Tag: middle east

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Oman

How much does it cost to travel in Oman? Our budget and tips

For those who expect Oman to be cheap… You can stop reading right now. Oman is very much a destination completely off the beaten track especially for backpacking tourists. There is almost no infrastructure like hostels or cheap guesthouses. The buses in between the cities are also a rare sight so the best option is to rent a car. To crazy ones that would like to hitchhike and wait for those precious rides in the boring, desert sun… good luck 🙂

In Oman we miraculously spend only 933 euros over 12 days. So that makes almost 39 euros per day per person.

 

So let´s explain how it turned out so “cheap” 🙂

Where did we go?

Our journey started in Muscat, later on we continued along the coast passing villages and going further and further south to Sur and Al Hadd where there is a beach known for being a turtle nesting area. From the coast we went camping in the desert and then back to civilization in the old town of Nizwa. From there we went to see the mountains and valleys on our way back to the capital.

How did we travel?

In the capital we traveled by bus which wasn’t too expensive (1 OMR for us both for a ride, around 2.5 euro). For the rest of our route we rented a car. Unfortunately travelling by bus was just not an option. Although buses between the main cities do exist, they are not very frequent and to get to the villages we would have to try hitchhiking… And renting a car didn’t turn out to be so expensive. We managed to get one for 172 euro for 7 days. I don’t have to tell anyone that as one of the countries rich in oil, petrol was not a deal breaker in our budget (on petrol we spend 15.3 OMR so around 37 euro).

On buses, car rental and petrol we spend a total of 238 euros.

Where did we stay?

In Muscat we stayed in possibly the only hostel in the country and it’s listed on Airbnb. We didn’t find it there. The owner of the hostel was a friend of our friend and he offered us staying there for free. Idrees was just such an amazing host, he really made us feel at home and helped us with everything. He also explained that hostels are not really welcomed in the country since backpackers and cheap travelling is not really desired. Surprisingly camping is no problem. So that’s what we did for a few nights. To be clear there are no campsites so also no toilets, showers and commodities like that. Just nature…

Our total of 124 euro for accommodation we spend for 3 nights in Nizwa in an Airbnb. For that money we got a really nice room with private bathroom and only a 10 minutes ride from the historical town of Nizwa.

What did we eat?

On food and eating out we spent a combined 262 euros. The 118 euro we spend on eating out was mainly fast food and coffee to use internet. Majority of the times we bought food in the supermarket and cooked ourselves also while camping.

How expensive are museums, tours etc?

On tourism we spend 20 euros for entrances to some forts and the Royal Opera House in Muscat. From what we researched online, tours are very expensive. For example 2 days (1 night camping) tour to snorkel was 85 OMR so around 200 euro… and that’s pp. That was actually one of the cheapest things I found. Going to the desert with a tour was out of reach even for our dreams.

Where did the rest of our money go?

In the 145 euro for equipment we included some clothes that we bought as well as 17 OMR (around 40 euro) that we spent on mattresses and sleeping bags. Buying those was actually cheaper than renting. The rest of the camping gear we borrowed from the hostel.

In the 144 euro for miscellaneous we included our one month visa for Oman (20 OMR each so around 95 euro together), car insurance and sim card that we bought to have mobile internet while camping (sim card + 1gb internet was just 2 OMR so around 5 euro).

How to get to Oman?

We came on a bus from Dubai and that was the cheapest option and costed only around 27 euro for both of us (not included in this budget). It took 7 hours and at the time when we used that option there were 3 buses per day and it was operated by a company called Mwasalat. There was also the same option going from Abu Dhabi.

How to rent a car in Oman?

We rented a car via Pepe Car which is available only to a few nationalities. That was the cheapest option really. We got a great, functional, medium sized car for a smashing price of 172 euro. To go with it we bought an insurance from an external company to cover the potential damages. We always did that one because it turns out cheaper than adding it to your rental option. It’s also good idea to check renting over various days, in our case renting for 7 days was cheaper than 5…. Weird but true:)

For renting a car in Oman we just brought our European driving license. They didn’t require an international one.

