Persia Classic: Esfahan, Yazd and Shiraz

Overview

Stand in Naqsh-e Jahan Square at dusk as the tiled dome of Sheikh Lotfollah turns from cream to rose, and you understand why seventeenth-century travellers called Esfahan 'half the world'. This twelve-day circuit strings together the great set pieces of Persian civilisation: Kashan's merchant houses, Esfahan's bridges and blue mosques, the mud-brick windcatcher skyline of Yazd with its Zoroastrian fire temple and Towers of Silence, the dawn light through Shiraz's pink-glassed Nasir-ol-Molk mosque, and finally Persepolis, where Achaemenid reliefs march across the Apadana staircase. The warmth of ordinary Iranians towards visitors is the trip's real signature — expect tea invitations daily. The logistics need honesty: UK, US and Canadian passport holders can only visit on a guided itinerary with pre-arranged visa authorisation, the FCDO currently advises against all travel to Iran (check the live position before paying anything), cards don't work so you carry cash, and women must wear hijab in public. March–May and October–November dodge the heat. Twelve days with guide, hotels and internal transport runs about £1,600–£2,000 land cost.

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Prefilled for 1 October 2026 — the next best-season window. Search on partner sites — opens in a new tab.