Can Americans Travel to Iran?

Many citizens of the US might wonder if they are legally allowed to travel to Iran from the US and spend the holidays surrounded by the unique nature of Iran while having the chance to take a look at the famous historical remains and Persian architectural constructions as well as meeting up with the local folks and enjoy being exposed to such friendly culture. A good number might come up with the wrong idea that a travel to Iran from the US as a citizen of the United States has to be either impossible or overly complicated and stressful and end up rejecting the idea which is why we are going to answer to the following question: “Is it even possible for an American to travel to Iran from the US as a tourist?”

The short answer is yes, they absolutely can! No one should be robbed of visiting such astonishing tourism destination at least once in their life time and everybody, including US citizens must be able to travel to Iran from the US if they desire to. But they are going to have to plan things beforehand to enjoy the journey without any worries. Also, there’s a longer answer to come since the visa process is a little bit different for Americans who intend to travel to Iran from the US.

Contrary to the popular belief, American globetrotters have been traveling to Iran for years. In fact, many famous and well-known tour operators in the US have been offering cultural tours to Iran for a while now in order to pave the way for Americans to travel to Iran from the US. . Our agency provides Classical Cultural tours as well as nature-oriented ones such as Eco tours, Desert and Island tours for the interested individuals. Iran has also been a temporary host to many famous faces and curious artists of the United States such as the gifted chef and writer, Anthony Bourdain and the Oscar-winning actor, Sean Penn.

While many travelers can obtain visa on arrival, unfortunately due to political tensions, the US citizens, while they travel to Iran from the US, along with citizens of a few other countries are exceptions and must be aware of the visa process and the general situation beforehand to be able to adjust their plans accordingly so that they can have a nice time during a travel to Iran from the US. The Iran visa process can be a bit of a hassle considering the relatively long wait but the Iranian authorities have made sure the waiting time is reduced in the past few years in order to make a travel to Iran from the US much easier.

Americans who travel to Iran from the US need to be granted visas and they would need to purchase tours from tour operators or traveling agencies or book private tour guides since it’s necessary for them to be accompanied by an Iranian national tour guide the whole time during their stay in Iran which admittedly could be a little disheartening for the American tourists who travel to Iran from the US.

It is vital for tourists who have plans to travel to Iran from the US to know that the visa should be applied for at least three months prior to the date of entry to the country, and for Americans who intend to travel to Iran from the US on average, it takes about 6 to 8 weeks from the time of applying until the visas are ready. The visas are valid for three months and can be used for a maximum of 30 days for tourists who travel to Iran from the US. If you’re looking for more information on the matter, you can contact info@zhivar.net and be thoroughly guided through the process by specialists.

Sadly, Iran is often portrayed as a violent or unsafe travel destination which cannot be any further from the truth. With thirty years of experience on the matter under our belt we assure you that just like any other nationalities, the Americans who travel to Iran from the US have never faced any form of unease or harm either from locals or from the law enforcement officers by getting in touch with proper tour guides and tour agencies which is what makes us say with confidence that a travel to Iran from the US can be an unforgettable experience.

Of course, there are certain things you need to keep in mind to avoid running into trouble while you travel to Iran from the US, which as you can probably guess includes the following activities:

• As mentioned before, it’s important that the US citizens who plan to travel to Iran from the US have a tour guide to accompany them at all times. The tour operators can fortunately help you with booking flights too, considering many major American airlines don’t offer flights to Iran due to sanctions and the tension between the two countries.

• In time of a travel to Iran from the US, avoid trying to enter the restricted areas or photographing military sites as it can cause serious issues between you and the authorities. You won’t need to worry about photography otherwise, as if it’s not permitted in an area, it would be indicated by using signs in English as well as Farsi.

• In case you intend to travel to Iran from the US, it is good for you to know that you better avoid engaging in political conversations even if you’re asked to present your opinion on the topic. Triggering locals with political motivations and insulting the regime and political figures might result in legal prosecutions.

• Just like political topics, religious topics are very tricky in Iran and best to be avoided at all cost during a travel to Iran from the US. Even if the locals involved in the conversations encourage you to join them and even if you’re within a circle of people you trust, you’d better not engage in such conversations and advertisement of all religions but Islam is against the law and could possibly get you in trouble.

• Do pay attention to the dress code for both men and women and make sure to follow and respect it to avoid unpleasant encounters with the people or the morality officers. Although even if you happen to break the dress code without wanting to when you travel to Iran from the US, you will most likely be let off with a warning and won’t face serious reactions. If you put some little effort into it, you probably won’t end up having a problem as foreign tourists usually are not reacted to in equal measure as locals.

• If you ever decide to travel to Iran from the US, make sure to decline any offerings of alcohol or recreational drugs as possessing either is against the law and drinking alcoholic beverage in public could lead to some problems. Also, it’s better to keep in mind that home-brewed alcoholic beverage could be harmful for your body considering they don’t rise up to the universal standards of production at all which is an important matter to keep in mind at the time of a travel to Iran from the US.

• As a tourist who intends to travel to Iran from the US, you must make note of the fact the you might get rejected if you have already traveled to Israel due to the conflicts between the countries. If both countries are on your visiting checklist you might want to visit Iran first to avoid rejection. Although Israel most of the time doesn’t stamp passports anymore, and even if you’re found out to have traveled to Israel for tourism purposes only at least 4 years prior to your visa application, you might still be issued with an Iran visa meaning there won’t be a problem and you can travel to Iran from the US easily. It’s important to know that Jews and followers of Judaism are welcomed to travel to Iran from the US or any other nation through the country as long as they are not citizens of Israel and do not support Zionism. The country is not anti-Jew and there are thousands of Iranian Jews living in Iran in peace alongside Muslims and other religious minorities.

Fortunately, tourists who travel to Iran from the US by tours and with the company of tour guides never run into such problems as long as they are respectful of the laws, even though they might seem a little restricting to them. Zhivar Agency offers Tailor-made tours for individuals who prefer to be involved in the planning of their trip to Iran. All in all, a travel to Iran from the US might be a little more complicated for citizens of the US or the UK and the visa process would typically take a longer time which needs to be taken into consideration ahead of time, but other than that, there’s not much to worry about. The rest of the process usually moves forward smoothly with no trouble especially because tourists who travel to Iran from the US are mostly relying on the tourism agencies to guide them through step by step.

Hopefully, the travelers looking for more professional services will check our MICE tours and CIP/VIP services out.