Travel Again: Iran Tourist Visa & Iran Flights

After about two years of pausing due to COVID19, Iran Tourist Visa issue started again from 15th, October 2021, according to the Iran Tourism Ministry. Regarding the COVID vaccination progress in Iran, the borders are open again and more international flights are back to Tehran as the result. In general, getting the Iran Tourist Visa is not a difficult process. Most of the tourists can easily apply for Iran Visa on Arrival at Tehran Imam Khomeini Airport. You can also apply for Iran E-Visa prior to your trip.

IMPORTANT NOTE: foreign tourists can travel Iran only with their proof of vaccination and negative PCR results 48 hours perior to their arrival.

You can apply for your visa through Iran e-visa application website, or we recommend you to email us (visa@hitehranhostel.com) for a fast and reliable 30-day Iran visa. Get your guaranteed approval in 5-7 business days. Americans, Canadians & Brits are also eligible for this service.

Updates of Iran Tourist Visa 2021

We strongly recommend you to read our full blog article “Iran Visa on Arrival Guide” to have all of your answers about Iran visas, requirements, exceptions and recommendations. Here, we briefly reflect the recent updates:

• To attract more Chinese visitors, from June 2019 Iran decided to waive all visas for Chinese nationals, including transit visas for short stays;
• Iran has extremely ease the process for Europeans to get Iran tourist visa in the past few years;
• Except American, Canadian, British & Israeli passport holders that don’t have an embassy in Iran, the other nationalities can easily get Iran VOA at Tehran airport;
• Russian tourists do not need a visa to travel Iran, from July 2021 as the result of Iran-Russia tourism agreements
• Iran is pouring more resources into medical tourism by developing health tourism hubs, especially in Tehran & Shiraz. Especially dental services, Lasek & PRK, plastic surgeries and hair transplantation;

International Flights to Iran

At the moment, the most convenient flights to Iran are:

• Iran Air: If you travel from Europe or South Asia to Iran, the most convenient option can be Iran Air, which has a very decent service and you can probably have a taste of Iran beforehand;
• Turkish Airlines & Pegasus: They are The most frequent flights to Iran. Turkish Airlines is quiet decent. The Pegasus service is usually not satisfying, but it’s cheap;
• Emirates, Qatar Airways & Fly Dubai: In general, Persian Gulf countries’ airlines have high standards and very safe to travel with. Among these options, Fly Dubai is more economic as a cheaper ally of Emirates;
• Lufthansa: Lufthansa has few flights to Iran per week. If it suits your schedule and you don’t mind the price, go for it;
• Air Canada: If you’re traveling from Canada to Iran, one of the best choices to fly with AirCanada and then change your airline at Dubai or Istanbul with Emirates or Turkish;
• Aeroflot: The most convenient choice if you fly Iran from Russia;
• China Southern Airlines: The most convenient choice if you fly Iran from China.

One of the decent websites to book international flights is Travelocity.

NOTE: None of the airlines with the destination of Iran serve alcohol! Cheers!!!

How to Book Iran Domestic Flights

Despite some tourists prefer to explore Iran with train, the others prefer Iran domestic flights to save time for their limited vacation. Both options for Iran transportation is economically convenient. One of the websites that can help for Iran domestic flights is Alibaba. Yet, a big issue remains. Since, international credit cards don’t work in Iran, you’ll need someone to pay the fee for the online booking. Make sure you’ll sort it out in advance or even before you come to Iran if it’s the high season.

Whether you plan to be a guest at Hi Tehran Hostel, or any other accommodation in Iran, we can book your Iran transportation for you easily. We will send you all the options available with the real fee, to choose from. You can pay the fee through Paypal or transfer it to our accounts in Europe. This option will help you to bring less cash to Iran (Read about money system in Iran). For more information, email us at: hitehranhostel@gmail.com or whatsapp us at: +98 912 053 0663

If you have questions about Iran safety for tourists, read our blog post: Iran safety considerations

Writer: Golnar ZAMANI