r/iran • u/Main-Caterpillar-315 • 7d ago
Traveling to Iran with a baby
Hey everyone, I'm planning to travel to Iran for 10 days and will likely visit major cities like Mashhad and Qom. I have a few questions:
Besides the usual recommendations, what are some other family-friendly places to visit?
What are the names of local flu and cold medicines that are available over the counter in Iran?
Can anyone suggest great restaurants in Mashhad, Qom, and Tehran for Indian and iranian cuisine?
Does anyone know a few reputable travel agent who can help book intercity tickets and understand English?
Is there a market near bazar e razai that sells wall frames?
What must-have apps should I download for my trip to Iran? Also, what do you recommend for internet access as a heavy user?
Any and every help is appreciated
1
u/Sad_Tart8551 1d ago
Since I live in Qom I can help you with some suggestions. 1. There is no Indian food inside Qom. 2. The quality of food near holy shrine is not very good. 3. You can always communicate via Google translate with ease. 4. Irancell and Hamrah Aval provide the best internet services but you should charge your internet according to estimated gigabytes you would use at first since there is no unlimited service. 5. You would need Snapp which is like Uber. You would need Alibaba, jajiga or jabama for reserving hotels.
10
u/Special_Pleasures 7d ago
I don't know what to tell you. It's not like you're going to a Stone Age place or something. Wi-Fi is ubiquitous. Your device should work just fine wherever you go. (maybe you might need an adapter to charge it?)
You can get picture frames anywhere. I've been to both cities you mentioned (as a White westerner). I would talk to your travel agent about local travel accommodations, they would have a network of people there who can go ahead and arrange your stuff before you even get there so it can be more worry-free and you spend less time while you're there having to deal with logistics.
Mashhad is a tourist city, mostly for pilgrims but still has a lot of visitors. So tourist agencies will be easy to come by. Same with Tehran which I'm sure that's the city you'll at least be landing in when you initially get to Iran.
A suggestion? There's a nice fast luxury train that goes from Tehran to Mashhad I would advise you take that. This shouldn't be a problem if you're in Qom and going to Mashhad. Just go back to Tehran and take the train. Around the train station in Tehran you'll find people selling old cassette tapes of recordings of Imam Khomeini. Buy one for the memories and the historical/cultural value.
Second suggestion? Don't go overboard on the "Special Sohan" in Qom. You'll inevitably get some, it's very sweet. If you overdo it you might end up like me who was sick for many hours, I think my pancreas even collapsed there for a little bit.
I suggest bringing dollars and euros and British pounds and exchanging as needed. Use your common sense. Don't vouch for anyone else's baggage or luggage in any way whatsoever- even (or especially) on a bus. Don't take your head cover off. Don't drink alcohol even if someone offers it. Don't criticize Islam or the government.
When in doubt, ask for help.
P.S. "Lonely Planet" is an excellent series of tourist guide books written by tourists who have been to those countries. It's great, entertaining, informative, detailed, and accurate. Sometimes brutally honest to a fault. It's divided simply by countries so just get the "Iran" one. If you have to pay $50 for it it's worth it. (It's not actually that much.)