Packing list for Iran, travel insurance for Iran, and taking your belongings

What to take with you to Iran: spotlighted

Featured items:

• Documents: passport valid for at least 6 months upon arrival. An online and/or offline copy of your passport is also always useful. Visa, confirmations of stay.
• Money: cash is king, because you can't use your Debit card everywhere and Credit cards are not always accepted in Iran. So take your entire budget in cash with you!
• Care: strong sunscreen (not easy to find).
• Outdoor and handy items: cap or hat and sunglasses. You will definitely need them. Quick-drying travel towel for homestays and small accommodations.
• Clothing: long, airy, loose clothing - for women and men. Tunics, long pants, maxi-things. As a woman, you are not allowed to wear short sleeves or tight pants, unless you wear something loose over them. Men? Leave your shorts at home too.
• Shoes: comfortable walking shoes.
• Medicines and travel kit: a small first aid kit with plasters, painkillers and ORS (dehydration is a thing) and anti-mosquito repellent.
• Technology and equipment: world plug with type C.
• Woman: a headscarf. That should actually be the first on the list. As soon as you get off the plane in Iran, it has to go on. Fortunately, you don't have to fear the fashion police: loose draping is allowed, as long as you are wearing something.

What are some other options for packing as well?

• Reusable water bottle with filter, because tap water is technically drinkable, but often tastes strange.
• VPN to visit your favorite websites.

What should you keep in mind when traveling to Iran with your belongings?

• Religious rules, which apply everywhere.
• There is no roaming, so it will be a bit harder to get in touch with home in some places.

Are there mosquitoes in Iran?

• There are certainly mosquitoes in Iran, and they can (but the risk is small) transmit malaria.
• Mosquitoes are rare in large cities and dry areas. In the south and around lakes and rivers you will encounter the moquitoes more often. Malaria is rare in the southeast (near the border with Pakistan/Afghanistan).

Are there sandflies in Iran?

• Sand flies can transmit leishmaniasis. This occurs locally, especially in warm, rural areas.
• The Iranian sandflies are mainly active at dusk.

Can you buy DEET, or other mosquito repellents, in Iran?

• It is not easy to find DEET in Iran.
• Pack and bring a good repellent, especially for the areas where sand flies occur.

Can you buy a beer or wine in Iran, or take it to Iran?

• Alcohol is illegal in Iran. Not only bringing it, but also drinking, buying and carrying of alcohol.
• There are fruity non-alcoholic beers available for enthusiasts.
• Local non-Muslims are allowed to produce their own alcohol for their religious expressions.

Can you buy a joint or weed in Iran, or take it with you to Iran?

• If it would be possible, cannabis would be even more illegal than alcohol. Think heavy fines, jail or worse.
• You probably saw it coming, but forget the backpacker chill vibes – the coffee shop in Iran is not like a coffee shop in Amsterdam.
• Don't buy cannabis, don't accept cannabis, don't carry cannabis and definitely don't hide cannabis in your socks or camera, when in Iran.