Our tips to save money in Oman

  1. Airbnb is the best option for cheap but decent accommodation, there you might find “hostels” set up by private people as well as affordable rooms. Researching double rooms at Airbnb we noticed they were cheaper than most of the dorms available. Anyway cheap accommodation is pretty limited so….
  2. Camp! You can camp almost everywhere and there are no campsites which makes it immediately cheaper, you only need to rent or buy the equipment. The downside is lack of public toilets and showers… The only option is a bucket and a quick shower in the sea… Just watch out so that the locals don’t see your naked flesh. It’s a Muslim country so they won’t appreciate it.
  3. Rent a car 🙂 public transportation is pretty bad and renting a car can be pretty cheap, not to mention how cheap the gasoline was! 🙂

P.S. Exchange rate used for the overall budget 1 OMR = 2.46 EURO

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Kalouts, Iran

Things to know before you go to Iran

Iran is one of those complicated countries where you really want to be prepared for some things. Otherwise it can be quite a challenge to survive not to mention spoil the enjoyment. So here are few tips and lessons we used/learned during our travels in there as well as some curiosities. Some of these we learnt the hard way. Hopefully you won’t have to 🙂

  1. To get to Iran we got our visa on arrival at the airport. We heard rumors that it’s a long process so we were surprised that ours was ready within 45 minutes. You just need to have your first address in Iran (so first hotel, friend etc) and the phone number and valid insurance which preferable says Iran. If you don’t you can buy it in the airport. We got 30 days visa for 75 euros each.
  2. People with a stamp from Israel are not allowed… And citizens of Israel even less. For them country of Israel doesn’t even exist, it’s occupied Palestine.
  3. Iran is SUPER SAFE!! Seriously we never felt safer. As a foreigner you have a status of a holy cow that no one wants to hurt especially with all the Islam stigma that they have and want to erase. In general they don’t really have a culture of stealing or anything like that. You can calmly talk to people, go to their houses etc.
  4. There is no option of withdrawing money in Iran unless you have an Iranian bank account. It means that you have to take cash for your whole stay. It can be either dollar or euro. It doesn’t matter. Many of the hotels except a foreign currency and some give their prices in USD or euro. We set up our budget on 70 euro a day for us both and we managed to keep it that way or lower. Don’t forget that you also have to pay for the visa on arrival. We paid 75 euro each.
  5. Money exchange. The rate that you get on google is way lower that the one you will be offered at exchange offices. We got 40-41 000 rials for one euro. Don’t go to banks, there you will get lower, google exchange rate…
  6. Prices are sometimes expressed in toman and sometimes in rials. Toman is generally one zero less than rials. So 40 000 rials would be just 4 000 toman. It can be very confusing so make sure you understand what you have to pay. Also many times Iranians just skip all the zeros. And so if a taxi driver says “five” he probably means 5 000 toman so 50 000 rials.
  7. Especially for woman there is a dress code. Absolute necessity is a scarf covering part of all your hair. Further you should cover your legs down to ankles and have a loose tunic and dress to cover the curves of your butt. Shoulders and arms should also be covered at least to elbow. In holy shrines and some mosques you will need to wear a chador but you can borrow it there 🙂 for men it’s pretty simple: no shorts…
  8. Drinking alcohol is prohibited so all the beer that you’ll see in the supermarkets are alcohol free and taste like a lemonade… To get some booze you would need to go a bit more underground… And generally it’s not advisable to drink in public places. We heard it’s a rather expensive entertainment as you need to bribe the police and give your booze to them.
  9. Wifi in hostels tends to be pretty bad and limited. It’s best to just get a local sim card and mobile internet. We bought a local sim card for 100 000 rials and 3 gb internet for 150 000 rials valid for a month.
  10. Many web pages are blocked so to enter Facebook, one drive, CNN, Airbnb or many other sites you need a VPN. What it basically means it that you have to send your internet through another country. You can either pay in Iran to get a VPN or you can set up your own. That’s what we did. We set up a computer in Holland and send the signal through there.
  11. Iran is all about tea! It’s a true paradise for tea drinkers. And I’m not talking about the boring black tea. Here it’s always with a little something extra like cardamom or saffron or rose petals. For coffee drinkers … well it can be complicated. Although cafés are appearing the whole time to supply that need as well:)
