Guide
General
Information for Tourists
The best time for visiting Iran:
Spring and Autumn are the best
times to visit Iran. Please be informed that in Ramadhan, the
fasting month of Muslims, most of the restaurants in Iran are closed
during the day, and it is impossible for us to entertain you as best as
possible. (Hotels are excepted from this rule.)
Climate:
Because of varied topography,
Iran has a variety of climates and temperatures very considerably
different from season to season and from one place to another. The
climate diversity in Iran is such that some tourists can enjoy winter
sports in the mountains while others can bathe in the warm waters of the
southern shores, both within a few hours drive from the main cities. Iran
has a good climate compared to other Middle Eastern countries. More than
one third of the land surface received rainfall of more than 250 mm on
average each year, while the heavy winter snowfalls on the mountains
which surround the central plateau provide a reservoir of water
irrigating spring corps.
Statistically, about 20.7% of the total area of Iran is desert and
uncultivable land, 54.9% natural range land, 7.6% forest land, and the
only remaining 16.8% is potentially arable land, of which 11.6 million
hectares go annually under cultivation. Despite the fact that generally
the climate of Iran is dry, the land is however, rich in terms of inland
lakes and wetlands (total of 33), some of which are Lake Oroomiyeh West
Azarbaijan, Lake Parishan, Lake Maharloo Barmshoor and Neiriz Lakes Fars,
Hamoon-e-Hirman Sistan around Kooh-e-Khaje.
Customs:
Passengers entering Iran are
prohibited from carrying alcoholic beverage, guns, narcotics, ammunition,
obscene articles and publications.
Currency:
Rial
Time:
GMT plus
3.5 hours
Iranian Calendar year 1387 (2008
- 2009 A.D)
A few of the main holidays:
|
March 20
|
Now Rooz (Iranian New Year)
|
|
March 21
|
Now Rooz (Iranian New
Year
|
|
March 22
|
Now Rooz (Iranian New Year)
|
|
March 23
|
Now Rooz (Iranian New Year)
|
|
March 25
|
Birthday of Prophet Mohammad
(P.B.U.H)
|
|
March 31
|
Islamic
Republic Day
|
|
April 1
|
Day of Nature (Sizdah Bedar)
|
|
June 3
|
Demised of Imam Khomeini
(RAH)
|
|
June 4
|
Ghiyam-e- 15 Khordad
|
|
June 7
|
Martyrdom of Hazrat-e-
Fatemeh, SA (The daughter of Prophet Mohammad, P.B.U.H)
|
|
July 16
|
Birthday of Imam Ali (A.S)
|
|
July 30
|
Appointment of Prophet
Mohammad (P.B.U.H) as the last Messenger of God
|
|
August 17
|
Birthday of Imam Mahdi (A.S)
|
|
September 22
|
Martyrdom of Imam Ali (A.S)
|
|
October 1
|
Eid-e- Fetr
|
|
October 25
|
Martyrdom of Imam Ja'afar
Sadegh (A.S)
|
|
December 9
|
Eid-e- Ghorban
|
|
December 17
|
Eid-e- Ghadir Khom
|
|
January 6
|
Tasooaye- Hoseini
|
|
January 7
|
Ashooray-e-
Hoseini, A.S (Martyrdom of Imam Hosein, Grandson of Prophet Mohammad
P.B.U.H)
|
|
February 10
|
Victory of the Islamic
Revolution
|
|
February 16
|
Arbaeen-e- Hoseini
|
|
February 24
|
Demise of Prophet Mohammad
(P.B.U.H), and Imam Hasan-e- Askari (A.S)
|
|
February 26
|
Martyrdom of Imam Reza (A.S)
|
|
March 15
|
Birthday of Prophet Mohammad
(P.B.U.H)
|
|
March 19
|
Nationalization of Iranian
Oil Industry
|
(a)
Visa entry requirements for Iran
The following
requirements are applicable to any and all nationalities except
US Citizens. Please take a moment to read these instructions
carefully, as they need to be followed in order to apply for your visas
to Iran.
Darwan Tour &
Travel Co. Ltd. can and will apply on your behalf upon request, to the Iranian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs for your single or double entry visas into
Iran. Unless otherwise specified by the Ministry, your visa once issued
will be good to stay in Iran for up to 30 days. However, granting visas
and time permitted to stay in Iran, is totally at the discretion of the
Ministry and we assume no obligation or responsibility for duration of
stay, approval, or refusal, of your visa, as this is beyond our control.
Once you submit your
application to us, we go through it to make sure everything has been
filled correctly. When you decide to apply, please have the following
information at hand, and make sure that you scan your identification page
of your passport and email that to our either company’s accounts at inbound@darwantour.com or info@darwantour.com
To complete your
application, we will need to know your father’s name, your occupation, if
you have been in Iran before or not, your Itinerary with as much detail
as possible, and at which Iranian Embassy or Consulate, you wish to
collect your visa. If you have booked your tour through us, you do not
have to submit your Itinerary. However, you will need to submit other
information if they have not been submitted at the time of reservation.
Once the visas is
issued, we will send you a reference number, and you need to take this
reference number to the Iranian Embassy or Consulate specified in your application,
and have your passport stamped. Please make sure that your passport is
valid for at least six months from the time you enter Iran. Also, have at
least 2 blank pages left in your passport. Upon completion of your
application, it usually takes 14 working days to process your
application. We offer a service to get you a landing permission.
Currently, our fee for such service is $40.00 per passport which is
payable to our company’s bank account. PLEASE DO NOT SEND YOUR
PASSPORT TO US.
(b)
Visa entry requirements for Iran
The following
requirements are applicable to all US Citizens. Please take
a moment to read these instructions carefully, as they need to be
followed in order to apply for your visas to Iran.
Darwan Tour &
Travel Co. Ltd. can and will apply on your behalf upon request, to the
Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for your visa. Please note that
currently the Ministry does not allow American passport holders to travel
to Iran independently. Every US Citizen, who wishes to travel to Iran, is
required to travel on escorted tours; either as part of a tour group, or
a tailor made individual. The traveler must also strictly adhere
to his/her own Itinerary. In order to obtain your visa, we need to make
your all travel arrangements including accommodation, a private car and
guide/driver throughout the trip, and internal flights. Unless otherwise
specified by the Ministry, your visa once issued will be good to stay in
Iran for up to 30 days. However, granting visas and time permitted to
stay in Iran, is totally at the discretion of the Ministry and we assume
no obligation or responsibility for duration of stay, approval, or
refusal, of your visa, as this is beyond our control.
Once you submit your
application to us, we go through it to make sure everything has been
filled correctly. When you decide to apply, please have the following
information at hand, and make sure that you scan your identification page
of your passport (page 1-3) and email that to our either company’s
accounts at inbound@darwantour.com
or info@darwantour.com
To complete your
application, we will need to know your father’s name, your occupation, if
you have been in Iran before or not, your Itinerary with as much detail
as possible, and at which Iranian Embassy or Consulate, you wish to
collect your visa. If you have booked your tour through us, you do not
have to submit your Itinerary. However, you will need to submit other
information if they have not been submitted at the time of reservation. You
will also need to complete FORM #104. Once we send your approval
reference number, you will need to have your passport stamped at the
Interest Section of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Washington D.C.
Please make sure that your passport is valid for at least six months from
the time you enter Iran. Also, have at least 2 blank pages left in your
passport. Currently the stamp fee for American passport holders is set to
be $91.00.
Upon completion of your
application, it usually takes 25 working days to process your
application. We offer a service to get you a landing permission, provided
you reserve your tour through us. Currently, our fee for such service is
$55.00 per passport which is payable to our company’s bank account. PLEASE
DO NOT SEND YOUR PASSPORT TO US.
(c) 7 Days Entry Visas
In accord with the new
visa regulations announced from the Iranian Foreign Ministry, visitors of
many countries may now obtain their tourist visas at the designated
airports ( IKIA, Mehr Abad International Airport, Mashhad, Shiraz, Tabriz
and Isfahan Airports) in Iran.
