Tehran Welcomes European Luxury Train

The luxury train, ‘Jewels of Persia’, with 65 passengers and 35 crew members arrived in Tehran after crossing several cities inside the country.

After a two-week journey that started from Hungary’s capital of Budapest by travelling about 7,000 kilometers, the passengers arrived in Tehran as their final destination on Monday.

The “Jewels of Persia” tour left Budapest on October 15 and crossed Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey on the way to Iran.

After arriving Iran on October 22, the passengers mostly from Britain and Australia, visited the cities of Tabriz, Zanjan, Yazd, Isfahan, Shiraz, Kerman and Mashhad before reaching Tehran where the travelers will spend two days before flying home.

Iran’s cultural heritage and tourism organization said last week that some 96 passengers from at least 14 different countries were aboard the Golden Eagle Danube Express.

The Cheshire-based Golden Eagle Luxury Trains, which has organized the Jewels of Persia tour, said it marked the first time a European private train had been permitted to enter Iranian territory.

The Prices for the two-week tour range from £8,695 to £13,995 per person.

Another 12 tours are scheduled for next year — eight leaving Budapest and four departing Tehran — with the price of the most expensive tickets jumping to $37,000.

Since the election of the moderate president, Hassan Rouhani, whose government wants to boost tourism, the number of foreign visitors to Iran has risen sharply.

Official statistics released in March indicated tourist numbers were up 35 percent year-on-year to 4.5 million, bringing $6 billion in revenue.

Iran has accelerated the issuance of tourist visas under the administration of Hassan Rouhani, which has been advocating dialogue with the West.

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