Packing for Iran is governed by one fact that applies to no other destination on a normal itinerary: no card issued outside the country works anywhere inside it, and a growing list of ordinary goods is hard to find. You cannot buy your way out of a gap in your luggage the way you can in Rome or Bangkok.
So this list is organised around that. Not a generic inventory, but the specific things that are genuinely difficult or impossible to replace once you land — and, just as usefully, the things worth leaving at home because Iran does them better and cheaper.
Two notes. Clothing has a page of its own — what to wear in Iran covers the dress code, the fabrics and the seasonal wardrobe properly, so this list stays off it deliberately. And whether to travel to Iran at present is a separate question with a different answer: see our situation report, reviewed 10 September 2026.
One Fact Governs the Whole List
No Visa, Mastercard or Amex works in Iran. Not in hotels, not in restaurants, not at a cash machine, not online. The entire trip budget arrives with you in notes, and so does the money for anything you forgot — except that forgetting is worse here, because a chemist in Isfahan may simply not have what you need at any price.
That single constraint reorders a packing list. The expensive-but-replaceable category, which usually deserves no thought, becomes the category worth most attention: contact lens solution, a specific medication, a charging cable for an unusual device. And the bulky category that normally dominates — clothes, toiletries — matters less, because Iran sells those well and cheaply.
The money guide covers how much cash to bring and in what form. Everything else is below.
The Non-Negotiables
If any one of these is missing, something on the trip stops working. Everything else on this page is comfort.
| Item | Why it is on this list | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Cash, in euro or dollars | No foreign card works anywhere in Iran. This is the trip budget, not a reserve | Clean, unmarked, high-denomination notes. Torn or older-series notes are refused or discounted |
| Your medicines, with surplus | Iran is short of roughly 800 medicines, ninety of them essential | Original packaging, English prescription, generic names. See the health guide |
| Printed visa authorisation | Phone batteries die and airport wifi does not exist | On paper, with your first hotel booking and onward ticket. The visa guide has the list |
| Insurance certificate naming Iran | The visa counter reads the policy wording, not the summary | Printed. Worldwide cover usually excludes Iran — see the insurance guide |
| Offline maps, downloaded | Much of the internet is filtered and rural signal is patchy | Do it before you fly. The connectivity guide says which apps survive |
| A scarf, in hand luggage | Women need it from the moment the aircraft doors open | Any light scarf. The clothing guide covers the rest |
| Passport photocopies | Hotels take your passport at check-in; you want a copy on you | Paper and a photo on the phone. Also the visa page and insurance certificate |
| Closed walking shoes | Cut stone, unrailed drops and uneven bazaar floors | Slip-ons rather than laces — shoes come off constantly, in mosques and in houses |
Everything in this table is either impossible to obtain in Iran or needed before you could get to a shop. That is the test for inclusion.
The Medical Kit, Which Is Now the Important One
This section used to be a formality. In 2026 it is the most consequential part of the suitcase, because Iran is short of around eight hundred pharmaceutical products — ninety of them classed as essential — including antibiotics, insulin, antidepressants and epilepsy medication, with prices for what remains up by between one and six hundred per cent year on year.
| Bring | Why here specifically |
|---|---|
| Your regular prescriptions, plus two weeks’ surplus | Split between hand luggage and case. A delayed bag should be an inconvenience, not an emergency |
| Paracetamol and ibuprofen | Paracetamol is reported up 375 per cent year on year and is intermittently short. Do not assume |
| Rehydration salts | The single most useful item for the most likely complaint, and they weigh nothing |
| Anti-diarrhoeal | For a long drive day rather than for treatment. Loperamide, a small pack |
| A course of antibiotics, if your doctor will prescribe one | Antibiotics are on the current shortage list. Ask before you travel, not after |
| Antihistamine | Dust, spring pollen and unfamiliar food all argue for it |
| High-factor sunscreen | Expensive and poorly stocked locally. The plateau sits at 1,200–1,800 m and Persepolis has no shade |
| Blister plasters | Bazaars, cut stone and ten-thousand-step days |
| Hand gel and tissues | Public toilets are squat and rarely provide paper. Carry both, always |
| Your inhaler, if you use one | Winter air in Tehran and nine other cities regularly exceeds WHO limits several times over |
| A cool bag, for anything refrigerated | Insulin is among the scarcest items locally, and summer road transfers are long and hot |
| A one-page medical summary | Conditions, allergies, generic drug names and doses, emergency contact. In English, on paper |
Medicines containing codeine, sedatives and stimulants are controlled and may need documentation at the border. Bring the prescription, bring only what the trip needs, and check anything contentious with the consulate before you fly.
