Riding into Iran on my Motorcycle
Update 67 (July 2024)
Turkmenistan into Iran
My tour with Guvanch Annagulyyev from Turkmenistan Travel Tour finished in Ashgabat and he guided me through the exit from Turkmenistan.
The Gaudan border crossing with Iran is less than an hours drive from Ashgabat. There is an initial checkpoint prior to entering the border zone. From this point only approved people and vehicles can enter the restricted border zone. My guide, Guvanch got in another vehicle with a new driver to the border, about 25 minutes away. No stopping, no photos. And there were guard towers along the way.
Guvanch led me through the exit and it all went smoothly. I don’t recall paying any fees. There was a discussion with the border police at the end but I don’t recall any serious inspection of my luggage etc. It was all pretty routine.
Preparing to Enter Iran
As an Australian tourist I can freely travel around Iran on my own vehicle, without requiring a guide. I just needed an approved eVisa prior to arriving at the border. The initial step is to gain a Letter of Invitation from an authorised entity. I used a tour company called SURFIRAN that offers a LOI service for 15 Euro, at the time. I did find an “official” list of Iran Government approved tour operators that they were on. Their website visa link will take you through to a different website called Orient Trips but it is all part of the same company. I completed the online form and nominated an Iran Embassy to collect and pay for the eVisa.
A few days later they had completed the LOI and registered me with the Iran MFA – Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I was emailed the partially processed eVisa.
I then needed to take this to the Iran Embassy in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, that I had nominated. There I presented my passport to a friendly man and waited five minutes. I paid around 100 Euro for a single entry visa for 27 days. The Iran MFA emailed me the approved eVisa five minutes later.
All visitors must also have travel insurance (medical) to enter Iran. However, as the Australian Government had a Do Not Travel declaration for Iran, my Australian travel insurance does not cover me. So I purchased Iran medical insurance at the embassy, 10 Euro for the visit. It was very limited cover as you would expect for the price, but hopefully enough if I did need medical treatment.
Iran is known as one of those countries that requires a Carnet de Passages en Douane (CPD) for foreigners to temporarily bring a vehicle in. I do not have a CPD for my motorbike. For a while it looked like Iran would be my first country where this may actually prevent me entering. But like other countries, including Japan there can be other options. I became aware of a few Iranian companies offering services for a temporary CPD for Iran. I used a company called Overland To Iran. For 800 Euro I could get my motorcycle in for 30 days. It is a lot of money compared to the amounts I have paid to enter all the previous countries – read zero, most of the time, but I went with it.
Crossing into Iran
There is just a short distance between border offices. I completed an initial entry check with the Iran border police where I needed to show my passport and eVisa. I then rode 50 metres and parked outside the Iran border office. I had to wait about twenty minutes for my turn and then had my visa stamped and was allowed into Iran.
My next job was Customs and the motorcycle. Hossein, the owner of Overland to Iran had arranged a local agent to meet me and complete the Temporary CPD process. He did whatever he did and I sat outside in a covered area. During this time I moved my motorcycle through the locked gates and actually into Iran while I waited. It was the only vehicle to come through in the 2.5 hours I waited. You can also read my experience exiting with the motorcycle at the bottom of this page Here.
The Iran border office was very simple. This was not some high security building with cameras and armed guards everywhere. It was just a typical and functional border office.
After a couple of hours the Customs process for my motorcycle was completed. I received a form and permission to bring it in for 30 days. I had previously paid a deposit for the temporary CPD and paid the balance to the agent in USD cash. I also bought third party vehicle insurance inside the border building for 50 USD.
Also be aware that using bank cards and getting cash in Iran from a foreign bank is not possible. Make sure you carry enough USD or Euro in with you for your whole time in the country. There is a local card you can get and then use at a cash machine or in shops. But I didn’t bother and just exchanged local cash as needed.
I said goodbye to the agent and rode off, for what would be a 26 day stay in Iran.
I got a short distance down the road and inadvertantly rode past a final check that was set back from the road. It was not like most countries where they have a final gated checkpoint with guards to screen your documents and make sure the entry was completed correctly. Someone yelled out as I passed the office so I did a U turn and showed my papers. It was all good and I was off again.
So I rode into Iran. My plan was to stay in Mashhad, the closest city about 220 kilometres away. Iran has always been of interest to me. I think it actually stems back to a fleeting period of collecting stamps as a child and having a few from Persia that someone gave me. It was just seemed such an exotic place.
Back then there were different dangers but I was still a little tentative as I rode in. I had not booked a hotel, I had no phone or internet connection, so no live tracking of my location for my family, and I had no local cash. I had downloaded Google maps offline for the region but it is fairly limited in it’s information. The Locus Maps app was still very good for Iran. And of course there are no apps like Booking. Almost like real old school motorcycle travel, except for my mapping app and GPS.
As I began to enter Mashhad city it was obvious the Iran people are doing it hard. It was not as poor as many countries I have visited but for an oil rich country the sanctions are obviously having an impact on the locals.
I rode into the city centre. Some of the hotels didn’t look to appealing and I decided to just find the top ones according to the limited info on Google Maps.
