From Ancient Cities to The Heart of Desert – 17 Days

We are going to greet you at IKA airport in Tehran and take you to the Espinas Palace hotel to rest and stay the night. Espinas Hotel, the best hotel in Tehran.. You can get more sleep and get fully charged for upcoming visiting places in the morning.

We are going to leave the hotel at 09:00 am so we need to have breakfast before leaving time (8-8:45 am).
Sa’dabad Palace is our first destination. Sa’ad Abad complex has different buildings and palaces inside, but two palaces are important to visit. The White palace and the green one. Visiting the whole complex would take almost 3-4 hours. Thus, we plan to visit these two palaces only, but if we got enough time we could manage to visit some of the rest places afterward.
After that, we drive to Tajrish to share the great experience of having fun in Darband area with you. All restaurants in Darband are located in the footer of the mountain and have a nice view. We will have lunch there. The restaurant which we have chosen is Baghe Behesht, or in special cases one of the best restaurants in Tehran. Then, we will return to Tajrish to visit Imamzadeh Saleh Shrine and Tajrish Bazaar
In the afternoon, we drive to Taleghani Park for walking, enjoying nature and having coffee and cake. After resting in a coffee shop with a beautiful view, we will visit Tabiat Bridge and Abo Atash.
For having dinner, we have chosen Daf traditional restaurant which plays live music during catering services (the music depends on the date of implementation). In the case of an unexpected problem, we choose an another best restaurants in Tehran. We will drive to the Hotel afterward to rest and sleep overnight.

*All Musical Restaurants don’t have live music in Islamic funeral days.

Breakfast at: Espinas palace hotel
Lunch at: Baghe Behesht Restaurant
Midday Catering:Coffee with Cake
Dinner at:Daf Restaurant
Overnight at: Espinas Palace Hotel the best hotel in Tehran

We start our tour at 8:30 and we drive to Golestan Palace , which is a UNESCO world heritage site. It has different buildings to feel the Qajar era atmosphere. One of the buildings is called Shamsol Emare (Shams Mansion) which is Tehran’s Ali Qapu. Afterward, we will visit National Museum of Iran.Afterward, we will have lunch in the Ferdowsi hotel or one of the best restaurants in Tehran and then we will visit
Tehran Grand Bazaar. You can see the crowds looking for special things to buy with the best-offered price. Bargaining sounds, Termeh, copper plates are the most obvious features you can see in the first place. Afterward, we will rest in a coffee shop which all the menu is made out of organic fruits and vegetables. You can also taste homemade cakes with different types of beverages. To have a closer look at Iranian culture and the crowds cheering, coffee shops are one of the best places to spend time. We walk through Keshavarz Blv., Valiasr square, and Valiasr street a bit to see the life which is going on and different shops alongside. After having a pleasant dinner time, we drive back to Espinas Palace Hotel to sleep.

Breakfast at:Espinas Palace hotel
Lunch at:Ferdowsi hotel
Midday Catering at:a nice Cafe
Dinner at: Tehrani House or one of the best restaurants in Tehran
Overnight at: Espinas Palace Hotel the best hotel in Tehran

In the morning, we must leave Espinas palace hotel at 8:30. It takes about four hours to reach Hamedan, the capital city of Hamedan province.
At first, we will visit Ali Sadr Cave en route, which is the world’s biggest water cave, that thousand of tourists come to visit it each year. After that we will drive to visit Ganjnameh Inscription. You will have lunch at Ganjnameh Restaurant or one of the best restaurant in Hamedan .
Then, we will visit the Achaemenes inscription and waterfall and we can take photos. We will drive to the hotel but on the way, we must visit The Mausoleum Avicenna . Avicenna is well known around the world and his nickname is the father of Medicine.
We will continue our tour and visit The Mausoleum of Baba Taher , one of Iranian poet, and then Tomb of Aster and Mordechai .
For having dinner, we will go to Na’l Eshkeneh or one of the best restaurant in Hamedan . For resting, after dinner, we will go to the hotel.

Breakfast at:Espinas Palace Hotel
Lunch at:Ganjnameh Restaurant
Midday Catering:Special cookies of Hamedan such as: Shirmal and Komaj with Tea or Coffee
Dinner at:Na’l Eshkeneh restaurant
Overnight at:Baba Taher Hotel, the best hotel in Hamedan

Today, after having breakfast and check-out, we head to Kermanshah so we can visit Bisotun Historical and Cultural Complex , which is a World Heritage Site, in the daylight.
Then, we go toward the city of Kermanshah to visit Tagh-e Bostan. After that, we will have lunch at Heidari Restaurant (Dande Kebab) or one of the best restaurant in Kermanshah. Then, We are going to visit Tekyeh Moaven al-Molk, and Shafi’i Jameh Mosque. Afterward, Sarab-e-Niloofar is on the way to our hotel, so we can see it on the way of reaching the hotel.
We will have dinner at Shah Abbasi Caravanserai (also named as Laleh hotel) and sleep overnight.

