3 guides, each rated 1 to 5 with the reason — and two lists per place, where you are comfortable and where to pay attention. Nowhere is called dangerous; the specific thing is what helps.
The Kurdistan region runs its own security and Erbil is comfortable, walked at night, and polite to visitors; the checkpoints on the roads are routine and want a passport. The federal border to the south is where the region ends and the caution begins — the Kurdistan visa does not cross it. Do not photograph checkpoints or security. Summer heat is the daily hazard.
Comfortable: the citadel and the bazaar · Ainkawa · Sami Abdulrahman park · 60 Meter Street
the roads south towards Mosul and Kirkuk — the federal line; the Kurdistan visa stops there and so should the trip
Comfortable, liberal by the region’s standards, and walked late. The same rules as Erbil: routine checkpoints, no photographs of security, and the federal border to the south is the edge of the region. The mountains towards Iran have a border zone; stay on the tourist roads. The heat is the summer hazard.
Comfortable: the centre and the bazaar · Salim street · Azadi park
the roads south towards Kirkuk — the federal line; the Kurdistan visa stops there
the mountains towards the Iranian border — a border zone; the tourist roads only
Possible now, and done with a guide who knows the day: the checkpoints are many and want a passport, the security picture changes with the news, and the guide reads it. The old centre, Mutanabbi and the riverside are visited in daylight with no trouble; the outskirts and the night are not for wandering. No photographs of anything in uniform. Heat is the other danger for half the year.
Comfortable: Mutanabbi street · Abu Nuwas street · the Karrada district
the outskirts and the night — not for wandering; the guide decides the day by the news
anything in uniform with a camera — do not
the checkpoints — many, and the passport every time
The ratings are this site's own, from the guides' authors and the corrections readers send in; they are not an index. Read the general advice in travel safety tips.
