Hi there, my name is Moein and I’m a licensed tour guide in Iran. I’d like to talk about the important role that a local guide can play in your trip, and the advantages that a guide will bring you – benefits you won’t have by travelling alone!
As I am a guide in Iran, I will present examples from my country, but these would apply to any destination.
Regardless of the type of travel you undertake, one of the benchmarks of success is to see how enriched you feel or simply how much you learned from the trip. Did you learn all the history behind a monument that amazed you? Do you now know the difference between architectural styles? Can you now explain the basic beliefs behind certain religious practices in the country you are visiting? Read more
Your guide has an active role to play to ensure prevention of security risks right from the planning stage of your holiday. This could range from warnings about any area which may present a petty crime risk to taking extra care at tourist attractions like malls, theatres and exhibitions. Remember, your safety is always of paramount importance to your guide. Read more
As for Iran, contrary to negative mass media reporting, it is one of the safest countries on earth that you can travel to (see Is Iran safe?). However, the added security of knowing where you’re going (or at least looking like you do with a guide striding by your side), and having another person along with you when you explore means extra security. No one plans to get robbed or scammed, but it’s much less likely with a guide at your side. Read less
A guide can relieve you of the burden of your travel arrangements and concerns. This allows you more time to focus on the enjoyment of your trip, knowing that all the day to day problems such as bookings, schedules, visits and a myriad of other details are in capable hands.
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A journey is always exciting, regardless of how you travel. However, there are moments when everyone can experience boredom, especially on a long-distance drive between destinations.
Everyone has different habits while on the road. You might like to take a nap during the journey, or, as children do, you may want to ask every 10 min ‘’Are we there yet?’’. This is an opportunity for interaction with your engaging and entertaining guide, so there is no way you will be bored during the trip. Read more
One of the most important benefits of having a local tour guide is the chance it gives you to learn about the culture from someone on the inside. A guide will be able to explain all aspects of the local culture, and will be able to share their own knowledge, experience and personal anecdotes. Read more
You won’t feel out of place, and this is particularly important for guests who are looking for an authentic experience. So, as you can see, a trip to Iran will definitely be more fulfilling and enriching in the company of a local tour guide! Read less
Many people are eager to explore the wonders of nature by themselves. When you’re on an adventure trip, unless you’re an expert at your chosen activity and the local region, having a guide could be a matter of life and death. I believe having a tour guide on an off-road trip is not a plus, it’s a must.
Travelers, especially adventurers, should give safety the utmost priority. Having a guide is the best way to avoid environmental hazards, such as hidden wetlands in the desert or dangerous insects. You will never get lost with a guide because they are familiar with their environment; they know where they’re going and if they are forced to take a detour, they can find an alternative route with a glance at a map or by looking for landmarks. Read more
When it comes to travel, we all like to focus on the positive and memorable aspects. People who are passionate about travel love telling stories about the places they’ve been and the experiences they’ve had. But what about those times when things go wrong on the road? Read more
With regard to etiquette and customs, you may try to do as the locals do, which sounds easy but it may put you in a difficult or embarrassing situation.
Gestures that are very commonplace among westerners might be very inappropriate in Iran. For example, the thumbs-up gesture is considered rude and has the same connotation as raising one’s middle finger for the older generation of Iranians, although the younger generation knows what it means internationally. It’s not common to shake hands with people of the opposite gender unless he or she initiates the gesture. Read more
When it comes to travel, we all like to focus on the positive and memorable aspects. People who are passionate about travel love telling stories about the places they’ve been and the experiences they’ve had. But what about those times when things go wrong on the road? Read more
I have listed 10 benefits of having a tour guide in a group tour. There are many more advantages which are only realized in private tours with a private guide. So, before you make a decision, please see my article/video Private Tours, where you will see the best option is to choose a private tour as the advantages outnumber the above list considerably.
My wife and I flew back to our home from Persia last May where we spent eleven wonderful days! We had an amazing trip by car with our private guide Moein Gholami throughout this vast country filled with a rich culture, ancient architecture, traditional Persian cuisine, unique and colorful bazaars in every city and so much more. We were able to discover a beautiful land of contrasts where the people are very friendly and eager to meet foreign visitors. We were delighted to have our friend guide Moein driving us around and bring us to many of our favorite places and monuments in small towns or big cities and help us with our shopping and choice of menus! He was always very punctual and saluted us with a big smile! MAMMUN Moein!"
My husband and I spent two weeks last September in Iran and we had a fantastic time with Moein. He was our guide/driver and he arranged our trip according to our wishes and our needs. He speaks perfect English so we didn't have any problem understanding each other and he told us a lot of interesting things about the attractions we visited and about Iranian culture and habits. Everything in our trip was great: hotels, restaurants and all arrangements. We had also enough time for visiting everything we desired and we never felt to be in a hurry: so we also had the opportunity to speak with a lot of Iranians and discover their thinking. This is why we strongly recommend Moein and be sure you'll have a great experience in Iran.
