White Bridge

Ahvaz (Persian: اهواز, also Romanized as Ahwaz) is a city in Khuzestan Province in South Western Iran.

Understand

Ahvaz is situated on the banks of the Karoun River, which splits the city into two large districts. The western half is mostly housing with some government departments. The eastern half is both residential and Industrial. The main train station is on the western side and the airport is on the eastern side. Extremely hot in the summer. Expect 45 degrees in July and August.

Get in

By plane

There are daily flights to Tehran, Isfahan, and Shiraz. There are weekly flights to Dubai-Kuwait City-Mashad. Airlines serving Ahvaz airport are Iran Air-Caspian Airlines-Mahan Airlines-Eran Air-Aria Air-Iran Air Tours-Iran Asseman Airlines.

There are many travel agencies, but the best and most trusted is OXIN travel agency that sits on the corner of the 7th street in Kianpars. They are a trusted company and have flight tickets for all the destinations in Iran, they also provide great vacation tours to Asian countries like U.A.E., Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Japan, Vietnam and many more.

By train

There are daily trains to Tehran-Khorramshahr and Bandar Imam Khomeini. Ahvaz is the major junction for trains heading from the southern ports to Tehran, and from Tehran you can change trains and go further to Mashad or Tabriz. There are 3 daily trains to Tehran.

By bus

There are daily busses to many destinations in Iran 1.Ahvaz-Tehran- 2.-Ahvaz-Isfahan 3.Ahvaz-Shiraz- 4.Ahvaz-Mashad- 5.Ahvaz-Khorramabad. The main bus station is located in Kampelo for busses headed north (i.e.:Tehran)

For buses headed east(Isfahan and Shiraz-Masjed Suleiman) the station is at 4 Lions Square

South bound buses leave from Khorramshahr Square.

Get around

Taxis roam around the city 24 hours a day and are relatively inexpensive. Around 3000 tomans for the longest trip in the city. There are also taxi agencies everywhere, if you can't find one on your own, all the hotels have taxi agencies. Busses ply most innercity routes and are very cheap.

See

Being an oil business oriented city, there are not a lot of interesting places to see in Ahvaz. Most people go to Kianpars street at night and stroll amongs the shops. You could visit the old and hectic bazaar area(Taleqani Street). The best places in Ahvaz are situated alongside the river. The river boulevard is a nice place to stroll and has many parks. One of the attractions of Ahvaz is the oil well flares situated on the border of the city, but it's only nice at night time.

• Riverside Park, Kianpars, Ahvaz. Riverside Park the oldest park of the city. It is located in Kianpars and beside the White Bridge. The view of Karoun river, white bridge, other side of the city and the islands are interesting. 
• White Bridge. The white bridge was the first bridge crossing Karoun river made by German engineers about 80 years ago. The bridge is now considered as the main symbol of the city. 

Do

• Sailing on the river. You can rent a boat and go sailing on Karoun river in many parks nearby the river. 

Buy

All the Ahvaz neighborhoods have a local market place, the upscale shops are mostly situated alongside Chamran Blvd.(Kianpars), Zeitoon Karmandi (Cheetah Square), and the main bazaar is on Taleqani Street.

Eat

Budget

There are many sandwich shops and fast food shops in the city. Most are average. Good ice cream store located in a cellar below a cake store. Haji Baba Coffee Shop can be found next to the bazar, heading towards the white bridge.. No English spoken.

Mid-range

Oxin Hotel Restaurant- Try the Shir Mahi(Fish) Kebabs and they also serve great Meat Kebabs. They have specials that change daily, my favorite is the Shrimp.

Athena Pizza in Kianpars serves excellent deep dish pizzas.

Pizza Pizza in Zeytun is the best, make sure you visit this location if you visit Ahvaz, the Pizza Pizza in Kianpars is not that great!!!

Splurge

Astoria Hotel Restaurant-Expensive and below average food.

Drink

You cannot legally find alcohol in Iran so your drinking is limited to soft drinks and fruit juice. There are many good fruit juice shops in Ahvaz and you will find them easily. In the summer stay away from Cantaloupe juice and Banana milk shakes.

Sleep

Budget

There are many mehmansara (Guest House) in Ahvaz. Most don't admit foreigners and the ones that do are not up to foreign standards. But they are inexpensive. Naderi Hotel is a decent one.

Mid-range

Oxin Hotel is near the airport and is moderately priced. It has an excellent restaurant and the rooms are clean and they have great air conditioning. They also have large screen televisions in the lobby and mostly show football games. They speak very good English and can help you arrange any kind of tour or transport. Hotel Iran is reasonably ok, but make sure u ask for a room on refurbished floors. BASIC English spoken. Restaurant good and reasonably priced at around 9000 toman for a chicken kebab. Chuchey kebab. Plenty of hot water and good AC in refurbished rooms.

Splurge

Fajr (Former Astoria) Hotel is the best hotel in the city. It is situated by the riverside and has great views but it's expensive.

Stay safe

Iran is generally a safe country. It is advised however, that being an obvious tourist may attract some unwanted attention from interested Iranians, but do not be alarmed or react negatively. Standard advice to keep your bag secured and safe, and to leave personal and valuable belongings in your hotel room or hotel safe should be regarded. Iranians are generally peaceful, hospitable people, but it is advised to act with caution when walk in the streets alone late at night or when approached by strangers to the same degree that you would in your native country.

You might want to have plastic money to prevent having your money stolen. Bank-e Melli-ye Iran (National Bank of Iran) which is a government-owned bank in Iran, provides an ATM debit card service (plastic magnetic card) for tourists who visit Iran. Tourists just need to head the nearest branch of this bank. Information on this service can be found here. Another way to prevent having your money stolen, is going to the nearest bank and getting a gift card. They are exactly like ordinary ATM debit cards, but once they get empty, they cannot be recharged. Sepah Bank or Bank -e- Sepah is a governmental bank that has a current account service for foreigners which provides both ATM debit card and cheque writing option. A list of permitted Iranian banks can be found here

Emergency services phone numbers

• Police: 110
• Fire department: 125
• EMS: 115
• Road EMS: 115 or 112

Stay healthy

Ahvaz, in Iran according to a 2011 WHO survey is found to be the worst air polluted city in the world. People with respiratory problems, for example asthma patients, should consider before visiting.

Cope

Not easy without Farsi or Arabic. The Arab visitors to Ahwaz have little trouble in communicating as the majority of the city's population are Arabs (almost 70%), so the local residents can communicate with Arab tourists and visitors or can act willingly as interpreters from Farsi to Arabic and vice versa.