I ran to Iran, should my boyfriend be my cousin?

December 14, 2003 12:30 AM

I'm thinking of traveling in Iran and want to do so with my boyfriend. What is the best way for us to travel together without running afoul of Iranian law? Should we claim to be cousins, find a chaperone, or just give up the idea? I have German citizenship and he is Dutch, though his mother was born Iranian...

Also, both of us have American citizenship as well. Will this help us or hurt us?

posted by zia to travel & transportation around Iran (4 answers total)

Might I suggest Rio? I was there this time last year and I can't wait to go back.

In other words, this is not the time to be travelling in Iran and the surrounding area don't you suppose?

Albeit the warning is dated from May, it's still in effect.
posted by bluedaniel at 1:17 AM on December 14, 2003

You may like to pose this question to the Middle East branch of lonelyplanet.com's Thorntree, a forum specifically for travellers. Sometimes you can get some quite helpful answers on that site.

As far as I recall, it is very hard for Americans to visit Iran as tourists, and bearing in mind the US and Iran have no significant diplomatic relationship, you may be better off just travelling with the German and Dutch passports. I know of people who've had happy travels in Iran with British passports, for instance. Contrary to many expectations, it seems to be a very safe place to travel in.

Also, you don't state what gender you are, as this will affect the kind of answer you get.

The Thorntree.
posted by plep at 1:23 AM on December 14, 2003

The UK Foreign Office country advisory page is also a useful resource. There are no advisories not to visit Iran at the moment.

(The State Department is a touch conservative, IMHO; recently there was an advisory against US citizens visiting Nepal because of the Maoist insurgency, despite the fact that no American or other foreign tourist has been harmed by the Maoists since the insurgency began).
posted by plep at 1:29 AM on December 14, 2003

I agree that with your german and dutch passports this may be just fine. I looked around a bit for you zia (who is female) and found this interesting weblog from a girl (dual greek/american) who is there right now!

Also, this dutch guy was just there in May and has some beautiful pictures to show for it. Looking at his site, it looks like he traveled with his girlfriend so it can be done (traveling as an unmarried couple)
posted by vacapinta at 1:34 AM on December 14, 2003