Tehran

By train

Tehran has rail connections to other cities in Iran and neighboring countries. If traveling within Iran, train tickets should be bought outside the station, in travel agencies or through internet from Raja passenger train company (http://www.raja.ir/?Cultu...) that is the passenger daughter company of Islamic Republic of Iran Railways RAI (http://www.rai.ir/eng/Sit...).

There is a three-day train service departing from Istanbul to Tehran every Wednesday at 11.55PM, costing 96.20 Turkish lira August 2010. You change trains on Friday at Lake Van which requires a four hour ferry ride to get across. Both the Turkish and Iranian trains are comfortable and clean. Waggon restaurants are rather cheap. Arrival on Saturday at 6.45PM but expect up to 10 hours delay….

There is a three-day train from Damascus, crossing Turkey via Lake Van.

Several trains a day from Mashhad, including night trains.

There are at least one train each day to Isfahan, Tabriz, Kerman, Yazd, Sari, Gorgan, Ahvaz and Bandar Abbas in Iran.

By plane

There are no direct flights from North America or Australia, but there are flights direct from numerous European, African and Asian cities as well as cities in the Middle East. Iran Air (http://www.iranair.com/), the national carrier of Iran, flies to many destinations such as London Heathrow, Amsterdam, Vienna, Istanbul and Tokyo. You can also fly direct from London Heathrow with BMI previously known as British Midland. Alternatively, you can enter via Dubai and then take Emirates (http://www.emirates.com) or Air Arabia (http://www.airarabia.com) to Tehran.Tehran's Mehrabad airport IATA: THR ICAO: OIII (http://mehrabad.airport.i...) is the old pre-revolution airport and has been partially replaced with the new Imam Khomeini International Airport IATA: IKA ICAO: OIIE (http://www.ikia.ir/pages/...). Recently all International flights are designated to Imam Khomeini and Mehrabad is only used for regional and cargo flights. The old airport is located relatively close to the city centre and the abundant taxis available are definitely the best way to get into Tehran. There is a booth organizing taxis for you right outside the arrivals hall.

Imam Khomeini Airport is a significant improvement over Mehrabad and it is still only in International use. Be warned that it can take up to an hour and a half to get to the airport in bad traffic but if you book your departure early in the morning it can be much faster. Taxis are cheap and plentiful. A taxi to any destination in Tehran costs from 200,000 Rials for a local Samand car, or a few dollars more for Toyota Camry. You can also bargain with taxis who take passengers from Tehran to the Imam Khomeini airport because they usually have to go back to Tehran empty. You may be able to hire one to get to Tehran destinations such as Azadi square or the Metro Station for 20,000-30,000 rials. Bus services have recently been added from Mehrabad Terminal 5, and Behesh-e-Zahra Haram-e-Motahhar Metro Station to Imam Khomeini Airport. You may have to ask a few people about the service as it is relatively new and not well known yet.

Despite the warnings in some travel guides, there is no exit fee for foreign travelers, neither in Mehrabad nor in Imam Khomeini Airport. The exit fee applies to foreign travellers only when leaving Iran on land or by sea.

By bus

Almost every city and far-flung village in Iran has bus services to Tehran, as evidenced by the hundreds of buses that pour in and out of the capital each day. Most buses arrive to, or depart from one of four major bus terminals:

The Western bus terminal Terminal-e-gharb is the biggest, busiest and best equipped of Tehran's terminals. Most international buses, as well as those heading to the Caspian Sea region and destinations west of Tehran originate and terminate here. The terminal is a ten minute walk north-west from Azadi Square, and a few minutes walk west from the Tehran Sadaghieh metro station.

The Eastern bus terminal Terminal-e-shargh, seven km north-west of Emam Hossein square, handles buses to/from Khorasan province, as well a small number of services to the north.

The Southern bus terminal Terminal-e-jonoob is well equipped and handles buses head to and from destinations south of Tehran. It is 2 km east of Tehran's main train station and easily accessible via the dedicated Terminal-e-Jonoob metro stop.

The Beihaghi bus terminal Terminal-e-beihaghi is located beside Arzhantin Square, around 1.5 km south-west of the Mossallah metro stop. Frequent shared taxis to/from the metro should be no more than 3,000 rials. The station has services to /from most major destinations in Iran including Mashhad, Esfahan, Rasht, Shiraz, Tabriz and Yazd.