Travel to Iran (Islamic Republic Of)

The national airline is Iran Air (IR) (website: www.iranair.com).

From London to Tehran is 6 hours.

Tehran (THR) (Mehrabad) (website: http://mehrabad.ir) is 5km (3 miles) west of the city. To/from the airport: Airline buses are available to the city (journey time – 45 minutes). Taxis are also available to the city centre (journey time – 30 minutes). Facilities: Bank, post office, restaurants and snack bar, duty-free shop, gift shops, tourist information and first aid/vaccination facilities.

Rs300,000 for passengers departing for UAE, Turkey, China, France, UK, USA and Bulgaria. Rs150,000 to all other countries. Departure tax for second visits is Rs400,000 for all destinations.

Main ports: The main port was Khorramshahr until its destruction during the war with Iraq. Following reconstruction, the port was reopened to ship traffic in 1992. Imam Khomeini (website: www.khomeiniport.com) is located in the northwestern edge of the Persian Gulf and near Iraq. The ports of Abbas and Bushehr are to be found in the Persian Gulf and Nowshahr and Anzelli on the Caspian Sea.

RAJA Trains (part of Iranian Islamic Republic Railways) (tel: (21) 883 5159; website: www.rajatrains.com) operates passenger services from Tehran to Istanbul (Turkey) and Damascus (Syrian Arab Republic); from Tabiz to Djolfa (for the CIS) and Van (Turkey); and from Zahedan to Quetta (Pakistan).

No reliable international through-road links. There are various routes possible from Turkey and Pakistan, but these are not recommended. Cars can also be put on boats at Venice or Brindisi and picked up at Ezmir. For details of political conditions governing access, contact the embassy.