Today, we are going to leave the hotel at 8:30 to head to Khorramabad . It lasts 3 hours to get there, so we can visit Falak-ol Aflak Citadel which belongs to Sassanid empire and located on the top of the hills. Then, we will have lunch at Hami Restaurant or one of the best restaurants in Khoramabad. After that, we can visit Gerdab-e Sangi. Otherwise, we can have our midday meal on the roof of Khorramabad. Then, we need to leave Khorramabad to Dezful . The estimated time to reach Dezful is about 3 hours, thus we can have dinner in a traditional restaurant in Dezful which is called Shovadoon Restaurant or one of the best restaurant in Dezful. Although our hotel is a 3-star one, it is actually the best place to rest and overnight stay in the area.

We start visiting some places in Dezful then we head to Susa and Shushtar .
Dezful Traditional Bazaar backs to many years ago that’s why people call it The Old Bazaar. In front of the old bazaar, there are lots of shops in which you can taste local junk foods and sweets such as Buffalo ice cream, a mix of Halva Ardeh with Dates, and special cookies. These junk foods are part of the attraction of Dezful. Then, we will continue our tour and will visit Tiznoo house . For having lunch, we will stop at Delnavazan Restaurant or one of the best restaurant in Dezful. After lunch, we will visit Dez River then we have to leave Dezful to Susa. It takes only one hour to get there. We need to see the fantastic Susa Castle, Susa Museum, Apadana Palace . In the evening, you can help yourself with the midday meal. Then, we drive to Choghazanbil Ziggurat which the history behind is beyond the imagination and you must see it yourself. In the evening, we will continue our trip to Shushtar, on the way we can see and take photos from Buffalo. It takes only one hour to see our indescribable city. We need to have dinner in the Mostofi Restaurant or one of the best restaurant in Shushtar. Then, it is time to check-in the hotel and rest at Tabib-e-Shushtar Hotel .

Breakfast at:Jahangardi Hotel
Lunch at:Delnavazan Restaurant
Midday Catering:Tea and Cookies
Dinner at:Mostofi Restaurant
Overnight at: Tabib-e-Shushtar Hotel, the best hotel in Shushtar

Meanwhile having breakfast at Tabib-e-Shushtar hotel, you can enjoy the architecture of the hotel in the morning. At the beginning of the day, we visit Shushtar Historical Hydro Structure Base and Waterfall . We drive to Mostofi Restaurant and Museum to have lunch and visit its museum or one of the best restaurant in Shushtar. In Shushtar, we must visit Jameh Mosque because it is said that this mosque is the second-oldest mosque in Iran after the one which is in Yazd. It backs to approximately 1200 years ago. After that, we can enjoy resting in Moghadam Traditional Cafe . After finishing our tour in Shushtar, we will drive to Ahwaz and we will visit Karoon River which is the biggest river in Iran. The famous bridge which is the sign of Ahwaz also passes upon this river. We will also visit Ahvaz Grand Bazaar and taste Felafel sandwiches that are one of the traditional foods in Ahwaz. You can walk and take photos near the Karoon River and relax. Then, we are going to have our delicious traditional dinner before night sleep in hotel.

After having breakfast at the hotel, we will drive to Shiraz. We must spend hours to pass long distances. So, we will have a stop in Bishapour to rest and have lunch. Today our lunch is different. We will have a picnic to enjoy our food in nature. Afterward, we will visit the glory of Sassanid dynasties such as Amazing Reliefs and Anahita Temple. Then, we will continue our overland journey to Shiraz and will enjoy beautiful landscapes on the way. Reaching Shiraz, we should check-in and get ready in the lobby for having dinner at Haft Khan Restaurant or one of the best restaurants in Shiraz . At the end, we will back to Zandiyeh Hotel to sleep overnight.