I chose a 5 star hotel, damn the cost, I just needed to get settled. So I rode up and parked at the end of their red carpet. I received a wonderful reception, with one English speaking concierge looking after me. I booked in for two nights at 55 USD per night with breakfast, nice. It was an old building but very well kept and very good service. Breakfast was amazing with a huge array of foods and a real barista making coffee.
After checking in the concierge arranged for one of the staff to take me to a money exchanger and then to get a SIM card. Both went well. If you stick to official exchange offices you will get a good rate. The SIM card was from Irancell and was okay, although recharging it during my trip was a little confusing, but doable.
I went for a walk around the city that afternoon. It was a colouful neighbourhood with many intriguing shops. Crossing the road is interesting. There are no pedestrian traffic lights, just crossings. I was very wary and ducked and weaved between the traffic that just wasn’t going to stop. But then I watched a really old man just shuffle across at a snails pace and he survived just fine.
Looking out over Mashhad from my hotel.
The lobby of my Mashhad hotel. I was careful about taking photos of people in Iran (like I am in any country) so it was a little limited.
I think that huge chandellier was actually glass.
As usual, I had no plan upon arriving in Iran, just getting in had taken up much of my time. I did some research while staying in Mashhad. My main interest was about the history of Iran. I checked out a few tour websites and worked out where the historical regions were and plotted out a basic route.
A typical example of the terrain. I was riding west with a basic plan to see the Caspian Sea and then head south into central Iran. Most days are 40 degrees Celsius.
At times I would spot something of interest and take a detour off the main road. This is Fakhr Davood Caravanserai (an inn providing protection and hospitality for travellers) from the Timurid Empire period (1370–1507). Although it has been repaired and rebuilt many times. Unfortunately I was not able to visit inside but there are nine domes in the roof structure.
The front entry of Fakhr Davood Caravanserai.
Another side trip off the main road. This time not even on the map. It is hard to know the history of such buildings. Maybe it was another caravanserai. Someone had been maintaining some sections of the small settlement but in most parts people were long gone.
The more elaborate Zafaranieh Caravanserai from the Qajar period 1789 to 1925. It was over 4,800 square metres.
Zafaranieh Caravanserai.
This restored building was about 500 metres from Zafaranieh Caravanserai. It seems it might have been a type of cool room for storing saffron in the past.
A typical rural village along the roadside.
I stayed at a town called Bojnurd and then headed for the town of Gorgan on the way to the Caspian Sea. Finding accommodation in Iran is a matter of knocking on doors when I arrive. There is an online accomodation booking site called 1stquest but it does not have a live link with the hotels, has a long lead time and is way over priced. Google maps gives some indication of where some hotels are and maybe has reviews, although no booking service.
I would just ride to a hotel, decide if I was interested and then go talk to them. English is fairly common in Iran. I would sometimes use Google translate but it seemed to be a little hit and miss. In hotels there was often someone that I could communicate with in English.
Breakfast at my hotel in Gorgan. Most of the hotels I stayed in had a restaurant with very good meals. That is a type of basil in the background. It seemed to be popular as a salad ingredient at this time of the year.
A short walk up the lane from my hotel was a small bazaar (market) with this bakery. Iran has eating bread well organised. Having been to South America where many countries seemingly bake once a week, Iran seems to bake twice a day. They bake early in the morning, so you line up at 7am and buy your bread for breakfast, then they bake again around 4pm, so you buy your fresh bread for your evening meal. It is wonderful bread, and butter is readily available, again unlike some countries.
People are very welcoming in Iran. I was curious about the bakers and gave them a smile and waved my phone as if asking if it is okay to take a photo. They gave me a wonderful welcome and even sent me away with a loaf for my dinner.
I made it to the Caspian Sea near Chalus. It was not a very good day for the beach. In fact if I had my time again I would avoid this area of Iran. It is obviously a popular spot for local tourism and the traffic was dreadful.
I had one of those challenging times next. I would have stayed at Chalus but there was nowhere appealing and it was just chaotic. It was about 4pm and I decided to ride towards Tehran and find a hotel along the way. To get there I had to go over the mountains.
It all started well with a motorway and free toll for motorcycles. But very soon the motorway ended and we started climbing into the rainy mountains along a narrow windy two lane road. I am not sure why but the traffic was bumper to bumper. It was a Sunday which is a work day. Iran’s weekend is Thursday (maybe partially) and Friday. I rode around a lot of the congestion but is was still very slow going. And it was cold, from memory I was up as high as 2,300 metres elevation and it was around 8 degrees celsius, after 35 degrees down below.
I couldn’t find any hotel vacancies. I hadn’t planned to go into Tehran but at about 10pm I eventually ended up at a hotel in the city centre.
I left Tehran the next day. Staying in a large city didn’t hold much appeal. As it turned out tensions with Israel escalated, as the next day Ismail Haniyeh was assasinated while visiting Iran. I was a little wary about whether this may impact on the reception I was receiving but it had no impact. I could not see any change of mood in the local people.