Is crossing Iran to Pakistan safe? (page 1 of 5)

Hi there,

We’d like to travel overland from Turkey to India in our converted van, but there are very few options these days. Crossing Iran seems risky and not particularly safe. Has anyone here done it? If so, which route did you take to minimize safety concerns?

Thanks for your replies, Julie 😎

Hi, Your question isn't very clear... Crossing Iran is possible—just stay neutral and avoid too much contact with the local population, since you never know how it might be interpreted by regime supporters. Then there's Pakistan... well, I don’t have any info on that. 😏

Hi,

It’s still complicated for Iran, though. Frenchman Louis Arnaud was imprisoned for two years while he was also traveling through the country. In short, not a good idea at all.

Hey,

A buddy and I did it, but in the opposite direction—overland from India all the way to France.

That was back in... 2005. It was a bit sketchy, especially in Pakistan and near the Afghan border since it was right after 9/11, but things have probably gotten worse since then. That said, I remember we found a guidebook (Lonely Planet?) just for that route (something like "The Silk Road" or a similar title).

The major cities we hit: Amritsar (India/Pakistan border) > Lahore > Rawalpindi > the Karakoram Highway > Peshawar > Quetta > Zahedan (Pakistan/Iran border) > Isfahan > Tehran > Tabriz > Turkey > Europe.

For Iran, we got a one-week transit visa (with exit at a different border than entry), and for Pakistan, a one-month visa. India was easier.

I see you're a woman, and yeah, it was definitely tougher for the women we met along the way (Pakistan: had to cover up completely and deal with some seriously judgmental stares; Iran: had to wear a headscarf).

Check online to see if you can find that guidebook—we picked it up in a bookstore in India, so it might still be around.

You might also want to check the French embassy’s updates. Even if they’re often overly cautious, things *are* a bit tense in Iran right now.

Let me know if you need anything else!

Cheers! !

For over 60 years, thousands of camper vans have taken the route to India via Iran; 99.99% have had an amazing experience, with impeccable hospitality and safety. I highly recommend taking the time to explore the entire country. However, the Balochistan region on the Pakistani side does pose some risks, though these are mitigated since you’ll be given an escort at the border. So no worries at all.

Good evening, Yes, it's possible. As "Perju" mentioned earlier, just avoid playing amateur political journalist and don’t dwell on politics. Iranians are very welcoming. Diesel is quite cheap—you just need to wait in front of a gas station with a jerrycan, and some truckers will offer to fill it for you, or the station manager will sort something out. They have a special system for fuel.

I crossed this border in 2017 on my motorcycle without any major issues. The last Iranian city is very safe, and it’s likely the authorities will take care of you depending on the alert level.

On the Pakistani side, you’ll be escorted by a police team (the Levies) all the way to Quetta.

Balochistan remains a very unstable area, but otherwise, it’s pure bliss.

Video on my YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUZ69lpYtb0

I crossed this border in 2017

That was ages ago, then.

It’d be great to hear from someone who’s made the crossing since the "Women, Life, Freedom" movement crackdown.

A lot of travel companies have recently stopped offering Iran as a destination. Maybe there’s a reason for that?

Hello Agnès, If you're traveling in this country as a tourist—that is, without trying to make "oriented" contacts with the local population, and especially without trying to get their take on the current climate—there’s no problem visiting the country. Anyone who’s run into trouble was "arrested" during protests against the regime, and even if they were just there as spectators... they really had no business being in that environment. I traveled in Iran for about 40 days. I was "stopped" twice by the army and the police under pretty stressful conditions. I wasn’t in a city, in the middle of a protest, or with any Iranian dissidents. Everything went smoothly—they understood I was just there for tourism. That’s definitely not the case for those—French or otherwise—who are currently detained in the country. I went in September/October 2018, right after the U.S. sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program. The atmosphere could’ve been much worse...

Haha, Your comments are so full of shared experiences... Iran is still a destination for travelers—maybe not for those who prefer "Fram"-style trips, though. That might be your case. Happy sharing!

2018... It seems like a lot has happened since then.

Even Fram used to include Iran in their programs.

What was possible yesterday—is it still possible today?

Maybe.

It’s up to you to decide what risk you’re willing to take for this trip.

The current situation in the area isn’t great, and Iran is marked in red on most travel advisory maps—not just those from France. That wasn’t the case a few years ago.

Nothing probably happens to the vast majority of people who make this journey, but (especially in the current context), denying that this crossing carries any risk at all is either bad faith or ignorance. And even more so in Iranian or Pakistani Balochistan.

Before any reply that would include false assumptions, I’ll clarify that I’m not the type to share the alarmism of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ travel advisories, and I’ve traveled in Iran—not at all with FRAM—but completely independently and without any reservations.

The risk exists. It’s up to each person to assess it and accept (or not) the possibilities, however small they may be.

Hello, I urge you to read my post carefully. Should I explain the reasons for an escort between Taftan and Quetta? Maybe it’s necessary...

Thanks everyone for your replies. Yes, I’m following the travel advisories very closely—the map is definitely red. Our friends got a transit visa through Russia, then Kazakhstan/Mongolia, another transit visa to Vladivostok, then Japan and across, but the route is really expensive.

Iran is a stunning country from what I’ve seen, but crossing it doesn’t reassure me, and the Balochistan region definitely gives me pause.

It’s such a shame that these days we can’t visit certain countries like this one—they deserve to be known.

I’ll keep thinking about this route because it’s a family project that’s close to our hearts. 😉

There's no point in going through Kazakhstan to reach Mongolia, especially since you'd have to cross Russia again to get there. You can't go directly from Kazakhstan to Mongolia.

Hi there, No problem crossing Iran by vehicle—we spent 20 days there in mid-October, right during the rocket-ping-pong period. Avoiding protests and steering clear of political discussions is easy to do. Camping was hassle-free, just be mindful of certain spots (factories, watchtowers) where you might face a thorough check. But if you ask nearby soldiers or police, they’ll let you know if it’s okay. Drones in your vehicle are fine, just don’t use them without asking nearby military or police for permission. The welcome from locals was incredible—warm smiles, "welcome," "I love you," honks, and friendly waves. So many people invited us to their homes to eat or even stay the night, even though it’s technically not allowed. Don’t believe the nonsense from Western media; it’s nothing like the reality on the ground. Go for it!

PS: We didn’t go to Tehran or Qom.

Thanks for this breath of common sense.

And what happens if Iran decides to close its borders? If the situation gets even worse in this volatile part of the world? What if the mullahs take offense at some decision made by France?

It’s not the Iranian people and their hospitality that are in question. But rather the dictatorship in power and the current geopolitical situation.

Politics, geopolitics, dictatorships, and all that—we don’t give a hoot 😉 (to keep it polite) when it comes to our travels. It’s always been like that, and it’ll keep going. It’s open, so we go, and we adapt on the spot.