On our Shiraz tour, we choose the most beautiful and high-rated attractions to visit. In the morning around 8:00 o’clock you should be in Nasir-Al Molk Mosque and visit the combination of color and sunshine art in the mosque then we will visits Vakil Complex which contains Vakil Mosque, Vakil Bazaar, Vakil Bathhouse and Karimkhan Citadle. After visiting these places you need to rest a bit, so we can have a lunch in Shater Abbas Restaurant or one of the best restaurants in Shiraz . Then, we visit Eram Garden and walk around a Botanical garden and take photo then will visit Hafeziyeh Tomb. We plan to have Falude-Shirazi in one of the best places to try in the evening. Then, for dinner, we head to Shirazi house or one of the best restaurants in Shiraz . At the end of the day, we rest at Zandiyeh Hotel .

These upcoming destinations have the most famous sightseeing in the world and are named as World Heritage Sites. for visiting these places, we will drive to Marvdasht and will visit the glory of Achaemenes. In Persepolis Complex (Takht-e Jamshid) we will visit eight Palaces, two Tombs, a Museum and a Treasury. Here is a great place for founding the Achaemenes architecture and their beliefs. There are many rock reliefs that had registered their customs and history. After a long walk (around 4 hours). We will have lunch in a restaurant near the Persepolis that Called Apadana or one of the best restaurants in Shiraz and then we will visit Necropolis( Naghsh-e Rostam) afterward. You will be surprised to see three different empires at the same time in one place. Necropolis includes Elamite relief, four tomb of Achaemenes and 5 reliefs for the glory of Sassanid. After walking in the history of Iran. We will back to Shiraz for visiting Quran Gate and Tomb of Sa’adi which is dedicated to the Persian poet Saadi. Then, we will move to Haft Khan Restaurant or one of the best restaurants in Shiraz to taste Pizza in Iran.

To continue our overland journey, we head to Abarkooh from Shiraz. After 4 hours, We need to visit Cypress Tree which has more than 4000 years old. Local people believe that this tree was planted by Zoroaster, the prophet of Zoroastrians. The next place for visiting is Solat Historical House . We will have lunch at Aghazadeh House . We can see the only 2-floored wind catcher in the world and the most famous house in Iran which the picture of it has been used on Iranian 20,000 Rial. It is great to take a picture right above the roof, just like the way it is on Iranian 20,000 Rial. Then, we will continue our tour to visit Abarkouh Ice House . Later on the day, we will drive to Yazd and en route, we will visit Tower of Silence which belongs to Zoroastrian. The Zoroastrians used to put the body of the corpse on top of the mountain for 3 days till the birds eat all meat of the body then buried the body in the ground. They believe we shouldn’t make earth dirty. Afterward, we drive to Khaneh Pedari Restaurant or one of the best restaurants in Yazd to have dinner. After that, we rest at Hotel Dad .

After having breakfast, we experience a great city tour in Yazd. It would be nice that you know that Yazd is located in the center of Iran and also in Dasht-e Kavir desert. Because of that, the weather is hot and dry, but at this time of the year, the weather won’t bother us.
We will start with Dolat Abad Garden which has the tallest windcatcher in Iran. You will be amazed by the water supply with channels in this great garden from out of the city. After that, we will go to the Jameh Mosque. It is the oldest mosque in Iran and some archeologists believe that it returns to pre-Islamic Iran when people used to pray in the fire temple. After visiting this special mosque, we will have an ancient part of Yazd which is registered as UNESCO Heritage Culture. I am sure you never get tired when you walk through the narrow adobe ally and houses in Fahadan area. In our opinion, you would enjoy the great experience of sitting in a roof garden coffee shop in this area with the view of windcatchers and adobe houses. After these joyful moments, we will visit Lariha House and Art Houses to enjoy the beauty of architecture and arts. Then, we will continue our way to reach Alexandr’s Prison. The upcoming destination is Talar Restaurant for having lunch or one of the best restaurants in Yazd . After lunch, we will visit Amir Chakhmaq Complex , which includes Mosque, Water Storage, Nakhl (symbol of mourning in Moharram and the famous gate with two minarets. This place is the best place for buying Termeh (traditional silky fabric with a special design (Boteh Jegheh)) and delicious sweets of Yazd. Then, we visit Yazd Fire Temple and Markar Square . The Special feature of this square is that you will be exactly in the center of Iran. For dinner, we will go to Yazdi house or one of the best restaurants in Yazd . After that, we will back to the hotel and rest.

