US Passport - Iran
 

Does anyone know if this American will be tolerated/allowed to enter Iran with a motorcycle?

Iran is a fantastic country. I don't have a good answer for you, but this photo was shot in 2010 at the so called “US Den of espionage” ...


http://i45.tinypic.com/2j4ehko.jpg


Still much hate I believe:(

Hi ...
Try to Call an Iranian Ambass ...I did , cause I was a bit worried due to all my
Time as a proff soldier in the Balkan war.
They assured mé that it was no problem....as long I did not take photos of Military installations or police stations..

I'm pretty sure that with US passport, you will be refused already, when you will ask for visa. In all their documents, that I have from embassy, there is a statement, that US citizens are not allowed to enter the country.

Well....friends Down there told mé that commen Iranian does not have anything
Aganist Americans at all...!!
Just see to that your visum and carnet is ok....we go there as a small group of danes , germans, croats in Mai....wanna join us ?


Ps . How the F... ! dó I turn spelling control OFF on an IPad..I write like a child on this !!!

I wanted to go about five years ago. I was told that the only way an american can enter Iran is if they're part of an organized tour and that it was impossible as a solo traveler.

Brennan,
ajctraveler is essentially correct.
US passport holders can enter Iran only with an organized tour on a fixed
itinerary, with accompanying guide in separate vehicle, arranged with a travel agency based in Iran, agency and itinerary approved by the Iran Ministry of Interior, which also issues the required Iranian visa.

Iran also, separately, requires a Carnet (CdP) to enter the bike, regardless of bike country-of-registration.

In theory, you could, as a solo traveler, get all those approvals, if you
were financially able to bear all the costs of a "tour," including required
accompanying guide.

Even if all the above requirements are fulfilled, whether Iran would approve
entry/ issue a visa is very dependent on overall political situation, which
at the moment ain't terribly good. Even non-US passport holders, who are allowed to enter w/o organized tour, are sometimes turned down for Iran entry visas on apparent political or bureaucratic whim.

All that said, Iran is a wonderful country to visit/ ride; and the people
very warm/ welcoming to all, including US citizens.

The Dane mentions he's going with a small group of danes, germans, croats;
and invites you along. Well, that might be an interesting opportunity. It might
be an interesting experience to TRY to apply for a Iran visa as part of this group (if they are applying as a group, rather than as individuals). You might
slip under the Iran Ministry of Interior radar, but I seriously doubt it.

good luck

Iranians are one of the most hospitable and welcoming people and shouldnt be having anything against average Americans. Things might be different at official level.
You might be well advised to approach their embassy directly and see if you qualify. If you have the visa and other travel documents then visit without any worries. I'm sure you're gonna love it.
Good luck.

Omar

Maybe you can try another option. On Couchsurfing for example, you have a lot of people from Iran. Try to get an invitation letter from someone from there, and put it next to the application visa form.

Like someone said, Iranian people are hospitable and friendly, they don't have anything against anyone, but officials can make some problems, because of the tension between both countries. Also if you have visa and CdP, it's not 100% sure, that they will let you go into the country on the border. Heard for some American people, that they had to turn around to Turkey...

Let us know, when you will have an answer, we are curious.:innocent:

Cheers!

Hej..

Well, sorry to say, but we are not registred as a group, as we meet at the border
To Croatia - and from there going together , until some split and go north into Georgia, others into Iran and further into Turkmenistan - and for my part, south deeper into Iran.
We all do our papers ourselfs - fortunately I have iranian colleges who can help and advice me....if you should have questions etc , I would be happy to pas them on and hopefully help you...

Please excuse my bad english, I dont have the oportunaty to practise it to often..

Thank you everyone for the amazing feedback!!!!

This Saturday I'll head to the Iranian embassy here in Abu Dhabi to get some answers right from the source. Basically all the digging I've done has echoed what everyone here has said, only 'if' I'm part of a tour. I would be up for that but I'm not sure if anyone will be going that way in late March and April through to Pakistan from Turkey.

Basically I'm trying to get to the Himalayas from Romania(where my bike is now) via the middle east. Saudi is a no go and it sounds like Syria and Yemen would be pushing my luck. Iran seems like the option that makes the most sense. Plus everyone says how amazing the country and the people are.

The embassy on Saturday may be a waste of time but I'll post the results up here.

Thanks again everyone.