  12. Getting local food can be challenging because when Iranians go out to eat they mostly go for kebab and fast food. Fortunately we have visited few restaurants with local food that were great but be prepared for higher prices. For a falafel or kebab you can pay 1 or 2 euros while for a meal in a nice restaurant maybe around 6 euros.
  13. Not only the alphabet is different but also the numbers so it’s very handy to learn the numbers to be able to understand the prices:) also take a look at the books, they are written from right to left (except for numbers they are written from left to right) and the front page is our last page:D
  14. Persians are not Arabs! They will be offended when you get that wrong. They have their own language, own culture and costumes. It’s like mistaking a Polish for a Russian 🙂 Pretty bad right?
  15. Friday is their Sunday. So many things are closed although most of the museums and touristic things remain open.
  16. If you’re a couple and you want to hug and kiss, get a room. Literally. It’s illegal to display affection in public between men and women. Holding hands every now and then it’s a maximum. Man to man hugging etc is a different story … Actually men have a lot of affection for each other, they kiss on their cheeks to say hi, they hug… Maybe not in the middle of the street but almost:) Gay guys travelling in Iran could get pretty confused:)
  17. Remember to take off your shoes when going on a carpet or into a mosque!
  18. Hot shower is never a problem and also the heating in the winter is everywhere 🙂 with oil and gas being so cheap you will never get cold, you are more likely to sweat in the winter actually:) Interestingly in public toilets you might not find toilet paper but there will be plenty of soap:)
  19. Don’t throw toilet paper into the toilet!!
  20. Take a copy of your passport. Hotels and hostels will want to keep your passport while you’re there but we didn’t really feel comfortable with that so we always left a copy. They usual only needed a copy of the main page and not the visa.
  21. If Iranians offer you something like food or free ride refuse 3 times to make sure they are not just being polite. It’s Tarof and it’s like their savoir vivre.
  22. Pray before crossing the road. There is no mercy there, Iranians drive like crazy and they won’t stop for anyone. Pedestrians crossing lines and lights are there just for decoration.
  23. Bargain! You want to take a taxi, buy something or get a room. You need to bargain otherwise you will pay wayyyy too much.
  24. Most of the places are nowhere to be found online. You can’t find them on booking.com or aribnb. And they mostly don’t have a webpage. But at least in most of the cities most hotels/hostels/guesthouses are in the same area. So we just searched for options on wikitravel and then we walked around from door to door. Don’t get your hopes up from wikitravel prices, in many places they’re just ancient. Anyway any price you hear, you have to bargain. If you stay more than one night, you have a greater chance to get a better price.
  25. More expensive is not always better! We saw rooms for 60 dollars that were dark, shabby and stinky and rooms that were for 30 dollars and were neat and nice. We got an impression that star rating doesn’t say much and nor does the price. You need to see it all yourself.
  26. Bargain in local currency! Although in many places you can pay in euros or dollars, often you get better prices if you bargain in local currency.
  27. Women first. Woman can seat in the “man section” of the bus or metro. But in the “women only “part, it’s women only:) as a woman you will get offered to sit in the men section.
  28. No hand shaking. As a woman you don’t shake a man’s hand unless they initiate it. I got denied shaking hands many times.
  29. You will smell roses. Rose water and rose petals are everywhere, in food, tea, perfumes… it’s unmissable when walking around the streets.
  30. Nose job. It’s very common, especially for women to get their nose done. So you will see a lot of women and some man with plasters on their noses. Actually it’s in to wear it even if you haven’t done anything… we saw quite a few cases like that.
  31. Cats and dogs are considered unclean and not so great for the family. So we haven’t met anyone who would have them at home… But there are plenty of cats on the streets and they actually look quite good as they are fed by everyone 🙂

 

Hopefully this post will help you a bit to enjoy Iran to the fullest and spot more small things along the way 🙂

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Tehran, Iran

9 experiences you just can’t miss in Tehran

  1. Dive into the chaos of the Grand Bazaar

You just can’t come to Iran and skip the bazaar experience. We absolutely loved the chaos, the carriages coming from everywhere, the smell of fresh tea and spices. Not to mention the architecture which is just stunning. We also went into some antique shops to take a closer look at their ceilings and staircases. Some were absolutely breathtaking. The bazaar is huge so make sure you take your time to get lost and explore it. Remember it’s closed during lunch time.

