Isfahan Hotels

Isfahan is the host of many Iranian and foreign tourists in most of the holidays and especially high seasons.
Most of the good Isfahan hotels are located around the highlighted places. It saves time and money as the travelers can walk to the close attractions.

Among the Isfahan hotels for good accommodation are: Tootia 2*, Karoon 1*, Jolfa 2*, Azadi 3*, Pol Park 2*, Piroozi 4*, Tourist 3*, Safir 4*, Setare 4*, A’ali Qapu 4*, Kowsar 4*, Melal 3*, Traditional top 3*, Aseman 5*, Abbasi 5* Hotels.

Some tips:

•    Abbasi 5* hotel is a very nice hotel which can be considered as an attraction for the tourists. It has different kinds of rooms with different rates. For those who can afford is a must- stay hotel.
•    Karoon and Jolfa Hotels are located in the Armenian part of Isfahan which is a little far from most of the attraction, but close to the Vank Cathedral.
•    I do recommend booking Isfahan hotels in advanced especially in peak seasons because they become full so soon.

In Abyaneh village , you can stay in its nice 3* hotel called Abyaneh Hotel.

•    It may be possible to stay in the traditional houses if your tour guide or your reference talks to the local people.

For Kashan accommodation, you can choose among Ehsani traditional House, Amir Kabir 3* hotel, Negarestan 4* hotel. The house accommodation is also available.

For further questions, please contact me.

Shiraz Hotels

The cheaper hotels can be found in Shiraz in comparison to Tehran, besides you do not have the problem of far distances as mostly the highlighted attractions are centered.

Roodaki St. in Shiraz is the location of many hotels from 2* to 4* hotels. By 200 meters distance Anvari St. is located on the opposite side, location of two 1*hotels named Sasan and Anvari Hotels.

Both streets are considered as the branches of Zand AVE. and are close to the Zandiyeh Complex.
The most important attraction is Persepolis which is 45 km far from Shiraz. The Apadana 2*Hotel is located beside the site.

Pasargadae is 120 km far from Shiraz and as it is located in a detour and in the road, no hotel is near that area.
Shiraz hotels are Sasan 1*, Anvari 1*, Sadra 2*, Roodaki 2*, Eram 3*, Arg 3*, Parsian 3*, Park 4*, Parseh 4*, Ario Barzan 4*, Persepolis 4*, International Pars top 4*, Chamran 5*, Shiraz Grand 5*, Homa 5* hotels.

There are also hotels in some cities in Fars Province such as Darab which is a good place for Nomad tours in winter, Firouz Abad, Lar, Fasa, etc.

Train tickets to Iran

There are lots of trains that move between different cities of Iran daily. There are different kinds of train with different quality and rates. It is considered as a cheap kind of transportation among the Iranians and the tourists.

The best kind of available train is 4 pax Ghazal or Plur train that are arranged for some routes especially longer ways.

The most trains are moved between Tehran and Mashhad daily as Mashhad is the host of many pilgrims.
As Tehran is the capital of Iran, it has trains to each city every day; it may be one train or several ones.
The train rates are from 1 USD for the short routes to about 35 USD per person for the best and longer routes.
Among different kinds of trains, I can name:

Luxurious 6 pax
Ghazal train
Plur train
Normal seat train
Pardis train
First class 6 pax

•    The train schedule is opened every 10 days based on the Iranian Calendar.
There are some international trains to or from Tehran and Tabriz as follows:

Tehran – Istanbul at 22: 10 every Wednesday
Istanbul – Tehran at 23: 55 every Tuesday

Tabriz – Istanbul at 11 A.M. every Thursday
Istanbul – Tabriz at 23: 55 every Tuesday

Tehran – Van at 22: 10 every Wednesday and Sunday
Van – Tehran at 23 every Monday

Tabriz – van at 22: 30 every Tuesday
Van – Tabriz at 21 every Wednesday

Tehran – Damascus at 22: 10 every Sunday
Damascus – Tehran at 8: 30 every Sunday

• Iran train ticket rates have had 12 – 14% increase from end of June.

To get the train ticket or get more information about the train schedule, please contact me.

Ramadan in Iran

Ramadan or Ramazan (in Persian Language) is probably started from August 1st and ended on august 31st based on the Iran current calendar; it may just have a slight change if the moon is seen in one day sooner or later. The experience shows that the Hilal or crescent is done on the mentioned dates in the Iran Calendar.

Many tourists travel to Iran in August simultaneous to Ramadan. Both the Iranian and foreign tourists are exempt. It defines those who travel more than 14 mile (23 km) in a day as exempt.
Some restaurants serve the lunch for the travelers in closed doors, so you do not have any problem for the lunch but maybe your options may be more limited.

What you should observe is not to eat in public and respect to this month regulations.
At sunset, the family will gather the fast-breaking meal known as Iftar.The meal starts with the ritual eating of a date — just as Prophet Muhammad was believed to have done.

Sometimes referred to as “the night of decree or measures”, Laylat al-Qadr is considered the most holy night of the year. Muslims believe that Laylat al-Qadr is the night in which the Qur’an was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. Also, it is believed to have occurred on an odd-numbered night during the last 10 days of Ramadan, either the night of the 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th or 29th. Shiites also commemorate the attack on Imam `Ali ibn Abi Talib and his subsequent martyrdom every year on the 19th, 21st and 23rd of Ramadan.

• Some tourist attractions may be closed in these days, so it is better to have the arranged plan beforehand.

The holiday of Eid ul-Fitr (Fitr Eid) marks the end of the fasting period of Ramadan and the first day of the following month, after another new moon has been sighted. The Eid falls after 29 or 30 days of fasting, per the lunar sighting.

Domestic Flights in Iran

There are lots of domestic flights between the different Iran cities daily.

The most important airports in Iran are Mehrabad Airport in Tehran and Mashhad Airport which have the most takes off and landings every day because of being the capital of Iran and the most important religious city of Iran.

The international Iran airport is Imam Khomaini Airport which is located in Qom Road and about 40 km far from Tehran; of course it takes longer to reach to Tehran due to the heavy traffic in rush hours.

It is so difficult to mention all the available domestic flights in Iran, but in the following I can mention some general points about the domestic flights in Iran.

There are some flights from Tehran to other cities of Iran or vice verse daily.
One way flight ticket rates are started from about 45 USD per person to 92 USD per person.
There are some flights to and from Mashhad daily because of being the most important religious city of Iran.
There is no flight between the closer cities
If you cannot find the direct flights between the other cities of Iran (except Tehran), you can take a connection flight to Tehran en route.

• It is better to book the flight tickets in Iran in advance as there is limitation of flight tickets in Iran.

• Most of the domestic tickets in Iran are issued as E-TICKETS.

• The most important Iran Airlines are:

1. Iran Air (IR) which is the national and international Iran Airline
2. Aseman Airline
3. Mahan Airline
4. Kish Air Airline
5. Iran Air Tour Airline
6. Caspian Airline

The domestic flight schedules are announced monthly or every 15 days based on the airline and the season of traveling.

• To get the flight ticket, the passport copy is necessary

To get the domestic tickets, please contact me.