My husband and I spent 12 days in Iran between December and January. It was an unplanned trip; on the way to the airport I consulted some forums and came across Moein. He proved to be a very prepared and competent guide who did not bore us with long redundant explanations, drove carefully in the chaos of the cities and introduced the country in a very calm and conscious way. In addition to the fact that Moein speaks perfect English (he was also an English teacher) and has a sense of humor, a special point about him is his perceptiveness; he understood immediately what kind of travelers we are and what things we like best during our trips. In other words, he was very flexible in satisfying our requests and he included some spontaneous unscheduled plans that proved to be the best moments of the trip. If I had to recommend a trip to Iran to friends, I would have no doubt in suggesting Moein, because I am sure that much of the success of the trip was because of him!
We are travellers from Australia and have just spent thirteen days with Moein doing a tailored made route from Tehran to Shiraz with several stops. We spent some time online with him agreeing the detail of the itinerary and accommodation, and always found Moein to be helpful, cooperative, and full of useful advice on how to make the trip and itinerary better. Before committing, we spoke via WhatsApp and found him to be polite, constructive, and responsive to our comments. When we met him in person all those characteristics continued for the journey, and we truly enjoyed his company. He speaks excellent English, is interesting to talk to, and is committed to giving his guests a great experience of Iran. We based our decision to go with Moein largely on Tripadvisor reviews, plus the quality of his responses when we were negotiating a possible itinerary. He exceeded our expectations, as did Iran.
To arrange our trip in Iran we checked a lot of travel reviews, read many touristic guides, books and magazines. We came across some travel reviews referring to a local guide Moein Gholami. We visited his Internet site and sent him a short inquiry mail. His answer was fast and punctual: our itinerary draft and related quotation request soon turned into a travel proposal, very detailed with reference to places to visit, hotels and timings. Moein was immediately available to follow our requests and give us suggestions on eventual alternatives. He brought us to eat in traditional Iranian restaurants, explaining how dishes were made encouraging us to taste a lot of typical dishes that we could not even have been able to know (and to order) without him (dishes on the Menu were written in Farsi). Our trip to Iran turned out to be above our expectations and our friendly guide and driver certainly made a big contribution to a very pleasant trip.
We had the pleasure of a 15-day tour of Iran with Moein in August of this year. I first contacted Moein after reading TripAdvisor reviews and visiting his Persia Passenger website. Between us we organised a very full tour, covering all the usual destinations and a few not so populated locations. Moein is very experienced and knowledgeable on all things Iran, and for us was the perfect choice as our tour driver/guide - he is a very safe driver, a necessity on Iran’s roads! The accommodation he suggested and booked for us was faultless, sometimes amazing (the caravanserai in Marand was exceptional) and always comfortable after a long day of travel and sight-seeing. Moein was always on time and flexible and there was no expectation that we should stick with the plan if something off the itinerary came up. Most of all though, we had some great conversations and Moein’s sharp sense of humour made the tour good fun! We would like to travel to Iran for a second tour to see more of the incredible places that time prevented, and if we are lucky enough to do so we will definitely look to enjoy Moein’s company again. Cheers Moein!
We decided to go to Iran with a local certified tourist guide; almost by chance, we got in contact with Moein Gholami and we could not have made a better choice. He was very helpful and always available to reply to our questions and we decided together the tour stops. When we arrived in Iran, he very well organized everything: the organization of the days, times for car journeys, times for visiting and for have a break and/or lunch. He left nothing to chance. The holels he choose for us were amazing: we slept in caravanserais, in traditional hotels and in an hotel in the rocks (in Kandovan). The service, the cleanliness and the breakfasts of the hotels were always very good. Moein drove for long but he was always a careful and a precise driver. During the time spent in the car we had the chance to talk, asks questions about the country and sometimes to laugh to tears! y look to enjoy Moein’s company again. Cheers Moein!
My brother and I completed an 8 day private tour of Iran from Shiraz to Tehran and fell in love with the country. To anyone that is still not 100% decided on visiting Iran, I urge you to just book it and you will not be disappointed. The people, the food, the culture and sights are amazing. We even tried cancelling our further travels so we could stay in Iran for longer. We did our private tailor made tour with Moein and had the best time. Very knowledgeable, did everything he could to make our time the best possible and helped us to engage with as many local people as possible. It felt like we were travelling with a good friend to which he now is. I cannot recommend Moein anymore, he is by far the best guide I have ever had. For weeks prior to our arrival in Iran, we were in constant communication with Moein about what our interests are so Moein could suggest the appropriate routes and highlights. We are now already planning when we will be able to visit Iran again (hopefully next year) and we will be travelling with Moein again.
