Destination: Iran

LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL GUIDEBOOK INFORMATION

When to Go

Extremes of temperature are the main factors in determining when to visit Iran. Temperatures can vary wildly: when it’s -5°C in Tabriz it might be 35°C in Bandar-e Abbas. Spring and autumn are easily the best times to come, and if you come in spring you avoid having countless Iranians tell you: ‘Oh, but you must come back in the spring, it’s beautiful.’ The most agreeable time to visit the south coast is during winter, while the northwest and northeast are at their best between mid-April and early June, and late September and early November. High summer is unpleasantly hot in most of the country, but especially along the Persian Gulf coast and when the smog hangs heavy over Tehran. Nights during winter can be bitter but the days (often clear and about 15°C in much of the country) are far more pleasant than the summer heat.

Unless you’re on the Persian Gulf coast, hotel prices tend to be higher during summer, usually by about 20% but, as in the case of the Caspian Sea resorts, sometimes up to 400%. Prices are at their highest and rooms hardest to find during No Ruz (Iranian New Year, about 21 March), when the country virtually shuts down for 10 days.

There is no one date that high season prices and summer opening hours begin. However, many hotels, airlines, monuments and museums up their prices and keep their doors open longer from mid-March to early October. For the sake of clarity, in this book when you see ‘summer’ opening hours it will usually refer to these dates. Many people prefer not to visit Iran during Ramazan, the Muslim month of fasting, when most restaurants close between dawn and dusk and tempers can be strained. However, cafés in hotels and bus stations still operate and while buses may be less frequent, Ramazan is the least crowded time on trains and planes.

Travelling to Iran?
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