FAQ

Iran remains generally safe to travel for all your family, men, women and kids. As violent crime especially against tourists are very rare and carrying a gun is forbidden, we can describe it as one of the safest countries to travel. WhyPersia suggests you consider a tour guide or local people if you want to travel to entire Iran/Afghanistan and Iran/Iraq borders.

Whether you need a visa depends on where you are from and where you are traveling. Citizens of around 60 countries do not need a visa to enter Iran for traveling purposes for the different time period. Most other countries citizens may grant a visa on arrival to stay up to 15 days. Although for peace of mind they can also apply for visas in advance. As the USA and Canada have no consular services in Iran, their citizen must show the trip plan and a certified tour guide prior to the visa application. Whyperisa will take care of this for you. The citizens of Israel are not permitted to travel to Iran. People who have an Israeli stamp in their passport will also be denied entry. All citizens except for Israeli can travel to Kish Island, a popular tourist island, without a visa for up to two weeks.

Whypersia can help you get a visa from Iran.

Since visa requirements are subject to fairly constant change, it is best for everyone to contact Iranian consular or embassies in their own country to find out what is required before entry. Most visas will be approved in two to three weeks.

Due to financial sanctions, international credit cards are not currently accepted in Iran. It is advised for travelers to have cash or get Whypersia debit card. It is not a costly service as Whypersia deposit the equivalent amount of Rials to the debit card for you based on the current exchange rate of your currency to local currency. Good news is that Whypersia will accept Bitcoin to issue the debit card in the near future.

In Iran, you can use the SIM card to access the 4G Internet, as well as access to WiFi in public places such as hotels, airports, stores, and more.
Please note that some websites, as well as some social network sites and messenger apps such as Facebook and Twitter,  are blocked in Iran. Telegram, WhatsApp, and Instagram are widely used in Iran.

Based on Iran’s National Mobile Registry Plan, all new mobile phones must now be registered to be eligible to use in Iran if you are planning to stay more than 30 days. All tourists can purchase and use Iranian SIM Cards if heir on their phones, however, you need to register your phone if you are going to stay more than 30 days.

The 30 days would start from the first time you put the local SIM Card on your phone. That being said, your phone will stop working 30 days after it is turned on for the first time with an Iranian SIM Card. This means even if you stay in Iran for less than a month and plan to come back later and use the same phone, you can’t use it.

If you’re among travelers who plan to use your mobile phone for more than 30 days or if you are traveling to Iran for a second time with the same cell phone, you must register your phone and pay a registration fee which is estimated based on the model and ROM of your mobile, and the official exchange rate of dollar, published by the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

You may bring prescription and over-the-counter medications to Iran, but we recommend you carry these in their original bottles and/or packaging

Backpacking is not very common in Iran as it is in Europe or Australia. Therefore, specific backpacker hostels do not exist; however, this does not make backpacking impossible. You can still find affordable local rooms and hostels as cheap as 20 US$ even includes breakfast. Transportation and food are also inexpensive. Sometimes you may offer free rides and foods by local people.

There are a few applications that could help you travel easier in Iran include including; Snapp (like Uber designed to book a taxi in Iran), Waze and Google Maps (To find the routes), Google Translate, and currency converter, date and time will be very useful. In addition, popular programs such as Foursquare, Lonely Planet, and Trip Advisor are good to have. Social network programs such as Telegram and WhatsApp and Instagram are also more popular in Iran.

Women should wear a scarf on their heads and wear long sleeves. Men should also avoid wearing short pants in public places.

You can exchange your currency when you arrive at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Airport (IKA). Ferdowsi Square in Tehran is also the central place for money exchange. In addition, there are also currency exchanges shops in large cities. We offer you Whypersia bank card to convert your money to the Rial and deposit it on the card based on the current exchange rate. You can use the card everywhere until the end of your trip.

Alcoholic drinks are illegal in Iran and no shop is allowed to sell them. It’s illegal to have alcoholic drinks which the police can arrest the person. You can find tea, coffee, syrup or Doogh (delicious yogurt drink) everywhere to drink. Non-alcoholic beer is also available.

Pork is not served in Iran while you can find beef, lamb, chicken, fish, and shrimps in all the restaurants and shops.

Travel insurance for a tourist is like a passenger seat belt.
Because some companies may not cover Iran. Therefore,  check the available options carefully before traveling to make sure your insurance company will cover health insurance costs, luggage compensation, or lawyer fees in Iran. We offer you the use of Whypersia Insurance.

The Iranian currency is called Rial (IRR); however, people trade in Tooman. It is easy to convert a Rial to a Tooman simply remove a zero from the price, so 10,000 rials is 1,000 Toomans. The exchange rate of the foreign currency fluctuates, so for the current rate: http://www.oanda.com/. We also offer you a Whypersia card and then convert your money to the Rial and deposit it on the card that you can use everywhere until the end of your journey.

Note: You can not use international bank cards such as a Visa Card or a Master Card and a traveler’s check.

You can dial the emergency phone numbers simply by your cell phone without the area code.

In Iran, the power plugs and sockets are of type C and F. The standard voltage is 220 V and the standard frequency is 50 Hz.

You can use your electric appliances in Iran if the standard voltage in your country is in between 220 – 240 V (as is in the UK, Europe, Australia and most of Asia and Africa). If the standard voltage in your country is in the range of 100 V – 127 V (as is in the US, Canada, and most South American countries), you need a voltage converter in Iran. You can also consider a combined power plug adapter/voltage converter.

Yes! This is an often more assumed problem than a real one for most travelers. Traveling to Iran will not be a problem. Most hotels, like everyone else, don’t ask or care about your relationship status. In the case that they do, it is up to individual travelers to decide how they respond but no proof of marriage is required. In the very worst scenario, you may be required to take separate rooms but this is almost unheard for foreign travelers. But remember unmarried Persian couples are not able to get a hotel room. If you’re married to an Iranian, we advise you to carry your marriage certificate with passport as proof of marriage.