Breakfast at:Dad Hotel
Lunch at:Talar restaurant
Midday Catering:Special Baqlava with Tea
Dinner at:Yazdi House or one of the best restaurants in Yazd
Overnight at: Hotel Dad , one of the best hotels in Yazd

In the morning, we will leave Yazd to Chak Chak and Kharanaq. After visiting these places, we will continue our journey to Mesr Desert. It takes about 4 hours, but you will get new experiences. We are going to have lunch in Barandaz eco-lodge and enjoy walking on sand dunes. At night, you can enjoy your coffee or tea around the fire and listen to the silence of night in the desert and relax while watching stars.

Today, in the early morning, we will leave Yazd to reach Isfahan , but en route, we will visit another city. We want to visit Naein castle which belongs to the Parthian empire. We will walk around the castle and visit water storage which still works. We can see the fabric workshop which is special in Naein. Then, we are going to the Naein Jameh Mosque and Pirnia House. Naein’s carpet is famous all over Iran. You may also see the lifestyle of Naein’s people in this house. We should continue our way and reach the next city.
In Isfahan, our first destination is a traditional restaurant to have lunch. According to our plan, we will visit Naghsh-e Jahan Square , which we can see magnificent architectures, colorful and large mosques of the Safavid era. Heading to this square bring us the opportunity to see Imam Mosque , Sheikh Lotf Allah Mosque , Ali Qapu Palace . In front of the mosque is a beautiful forecourt which is connected to the bazaar. Since the bazaar has surrounded the square, we can visit it as well. We will have 2 hours for shopping in Naghsh-e- Jahan Square. After Shopping we are going to rest about an hour and a half in Hamdam-o-Saltaneh Traditional House Café. Then, we will visit Siosepol Bridge and Khajoo Bridge after taking photo and walk beside Zayandeh rood River we will have dinner at an Isfahani house or one of the best restaurant in Isfahan. At the end of the night, we stay in our beautiful traditional hotel.

In the morning, we are going to start our tour with Chehel Sotoon Palace . After that, we will visit Vank Cathedral which belongs to Armenians. In Shah Abbas period, when Osmania Attacked Armenia, Shah Abbas let them move to Iran and live in Isfahan. You will be surprised at the Music Museum, after 5 minutes of walking. In this museum, you will visit all Iranian musical instruments. The special local guide in the museum will explain all the history and details of the instruments. Then, the owner of the museum and his group will invite you to a live performance. After the incredible tour in Music Museum, for having lunch, we will go to Arka restaurant which, In the past, was an Armenian House and now, it converts to a restaurant and coffee shop or one of the best restaurant in Isfahan. Another surprise in Isfahan is Flower Garden. It is an unbelievable beautiful garden. You will find different types of flowers and trees. Great lake is in the middle of this garden. I am sure you will enjoy it a lot. For having dinner, we will go to Toranj Restaurant (Hovanes Restaurant) or one of the best restaurant in Isfahan.

We continue our overland journey to Kashan . It takes almost 2 hours and a half. But en route, we will visit Abyaneh village. Abyaneh is one of the old villages that its history backs to Sassanid empire. In this village, people speak in an old Persian language named Pahlavi. They have special clothes and customs. You will visit special village which all the houses have made with red adobe and all the allies have covered by stone. We will continue to Kashan and when we reach there, we will go to the restaurant for having lunch at Melal Restaurant or one of the best restaurants in Kashan. Then, we will visit Fin Garden (Bagh-e Fin) and Hamam-e Fin rosewater tools before any other place. Broujerdi’s House is one of the great houses in Kashan which has a love story with amazing windcatcher and stucco design. Near Boroujerdi’s house is Sultan Ahmad Bathhouse with beautiful design. Bath in the past was not just for showering. In the Bath they had met, praying and haircut. We will have dinner at nice traditional restaurant which called Manouchehri Restaurant or one of the best restaurants in Kashan

We are going to have breakfast and start visiting a carpet workshop. We are going to inform you about the process of carpet-weaving, you may see the weavers from a closer look, and you can try weaving for yourself.
In the case of facing an unexpected problem in the carpet workshop, we will plan to visit Noushabad , the underground city that has been found recently, instead.
Later on the day, we drive back to Tehran . On the way, we stop at Mehr o Mah Tourist Complex to rest and have lunch.
Then it is time to have fun and attend an Iranian gathering before your departure. We are going to make Iranian natural tea on the fire and prepare our dinner together. We are going to experience gathering around a fire while singing Iranian songs. After puffing candles and having cake, we transfer you to IKA airport with the sweet taste of joyful memories.

Breakfast at:Morshedi Hotel
Lunch at: Mehr-o Mah Tourist Complex
Midday Catering:special sweets from Qom
Dinner at:homemade dinner in the garden