Well, I am leaving DK on the 27 of april. Heading for Austria on the first day..and staying overnight at a friends place, she lives just outside Wienna. Next day ..Croatia, to meet the rest of the gang. We only know eachother from the net, telephone chat and mails. Having a party at a friends house...and next day, when we have become eyes.....we head south..

...if some of the above would fit into your plans, your are mostly welcome!



I hope that things will work out well for you and you will be able to do your trip into Iran..they more I do read and hear...the more I am looking forward to go there! :-)

Thanks for the invite!!!! I wish the timing was better. The company would be very welcome.

Embassy isn't open on Saturday. I'll have to get away from work this week somehow to get in there.

We (a family of 4 americans) were just in Iran last week. Visas (obtained in China) were no problem - an "organised tour" is a requirement, but your "tour" can be a tour group of one (or, in our case, 4). We were well treated everywhere (though I must admit to being a little nervous being in Tehran on the date of the anniversary of the revolution, and watching them set up for the big demonstrations/rallies ... decided that day was a good one to get out of the city and go visit the assassin castle ruins!)

If you don't mind me asking how much was the "tour"? Who did you book through? I'll be going west to east through the whole country by motorcycle. Did they use their own vehicle?

Thank you!

We flew in/out (watching Argo on the Emirates flight as we took off from Tehran was kind of cool) and then travelled mostly in a vehicle arranged by the travel agency, so I can't speak to the motorcycle/accompanying vehicle issue.

We made most arrangements with Nasrin Etemadi, an Iranian in the UK, at persianvoyages[at]btinternet[dot]com. (We were then handed off to someone on the ground closer to the arrival date.) They were pretty responsive and pretty able to deal with specific requests. Note that as an American, your ability to be spontaneous is somewhat limited - your itinerary has to be approved by the Ministry (which takes time), and then you have to stick with it (at least in terms of which city you're visiting on which day, and to a certain extent where you're staying in that city). Flexibility within a given day's program, though, seemed to be fine - when the kids wanted to spend an afternoon doing something "fun", the guide found us a place to do carting and paintball ...

We paid USD1650/pax as a lump some for in-country costs: visa support, 24/7 guide, lodging, transportation, and entry fees. However, we chose to stay at higher-end-ish places, and we moved around a lot (Tehran, Alamut Valley, Dizin, Isfahan, Persepolis, Shiraz) including by train and plane, so I'd imagine you could manage for quite a bit less than that.

Good luck!

Oh, and also note that the recent more stringent sanctions have had a strong impact on the value of the real (local currency) - apparently it's devalued by about 300% in the last 18 months. The impact is that things for foreigners (such as hotel rooms) have gotten quite a bit cheaper recently. When we were there, the rate was between 35,000 - 38,000 reals/US$. Entrance fees to most historical sites, etc. were 5,000 reals (though set to increase to I think 15,000 or 20,000 next week).

Brennan you got a PM..

ThAnks for the contact details!!!! I'm currently speaking with Persian voyages to see how they can accompany a motorcyclist through the entire country from turkey to Pakistan!!! They were very apologetic that none of their guides had a motorcycle and would a car be okay to accompany me!!! I'll post the quote on here and give a final number when the deed is done this April!

I am very impressed. Now, that is what one could diffinete ( sorry for my very bad english)
as very good and responseble service towards foreign travellers.

Good luck, and have a great trip!

Nice to hear that you got everything you need to enter!

I wish you nice trip, don't forget to enjoy. When you will come back, you will probably want to go again :funmeteryes:

Update
 

Hello everyone, thanks for all the help.

Because of the new year holiday in Iran there has been a big delay with my visa application. I don't know if I will get it in time before I have to go back to work.

I'll let you know what happens!

Just curious whether you got your visa in time? Hope it all worked out!

This is a completely incorrect statement. Please be careful with spreading misinformation. Thank you.

I, too, am an American citizen hoping to procure an Iranian visa for overland travel via motorcycle. Do you have an status update on your visa application ordeal?

Sorry about the wrong information.
This (I think) was written on my visa application form, when I was applying for. Looks like I was wrong.

Sorry again.:blushing:

Thanks for checking in! I'm back at work until August then back to Turkey to try again. I've already started the process of applying for a visa! no stopping me this time!

I'm going through Persian Voyages for my visa. I found their information on here and we'll see how it goes. Ask me again in August!!! Best of luck. Let me know what you find!