Every time I tell people that I traveled alone to Iran, I get a reaction as if I had travelled to a mix of Saudi Arabia and a conflict zone into one. This often goes accompanied by a look that says I must be crazy.

I have to say that my experience traveling in Iran did not actually feel so crazy, or any crazier than it has felt every time that I have travelled alone to any non-western country. However, given the image of Iran in the media, in combination with the enforced female dress code, I understand how it might make some people wonder whether it is actually OK to travel alone.

In a nutshell, my experience traveling through Iran alone as a woman was basically like any other trip but with more layers than I would have ideally liked to wear, and also a little more lonely (more on this later). It would have been more fun to go with someone, but traveling alone in Iran was totally worth it, extremely interesting and fun, so do not let traveling solo stop you from seeing Iran!

The dress code

Hejab:

The religious law in Iran establishes that all women must wear the hejab, which is made up of a veil that is used to cover the hair, and a loose robe-like overcoat to hide the woman´s body shape. The veil is just a large scarf that you must use to cover your hair. My first experience wearing the veil was in northern Tehran, where the women drape it loosely and show quite a bit of their hair and neck. Basically, how loose you can interpret the dress code depends on the area you visit and how liberal society there is, as well as the political time and context. According to Iranians, the police has become a little more flexible when it comes to enforcing the dress code in terms of showing hair, length of sleeves, etc in Tehran. In my experience, Isfahan was the most conservative city, followed by Shiraz and then Tehran, where I even saw some girls walking without veil at night in the upscale neighbourhood of North-Tehran.

The overcoat can be replaced by long loose shirts, but if you don´t have any, it can also be handy to purchase one or two overcoats (like an open kimono) and just wear them on top of your regular clothes so you don´t need to find tons of long loose tops, which proved difficult for me in Europe.

Chador:

While visiting shrines (tombs for religious figures inside of specific mosques) you will be provided with a chador at the entrance, which you MUST wear. The chador is basically a large sheet that you drape around your head and body and hold it together with your hands. It´s a bit tricky to take pictures while wearing it so feel free to tie a knot with it so it stays in place. You don´t have to wear the chador anywhere else other than in shrines.

In addition to the scarf and overcoat, there are many other rules which become ambiguous once you see that most people break them and it seems to be ok. Some of these were, for example, wearing sandals and nail polish. At this point, I just followed the lead of other women and didn´t worry too much. The moral police in Iran are flexible with tourists and as long as you’re making an effort to respect their laws, they will not give you a hard time.

My experience wearing the hejab: At the beginning the hejab was quite manageable, especially if I was in a place with airco, however I kept forgetting to put it on, almost leaving out the door without it. After a few days, it became quite tiresome to wear so many layers under such intense heat (40 degrees). It started to feel odd to always have to cover the hair, as if it was something negative or dirty. Of course as a guest I respect the local laws and customs and just wore it, but on a personal level it started to get to me towards the end of my trip more than I had expected it.

This was especially the case when I visited a shrine accompanied by an official guide because I wanted to take pictures (you can only go in accompanied by an official guide if you want to take your camera). The guide kept rearranging my chador and seemed completely terrified when a little hair from my fringe got loose despite my best efforts at holding it right while taking pictures. Meanwhile, I could see the men dressed normally and without going through any hassle. Although I liked the actual scarf (not necessarily wearing it on my head), I didn´t want to see it again when I flew home at the end of my trip- I stuffed it in a bin together with the overcoats and replaced them with more revealing clothes. Basically what bothered me was not what I wore but the fact that I was forced to wear it. Of course I respect all people that decide to wear it, unfortunately though, I heard from many Iranian women that they would not wear these clothes out of choice.

Although it was uncomfortable to wear the hejab for the reasons described above, it didn’t make my trip significantly less enjoyable or got in the way of enjoying the amazing sights, food, and culture that the country has to offer. I was quite unsure about what to wear before going, and I was scared to not wear it properly, which is why I write a lot about it here, but in the end it was just a small aspect about my great trip to Iran.