What You Cannot Reliably Buy There
| Item | Situation | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Tampons | Pads are sold everywhere; tampons essentially are not | Bring the whole trip’s supply. See the solo travel guide |
| Contact lens solution | Available in big-city optometrists, unreliable elsewhere and expensive | Bring it, plus a spare pair of glasses |
| High-factor sunscreen | Stocked thinly and priced as an import | Bring it. This is a genuinely common regret |
| Specific medications | Roughly 800 products short as of September 2026 | See the medical kit above. This is the big one |
| Anything needing an app store purchase | Payment to international app stores does not work from inside Iran | Buy and download before you fly, including offline maps and a dictionary |
| Camera batteries and unusual cables | Common sizes are fine; anything specialist is a search | Bring spares of anything proprietary |
| Alcohol, in any form | Illegal, including duty-free brought in | Leave it. Not a gap to fill, and bringing it is a real problem |
| Familiar sanitary and skincare brands | Iranian equivalents are good; the specific brand you use is unlikely to be there | Bring it if you are particular, otherwise buy locally |
What to Leave at Home and Buy There
The other half of a good packing list is knowing what is a waste of suitcase space.
A manteau or a long tunic. Iranian shops sell exactly the garment the dress code wants, for a fraction of what a Western shop charges for an approximation, and the fit and fabric are designed for the climate. Buy one on the first afternoon. The clothing guide makes this argument in full.
Scarves. Bring one for the flight and buy the rest. They are everywhere, they are cheap, and they are the easiest souvenir that also earns its place.
Bottled water. Tap water is safe in every city on the standard route. Bring a refillable bottle instead and fill it at the hotel.
Snacks. Pistachios, dates, dried mulberries and saffron nougat are better here than anywhere, and cost a fraction of the airport equivalent. The shopping guide covers what is worth carrying home.
Toiletries in quantity. Shampoo, soap and toothpaste are cheap and everywhere. Bring what gets you through the first night.
Power, Devices and Documents
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Plug type | Type C and Type F — the standard European two-round-pin. UK and US visitors need an adapter; European visitors need nothing |
| Voltage | 230 V, 50 Hz. Anything sold for UK or European use works directly; US-only 110 V devices need a converter rather than an adapter |
| Power bank | Worth it. Long drive days, few sockets on intercity buses, and phones drain on offline maps |
| Unlocked phone | A local SIM is bought with your passport in about twenty minutes and is the only sensible way to get data |
| Downloaded before you fly | Offline maps, an offline dictionary, your booking confirmations, and anything you would normally stream |
| Paper copies | Visa authorisation, insurance certificate, first hotel booking, onward ticket, passport page, prescriptions |
| Written phone numbers | Your guide, your hotel and your embassy, on paper. A dead phone should not cost you those |
| A small torch | Stepped alleys, unlit courtyard hotels at night, and the occasional power cut |
Drones and satellite internet devices are restricted and will be confiscated at the border. There is no process worth attempting for a leisure trip.
By Season
| Season | Add | Because |
|---|---|---|
| Spring · Mar–May | A light layer for evenings, antihistamine, rain shell | The plateau is warm by day and genuinely cold after dark. Pollen is heavy in April |
| Summer · Jun–Sep | Wide hat, electrolyte sachets, a second sunscreen | Isfahan averages 38 °C in July and the desert cities higher. Shade is rare on sites |
| Autumn · Sep–Nov | A mid-layer, and nothing else unusual | The easiest season to pack for and the best to travel in |
| Winter · Dec–Feb | A real coat, gloves, an inhaler if you use one | Tehran and Tabriz go below freezing, and winter is when city air is at its worst |
| Desert nights, any season | A warm layer regardless of the daytime figure | The Lut and Maranjab drop twenty degrees after sunset |
| Shrine visits | Nothing — chadors are lent at the door | Three major shrines require one and all three provide it |
Check the month before you finalise any of this: the month-by-month guide has real climate normals for seven cities rather than seasonal generalisations.
What Not to Bring
A drone. Restricted, requiring approval from two ministries, and confiscated at the border in practice. There is no version of this that ends well on a holiday.
Alcohol. Illegal to bring in from anywhere, duty-free included, and not a rule anyone bends for visitors.
Satellite internet equipment. Fully restricted. The connectivity guide explains what does work.
A large suitcase. Courtyard hotels have stairs, lanes in Yazd are too narrow for a car, and you will be moving base every two or three days on a standard route. Carry-on plus a small case is the right shape.
Half the clothes you packed. Laundry is quick and cheap everywhere, and you will buy something here. Every experienced traveller on this route comes home having worn about two-thirds of what they brought.
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