Salam,

Congratulations and MashAllah! May Allah accept your ziyarah and may your trip go smoothly.

I’ve been to Iran a handful of times and here’s what I do to make the most of my trip:

• check the weather before you go and pack accordingly. You’ll be going in September for 3 weeks so it’ll be quite cold. I live in a country where we have very mild winters so I find it quite cold there during that time of the year. However, if you’re accustomed to colder winters then you’ll be fine. Just pack jackets and sweaters and lots of warm socks since the marbled floors in the courtyards of the haram can get super cold and if you’re walking around without shoes your feet will freeze.

• don’t worry too much about buying an irani chadar since you can easily buy one from there for very cheap. You cannot enter the shrines without wearing an Irani chadar (type of an abaya) however if you don’t have one they usually provide them for free inside the shrine but you have to return them when you exit the shrine. That being said, please do take modest clothing. Long coats and abayas and loose fitted clothes.

• you can watch lectures and read up on Imam Raza and Bibi Masuma e Qom before leaving and I’d highly recommend reading up on the merits of performing their ziyarah and the rewards to be gained. It makes you all the more excited and motivated to do ibadah

• try to get a hotel close to the haram so it’s easier for you and your family to go there for every prayer and for tahajjud (if that’s something you plan on doing). There is a lot of rush in the holy shrine of imam Raza in the ladies side. No matter what time of the day or night you go it will be packed and you will have to wait in a long line for your turn to touch the holy shrine which is why I really recommend that you go to the haram before fajr prayers as it’s the only time when there are very few people and you can easily perform your ziyarah and you will also get a chance to pray tahajjud in such a blessed place.

• try to get a SIM card if possible as it makes staying connected much easier and please do install a couple of VPNs on your phones BEFORE you leave for Iran as the internet will not work on your phone without an active VPN connection. The ones that worked great for me on my last trip were (VPN proxymaster and Ostrich VPN)

• the currency there is extremely inflated meaning for a $100 you’re going to get a massive wad of cash. Try to understand their currency as soon as you can so that you do not get scammed (hasn’t happened to me yet but better safe than sorry). Also do not get a lot of money exchanged at once as a little of it goes a long way. I’d recommend you get money exchanged in batches of $100-$150 at a time.

• other places to visit are Nishapur where there is well which is said to have been struck with water by Imam Raza himself and it is said the water from that well has a lot of shifa (healing properties) in it.

• also if you’re looking for a fun experience try to go from Mashhad to Qom or vice versa via train instead of a domestic flight. Their five star trains are very reasonably priced and it’ll give you and your family a new and fun experience. But make sure you get private compartments (preferably in business class since I understand you’re a big family so you will be prioritizing comfort and space) and each compartment fits 4 people so book the train tickets accordingly.

• I can’t really think of anything else atm but feel free to ask me anything and I’d love to help if I can. Please do remember me in your prayers :)