Interactions between men and women

Perhaps the second biggest difference that I noticed while traveling in Iran as a woman was that it was more difficult to socialize and meet people while traveling. Maybe also because everyone seemed to confuse me with a local, no one really approached me while I was doing sightseeing and touring around, and I unfortunately did not get to meet many tourists, probably because I visited Iran during Ramadan. While confusedly waiting for my flight at an unknown gate in the Isfahan and Shiraz airport, I asked people for help as I could not read the signs in Farsi. The women unfortunately did not speak English, and the men answered quickly and walked away, some of them seemed apprehensive and nervous, which I guess would make sense because men and women in Iran are not allowed to touch or socialize in public, so I was placing them in a bit of an uncomfortable spot. Nonetheless, they helped me to figure out which gate I was supposed to be at and it all worked out fine.

The only other time when I interacted with random people, was while having a saffron ice cream at the Ali Gapu museum in Isfahan, where a guy sitting at the table behind me whispered to me in Farsi, thinking that I was Iranian, for what could have been half an hour. Eventually, he finally tried English and he briefly asked me where I was from and told me to enjoy my trip. Meeting people and making friends has been a lot easier while traveling to other places, but this could be heavily influenced by the time of year (Ramadan= low season) and the fact that locals would have never guessed that I was a tourist, so they were less prone to sparking up a conversation.

It should be mentioned that I did not feel harassed in any way at any time while traveling in Iran. This has not always been the case for me while traveling in other countries, as there are sometimes men that demand to talk to you, or follow you, or just behave annoyingly because they are under the impression that all the women in the world are interested in them. The only time that I got a pervy vibe during my trip was during a visit to the corner shop outside of my hotel in Shiraz. I did not notice that my headscarf had slipped back, almost falling off my hair, until I realized that the shopkeeper was staring at my hair with a pervy look resembling that of guys staring at boobs. Although uncomfortable, I mostly found it amusing that he found my hair so interesting.

General tips:

Here is a short compilation of tips for traveling alone in Iran, and some also for other destinations.

• Security checks in Iranian airports are segregated by gender. Oblivious to this, I lined up in the men´s section. Luckily, after a few minutes of standing in line, a guy was nice enough to save me some embarrassment and let me know there was a separate women´s line shielded by a make-shift wall. Good to keep in mind!
• Do not shake hands with men. Physical contact between genders is not allowed. You can just smile and gesture your head to greet/acknowledge the person.
• Double check before signing up for a beauty treatment at the salon of your hotel, most likely they will be for men: Iran: Beauty treatment in Shiraz.
• If you have any questions about getting to places, or about any local laws, just ask at your hotel´s reception. I found the hotel managers and staff super friendly and helpful. Note that many people don’t speak English (e.g. taxi drivers) so it´s useful to clear any doubts with them first before going out (especially for taxi prices).
• This should go without saying, but regardless of your personal views about wearing the hejab, avoid discussions on the topic with strangers and just follow the rules of the place that you are visiting.
• Don´t allow anyone into your hotel room. My (male) guide called me from reception one time in the evening asking whether he could be of service and should bring anything to my room. I´m not sure if he was actually serious trying to be nice or whether this was an indirect way of making an advance. I, of course, told him that I didn´t need anything from him, but beware of misinterpreting any advances like this in a place with such delicate laws on gender interaction. Beware of anyone going to your hotel room at night anyway, just out of safety reasons.
• Don´t walk around alone at night. Most likely it would be fine but just to be extra safe it is better to ask for a taxi.
• In general, aside from the official rules, I didn’t feel that people in Iran were so conservative. Feel free to ask them questions, after all, they understand that you are a foreigner and you are not used to their dress code or laws, and they just want you to get to know their culture and country and have a good time.
• If for some reason you run out of cash, you can attempt to use a carpet shop as an emergency ATM with your credit card. They will take a high commission fee but it is good to know this possibility exists in case of an emergency, these are the few places where international transactions are possible.

Here are some pictures of me wearing the hejab and the chador:

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