Why Iran Is Safe?
One of the most asked questions by tourists who are interested in visiting Iran and eager to get familiar with Iranian cultures, civilization , landscapes , monuments and people is that if Iran is safe or not . Iran is a unique country with a broad range of landmarks , natural features, and different cultures . So because of its tourism potential, Iran is a perfect destination. In addition, visiting Iran is financially affordable for most of the people around the world because of the value of its currency. So the question that might stop people visiting Iran is : Is Iran safe to visit or not? There are many negative ideas about Iran all around the world because of the global politic issues. But people should not forget the reality that all these arguments are among the governments. If you are planning a travel and visit Iran , your basic trepidation will be more about what to wear than your safety. While you will need to keep your wits about you like anywhere else in the world, you would not have to be worried about religious extremism ruining your trip . In fact, Iran earned a spot as one of the top 20 tourist destinations to visit in 2017 by Bloomberg. One of the reasons being the Iran’s security , which has been a major factor in tourists returning to Iran.
Iran Is Safe
Unfortunately, Iran’s image among the ones who have not visited, is not pleasant. It is the result of bad diplomatic political relations with the countries such as the U.S. and the U.K., as well as wrong decisions made by their own government. Resulting from ignorance and propaganda from the western media, people carry the most distinguish prejudice about this country and believe they should avoid visiting Iran. After traveling to Iran you will find out and answer to this important question: Is Iran safe for tourists?
Just after one month travelling there, being really amazed by their people, food, history, culture and their hospitality, we can strongly say that, it surprisingly impressed us. So, here we are to deny the seven most common prejudices people have about Iran and mention the answer and experience of our clients who visited Iran.
Safe Iran
1- IRAN IS DANGEROUS!
Iran is one of the safest countries we have ever visited. We wandered around at night and never faced any problem at all. Also, we used our mobile phones in public transport. We know in most European countries this sounds pointless, but you can not really do this in Sao Paulo, Brazil, for instance.) Our friends normally left their car opened when parked, and etc.
As anywhere else in the world, you must be careful. It’s important to know your limits and where you are ablr to go or not. But anyway, we spent one month in Iran, walking every where, and we never felt threatened and it is the same in all the cities we visited, such as Tehran, Isfahan, Yazd, Shiraz, Kashan, Kermanshah, Hamedan and Tabriz.
2 – IRANIANS ARE TERRORISTS, NOT SAFE FOR TOURISTS!
wrong. Terrorist attacks in Iran are as often as in European countries. The main targets of these attacks are the army bases political and governmental characters. It does not justify anything, because in the “fight against terror” the innocent population are the ones who suffer the most. You can tick it off your list now if wondering is Iran safe for tourists or not.
3 – IRAN IS NOT SAFE FOR TOURISTS BECAUSE THEY ARE “RADICAL” ARAB MUSLIMS!
This is definitely wrong that we do not even know from where to begin with… Iranians are not Arabs, they are Persians – which, once more, do not justify any type of prejudice with Arabs but it would be like, in a very wrong comparison, to call Irish of British or a Brazilian of Argentinian.
The Persian Empire was the biggest and oldest the world has ever seen. Its religion was the Zoroastrianism (the first Manichaeism religion in the world and the one which influenced all the others, such as Judaism, Christians and Islamism) and only from the Arab invasion, around 600 AD, where they became Muslims.
But the Persians are so proud of their history that they even made their own version of Islamism, the Shia Islam (which once more is translated wrongly by the western media as a form of more extremist arm of the religion).
Thanks to the rich Persian poetry and literature, the country was one of the few ones which suffered the Arab invasion and Persians were able to keep their traditions, which is seen on their way of eating, working, hosting, writing, speaking and etc.
They even have their own way of celebrating the New Year, which is a whole week of festivities and mysticism that trace back to ancient Iran.
4 – IRANIANS DO NOT LIKE “WESTERNS”.
The Iranian people are the most friendly ones we have ever met. During our trip, we spoke with a few European and American tourists. All of them were unanimous on saying positive things about Iranian hospitality. In fact, it was in Iran where we started to learn a big lesson: “do not generalize. One side is the governments, another side is the people”. We even asked some people what they thought about Israelis – Israel and Iran are notoriously enemies and Israelis are forbidden to enter Iran and their answers were: no problem with them, I actually have some Jewish friends, the problem is our governments.
Prince Garden, Mahan, Kerman province, Iran
5 – IRAN HAS A FUNDAMENTALIST AND DICTATORIAL GOVERNMENT AND I CAN GO TO PRISON.
Well, unfortunately, this is partially true. The hardest question to answer when they ask: Is Iran safe for tourists? Though, you as a tourist do not need to feel any sort of repression. As for in any other country, some rules must be obeyed: Alcohol is forbidden, women should wear the scarf(Head cover), men should wear trousers and so forth. But, if you respect it, you will not have any problem. The ones who suffer more with this prohibitions are the Iranians and not the tourists. We talk further about it on our article How to dress in Iran, and how was it before the Islamic Revolution.
6 – IT IS HARD TO GET THE VISA TO IRAN.
Many nationalities, including Brazilians, Argentinians, Chileans (almost all from South America), Portuguese, Italians, French (majority of Europeans) can get their visa on arrival for 45 days and even can extend it easily (VOA). English, America, Canadian and Irish however, need to apply for visa almost two months before arrival. They also need to have a tour guided.
Please read our post about Iran Visa here.
We hope that we have helped you with the common questions and concerns about traveling to Iran as a safe country for tourists to visit. If you still have any doubts and concerns about Iran, just feel free and contact us. It is our team pleasure to answer to your question.
7 – Is Iran Safe for females travelers?
Now what about females Travelers who want to visit Iran ?
Iran is one of the safest destinations for female travelers.
Due to the culture of gender segregation in Iran, common street harassment that solo female travelers experience doesn’t really happen. Public displays of affection are not permitted.
Another great point about safety for women in Iran is that the locals ill always look out for you. If you are traveling alone on the bus, the driver will make sure you are not sitting next to an unknown man. So while these gender rules are a bit of a culture shock, it does create a safe environment for women and removes a lot of the safety issues that females experience in other countries.
Traveling to Iran With a Baby / Child / Children.
Want to take your little ones with you to Iran? No problem.
Here are some top tips to make traveling to Iran with kids hassle free :
- You do not need to worry about strict dress codes for kids.
- Girls under the age of 10 do not need to cover their hair.
- Boys can wear shorts and sleeveless shirts.
Read More About Iran Is Safe
Traveling to Iran is as Safe as Canada
*Article originally written in July 2022*.
