Tour Overview
| Duration | 12 Days / 11 Nights |
|---|---|
| Country | Iran — Ancient Persia, Cradle of Civilization |
| Price From | $1,895 per person (twin share) |
| Tour Style | Cultural Heritage / Historical Explorer |
| Data Source | IranAmaze / Let’s Go Iran — 2026 |
Itinerary Highlights
Day 1: Arrive Tehran — Welcome to Persia
Arrive at Imam Khomeini International Airport. Your guide greets you with traditional Persian tea and sweets. Transfer to your hotel in central Tehran. Evening walk through the bustling streets of Tehran — a city of 15 million at the foot of the Alborz Mountains. Welcome dinner of chelo kebab and saffron rice. Overnight in Tehran.
Day 2: Tehran — Crown Jewels & Grand Bazaar
Full day exploring Iran’s dynamic capital. Morning: visit the National Jewelry Museum (housed in the Central Bank vault) — home to the Darya-ye Noor (Sea of Light), one of the world’s largest pink diamonds at 182 carats, and the Peacock Throne, encrusted with 26,733 precious stones. The collection is simply one of the most dazzling treasure accumulations on Earth. Afternoon: get lost in the Grand Bazaar, a 10km labyrinth of vaulted passageways trading everything from carpets to spices. Visit Golestan Palace (UNESCO), the opulent Qajar-era royal complex with its Hall of Mirrors. Evening at the Tabiat Bridge, a stunning modern architectural landmark. Overnight in Tehran.
Day 3: Kashan — Rose City & Desert Architecture
Morning drive south to Kashan (2.5 hours). Visit Tabatabaei House, one of Iran’s finest traditional merchant homes with stunning stained glass windows and intricate stucco work. Explore the Sultan Amir Ahmad Bathhouse with its extraordinary turquoise and gold tilework. Visit Fin Garden (UNESCO), a masterpiece of Persian garden design with flowing water channels dating to 1590. Afternoon: drive to Abyaneh, a 1,500-year-old red-mud village clinging to a mountainside where elderly women still wear traditional floral headscarves. Overnight in Kashan.
Day 4: Isfahan — Half the World
Morning drive to Isfahan (2 hours). The 16th-century proverb says “Isfahan is half the world” — and you’ll understand why. Afternoon at Naqsh-e Jahan Square (UNESCO), the second-largest public square on Earth after Tiananmen, built by Shah Abbas I in 1598. Flanked by the Imam Mosque with its perfect blue dome, the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque (the most exquisitely beautiful mosque interior in Islam), and the Ali Qapu Palace with its music room featuring acoustic niches cut into the walls. Evening: sunset from a rooftop tea house overlooking the square. Overnight in Isfahan.
Day 5: Isfahan — Mosques, Bridges & Bazaars
Full day in Isfahan. Morning: explore the Armenian Quarter (Jolfa) and Vank Cathedral — a 17th-century church combining Armenian Christian and Persian Islamic architecture with stunning frescoes depicting the Last Judgment. Afternoon: walk the historic bridges — Si-o-se-pol (Bridge of 33 Arches), a 300m Safavid masterpiece, and Khaju Bridge with its tilework pavilions. Explore the Isfahan Bazaar stretching 2km under vaulted ceilings, with workshops where you can see carpet weavers and miniature painters at work. Overnight in Isfahan.
Day 6: Yazd — Zoroastrian Desert Citadel
Morning drive to Yazd via Naein (4 hours total). Naein’s Friday Mosque is one of Iran’s oldest (9th century). Arrive in Yazd, one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities. Afternoon: walk through the labyrinth of Yazd’s old town — a UNESCO-listed maze of mud-brick lanes, covered passages (sabats), and badgirs (wind towers) — ancient air-conditioning systems that have cooled houses for 2,000 years. Climb to a rooftop at sunset for views of the desert city stretching to the mountains. Overnight in Yazd (traditional boutique hotel in a restored merchant house).
