What does a typical day on a guided tour in Iran look like?
Curious on what actually goes down when you are an American on a mandatory guided tour in Iran? It’s not as bad as it sounds and there’s no choice in the matter since we are Americans. My husband and I, like many travelers, usually prefer to go at my own speed when we take a trip. We get typically get by with help from good pre-trip research, a guidebook with a good map, on site pointers from other travelers we meet along the way and the occasional internet search at the local internet cafe/hostel.
Many who are considering a trip to Iran wonder simply what a day is like when you need to be escorted around by a local guide. I found plenty of videos; pictures; blog posts about traveling in Iran but little information about how a typical day went down. I understand it may not be very exciting material but I hope it gives others a little more insight on how things roll along during a typical day. I travel independently so tours aren’t usually a part of my travels except for the occasional organized day trip to a protected area which requires a guide.
My typical day:
7am: Get up and wait for our guide to do the same. The first few days the time was more like 3am but it worked its way eventually to 7am. I like early starts even if it means chilling out for a couple of hours waiting for our fixer.
9am: Meet our sleepy-eyed guide for breakfast which hopefully includes eggs, fresh bread, cheese, butter, jam (hopefully not of the carrot variety) and of course cups and cups of tea. I’m excited when things like hot soup, real coffee and pastries are there as well. This happened a couple of times.
10am ish: Or somewhere around that time…Check out the sites until it gets really hot which usually coincides with lunch hour at high noon.
12pm – 1pm: Many things that require an entrance fee close at this time anyways. It’s a good time to have lunch when everyone else does. Lunch usually is the biggest meal of the day and the choices are very much like dinner. The vegetarian menu typically has been limited to rice, bread, yogurt/Doogh and the usual plate of Kookoo Zabzi – sometimes the cook has other choices but usually it means meat dishes where the meat is literally picked out of the plate. I decided I had enough Kookoo Zabzi and alternated with kebab.
12pm-late afternoon: Our guide goes to the gym and lets us have some time to ourselves. This is when I have a few minutes out of the sun and let my hijab down. It was hot that day but no complaints. The hijab kept my head safe from the suns rays.
3-4pm: We take off again to see sites in the best light and before evening prayer time.
Around Sundown: We have dinner and check out what goes on after the sun sets. This is when I hope to find something sweet like Saffron Ice cream and get some good night shots. The evenings are when most cities typically come alive.
farflungistan 