Destinations · Iran
From Iran to Türkiye — and the money question, answered first.
No visa, a short flight, half an hour of time difference. But your bank card will not work here, and everything else follows from that.
The short version
Iran to Türkiye at a glance
| Visa | Iranian citizens travel to Türkiye visa-free for tourist stays, with a limit per entry and per 180-day period. Send us your passport and dates and we confirm the current rule in writing before anything is booked. |
|---|---|
| Flight time | Tabriz 2h 20 · Tehran 3h 20 · Isfahan 3h 30 · Shiraz 4h 00 · Mashhad 4h 00 to İstanbul. |
| Direct flights from | Tehran, Tabriz, Mashhad, Shiraz and Isfahan to İstanbul, with onward domestic flights to Antalya, İzmir and Van. |
| By land | The Gürbulak / Bazargan crossing connects to Doğubayazıt and Van. Buses run from Tabriz and Tehran, but İstanbul by road is a very long journey — most people fly, and we would advise the same. |
| Time difference | Türkiye is 30 minutes behind Iran, all year. Iran no longer changes its clocks and neither does Türkiye, so it never varies. |
| Money | Cash. See the section below — this is the part that matters most and the part every other website skips. |
| Best months | April–June and September–October. Nowruz and the summer weeks are the busiest — and the most expensive — so book months ahead for those. |
Payment — read this first
Your Iranian bank card will not work in Türkiye.
Not at hotels, not at restaurants, not at cash machines. This is not a Türkiye-specific rule and there is no workaround we can offer — it is simply how it is, and the whole trip has to be planned around it.
Bring cash
US dollars or euro. Budget for the entire trip — hotel, transport, meals, shopping and a margin — not just spending money.
Change it here
Exchange offices in İstanbul give a better rate than the airport or the border. We will point you to reputable ones rather than the first sign you see.
Declare large amounts
There are legal limits on how much cash you may carry across a border without declaring it, in both directions. Check the current thresholds before you fly — this is not something to improvise at customs.
Why this makes an agency worth using here more than anywhere else: if we hold the hotel, the transfers and the tours in advance, you carry far less cash and you are not standing at a reception desk at midnight trying to pay for a week in banknotes. That is a genuine reduction in risk, not a sales line.
Language
It depends who is travelling.
This is worth being precise about, because assuming it will be fine is how people end up nodding through a medical appointment they did not follow.
- From Tabriz and the northwestAzerbaijani Turkish is very close to Turkish. Most visitors from this region manage easily.
- Persian speakersPersian is not a Turkic language and shares almost nothing with Turkish. Expect to need help.
- Where it mattersHospital appointments, contracts, anything you sign. We arrange a Persian interpreter — say so when you write.
- Where it does notHotels, restaurants and shops in the areas Iranian visitors use are well used to Persian speakers.
Why people come
Four different trips
Treatment
One of the largest reasons Iranian visitors come. Travel built around the medical dates, with an interpreter. See how that works.
Shopping
İstanbul is the region's wholesale and retail centre. We arrange a driver so you are not moving purchases across the city in taxis.
City break
Three hours from Tehran, two from Tabriz. Close enough for four or five days without it becoming an expedition.
Summer on the coast
Antalya with the family. Popular enough that the good hotels are booked out early for Nowruz and July.
Questions
Before you write
Can I pay you before I travel?
Tell us what payment methods you actually have available and we will tell you honestly what we can and cannot work with. We would much rather solve this before you fly than at a hotel reception.
How long can I stay?
There is a limit per entry and a separate limit per 180 days. Overstaying carries fines and entry bans. Send us your dates and we confirm the current rule in writing.
Should I travel around Nowruz?
You can, but everyone else is too — prices rise and the best hotels go months ahead. If your dates are flexible, late April or September is better value and far calmer.
Is it worth flying rather than taking the bus?
To İstanbul, yes, clearly. The road journey is very long. If you are only going as far as Van or Doğubayazıt, the land crossing makes sense.
Do I need travel insurance?
Yes, and it should cover medical treatment. Since paying a hospital bill by card is not an option for you, being uninsured here carries more risk than it does for most visitors.
Start here
Which city, and what for?
Tell us both and we will send a written plan with a fixed total, so you know exactly what to bring.
MOC Health Sağlık Turizm — A-group Travel Agency Operating Licence no. 13801
(Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Law no. 1618, held since 2022).
Verify at online.tursab.org.tr
Şirinevler Mah. Meriç Sok. Toyak İş Merkezi No: 11 / 612, Bahçelievler / İstanbul · +90 533 813 89 77
Operated by Bookinhospital.com Danışmanlık ve Ticaret Ltd. Şti. · MERSİS 0179135604700001
Visa, currency and customs information is general guidance and can change. We confirm the
current rules for your passport and dates in writing before any booking is made.