Roadtrip - France to Iran
 

HellO there!
Ready for my next adventure! ... "A Persian Escapade" :)
A beautiful voyage from France to Iran with on the way, few countries to cross ...
Still few days to wait before THE day! Our departure is scheduled on July 27!
2 bikes, 2 travellers!
So I have still some time to prépare everything...
...
My question is for Iranian part of the travel.
I would like to know about bivouac in Iran.
Some say it's not recommended, but on our route, we are going to ride a bit in mountains and we haven't found any hotel...
By the way, this road is in the Khuzestan. Does someone ride in this region?
If so, please I will be very glad to have various infos...

Thanks,

Virginie
La Belle Aventure…

Iran is great for camping, and Iranians put up tents at weekends and holidays, though usually just for a daytime picnic. But it's no problem to camp overnight and there is plenty of space to do it. Obviously the usual common sense rules apply.

Khuzestan is a fascinating region of Iran, most certainly worth visiting. I recommend Shush, Shushtar and Choqa Zanbil. Abadan is also a fairly interesting place and Dezful is lovely for a walk along the river. Further up in the mountains towards Dogonbadan or Masjed-e Sulaiman must also be nice.

The only problem is heat; from April to October the heat is fierce, and incresingly humid towards the sea. In winter it is wonderful however.

If you are down in the south and it's still hot, I recommend touring the central Zagros... the drive from Yasuj and Sisakht, then over the pass to the east into Esfahan Province takes in some of the nicest scenery in the country.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-u...520Forests.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-g...%2520Wheat.JPG

Good luck

EO

Merhaba,

Just my personal ideas...

I guess seems turkey part also needs some route changes to discover more colors,dishes and traditions.

For e.g.
1-nothing interesting on blacksea coast line..3 lines asphalt betwen the mountains and sea, so many small towns,lights and rush traffic..I would like to suggest include the zigana pass after trabzon sumela monastry,maçka then head to kemaliye for adv. lands such as stone road,dark canyon to be connected to inner anatolia then, starting with kangal, famous with natural hot water and fish spa. and guard dog farms...Also try to lose your directions on the hills,visit a local small village in an evening, be the guest of god...
2-you can use the Özalp kapıköy gate for iran, 2 hours ride east of lake van,less crowded and will connect you directly to a nice part of İran.. ..northern gate doğubeyazıt is the most busy one with trucks buses etc..
3-Instead of 2 istanbul passes, make one of them through dardanelles,gallipoli after ephesus , pamukkale,etc..

wish you all the best..

@ OE,
Thanks for your answer!
First, I wanted to go to Masjed e soleyman and Shushtar, its seems so beautiful!!...
unfortunately, time is missing, so we'll finally take the road from Isfahan to Dehdez and then Yasuj, Shiraz... We hope to have a bit of freshness on this road, before driving south!
Landscape seems to be amazing!
(By the way, very interesting your website!)

@Mehmet Zeki Avar
Thank you too for your message! You're right! Nothing really interresting on the balcksea coast... But because of missing time, we have to go straight to Iran...
But on the way back, we planned to stop in beautiful places in Turkey!
I know this country is wonderful too, so it might be an other trip! :)
Best regards

Hello!
Another question concerning the essence for this trip.
In Iran, I think we will have no worries about that!
But what about Georgia and Armenia? Can we find gas station easily on our road?
Our route in Georgia to Iran will be about this one (attached image)
We won't have much time to visit these two countries, but if you have some information (place to bivouac, hotel, tour not to miss on the road...), please, let me know! :)
Thank you!
Virginie

Hi Virginie

I'd be really interested in how your preparations are going - particularly any problems you have with paperwork (visas, carnet etc) as a trip very similar to yours is on my shortlist for next year (2016).

As I understand it independent travel in Iran is still possible as long as you're not American, Canadian or British, so as you're travelling on a French passport you won't need a guide? Is that correct?

How are you going to apply for the visa and what are you doing about a carnet - who issues them in France?

Bonjour :)

No problems with fuel availability along the main routes of both Georgia and Armenia, although I found the quality of the fuel in Armenia a little suspect.

In Iran there is definitely no problem with fuel .. and the price for standard petrol is cheap, and I mean very cheap at around 0.30€ per litre.

But the quality of Iranian standard grade fuel is quite poor. Insist on 'Euro-4' (European standard) petrol if you can get it. Unfortunately this type of fuel is only available in-and-around Tehran.

The nearest alternative to Euro-4 is 'Super' grade petrol, which provides a still inadequate power potential because of its lowly octane of 88 .. and even 'Super' is not universally available throughout the whole of Iran.

jouir!
.

@backofbeyond,
Sorry, I don't know about american, canadian or british passport...
But when asking for reference number (invitation) and visa don't say that you will travel with your own vehicle, so they don't impose your a guide... I don't have my visa yet, I'll ask for it at the end of may, I will give you more details if you want!?

@keith1954
Thank you for this infos!!
0,30€ is very cheap! :) We won't go to tehran, so no "Euro 4" for our bikes!... octane 88 :( ... well, it's not so bad!... In uzbekistan and tajikistan we had that type of petrol and no problems with bikes!
Cheers!
:mchappy:

That would be very helpful. I can look on your website if you put all the details there - pas problem en francais.

Have a look at the pages on Derek's Bike Trip blog that you can access through his route map. Some wonderful photos...

Ok! I will do that! :)

Super! I quickly looked his route and his blog, I will look at it in detail this weekend!
Thank you! :)

You route through Georgia is only one corner of a very beautiful country. If you have very little time, I guess it is necessary, but with a few days I would definitely try to see one of the regions high in the mountains; Svaneti, Khevsureti or Tusheti (the road is very bad to Tusheti - probably not much fun on a big or heavy bike).

In Armenia you have a nice route, but if nothing else, I would recommend going around the eastern side of Lake Sevan, which is far more beautiful.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-u...%2520Sevan.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5...s%2520Road.JPG

I thought Yerevan was also a very charming city.

And don't forget to take in a few of Armenia's wonderful churches and monasteries!

Best of luck

EO

@EO
The Georgia's areas you mention look great, but a little too far from our route!
In Armenia, why not going around the east road if it's nicer! I've already mark some nice places to see, churches and beautiful monasteries... I hope we'll have enough time to visit...
Thanks! :)

Me too, I also recommend the eastern bank of Lake Sevan, which incidentally is the largest lake in the Caucasus region .. and one of the largest fresh-water high-altitude* lakes in the world.

*Altitude: 1,900 metres [6,250 ft] above sea level

We stayed two nights at the Tufenkian Avan Marak Tsapatagh Hotel (a nice treat! .. :)), which is halfway along the eastern shore of L Sevan.

But be warned: the road down to the Tufenkian is okay['ish], although you will experience repairs on repairs on repaired potholes all the way. After Tufenkian the road surface down to the M11 deteriorates badly. Throw-in some nasty weather on top (perhaps) and you will be in for a challenging time for an hour or two, especially if you are riding on two wheels.

But it's all part of the fun! .. :thumbup1:
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