Hello!

Can somebody help me? I just need to know the actual timetable for period of beginning Dec'2007 for 2 ferry's routines:

Bandar e-lengeh(Iran) - Dubai(UAE) - Bandar e-lengeh(Iran)
AND
Bandar e-Abbas(Iran) - Sharjah(UAE) - Bandar e-Abbas(Iran)

And 1 additional question: what are the odds that these ferries(or one of) will be canceled due the bad weather in this period(1-5 of Dec'2007)?

I thank in advance for your answers!!

dubai port procedure
 

dodgy is at least half right. shipping from bandar to dubai is a bit of a nightmare. the roro ferry from bandar to sharjah no longer exists - or they don't want you on it, so you have to go via dubai. the second problem is they put your bike on the catamaran and then regard it as cargo shipping. including the usual hassels, so it took us two times five hours to check the bike in at bandar; they want you to show one day early to do the customs but then keep you busy another four hours the day the boat leaves. it goes on sundays and mondays at more or less 10am. there are port taxes to be paid in bandar (15 $) and the boat costs you 55$ and 139$ for the bike. the real fun starts in bandar. you cannot clear the bike the same day because customs is closed when you arrive. then you have to go to the shipper (oases) who charges you another 300 dirhams. add the port taxes etc in dubai and it will cost you about 500 dirhams in total to get your bike back. and try not to laugh at their no delay sign; it took us 23 hours to clear the bike.

but if you expect it... it's less bad, i suppose.

Please specify which "bandar", which means no more than "port", you're talking about...

Timetable is here Iran ferry ship, persian gulf shipping ticket, Travel Iran persian, Tour Operator Iran persian gulf, IranTravelingCenter

Email them any questions and they will reply.

Hello Desertsoul, Brett and the others here,
- the "Bandar" Gaea was referring to was Bandar-e Abas (Iranians use this abbreviation for their biggest port);
- where she wrote "the real fun starts in bandar" it should have been Dubai;
- we have written three times in the last month to the IranTravelingCenter.com and never received one reply. Once for the train Teheran-Istanbul and twice to ask schedules, prices and procedures for the Valfajre-8-ferry. Maybe the person speaking english was on holiday or maybe they have only just recently gone out of business, we don't know. O, and the timetable on the website is no longer correct.
Anyway, a friend of us here in Dubai is working on a severe complaint, taking it to the highest possible levels, so maybe in the future the "shipping a bike on a ferry"-procedure will get 'normal'.

Warm greetings from Trui and Gaea, heading south to Yemen and back in a couple of days.

Oman to Pakistan
 

I wonder if it would be better to get a ferry Oman to Pakistan and then cross into Iran.
Cheers
Ian

Ferry to and from iran
 

Hi
I guess i agree with all these comments , except i think i got to add a few points.
1- If you want to transfer your bike, you got to take the RoRo ferry leaving dubai to bandare abbas. try to sat y with your bike , by that i mean go check it before the ferry takes off and while underway. there are some problems that you know might happen and it is a good idea to be avoiding it even if you might have to sleep a couple bucks into the worker up there to let you check your bike as you are going to Iran.
2- This Dubai oasis freight agency is the offshore ticketing agent for Valfajr 8. so you need to go get your ticket right from their office. they have a number of offices all around the gulf .i am going to put their addresses here.

3- these folks at the Oasisdxb seem to be not really that much efficient . But unfortunately that is the only option you got.
Here are their email and contact addresses in dubai. you can contact the right person based on your questions:

taff information
1-66-521
Mr.Asghar Safi Mazdabadi Managing Director
Mobile: +971 50 6538105
Email: mazdabadi@oasisdxb.com
Work phone: +971 4 3525000
Work Ext.: 224
Emergency:
Notice:
3-74-521
Mr.Sajjad Haider Assistant Manager Operation Manager Valfajre
Mobile: +971 50 4548360
Email: haider@oasisdxb.com
Work phone: +971 4 3525000
Work Ext.: 217
Emergency:
Notice:
3-73-521
Mr.Ashish Kumar Biswas Manager Operation / IRISL
Mobile: +971 50 4507814
Email: biswas@oasisdxb.com
Work phone: +971 4 3525000
Work Ext.: 213
Emergency:
Notice:
3-70-521
Mr.Syed Nazer Ghoreifi Director Finance
Mobile: +971 50 6468049
Email: ghoreifi@oasisdxb.com
Work phone: +971 4 3525000, 971 4 3516363
Work Ext.: 15
Emergency:
Notice:
3-69-521
Eng.Syed Hussain Tavalla Director Technical
Mobile: +971 50 6287182
Email: tavalla@oasisdxb.com
Work phone: +971 4 3525000
Work Ext.: 14
Emergency:
Notice:
3-68-521
Mr.Ahmad Darbandsari Director Commercial
Mobile: +971 50 6452206
Email: darbandsari@oasisdxb.com
Work phone: +971 4 3525000
Work Ext.: 232
Emergency:
Notice:
3-67-521
Capt.Mohammad Sattari Operation Director Commercial
Mobile: +971 50 6536230
Email: Capt.Sattari@oasisdxb.com
Work phone: +971 4 3525000
Work Ext.: 231
Emergency:
Notice:
4-521-521
Mr.Yousef Neshat Commercial
Mobile: +971 50 5586908
Email: neshat@oasisdxb.com
Work phone: +971 4 3525000
Work Ext.: 248
Emergency:
Notice:
4-556-521
Mr.Mohammad Ali Ansarizadeh Assistant Director Technical
Mobile: +971 50 6516174
Email: ansarizadeh@oasisdxb.com
Work phone: +97 14 3525000, 351 6363
Work Ext.: 13
Emergency:
Notice:
4-72-521
Mr.Gopala Krishna Kurup Balu Executive Operation / PCL
Mobile: +971 50 4502269
Email: balu@oasisdxb.com
Work phone: +971 4 3525000
Work Ext.: 230
Emergency:
Notice:
4-71-521
Mr.Saeed Ebrahimi IRISL Representative Supply
Mobile: +971 50 6468069
Email: irislspcl@oasisdxb.com
Work phone: +971 4 3516363
Work Ext.: 12
Emergency:
Notice:
6-607-521
Ms.Rizza David Documentation PCL
Mobile:
Email: rizza@oasisdxb.com
Work phone: +971 4 3525000
Work Ext.: 236
Emergency:
Notice:

Did the ferrywork out ok? As I'm considering the reverse option Iran->Dubai->India - anyone know if that is possible, easy, at short notice - looking at avoiding pakistan

Actually, the ferry used to go to Sharjah, not Dubai and the office is also in Sharjah.

There are no other vehicle ferries in the gulf that I know of and there are no boats anywhere else, i.e. Oman, India, Pak... except wooden dhows, but the bureauprats won't allow you to use them yourself, althoug you may be able to ship your bike on one. AFAIK there is a passenger ferry from Bandar Lengeh to Dubai, but when I enquired I was told it wouldn't take bikes. Now that the roro is gone this may have changed, as Trui & Gaea took a catamaran.

The RO-RO is not gone, personally used it on December 23rd from B. Abbas to Sharjah. The case is that due to jetty rebulding process at the usual Bahonar port in B. Abbas now it uses the Rajaee port, just some 10 km from B. Abbas. However, the catamaran they usually use as a fast passenger ship can also take up to 10 normal cars (they said 4x4 are too high for that vessel).

My notes from the process of using the Ferry from Iran to Sharjah

Iran side:
Notes: All caged up
Photos: My Images - /20071217 - ISAAC 3

Sharjah/Dubai side:
Notes: See Dec 24th on this page


From this I suggest if you use the ferry you check whether the tide is in or out!! And also whether there is a public holiday the day after you land!

Road conditions in iran and Turkey
 

I'm planning to drive (yes car not bike) from UAE back to UK next year via iran and turkey. The info here on ferry possibilities is really useful. Does anyone have any comments on the conditions of the roads in iran and Turkey? Talking to various people there are pretty good roads in iran on main routes and anything else is up to individual preference of how far off the beaten track you go. turkey seems more variable. anyone got any comments on this?

That seems about right. I've just crossed Turkey east to west mainly along the southern coast and though roads are good, there are some with truck ruts and uneven surfaces. They are more of concern to a bike though and, for the most part, you probably wouldn't even notice them in a car.

A few that we took in the hills north of Antalya turned into dirt tracks without any warning but even these would be easily navigable in a car in fair weather.
Stephan

That's really good news for other travellers, thanks for posting that here. It just goes to confirm that if you talk to 10 different officials you get 10 different answers.

Ferry Sharjah - Bandar Abbas: Update
 

Hi folks,

a bit late, but here are my experiences with the ferry Sharjah - Bandar Abbas (May 2008)

Contact Oasis 3-4 days before you want to go. Earlier is useless, as they don't known the exact schedule of the boats either.
Phone the friendly Mr Nazar +971507868280 and ask for the schedule, show up 2 days in the office before boat leaves.
I took the "speedboat", leaving in the morning. You can do the customs the day before departure. If you're not a UAE resident with a UAE number plate, don't let the guys at the harbour entrance tell you that you have to get an exit permission at the police! This applies only to residents.
My bike was put into a cage and lifted onto the upper deck. But don't think they are really well prepared for that.....

If you arrive around 5 p.m. in Bandar Abbas, the Valfajre office is already closed and you have to leave the bike overnight at the customs.
The next day, try to get a local to help you through the customs, otherwise you will go mad. I had a taxi driver translating and helping me and I still needed 4 hours (faster is impossible).

Officials are (very) friendly, but procedures are hillarious....
Be aware that nobody asks you to get an insurance if you arrive per boat. I was never stopped by the police in Iran so I don't know what would happen if you can't present one...

Roads are excellent in Iran, but traffic (especially in cities) can be breathtaking.

Cheers

Robert