Tehran is still relatively one of the safest cities to travel through, particularly considering its size and security. Common sense and the usual precautions against pickpockets in bazaars and crowds should ensure your visit is hassle free.
Even late at the mid-night it is safe in most parts of the city while you will find the city still crowded. It is advisable not to take a private taxi for instance at 2:00AM.
The fake police that target Esfahan's tourists have also found their way to Tehran in recent years. These are usually uniformed men in unmarked cars flashing phoney IDs are requesting to see you passport or search your luggage. It goes without saying that you should just ignore such requests and head to the nearest police station if you feel unsafe. The trouble is that it can be a little hard for the untrained tourist eye to tell these from the real police.
The traffic in Tehran is very dangerous and should be considered some of the worlds worst. Try to cross the street when the locals do. At first it looks impossible but the drivers do a very good job to avoid pedestrians even though they drive crazy.
Gay and lesbian travellers should be extremely careful when traveling to Tehran due to strict and harsh regulations on homosexual activity. Iran justice has death penalty for homosexuals, even teenagers.
Exercising extreme caution in public is the key thing to remember, and in fact, it is mandatory to abstain from any kind of intimacy even for heterosexual couples, as even a simple holding hands can be seriously frowned upon.
It is also recommended, even for westerners and non-Muslim women, to wear a head scarf or veil, on their head, when exiting their apartment or hotel rooms.
If you decide to smoke the qalyan (waterpipe), make sure that you are not smoking opium or other kind of drugs if you didn't intend to do it! Although drugs and alcohol are illegal in Iran, it is very easy to obtain it, especially in Tehran. Since the Iranian government decided to ban the qalyan and cigarettes in public places, it is very difficult to find a decent place for smoking. And if you really want to try the qalyan, you can expect to find this in dodgy places.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Tehran
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Tehran - updated Apr 2024
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Tehran Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