We are two females and decided to arrange our own itinerary. We were very fortunate to come across the website of Moeim Gholami. Definitely the best find of our Iran trip. Moein's extensive knowledge and deep love of his country made every site visit a rich experience. He was much more than a driver/guide. He became a friend and went way beyond the remit of a guide to help us out with hotel bookings, advice on routes and Persian cuisine and customs. Moein is a graduate with an English major and speaks English so well he can express his sense of humour with frequent jokes. I recommend Moeim without reservation. He is an excellent example of all the best qualities of the Iranian people and will add quality to your Persian experience.
After reading some reviews on Tripadvisor we found the guide who we think was ideal for us, Moein. We contacted him by e-mail and he answered almost immediately. He's been very kind and helpful to answer all our questions about the trip by email and WhatsApp. We're a couple very interested on history, arts, architecture, culture and lifestyle of every country we visit and we asked to Moein to set us a trip with a focus to these features. He organized for us a wonderful 12 day tour touching the beautiful and different cities of central Iran responding completely to our needs. He managed everything professionally, from hotel bookings to the attraction's entrance and led us to discover Iran explaining everything in a perfect English, moreover he gave us the possibility to customize the plan to our will. Moein with his calm and patience made us feel always at ease, he reflects the character of Iranian people: kindness, politeness and willingness. Thanks to him we learned a lot about Iranian history and lifestyle.
We spent 11 days in central Iran during Easter holidays and our trip has been organized very well by Moein. He took care of everything: transport, hotel, ticket entrance. He is a good driver, a good guide as well, he speaks a very good English, he is absolutely reliable and he is available to satisfy our requests and helped us with his valuable advices. We hope to come back to Iran and to travel with Moein again.
I've spent half of August in Iran with my parents and I'd say it has been a great vacation! Moein brought us not just in famous cities, but also in very peculiar villages and little towns. We enjoyed sharing our culture with our guide and compare Iranian traditions with the Italian ones. The primary concern of Moein is to build a friendship with his clients, not just being your guide. He likes to have lunch or dinner in your company and having nice conversations with you. Iran was a different vacation, I felt very involved in its population, surely I will come back in future.
My husband and I, after listening and reading about the wonders of Iran and its people, decided to leave but not having much time and not loving organized trips, we opted for a private guide / driver. We started last May 4th and returned on May 12th. Reading on the web we also came across the Persia Passenger agency that we contacted. Moein, who is an official guide, responded promptly and with him we agreed on the stages and travel arrangements. Moein, who speaks perfect English has been our driver and guide and was without doubt an added value to this trip. He has booked our hotels, many of them in incredible historical residences and has organized visits to historic cultural and natural sites. Our lunches and dinners have always been real experiences, in typical but never "touristic" places. Moein was always attentive to our needs but never intrusive and introduced us to many aspects of true Iran that we could hardly have learned by traveling independently, he was also a prudent driver even in the chaos of big cities, making us feel safe and secure in his car, we also spent a wonderful evening at his home where we met his family.
My wife and I organized a 13-day trip with Moein between October-November 2019 which proved to be one of the most beautiful of recent times. Iran it is a simply fantastic country and the Iranians are the kindest and most helpful people on average that you can meet. Although traveling to Iran on your own is feasible, however relying on a guide makes life much, much easier. Moein arranged everything especially booking all the hotels and the domestic flight which is kind of difficult to do before arrival. The tour was discussed and agreed with various emails and WhatsApp messages and the price was reasonable in relation to what he offered. Moein’s guiding was exemplary; he knows the places perfectly and explains them to you in remarkable English. He also drives in a very prudent and careful way, which is essential in Iranian cities where if I drove I would crash after 10 minutes! All in all, we are really happy to have chosen this solution. Moein proved to be a nice, helpful, reliable and flexible guide and also our good photographer who portrayed us in all poses.
We stayed in Iran 7 days right at the beginning of the year. I had contacted Moein via email at the end of October and I discussed our itinerary with him to discover this wonderful country. The choice proved to be a winning one, he immediately proved very helpful and prepared. The hotels in which we stayed turned to be above our expectations and also the local restaurants that we tried! Thanks to his support, we were able to plan the tour quickly (from Tehran to Shiraz with several stops) which were quite difficult given limited time we had. The merit of a tailor made tour is having a guide who is so prepared and kind to follow you every day especially if the time is short considering the long distances. I highly recommend anyone to visit this country, it is definitely worth the trip. Obviously you should do it with Moein, a highly recommended guide.