Day 7: Yazd — Fire Temples & Towers of Silence
Full day exploring Zoroastrian heritage. Morning: visit the Zoroastrian Fire Temple, where a sacred fire has been burning continuously for over 1,500 years. Visit the Towers of Silence — hilltop structures where Zoroastrians placed their dead for sky burial until the 1960s. Afternoon: visit the Amir Chakhmaq Complex, a stunning three-story facade of arched alcoves lit dramatically at night. Visit the Water Museum to learn about qanats — underground aqueducts that brought water from mountains to desert cities, an engineering marvel up to 3,000 years old. Evening: sunset in the desert, watching the stars emerge over the sands. Overnight in Yazd.
Day 8: Persepolis & Shiraz
Morning drive to Persepolis (4 hours). Persepolis (UNESCO, 518 BC) is simply one of the most important archaeological sites on Earth — the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire at its height, when Persia ruled from India to Greece. Walk the Apadana Staircase with its famous relief of 23 delegations bringing tribute to the King of Kings. Stand before the Gate of All Nations, guarded by massive lamassu (human-headed winged bulls). Visit the tombs of Darius the Great and Xerxes at Naqsh-e Rostam, cut into a cliff face. Afternoon: continue to Shiraz. Evening walk in the Eram Garden (UNESCO). Overnight in Shiraz.
Day 9: Shiraz — City of Poets & Roses
Full day in Shiraz, the city of Hafez and Saadi — two of the greatest poets in the Persian language. Morning: visit the Nasir al-Molk Mosque (Pink Mosque) as the morning sun streams through its stained glass windows, showering the prayer hall in kaleidoscopic colors — one of Iran’s most photographed sights. Visit the Vakil Bazaar and Vakil Bathhouse. Afternoon: visit the tomb of Hafez (14th century), where Iranians come to consult the poet’s verses for guidance (Fal-e Hafez). Visit the tomb of Saadi. Evening: taste Shirazi specialties at a local restaurant. Overnight in Shiraz.
Day 10: Pasargadae & Return to Tehran
Morning visit to Pasargadae (UNESCO), the first capital of the Achaemenid Empire and the simple but profoundly moving tomb of Cyrus the Great — the cylinder of Cyrus is often called the first declaration of human rights in history. Afternoon flight to Tehran. Farewell dinner at a traditional restaurant in Darband, a mountain village at the foot of the Alborz. Overnight in Tehran.
Day 11: Tehran — Modern Iran
Morning: visit the Contemporary Art Museum (one of the world’s finest collections of Western art outside Europe/US — Warhol, Picasso, Pollock). Visit the Carpet Museum, showcasing Iran’s greatest art form with pieces dating back 500 years. Afternoon free for last exploration. Optional visit to the Milad Tower for panoramic Tehran views. Overnight in Tehran.
Day 12: Depart Iran
Transfer to airport.
Inclusions
- 11 nights accommodation (3 Tehran + 1 Kashan + 2 Isfahan + 2 Yazd + 2 Shiraz + 1 Tehran)
- Daily breakfast + 7 dinners
- All domestic transport (private air-conditioned vehicle)
- Shiraz-Tehran domestic flight
- Persepolis guided tour (UNESCO)
- All UNESCO site entries (Naqsh-e Jahan, Golestan, Persepolis, Pasargadae, Fin Garden)
- National Jewelry Museum entry
- Zoroastrian sites (Fire Temple, Towers of Silence)
- Professional English-speaking guide (cultural expert)
- Airport transfers
Why Iran
- Persepolis — walk through the ruins of the world’s greatest ancient empire
- Isfahan — Naqsh-e Jahan Square, one of the most beautiful urban spaces on Earth
- Yazd — the world’s oldest adobe city, Zoroastrian fire temples, and desert wind towers
- Iranian hospitality — a warmth and welcome that transforms every visitor’s understanding of Iran
- The Pink Mosque — Shiraz’s kaleidoscopic stained glass at dawn
- Persian cuisine — saffron, pomegranate, and rosewater in a 2,500-year culinary tradition
