Erbil
Iraq
A citadel lived in for six thousand years, a bazaar of Kurdish tea houses under it, and the capital of the Iraq that visitors actually reach
Photo by Levi Meir Clancy on Unsplash
Photos by Levi Meir Clancy, Levi Meir Clancy, Levi Meir Clancy and Levi Meir Clancy on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of Iraq
March to May, and October to November (summer is 45°C; winter is mild and the mountains are green)
Climate month by month
The next sixteen daysOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 90mm in Jan
Where it is
36.19°N, 44.01°E Open in Google Maps
Things to do
Several days- Walk the citadel at the end of the afternoon
- Drink tea at Machko
- Get lost in the Qaysari bazaar
- Drive the Hamilton road to Rawanduz
- Eat in Ainkawa in the evening
Erbil travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget Iraq
Good valueDinar, at a stable rate, and dollars are accepted for anything large — hotels, tours, the visa fee. Change at an exchange office in the bazaar or a bank; the rate is posted. Bring new, unmarked dollar notes; old ones are refused.
ATMs & cards
Machines that take foreign cards exist in Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and the big Baghdad hotels and malls; elsewhere assume none. Cash runs the country. Withdraw in the city and carry dollars as the reserve.
Avoid these
- machines outside the cities and the big hotels, which are few and often empty
Use these instead
- the machines in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah malls
- the big Baghdad hotels
Cash runs the country and dollars are accepted for anything large. Bring new, unmarked notes; old ones are refused.
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of Iraq
Reasonably safeThe 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.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (7 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
Worth more attention
- the roads south towards Mosul and Kirkuk — the federal line; the Kurdistan visa stops there and so should the trip
- checkpoints and security with a camera — do not
- the streets at noon in summer — 45°C
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa Iraq visa rules
Visa on arrivalup to 60 daysUSD 77
The federal visa on arrival, paid in dollars at the airport, is valid for the whole country. The Kurdistan region issues its own stamp at Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, cheaper and quicker, and valid only in the region — it does not get you to Baghdad. Decide which Iraq you are visiting before you land.
Other passports
Visa required in advanceup to 30 days
Through an Iraqi embassy, with an invitation; the list of on-arrival passports is the government’s and changes.
How to get it: For Baghdad and the south, land at Baghdad and pay the USD 77 in new notes; a guide who meets the flight makes the airport checkpoints simple. For Kurdistan alone, the regional stamp at Erbil is the easier one.
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Health & emergencies all of Iraq
LimitedRequired to enter
No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Hepatitis A
- Typhoid
- Tetanus up to date
- Rabies for a long stay
Getting treated
Erbil and Sulaymaniyah have private hospitals a visitor can use, paid in cash and reasonable; Baghdad has private hospitals the guide knows. The state system is stretched. Evacuation cover, and check that the policy actually covers the country, because many exclude it.
The heat: 45°C from June to September, nothing open in the afternoon, and heat exhaustion is what actually puts visitors in a clinic. Dust in spring. Bottled water only. Sunstroke at the citadel and at Babylon, where there is no shade.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
Very goodKurdish: tashreeb (bread soaked in lamb broth), kebabs from the bazaar grills, dolma, and tea in a small glass at Machko under the citadel, which has been serving it since 1940. The Christian quarter of Ainkawa has the bars and the wine. A meal is 15,000 dinar.
Nightlife
Ainkawa, the Christian quarter, has the bars, the wine and the late dinners; the rest of the city is tea houses.
- Ainkawa — bars, restaurants and the only real nightlife in Iraq
- the bazaar tea houses — until late, no alcohol, all the conversation
Closing: Around 01:00.
Getting around
Workable- CareemWorks here
- BalyWorks here
- UberNot here
- BoltNot here
Careem In the big cities of both Iraqs · Baly The Iraqi app, strongest in the capital
- From the airport
- From the airport to the centre 20,000–35,000 dinar, through the airport checkpoints; a guide who meets the flight is the usual answer
- Against a taxi
- Taxis are plentiful and reasonable in Kurdistan if the fare is agreed first; the app fixes the price and the route, which matters more in the capital.
Time zone and your working day
Asia/Baghdad — 7 hours ahead of you
1 hour of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — 09:00–10:00 your time, 16:00–17:00 theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 02:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 02:00–10:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
Internet speedall of Iraq
Why these are Iraq's numbers and not Erbil's
Home broadband — Fair. Video calls and streaming for one or two people — fine for a holiday, thin for a household working. Broadband here runs at 39% of the global median of 130 Mbps.
Mobile data — Fair. Maps, calls and streaming; tethering a laptop works for an hour, not a day. Mobile runs at 66% of the global median of 109 Mbps.
Ookla publishes no separate figure for Erbil, so these are medians for all of Iraq. Cities usually beat the national number and remote islands and national parks fall well below it — treat this as the country's shape, not as a measurement of the street you will be staying on.
A median is the middle of every connection tested there, old copper and new fibre together — so in a country part-way through laying fibre it sits well below what a fibre line actually delivers, and a rental on one can run several times this number. Half of the connections are slower; a fibre flat is rarely one of them. It says what a place can do, not what your rental does, so every listing on Holistay carries its own measured speed and the date it was tested.
Getting online: Airalo or Holafly — a data eSIM for Iraq, installed before you fly and working the moment you land.
Source: Ookla Speedtest Global Index · measured June 2026
Must-see
Nearby day trips
Say a few words
Kurdish
- HelloSlawslaw
- PleaseTkayetka-YE
- Thank youSupassu-PAS
- