SHIRDAL AIRYA | Iranian Tour Operator and Travel Agency in Iran

The Iranian currency is Rial, the currency code for Rial is IRR, and the symbol of it is ریال.

All foreign currencies such as Euro, pound, sterling, Us dollar are changeable in Iran, ATMS in Iran don’t accept international credit cards, as a result the best way is to pay by cash.(except for some shopkeepers.)

Note: Although the official currency in Iran is Rial, Iranians tend to use Toman instead in their daily payments. So, it’s better to get familiar with them in advance in order not to be confused. For example, by eliminating one zero of 10000 Rials, it will be changed to 1000 Tomans.

Certainly, you need to be insured before traveling to Iran. The best way is to insure yourself before departing your country.

Telecommunication is not too hard in Iran because IDD service is available. There are three different operators, the suitable and well-used one in Iran is (the first operator) (Persian: همراه اول ).

Hamrah aval provides its services in all cities and supports over 70,000 kilometers of highways except some small villages in Iran. The next operators are MTN Irancell and Rightel that offer their own services, respectively. In addition, MTN Irancel and “Rightel” support *3G and 4G* internet services with high speed rate in Iran.

According to the Islamic and social beliefs in Iran, it is necessary for women to cover their body modestly. Islamic codes can be followed by wearing a long shirt, scarf and pants.

Due to some differences between Iranian (Muslims) lavatories and so called western ones, there are suitable lavatories for tourists in all hotels, guest-houses, restaurant, etc. However, you would find Iranian ones in other parts of the country. So, it is recommended to get enough information in this regard.

Rainfall in Iran is highly seasonal, with a rainy season between October and March, leaving the land parched for the remainder of the year. Immense seasonal variations in flow characterize Iran’s rivers. For example, the Karun River in Khuzestan carries water during periods of maximum flow that is ten times the amount borne in dry periods. In numerous localities, there may be no precipitation until sudden storms, accompanied by heavy rains, dump almost the entire year’s rainfall in a few days. Water shortages are compounded by the unequal distribution of water. Near the Caspian Sea, rainfall averages about 1,280 mm per year, but in the Central Plateau and in the lowlands to the south it seldom exceeds 100 mm.

Accidents are one of the main reasons that people are looking for medical help to treat it. If you are unlucky enough to need a hospital, Iran is home of the best doctors in the Middle East. Many doctors have been trained in Europe or North America and especially in the larger cities. You won’t have too much trouble finding an English-speaking person. In more remote areas, medical facilities are more basic.

In spite of the fact that Tap water is safe to drink in most of Iran, many travelers tend to buy mineral water which is widely available. Do not use water from rivers and lakes for drinking as it may contain bacteria and cause diarrhea or vomiting.

Mosquitoes may not carry malaria but can cause irritation and infected bites. Using DEET-based insect repellents will prevent bites. Mosquitoes also spread dengue fever. Bees and wasps only cause real problems to those with a severe allergy (anaphylaxis). If you are allergic to bee or wasp stings, you should carry an adrenaline injection or similar.

Traveling to Iran | Iran’s climate ranges from arid or semiarid, to subtropical along the Caspian coast and the northern forests. On the northern edge of the country (the Caspian coastal plain) temperatures rarely fall below freezing and the area remains humid for the rest of the year. Summer temperatures rarely exceed 29 °C (84.2 °F). To the west, settlements in the Zagros basin experience lower temperatures, severe winters with below zero average daily temperatures and heavy snowfall. The eastern and central basins are arid and have occasional deserts. Average summer temperatures exceed 38 °C (100.4 °F). The coastal plains of the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman in southern Iran have mild winters, and very humid and hot summers.

Iranian official calendar is set according to the Solar year & Iranian months. Farvardin 1^st   is the first day of Iranian New Year that equals to the 21^st of March. Also in Iran, Lunar calendar is announced officially. Lunar year is 10 days less than Solar year. Days of performing religious rites are adjusted according to Lunar calendar. So each year is different from next & upcoming years. Therefore, it is recommended to arrange your proper traveling time with related agencies. Especially, Iranian muslims daily activities are affected in Ramadan month because they are fasting. Some days are public holidays in these two months. Friday is considered as an official holiday.

Iranian culture has long been a predominant culture of the Middle East and Central Asia, with Persian considered the language of intellectuals during much of the 2nd millennium, and the language of religion and the populace before that. The Sassanid influence carried forward to the Islamic world.Much of what later became known as Islamic learning, such as philology, literature, jurisprudence, philosophy, medicine, architecture and the sciences were based on some of the practices taken from the Sassanid Persians to the broader Muslim world.

As mentioned above, the process consists in two main steps : First, you will have to obtain a visa authorization number from the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). Secondly, once you got this authorization number, you must go to the embassy/consulate previously chosen to get your visa.

The only option you have to get this number is to contact an Iranian tour operator. You will have to fulfill a form about your personal details and your planned itinerary. This tour operator will contact the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on your behalf to request an authorization number. The average time for getting this number is around 10 days. Be careful, in this form you will have to specify in which embassy/consulate you would like to pick up your visa, please be informed that it will not possible to change this location after.

In general, we estimate that it should take around 10 days for your number to be issued. Keep in mind that on Thursday and Friday the ministry is closed, and your number could be delayed because of various public holidays of the Iranian calendar.Traveling to Iran

Once you receive an email from our office with your authorization number, you can go to the embassy/consulate that you have previously chosen and start the second step of the visa process. The documents you will have to bring differ from an embassy to another, and you should contact them before to make sure about what you really have to bring. Most of embassies will require some identity photos (women must wear a scarf on the picture), a photocopy of your passport identity page, an attestation of insurance for the time you will be in Iran and enough money to pay for your visa. You will also have to fill another form with personal information. If your visa application is accepted, the embassy/consulate can issue your visa in a few hours or in one or two weeks, depending on the location and amount of works of the embassy/consulate. An emergency option is often offered by embassies and consulate in order to make your visa faster if you are in hurry.

If you wish to do this process calmly and without stress, we recommend you to start 2 months before your arrival in Iran.

This visa allows you to stay for 30 days, but you can extend your visa twice in Iran. In total, you can hope staying for a maximum of 90 days.

Everybody, no matter how you got your visa.

You can pretend to visa extension only once if you got your visa at the airport “Visa On Arrival”. In theory, you are able to extend your visa for 15 supplementary days, which means double your original visa (from 15 to 30 days).

In practice, you can see your demand getting deny or to see yourself given less than the duration you asked for. The extension refusal is still random, and can only depend on the mood of the agent in front of you. Nevertheless, it seems much easier to extend your visa if you had previously obtain it prior to your arrival in Iran, meaning the original 30 days visa that you can get from your embassy. You can extend it one or two times which means a 30 days visa can become a 90 days visa thanks to 2 extensions.

– Two identity photos (women must wear a scarf)

– A photocopy of your passport identity page, a photocopy of your original Iranian visa and a photocopy of the Iranian stamp if it’s not on the same page in your visa.Traveling to Iran

Most of the time, you can photocopy your passport on the office against a fee.

You can extend your visa in any major cities in Iran (Tehran, Shiraz, Isfahan, Yazd, Mashhad and many more). You will have to go to the “Police Office of Foreign Affairs”. Feel free to ask advice to our agency or to your hotel to get to this address and know the opening hours. We would rather warn you that this office can be a little chaotic, depending of the town.

There are no general rules as it depends on where you apply for this extension. It can be done during the same day or a couple of days. We advise you to extend your visa 3 or 4 days before the end of your current visa, as it is nearly impossible to extend if you have too many days left on your visa.

Iran issues different types of visa depending on your purpose of traveling.

• Tourist Visa: Issued to foreigners who are traveling to Iran individually or in a group. Maximum duration of stay is one month. Expandable to 3 months. Eligible to be extended up to three months.
• Airport Tourist Visa: Issued to tourists who intend to stay in Iran for two weeks, issued upon arrival at Imam Khomeini, Shiraz, Mashhad, Isfahan and Tabriz airports. Expandable to 1 month. Eligible to be extended up to one month.
• Airport Transit Visa: Issued to travelers who are going to another country, and are transiting through Iran for less than 48 hours.
  Airport Entry Visa: Issued to businessmen, valid for 72 hours.Traveling to Iran
• Pilgrimage Visa: Issued to foreign Muslims who are visiting pilgrimage sites in Iran.
• Press Visa: Issued to journalists and media representatives.
• Transit Visa: Issued to foreign travelers who want to transit through Iran by land on their way to another country. Usually valid for seven days (however, sometimes available for up to 15 days).
• Entry Visa: Issued to experts and businessmen or those who want to attend cultural, political, scientific conventions. Authorized duration of stay is usually up to 30 days.
• Entry and Transit Visa: Issued to drivers carrying cargo thorough Iran.Traveling to Iran
• Work Permit Visa: Issued to foreigners who want to work in Iran.
  Visa for Entry to Free Trade and Industrial Areas of Iran: Issued to foreigners traveling just to Kish Island, Qeshm Island, Chabahar Port.
• Student Visa: Issued to foreign students who intend to study in Iran.

• The information in your visa application form must be exactly similar to the information in your passport.
• Your CV does not need to be highly detailed. Just send us some information about your academic and professional background.
  The passport image you send us must be clear and of a good quality.
• The Embassy or Consulate you choose in the application form will be where they issue your visa. It can be difficult to change the place of the visa issuance, so please make sure you are choosing the right one.
• Check the Embassy or Consulate website to ensure that have the correct documents specific to that Embassy or Consulate.
• Fortunately, in some Embassies you can follow your visa issuance process all the way by email or post services.
• You are allowed to stay in Iran for 30 days on a Tourist Visa. However, the MFA in Tehran will decide how many days you are allowed to stay in Iran. Visa extensions are possible.Traveling to Iran