Salaam! Welcome to The Great Persia (Iran). You will be met at Tehran Airport by a local driver for a transfer to your hotel (approximately 1 hour). You may arrive in Tehran at any time today, with hotel rooms are generally available after 12 pm (midday).

Start day to Visit the World Heritage-listed Golestan Palace (UNESCO site), an opulent masterpiece of the Qajar era that is decorated with beautifully painted tiles and set around an elegant garden and visit the National Museum, whilst it may not look inspiring from the outside inside is a treasure chest of Iran's rich history, keep your eye out for the Salt Man from Zanjan, preserved in salt for centuries.

In the evening, have welcome dinner by The Great Persia.

Accommodation

• Tehran (1 night)

Included Activities

• Tehran – Golestan palace


• Tehran - National museum

Meals Included

• Dinner

Special Information

An airport arrival transfer is included. Please provide your flight details at the time of booking, or at a minimum 15 days prior to travel. Once you have provided your details a transfer representative will be booked to meet you at the airport and transfer you to your hotel.

After breakfast, exploring the summer palace of the Qajar and Pahlavi monarch, comprising 18 buildings in a vast garden.

The Sa’dabad Palace Complex (Persian: Kakh-e Sa’dābād) is a 300-hectare complex built by the Qajar and Pahlavi monarchs. The complex includes more than 180 hectares of natural forest, streets, qanats, galleries, mansions/ palaces and museums. The complex was initially built and inhabited by Qajar dynasty off monarchs in the 19th century. After extensive expansions, Reza Shah of the Pahlavi Dynasty resided there in the 1920s. His son, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, moved there in the 1970s. After the 1979 Revolution, the complex became a public museum.

Then transferred to the train station to take it and go on to Shiraz.

Accommodation

• Train (1 night)

Included Activities

• Tehran – Saad abad Palace

Meals Included

• Breakfast

Special Information

The current schedule for the train from Tehran to Shiraz will see us departing Tehran on the 17.15 service which will arrive in Shiraz at 08.35.

After breakfast this morning please check out of your room and ensure you have all your belongings. Your luggage will remain on the bus today and after our city tour we will travel direct to the station.

In the morning, as soon as you arrive, you will go to a nice place to eat breakfast, then start your city tour of Shiraz.

Rise and shine for a day of exploring this artistic city, visit the colorfully decorated Nasir-ol-Molk Mosque, where sunlight streaming through stain glass windows fills the interior with kaleidoscopic colours, stroll the alleys and lanes of one of Iran's most loved Bazaars Vakil, a great spot to sit and chat and enjoy a glass of orange blossom tea. visit the vast complex of Bagh-e Eram (UNESCO site), known as the Garden of Paradise. Wander the grounds where artificial rivers run through the cypress trees before pooling in front of a colourful palace. This is one of 9 gardens in Iran that is part of the UNESCO World heritage of "Persian garden". It is huge and its architecture and layout was conceived to symbolize Eden and the four Zoroastrian elements of sky, earth, water and plants - and that is exactly how it feels: like a piece of paradise. Afterwards, visit the tomb of literary and folk hero Hafez. Nearby is the Aramgah-e Shah-e Cheragh – one of the holiest sites in Shiraz. The structure serves as a mausoleum to one of Imam Reza’s brothers and the forecourt is often packed with Shiite pilgrims. The rest of the day is free for your own discoveries.

Accommodation

• Shiraz (1 night)

Included Activities

• Shiraz - Nasir al Molk Mosque


• Shiraz - Bagh-e Eram Garden (UNESCO site)


• Shiraz – Vakil Bazaar


• Shiraz – Hafez tomb


• Shiraz - Shah-e Cheragh shrine

Meals Included

• Breakfast

Begin the day with a drive to the remains of Persepolis (UWH) (approximately 1 hour) – once the center of the Persian Empire and considered as one of the great cities of the ancient world. The Takhte Jamshid complex of palaces was known as the historic marvel of the country, constructed over 150 years as the ceremonial capital of Darius I’s Achaemenid Empire. Continue on to Naqsh-e-Rajab – the site of four limestone rock face inscriptions and bas-reliefs that date to early Sassanid times. While today only small ruins remain from those once-magnificent structures, the site is still impressive. Nearby, at Naqsh-e Rostam, gaze upon the immense memorial carved for the Sassanian Ardashir I after his conquest of the Parthians. Then drive to Pasargadae (UWH), the tomb of Cyrus The Great. Back to Shiraz and free time to explore the city.

Accommodation

• Shiraz (1 night)

Included Activities

• Persepolis - Entrance and Guided tour (UNESCO site)


• Persepolis - Naqsh-e Rustam Necropolis


• Shiraz – Pasargadae (UNESCO site)

Meals Included

• Breakfast


• Dinner

This morning travel 5.5 hours to one of the finest cities in the Middle East. A 16th-century rhyme called it 'half the world' and, after spending a few days here, you may well agree. There are many fine Islamic buildings covered with the blue mosaic tiles Iran is famous for, as well as an enormous bazaar, superb palaces, tranquil gardens and picturesque bridges crossing the Zayandehrud. Arrive in the later afternoon and visit the picturesque Safavid Chehel Sotoon Palace and then, in the evening, enjoy a delicious dinner.

