Get in

A valid passport and visa are required for travel through Iran. In 2006 the rules for obtaining a tourist visa changed and it has become much easier for nationals of many countries to get in to Iran by obtaining a visa at the airport. Visa are issued at the Imam Khomeini and Mehrabad airports in Tehran, and also the airports at Mashad, Shiraz, Tabriz and Isfahan. The visa is valid for up to one week and costs US$50. You will receive the forms on arrival. You are advised to bring passport photos with you. However, in many cases they are not collected. Visas are only issued at the airport for holders of ordinary passports from the states below:

Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia,, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan Lebanon, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Palestine, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam.

It is generally not possible to get an extension for the one week visa. There is a large stamp on it which specifically states "non-extendable". If you wish to stay for longer than a week, or you are not resident of one of the countries listed above, you will need to apply for a Tourist Visa before you arrive in Iran.

Although it has become easier to get a Tourist Visa in recent years, whether the process takes one day or one month depends largely on your nationality and the staff of the embassy you are applying to. Your best bet is to apply to the Iranian embassy in your own country at least three months before your departure, but it is possible in other countries. Women need to make sure they are the wearing the Hijab or a head scarf in their submitted passport-sized photos. US citizens can apply for a visa at the Iranian Interest Section of the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, DC. Transit visas are usually easier to get than tourist visas (usually for one or two weeks) and very useful for people traveling between Europe and South Asia. Various travel agents inside Iran help you obtaining visas, often through their home pages.

Chances are your bags won't be searched for salacious material, but if found, it will be confiscated and will complicate your arrival. Don't try to bring in any magazines or books that might offend strict Islamic sensibilities or criticize the government. This has become much more loose in recent years.

By plane

Most overseas travellers from Europe will arrive at Mehrabad airport in Tehran. By now most flights from the Middle East, Central and South Asia land at the new Imam Khomeini International Airport based 37km southwest of Tehran and it is planned to move all international flights to this airport within the next few years. There are 70 smaller regional airports, for example those in Shiraz, Mashhad, and Isfahan, and these have daily flights to many international destinations.

Eat

Meal times in Iran vary considerably from those in Europe and the US. Lunch can be served from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. and dinner is often eaten after 9:00 p.m. These and other social occasions in Iran are often long, drawn-out affairs conducted in a relatively relaxed tempo, often involving pastries, fruit and possibly nuts.

Traditional cuisine

Fragrant rice (berenj) is the staple of Iranian food. Boiled and then steamed, it is often colored with saffron or flavored with a variety of spices. When served plain as an accompaniment it is known as chelo . The two most common meat / chelo combinations are kebab variations (chelo kabāb) or rotisserie chicken (chelo morgh). Flavored rice, known as polo, is often served as a main course or as an accompaniment to a meat dish. Examples include shirin polo flavored with orange zest, young cherries and honey glazed carrots, the broad-bean and herb heavy bāghli polo and sabzi polo laced with parsley, dill and mint.

The rice and kebab dish chelo kabāb and its half-dozen variations are the most common (and often the only) items on Iranian restaurant menus. A grilled skewer of meat is served on a bed of fluffy rice, and accompanied by an array of condiments. You can add butter, grilled tomatoes and a sour spice known as somāgh to your rice, while some restaurants also provide a raw egg yolk. Raw onion and fresh basil are used to clear your palate between mouthfuls. Variations in kabāb dishes come from the meats they are served with. You will commonly see:

• Kabāb koobideh  - a kebab of minced beef, shredded onion and spices.
• Kabāb barg  - pieces of lamb marinated in lemon juice and shredded onion.
• Kabāb makhsoos  - usually the most expensive option, this big kebab uses the highest quality meat.
• Joojeh kabāb  - a skewer of chicken pieces marinated in lemon juice and saffron.
• Kabāb bakhtiāri  - great for the indecisive eater, this is a skewer of alternating chicken and lamb pieces.

At home people most often eat rice with a thick stew (khoresht) containing a modest amount of meat. There are dozens of khoresht variations such as the sweet and sour fessenjān made from ground walnuts and pomegranate syrup, ghormeh-sabzi based on fresh herbs, dried limes and kidney beans, gheimeh flavored with split-peas and often garnished with French fries, and the sweet sib-āloo which uses apples and plums.

Hearty Iranian soups (āsh) are meals in themselves. The most popular is the vegetarian āsh reshteh  made from herbs, chickpeas and thick noodles, and garnished with yoghurt and fried onions.

Flat bread (nān,) is another pillar of Iranian food. It is served at breakfast with herbs, feta cheese and a variety of jams, or as an accompaniment to meals. Sangak is a dimpled variety cooked on a pebbled oven while lavāsh (لواش) is a thin and bland staple.