meet THE women of Iran on 2 wheels

In this session, we will share our top 10 tips and tricks that will always be useful to your rider’s life, no matter what stage you ar eon your journey.

You will have the opportunity to share any questions you may have and most importantly connect with fellow women riders and aspiring riders from all over the world 🙂

50% of the revenue goes to the speaker, 30% to sponsor low income women’s motorcycle training, and 20% to cover our platform and marketing costs

Experience Iranian hospitality

While the country suffers from bad reputation in mainstream media, its people are on the contrary extremely appreciated by travelers who venture to discover their land. Exploring on 2 wheels as a group of women will be defying societal expectations and one shouldn’t be surprised to be invited into people’s homes willing to offer tea, food and share conversations along the way. We’ll ride through mind-blowing landscapes from mountains to deserts, greeneries and sea sides. The geographical and historical richness of Iran is indeed immense. Definitely not a mass-tourism destination, this tour will take you back in time and allow you to have an authentic travelling experience out of the ordinary.

Key highlights

Immerse yourself in nature: We’ll cover the Northern part of Iran which encompasses some of the most beautiful Mountain riding roads. We’ll also have the opportunity to make one with our environment while camping in the wild. During those 3 camping nights, you will certainly learn useful surviving and cooking skills from our hosting team.

Broaden your perspectives on women’s conditions: In a country where local women are still not legally allowed to take their riding license, we’ll connect with some of them and hear their stories of overcoming this challenge. In the most remote areas, we’ll meet with the Turkmen community and witness the women doll-makers. In Teheran, we’ll endeavour to celebrate our final dinner with Iranian women leaders and changemakers.

Enjoy that feeling of untouchedness: Visiting historical and “secret” places that even most Iranian don’t know. Khaled Nabi and its surprising rock formations. Isfahan, the former capital of Persia, located at the intersection of the two principal north–south and east–west routes that traverse Iran. And Masouleh with its spectacular scenery.

Details

This 17 Days tour, of which 11 days are riding days, will start and end in Teheran. We will ride to Badab Sourt, Jahan Nema, Ramian, Sasang, Khaled Nabi, Babolsar, Kerlardasht, Masouleh, and Rasht. We will then fly to Shiraz to visit Isfahan and Kashan. We will camp for 3 nights and visit many rural communities, including the Turkmen group in the most remote area of Iran, as well as meet local women riders and leaders in Teheran.

Price and Bikes

Starts at USD 3990, including:

  • Bike rental and fuel for 11 days: Benelli TRK 250 cc bikes
  • Bed & breakfast for 16 nights (twin share basis): 8 nights Boutique Hotel, 3 nights in camp (tent), 5 nights in eco-lodge.
  • 30 Meals: 15 breakfast, 8 lunches, 7 dinners
  • Dinners and Classes with local women/ communities
  • Refreshments: Mineral water or tea or coffee during the day
  • All entrances fee for the sites mentioned in the itinerary
  • 2 local professional and licensed tour guides
  • 2 accompanying team members speaking English, Spanish, French and Persian.
  • Support car with driver/ mechanic
  • Domestic flight (Rasht to Shiraz)
  • All airport transfers and land transportation in Tehran, Shiraz, Isfahan with Private A.C vehicle Coach.
  • Visa processing support (not the visa fee)
  • Prepaid Iranian SIM Card with data package

-need to add:

  • International flight
  • All expenses of private nature such as telephone calls, faxes, laundry, room service, etc.
  • Expenses due to deviations from the scheduled program
  • Iran visa embassy fee obtained from the client/s at the time of collecting visa in the embassy
  • Unpredictable events which cause extra expenses during tour
  • All lunches and Dinners in large cities
  • Tips to drivers & tour guides, tips in restaurants
  • Sleeping bag
  • Any type of insurance.

Challenge level: 2

Most of the routes are easily accessible and do not present any major difficulties. There will be some dirt roads along the way and certainly many mountain roads, but they are easy dirt roads that even a Harley could venture into. We’ll ride approximately 220 to 280kms per day, for 11 days. Both experienced women riders will share one bike so, if at any moment you face physical conditions challenges, a rider will be able to take over.

Food and Accommodation level: Intermediate

We will be eating a lot of homemade Persian cuisine, where it is best to experience. Typical Iranian main dishes are combinations of rice with meat, vegetables, and nuts. Herbs are frequently used, along with fruits such as plums, pomegranates, quince, prunes, apricots, and raisins. Kababs will be found anywhere, they are served either on bread or rice, but are much tastier and healthier than the doner kebabs found in the West, and cooked shish-style over hot charcoals.

Hotel categories are very different from the usual classifications. We will be staying in eco-lodges for most of the time, which are similar to Bed and Breakfast and usually run by local families. They all have running water but don’t have too many expectations on connectivity. Ideal for total disconnection 😉 Accommodation is on the basis of twin sharing. We will also spend 3 nights in wild camping, so make sure you bring your sleeping bag.

 

 

Team

On this tour, you will be accompanied by 3 women: Mahsa, Fatemeh and Alison, and a male support team composed of a licensed motorcycle guide and a driver/mechanic.

Mahsa started travelling at the age of 16. Motorcycles came into the picture in 2009 when she started renting small 2 wheelers in South-East Asia. In 2011, she took the plunge with a bigger bike and headed to West Africa, with her husband on the backseat! She’s been riding solo across more than 60 countries over the years. Nine years ago, she founded the travel company “Not Just a Tourist” in Seville, to give fellow travelers an authentic experience of Southern Spain and give them access to the locals. From her personal encounters, she indeed realized the importance of travel for both locals and visitors alike, and wishes to facilitate those interactions for a more meaningful and inspiring tourism. It’s also the reason why she didn’t give a second thought when she was asked to develop a FreeW tour in Iran for women motorcyclists. It totally fits her travelling philosophy and she is very keen to have women experience Iran, her Iran.

Fatemeh grew up in southern Iran in a rural area with strong traditions and little freedom for women. She was brave enough to break through the limitations and create a life of her own. She lived in France for some time and worked as a tour guide. Then she moved to Afghanistan and worked in humanitarian aid. She has been a facilitator and translator. Her love for humanity and passion for culture and travel brought her to the tourism industry where she has been working for more than 20 years. She is passionate about the cultural, anthropological, and sociocultural aspects of traveling. She is an active member of the NGO of street kids in Iran. She has climbed the highest volcano in Asia, mount Damavand 3 times and loves the outdoors.

What Are You Waiting For?

Next dates: October 2024