 

  1. Enjoy the colors and glamour of the Golestan Palace

Golestan Palace was once a royal residence and there is absolutely no doubt about it. The splendor of the place is just immense. There are ceilings made of small glass mirrors, stunning gardens, fountains and walls with colorful tiles. There is plenty to see but get prepared because it’s actually not that easy. First you have to decide what you want to see. You buy a ticket to each part of the complex. If you want to buy them all it’s 940 000 rials (around 24 euro). If not the admission is 150 000 rials (around 4 euro) which allows you to wonder around the garden. Then there are 8 parts for 80 000 each (around 2 euros) and one, the most spectacular is 150 000 rials (so around 4 euro) and it includes the Hall of Ivory, Hall of Mirror and other incredible halls. Unfortunately, in most of the places you can’t take pictures.

  1. See how the last Shah lived at Niavaran Palace

Niavaran was the last residence of the Shah before he was forced to leave the country. Also here you have to decide what you want to see. There is the main house which is the most important part. Next to it there are few museums and a library. In the main house you get an impression of the luxury of the 70s. There is a convertible roof that lets the fresh air and light in, private rooms of the kids and more than one collection of clothes of the Shah and his wife. We paid 150 000 rials admission and 150 000 rials the entrance to the main house (together around 8 euros).

  1. Calm shopping at the Tajrish bazaar

There is no chaos here, you don’t have to jump out of the way to avoid crazy men with their carriages. Here it’s where you can just enjoy the world of spices, food, carpets and whatever you want undisturbed. We were especially amazed by mountains of saffron that are available in so many shops here. In Europe one gram is very expensive, here we are talking about mountains of practically gold. Saffron next to rose seems to be the most important ingredient in local cuisine. When you’re done with saffron there is still tea waiting as well as many, many jewelry shops.

  1. Enjoy winter wonderland going up the Darband mountain

We were in Tehran during winter so we absolutely loved seeing all the snow, barbecues on the side of the road and numerous shops and restaurants. It all seemed so Christmas-like, even though Christmas is not really celebrated here. Not to mention the experience of absolute, beautiful, white winter in a country that we mostly pictured as omnipresent desert.

  1. Watch the sunset next to the Azadi Tower

Azadi Tower is one of the most prominent symbols of Tehran and it was built in 1971 for the commemoration of 2500 years of the Persian Empire. First it was called Shahyad in honor of the Shah but obviously after the revolution it had to be changed and now it’s Freedom Tower. The tower is surrounded by fountains and underneath it has a museum. When we were there, there was maintenance work going on so we could only appreciate the tower itself. We couldn’t complain as first we saw it in full splendor during day light and as the sun went down we saw it illuminated.

  1. Enjoy the panoramic view of the city from Milad Tower

Milad Tower is a kind of thing you would expect in Dubai, glamourous, modern, full of stylish detail with a local touch. There are shops there, restaurants and a stunning terrace to enjoy the views of the city. Honestly we have seen many viewpoints but never have we seen anything like it. In the evening this great metropolis is like a painting of lights. Colorful, vibrant and very lively. The only drawback is that you enjoy the views through a metal fence which makes taking pictures nearly impossible. We almost forgot to mention that it’s the 6th tallest tower in the world. Entrance to the terrace was only 120 000 rials (around 3 euro) and the views were priceless.

  1. Enjoy the power of technology on Tabiat bridge

This brand new bridge maybe doesn’t make it on many “must see” lists but for us it was one of the biggest surprises in Tehran. It’s the most extraordinary pedestrian bridges we have ever seen. Imagine two floors, with little gardens everywhere, views of the city, benches to sit on and also a few restaurants and a really nice café where you can read some books (not only in Farsi). Not to mention that as soon as the sun goes down the bridge lights up with intense green color.

  1. Former American embassy

That’s probably the sight everybody imagines. Murals with anti-american art, passing by ladies in chador, posters of Obama looking like an Islam teacher. It was overtaken in 1979 because of the religious revolution. Later on 52 American citizens were held hostage for 444 days which makes it the longest hostage crisis ever. Although it’s incredible to see where it all started, make sure it’s not the only thing you see.