Accommodation

• Isfahan (1 night)

Included Activities

• Esfahan - Chehel Sotun Palace

Meals Included

• Breakfast


• Dinner

Special Information

Please notice based on current schedule there is not any train station on this route, so you will be transferred to Isfahan by VIP bus.

Spend today discovering the wonders of Isfahan. Isfahan is famous for its Persian architecture. You'll have plenty of time to soak up the atmosphere during a tour, starting at the immense Imam Square, which covers an area of 82,500 square metres and is the second-largest square in the world.

Many grand buildings surround the square explore some of them with your leader visit you can see Naqsh-e Jahan Square including Imam (Shah) Mosque was built during the Safavid period and it is an excellent example of the Islamic architecture of Iran. In fact, it is really one of the masterpieces of Persian Architecture., Ali Qapu Palace, built for Shah Abbas in the late 16th century, Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque one of the architectural masterpieces of Safavid Iranian architecture, this mosque without any minarets is considered to be the most beautiful mosques in Iran, it was built and designed to be private mosque by Shah Abbas for his family. then

visit the atmospheric bazaar, complete with exotic scents and spices, musical merchants' cries and, of course, thousands of locals bargaining at the stalls. Walk the covered lanes of the sprawling marketplace, where shafts of light filter through ceiling and lattice and perhaps stop for lunch.

spending some hours waking in Qaysaryeh Bazaar with lots of handicraft. In the afternoon some hours walking along the historical bridges beside the Zayandeh rood river and see the locals there.

Accommodation

• Isfahan (1 night)

Included Activities

• Esfahan - Leader-led walking tour


• Esfahan - Imam Square


• Esfahan - Shah Mosque


• Esfahan - Sheik Lotfallah Mosque


• Esfahan - Khaju & Si-o-seh Pol Bridges

Meals Included

• Breakfast

In the morning, your day will start to spend some hours to Vank Cathedral in Jolfa (the Armenians quarter) which includes this beautiful church in Iran. You can find lots of cozy cafés there to drink café and rest for some hours. Then go to the train station to take a train toward Yazd. Transfer to hotel for rest.

Accommodation

• Yazd (1 night)

Included Activities

• Esfahan - Armenian Vank Church

Meals Included

• Breakfast

Special Information

The current schedule for the train from Isfahan to Yazd will see us departing Tehran on the 15.00 service which will arrive in Yazd at 19.50.

After breakfast this morning please check out of your room and ensure you have all your belongings. Your luggage will remain on the bus today and after our city tour we will travel direct to the station.

Yazd, the city of wind catchers, was recently inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage List on July 9th, 2017. Yazd located in the desert, the old city of Yazd is built almost entirely of adobe and is an architectural wonder. To deal with the extremely hot summers, many old buildings have magnificent wind towers, with large underground areas to circulate cooling air. Yazd has been a Zoroastrian center since Sassanian times. Zoroastrians still make up a significant minority of the population, and the Atashkadeh in Yazd is the most important Zoroastrian fire temple in Iran. The sacred flame visible behind glass in the interior of the fire temple is said to have been burning for over 1500 years. We visit the Fire Temple and its grounds, and then the Tower of Silence, or Dakhma, where the bodies of the deceased were placed, to avoid contaminating the earth as a Zoroastrian funerary tradition. then visit Dowlat Abad garden, the architectural jewel of Yazd is inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage Site as one of the picturesque Persian gardens. It is constructed over 200 years ago for different functions, and now it hosts many tourists who travel to Iran. Towards the evening, we will visit the Zurkhaneh, the traditional gymnasium, where amateurs practice their strength and flexibility to the accompaniment of devotional music.

Accommodation

• Yazd (1 night)

Included Activities

• Yazd - Fire Temple


• Yazd – Tower of Silence


• Yazd – Dowlat abad garden (UNESCO site)


• Yazd - Zurkhaneh

Meals Included

• Breakfast

In the morning, you will have a half-day tour of Yazd, then you will take a train toward Kashan. Based on your arrival time, visit some highlights of Kashan such as Tabatabaei traditional house. The Tabatabai house is a historic house museum in Kashan. It was built around 1880 during the reign of the Qajar dynasty,[3] for the affluent Tabātabāei family. It is one of the prominent historic houses of Kashan

Accommodation

• Kashan (1 night)

Included Activities

• Kashan - Tabatabai house

Meals Included

• Breakfast

 

Full day visit Kashan a merchant town known for its high-quality ceramics, silks, carpets and fine houses.  Visit the lush Bagh-e Tarikhi-ye Fin (Fin Garden). It’s a great Persian garden and as one of the nine Persian gardens registered on UNESCO world heritage list. It is so interesting to find out that the fountains were naturally pumped which makes the site more of a masterpiece. A classical Persian garden that contains Kashan's Fin Bath. This is where Amir Kabir – the Qajarid chancellor and a nationalist hero – was murdered under the orders of King Nadir al-Din in 1852.

Enjoy a farewell lunch at Morshedi House, a traditional house serving traditional Iranian Cuisine.

Accommodation

• Tehran (1 night)

Included Activities

• Kashan -Tabatabei house


• Kashan - Lunch Morshedi House

Meals Included

• Breakfast


• Lunch

With no activities planned for today, your adventure in Iran will come to an end today after breakfast. Drive to International airport to take departure flight.