goes a long way to portray you as a nice person.
Wine & Dine Yourself
Try restaurants near to where you stay. try to take a magazine or reading with you . try to reach out to people around you and try to mingle with families and other females around you. believe me everybody would love to talk to you and share with you.
if you want to just have a quiet and alone dinner, just ask for a single table in a corner . If you start reading while waiting for food, then nobody would bother you.
Avoid Romantic relationships , unless you really wants to.
There are situations that you might feel drawn to another person. That is a good thing , but you always need to put a few more factors in the context. there are lots of intricate social factors that you need to be aware of . Iranian women can or will not have sex with somebody , unless there is a prospect of marriage in horizon. But that is not that much the case with men.
There are some women tourists that have come to Iran and fell in love with some body and even got married , but take it as not a general rule. You need to know that there are some cultural, language, economical barriers that unless both sides are completely committed , it is hard to pass.
So take it easy , have fun , don’t be afraid of relationships, but always be smart about the possible consequences