This is subject to couple of conditions; (i) That the applicant’s visas
has never been refused by any Iranian Missions before; (ii) That the
duration of stay in Iran shall NOT exceed 7 days; (iii) That the
applicant would provide a copy of his/her passport and other info
requested (applicant’s father’s name, his/her occupation, flight
itinerary) to the travel agent at least 24 hours prior to his/ arrival at
Iran. Citizens of the following countries may now use this facility;
Azerbaijan, Albania, Germany, Austria, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Spain,
Australia, Slovenia, Slovak Republic, UAE, Indonesia, Ukraine, Italy,
Ireland, Bahrain, Brazil, Brunei, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Bosnia
& Herzegovina, Purtugal, Peru, Tajikstan, Thailand, Turkmenistan,
China, Denmark, Russian Federation, Romania, Japan, Singapore, Sweden,
Switzerland, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Oman, France, Palestine, Finland,
Philippines, Cypress, Kyrghyzstan, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Croatia, South
Korea, North Korea, Columbia, Cuba, Kuwait, Georgia, Lebenon, Luxamburg,
Poland, Malaysia, Hungary, Mongolia, Mexico, Norway, New Zealand,
Venezuela, Vietnam, Netherlands, India, Yoguslavia, and Greece.
*Iran Hotel Rates
* All rates quoted here for the Iranian hotels are valid thru March
10, 2006, and are based on first come, first serve.
TEHRAN
|
Hotel Names
|
Single
|
Double
|
|
Our Rates
|
Hotel’s Board
|
Our Rates
|
Hotel’s Board
|
|
Azadi*****
|
$123
|
$137
|
$154
|
$171
|
|
Laleh*****
|
$117
|
$130
|
$137
|
$152
|
|
Tehran Grand Hotel****
|
$68
|
$76
|
$99
|
$110
|
SHIRAZ
|
Hotel Names
|
Single
|
Double
|
|
Our Rates
|
Hotel’s Board
|
Our Rates
|
Hotel’s Board
|
|
Homa*****
|
$85
|
$94
|
$126
|
$141
|
|
Pars*****
|
$58.50
|
$65
|
$85.50
|
$95
|
|
Aryobarzan****
|
$40.50
|
$45
|
$58.50
|
$65
|
|
Parse****
|
$40.50
|
$45
|
$58.50
|
$65
|
|
Eram***
|
$31.50
|
$35
|
$40.50
|
$45
|
|
Arg**
|
$16
|
$18
|
$24
|
$27
|
KISH ISLAND
|
Hotel Names
|
Single
|
Double
|
|
Our Rates
|
Hotel’s Board
|
Our Rates
|
Hotel’s Board
|
|
Darius Grand Hotel *****
|
$180
|
$200
|
$270
|
$300
|
|
Sadaf *****
|
$58
|
$64
|
$85
|
$94
|
|
Flamingo ****
|
$63
|
$70
|
$72
|
$80
|
|
Ghaem***
|
---------
|
--------
|
$36
|
$40
|
BANDAR ABBAS
|
Hotel Names
|
Single
|
Double
|
|
Our Rates
|
Hotel’s Board
|
Our Rates
|
Hotel’s Board
|
|
Homa*****
|
----------
|
----------
|
$85.50
|
$95
|
|
Hormoz*****
|
$58.5
|
$65
|
$79
|
$88
|
CHABAHAR
|
Hotel Names
|
Single
|
Double
|
|
Our Rates
|
Hotel’s Board
|
Our Rates
|
Hotel’s Board
|
|
Lipar****
|
$60
|
$66
|
$70
|
$77
|
|
Sepideh**
|
$18
|
$20
|
$34
|
$38
|
AHWAZ
|
Hotel Names
|
Single
|
Double
|
|
Our Rates
|
Hotel’s Board
|
Our Rates
|
Hotel’s Board
|
|
Fajr****
|
$58.50
|
$65
|
$85.50
|
$95
|
KERMAN
|
Hotel Names
|
Single
|
Double
|
|
Our Rates
|
Hotel’s Board
|
Our Rates
|
Hotel’s Board
|
|
Pars*****
|
$58.50
|
$65
|
$85.50
|
$95
|
|
Akhavan**
|
--------
|
---------
|
$29
|
$32
|
ISFAHAN
|
