Just got back so if you are planning to visit any of these countries and have a question please feel free to drop me a line.

Chris

Hi Chris!

thanks for this post.

I am planning a trip From Slovenia to Iran or/and India. We are two groups (each group driving one direction) with a Land Cruiser.
We will start trip in the mid April.

The problem is that we only have 3-4 weeks each direction. What is your opinion, is it worth driving to India or is it better to take it slower and end in Iran?

Thanks,

regards,

Well it’s interesting because as a Brit, an escort is necessary so unlike you I couldn’t blast across Iran although it’s such a diverse country it’s probably best not to anyway.

The crux is this- once you enter Pakistan at the Taftan border you are at the whim of the Levvies and the police. You will be escorted at their pace (think CG125 motorbike 2 up with a 20 minute change over and document check every 20 minutes) from the border to Quetta where you’ll spend 3 days locked down in a hotel while you apply for a NOC (no problem just a waste of time & money). From there you’ll be escorted to Sukkur then up to Multan and finally Lahore. Always in a hotel of their choice and unable to leave. After all this you will hate Pakistan and be itching to get into India.

However, the redeeming feature of Pakistan is up north in the Hunza valley/KKH which takes about 2 weeks to explore.

In short- unless to have time to go there or want to properly explore India, don’t go through the pain of Pakistan. Make the most of Iran which is huge, interesting and not that cheap to enter.

Also note that you will have to pay a significant amount for insurance in Turkey (unless you have a green card) so take some time to explore the country and get something for your money. It’s great on and off road.

I can give you some more tips & contacts for Iran if you need them.

Have fun

Chris


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@chris.w, with expensive to enter Iran you mean stuff like fuel taxes?

In 2011, we took the most southern border, and we didn't have to pay any of it.

It sounds like to whole Pakistan stuff got worse, we didn't need any NOC, so if you wanted, you could manage to cross Pakistan in a week. And while the escorts weren't perfect in Pakistan, they didn't have the annoying long waiting (and taking in passports) as they did in Iran.
But we also went up the KKH.

@p4jk: If time is that limited, then yes go and visit Iran.
We actually managed to drive from Islamabad back to Netherlands in three weeks. That was only because our travel plans changed quite a lot, that we made such a choice (and we spend 1.5 month in each country already).
It was only driving and sleeping. In a relaxed way, so no night driving, just stopping when we were fed up.
But still, there is no fun in that.

Iran has a lot to offer, so if you take your time there, you can have fun and actually see some stuff.

You could also look into Georgia and Armenia. And on the way back take the boat over the black sea, if it even saves time.

I don't know what the visa process is for each nation but we had to appoint an agent in Iran to provide an LOI and submit the application which took some time and wasn't that cheap. This was in addition to arranging the escort etc.

I initially got rejected but they didn't tell me, this caused a last minute panic and we planned the China route complete with Chinese visas before our fixer managed to sort things out with the Iranian Government and we got (expensive) visas on our way to the channel tunnel. Don't assume you'll be accepted.

A few top tips;

It's very important that you cross the Turkey Iran border with sufficient time to get money. You can use the money changers who hassle you throughout the entry process but my advice would be to spend the first night in Urmia and get cash from a bank there in the afternoon. End up past the border when the banks are closed and you'll have no money at all- that would be bad! Obviously you'll have no access to bank accounts or credit cards so you'll need sufficient cash (initially in US$) to fund your stay in Iran. It's not cheap to stay in the cities but food and fuel can be OK. Stay in Van the night before you cross- it's a fantastic ride to the border, leave early to get there at lunch time. We arrived on the Turkish side when the staff had gone to lunch- dig around, chat to people and you'll probably be taken to the staff cafeteria which is an air cooled Oasis. Do not get your carnet stamped entering Turkey- not necessary and it's another hassle when leaving Turkey.

Be aware of religious festivals. You'd think they'd add to your experience but they made things difficult in Iran (public facilities closed, raging crowds on the streets at night). In Pakistan they caused us to be locked down in a hotel in Sukkur for 4 days which was hell- unable to leave the compound and it was 45c.

Pak levies. You'l spend the first night in the Levies compound sleeping on the office floor. If you can communicate they will order excellent curry in for you otherwise take some food. You'll leave very early for your second night in Dalbandin. It's a half decent hotel, haggle a bit for the price. They do food and (hurrah). From there it's a day to Quetta and the Bloom Star hotel- no haggling here. You are locked in until the Police take you to see a judge for your NOC (no objection certificate). It's no problem getting but a total waste of your time- potentially 3 nights.

Next day Sukkur- 12 hours on the road. It's a long, hard, slow moving day. Scenery is great, buses lethal, Police useless. They are escorting you to protect you but can't tell you what from or how they will do it. Instead they'll expose you to dehydration and heat injury, road rage from trucks and buses, riding in the dark and exhaustion. Expect about 30 change overs and document checks- having photocopies of your passport visa and vehicle details to hand out is a must.

