How you would like to travel around Iran is dependent on how much time and money you have. Since the most of the country is covered with buses than trains, it is recommended to have a combination of all possible transportations on your plan to visit Iran point to point. If you want to know how you can use each of transportation services to travel around Iran and between the cities, read the following which cascades from the most convenient way.
Intercity buses
Although it is not the fastest way, intercity bus services are the most convenient and inexpensive way in term of the services they provide. Tickets for seats of older buses are cheaper but most of the long-distance buses have coaches and small flip-down tables, no toilets or power outlets but displaying some movies on board and serving free drinks and snacks. Traveling with intercity buses let you hop on and off more frequently and easily since they have more scheduled stops along the way, especially at mealtimes and prayer times.
Buses usually have shortstops in main squares or terminals of cities along the road to pick up or offload passengers. For longer runs, mostly more than 2 to 3 hours, the bus driver, or “shoofer” as we call him (Chauffeur), stops at a café or restaurant to grab a bite or drink tea, as you can also do. Shorter runs may have no stops.
To sum it all up, buses are suggested because there are no security hassles and prices are economic, even for backpackers and comparing to flight tickets, and as for numerous operators competing in the business, you can have intercity bus tickets for as little as 4$ or 10,000 Tomans. But if you want to be assured of your comfort, you can book a coach, called VIP, on operators such as Royal Safar or Seiro Safar. They have provided services with prices ranges from 20,000 to 70,000 Tomans.
You can find VIP services, to every corner of the country, mostly at Beyhaqi Terminal, next to the Argentina Sq. in Tehran.
Tehran’s bus terminals
There are four bus terminals available in Tehran, located near each entrance of the city on three sides, except Beyhaqi Terminal, also known as Arjantin, which is at a central district of Tehran. To find a ticket to your destination, you should know that which side you are heading to. For visiting the eastern and north-eastern parts of the country, you have to find intercity bus services you can call or attend in Terminal-e Sharq (East Terminal). If you want to go to southern Iran, you can get on your bus in Terminal-e Jonoub (South Terminal) in southern Tehran. Or for the northern or northwestern, you can find buses at Terminal-e Qarb (West Terminal or Azadi Terminal).
If you could not find a ticket in terminals, do not forget that you can always get onto a cheaper seat on older buses, or minibusses and cars, out of terminals or squares near them, or along the road. Co-drivers can be usually seen shouting cities as destinations. There’s always a seat or two available at every hour of the day. But at nights, chances are low.
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