Visiting Iran: An Update on our Travel Plans

By the time you read this, Bruno and I will have parted ways. Not permanently – not a chance! – and not for a planned girls-trip, like Singapore. Bruno and I are forced to part ways due to unforeseen circumstances that I can sum up in one word – Iran.

The travels plans I described last October had Bruno and I traveling from Sudan through Saudi Arabia into the Middle East, then on another ferry to Iran, Turkey, and into Europe. I thought getting our visas for Saudi Arabia would be the greatest hurdle in our plan, but we got those in a few hours. I didn’t expect my Iranian tourist visa to be the hold-up.

But, as of April 2014, it is, for Canadian and UK citizens, at least. Since last year, the Iranian government has a new law that citizens of those two countries – in addition to Americans, but that’s old news – can only get tourist visas if they join an organized tour. Organized tours aren’t really my travel style (or budget), and Iran appears to be strongly enforcing this new law.

We tried to get around the law from several different angles. We spoke with agents – which you’re required to go through in order to apply for the reference code needed to obtain the visa – in Iran, Dubai, and abroad. We tried using the influence of contacts – specifically, a family traveling around the world called Iran is Great that promote Iran as a tourist destination after having spent nine memorable months there. When all that failed, we went in person to the Iranian Embassy in Muscat. Bruno has a way with people face to face, and can charm his way into and out of just about anything. He couldn’t, unfortunately, charm his way into getting me a visa. No matter what, my Canadian passport gets blocked in Tehran. No tour? No visa.

Bruno and I briefly contemplated other routes out of the Arabian Peninsula. Maybe we could get transit visas to Saudi Arabia again, then go to Jordan, and Israel and take a ferry to Italy or Greece. But it’s already getting hot in the Middle East, ferries from Israel are ridiculously expensive, and then I wouldn’t get to visit Turkey (on my bucket list for the past decade, at least).

The reality was that, even though I am Canadian and can no longer get a tourist visa to Iran, Bruno is French, and can. So Bruno is now driving through Iran by himself, and will meet me just after the border, in eastern Turkey. In the meantime, I’ve flown off to Istanbul for a couple of weeks of tourism and yoga.

This plan actually works out quite well. This way, Bruno won’t have to take me to Istanbul – not only has he already seen Istanbul, but it’s not the kind of city that’s easy to visit in a camper van. I get to do a couple more weeks of intensive yoga. And I get to visit Dani, a friend from Thailand who now teaches in Istanbul.

I miss Bruno, and I am incredibly disappointed not to get to experience Iran, but I decided that when a door closes, it’s ok to open a window for a bit of fresh air. Bring it on Istanbul!

In case you’re reading this post in hopes of practical information to Iran, here’s what I know about tourist visas and ferries from the U.A.E. to Iran:

Iran Tourist Visa:

To apply for a tourist visa, you must go through an agent or tour group. They apply for a reference code in Tehran for you, notify you when it’s ready, and then you go to the Iranian Embassy you marked on your form, pay a fee, and receive the visa in your passport. There are tons of agents who can do this for you (always for a fee), and they are found easily with a quick Google search. I recommend starting this process at least three weeks before you plan to arrive in Iran.

If you are American, Canadian, or English, you will only receive a tourist visa if you show proof that you will be joining a guided tour for the entire length of your stay. Without this proof, you will not be able to get a reference code from Iran, and will therefore not be issued with a visa. I hope this law will soon change, and we appreciate future updates by travelers.

Ferry to Iran:

There are two ferries that travel to Iran from the United Arab Emirates. One, from Dubai, goes to Bandar-e-Lenghe, takes 6-8 hours, and departs every Monday early morning (*Be aware that customs will be closed upon arrival in Iran, so you will have to wait until the following day to clear your vehicle). The other, from Sharjah (just North of Dubai), goes to Bandar-e-Abbas, takes 10-12 hours, and departs Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday evening, arriving first thing the following morning.

A single company (that I know of) in the U.A.E has the monopoly on ferries. Al Hili Marine Services has their office is on the ground floor of Al Ikhlas Tower in Sharjah. You can contact them at info@alhili.com or (+971) 65288 575.

Current prices are D290 per person for Bandar-e-Lenghe and D300 ($85) for Bandar-e-Abbas. Our vehicle cost D1,800 ($400). There is an additional departure tax of D35, and a customs fee of D15. You need to get three colored forms at customs, and you can do this before noon any day except Friday – it doesn’t have to be on the actual day of departure.

There is a great beach for overnight camping very close to the shipping agency and port in Sharjah.  (N25 19.678 E55 21.362 in case anyone is interested!)  The procedures for exiting the U.A.E. are a bit long but fairly straightforward.  And the best part is, you can sleep in your car in the ferry!

On the Iranian side, there is no need to rush to reach immigration.  The officials let all the cars out beforehand, and in any case foreign passports are kept aside and processed after all the locals have passed through.  It will take a few hours to complete the arrival procedures, but it’s not confusing because the officials will tell you where to go next once you arrive at this first office. 

There is a money changer on the left side of the hall with a good change (32,000R to a dollar in April 2015, compared to 32,500 in Shiraz a few days later).  *Do not change euros here as the rate is very low as compared to elsewhere in Iran!  An exit pass for the port costs 27,000R.  Diesel available about 10km beyond the port, 2500R per litre!

Good luck and enjoy the cruise!