From Sukkur to Multan. After a big argument with secret service guys who demanded our papers without identifying themselves a few of us broke out for a look around. First time we'd spoken to anyone. No choice of hotel, they need a permit to take foreigners and few have that.

Another long day to Lahore which is obviously traffic mayhem. We were lucky that a traffic cop on a bike guided our escort as the 'elite police' monkeys didn't have a clue.

One more thing- bikes of any size are banned from the expressways. We didn't know and it was only by charm we got escorted off without a fine.

This was all a challenge and some of the group left straight for India. We headed north which was outstanding once past Abbotabad.

Enjoy

Ok that sounds like a different experience than we had. I guess the NOC is now standard, I guess it was just a matter of time. We didn't need one in 2011 on the way, but on the way back in 2012 we had to make a big detour over Karachi (because of flooding between Quetta - Sukkur) and there was a piece of road where a NOC was needed they said (Karachi - Quetta road). But there was a lot of talking, nothing happened, and in they end they said you can go without NOC but then also without escort.
This is what we did (during daylight), had to go back one time, and in the end succeeded.

But yeah, those driving days behind Police escort are never easy.
We also had a day in Gilgit, where we had to stay inside because of a religious festival.

Iranian visa, I guess not being from UK makes a difference. We just got the LOI somewhere, and applied for the visa ourselves at the embassy. This took some time, but we got 40 days while we asked for 4 weeks! So all went smoothly and not so expensive.
We also took the Yuksekova / Urmia border, and didn't have much problems. Changed some money at the border. We changed Euros and they would actually give very good rates, because the Rial was getting less and less worth.
We also didn't have to arrange any escort in advance or pay for that. You just show up in the South East of Iran, and they stop you at a checkpoint, giving you police escort.

And yes the North of Pakistan is awesome. Same goes for North of India (Jammu & Kashmir)

Evening all

Question if I may- I understand that the levies entering Pak from Iran are pretty much mandatory- but if I’m classed as an overseas Pakistani (UK citizen but with Pakistani heritage hence National ID card for Overseas Pakistanis) do I need to obtain a NOC?

Background to my question- brother and I are planning a road trip in late March from the UK to Pakistan via Turkey and Iran and we’re trying to do as much research and account for as many of the potential sticky situations that we could find ourselves in as possible!

Hi Ali, that is hard to say.

I did speak to some Pakistani guys from Islamabad. They said they got the same levies in Pakistan / Baluchistan as we did. I cannot comment on the NOC, but I guess they will stop you if they see the foreign license plates. And from there I would guess that the chance is high they want you to have a NOC. Since you are a UK citizen.

Thanks for the reply. Makes sense. Guess we will have to schedule more time for the Pakistan side of the border.
A couple of follow up questions if I may- In terms of the visa situation for Iran - would you happen to know of a reputable company that can assist us in getting hold of the code you need to submit alongside your visa application?

Secondly our itinerary for entering Iran at the border with Turkey and departing from the border with Pakistan is something like this:
Day 1: Tabriz-Tehran 7hr 627km

Day 2: Tehran- Isfahan- Shiraz 10hr 33min 899km

Day3: Shiraz- Kerman- Zahedan 12hr 1077km
Recognise that last day may need to be split into two but we will most probably be on 4 wheels and there are two of us to share the load. Are we being overly optimistic?

Sem bil 2016 v Iranu z motorjem in ga seveda priporoča .3 ali 4 tedni do indije so po mojem premalo.
Sem bil v Iranu 21dni pa je bilo premal, vracal sem se preko Armenije in Gruzije, kar zelo zanimiva pot.
Stroški so viza Iran /ljubljana 60 $\ karneta pa baje Slovenci ne rabimo več.... na amzs vejo
lp saso


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živijo..... And hi neighbour!
For the benefit of us poor folk , can you please clarify that last bit you wrote about slovenes not needing a Carnet ? I'm sure I misunderstood but if that's not the case then I'm running over the border to import my bike straight away
Hvala in lep pozdrav.

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Hi I was listening rumors, you nead carnet.,price 160 € if motorcycle registred in Slo


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Are you being over optimistic? Yes. Traffic in much of Iran is quite bad with many bottlenecks on the motorways and mayhem in the cities- and you don’t want to miss the cities because that’s where the good stuff is. Also if you do need an escort you won’t find a guide who is happy to do those hours.
Further your route must be authorised by the government. Liaise with whoever does your LOI, they will outsource your travel to another agent who will book hotels & provide a guide. Driving/riding in Iran is demanding.

There are several agents- we used (young) Hossein at Iran Overland. He’s a bit of an arse but came up trumps when my application got refused. There is also (old) Hossein at Overland Iran who is also a bit of an arse. They hate each other but will do whatever you need for a price.

All this arranging in Iran is only necessary for UK people right?
We were allowed to travel free, until entering the border area close to Pakistan (everything after Bam)

British, Americans and Canadians.

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Belgium to Nordkapp via Iran | Discover Overland | Destination World