Contact Admin. Backpacking across Iran is getting easier and easier. With visas on arrival now available for most countries, Iran is fast opening up to foreign travellers.
I arrived into Iran overland from Turkey, hitchhiking to the Iranian border and then catching a bus on the other side. There are long-distance bus services that will take you all the way from Tbilisi in Georgia to Tabriz in Iran and services via Armenia and Turkey as well. You can enter Iran by train or motorbike. For backpackers without the luxury of time, the best way to get into Iran is to catch a cheap flight to Tehran.
Most flights land in Tehran but you can also fly to other parts of the country. Imam Khomeini International Airport: It costs about 18 dollars to catch a taxi into town although a recent initiative has been launched to offer ride-shares for 10 dollars per person. There is a subway line planned but not yet completed. As of , many visa restriction for Iran have been lifted and it is now possible for most backpackers to get a visa on arrival at the airport.
There are mixed reports on getting visas on arrival at Iranian land borders; I chose to get my visa issued in advance in the Iranian embassy in Istanbul. To do this I need an authorisation code; more on how I sorted that in a moment.
My Iranian visa in which I look about fourteen years oldβ¦. Officially British, Canadian and American tourists cannot get a visa on arrival and can only travel the country with a guide. You could book a cheap, one day tour, in order to get your authorisation code. Visas are valid for thirty days and can be extended for two weeks a total of two times; it is relatively easy to backpack Iran for two months.
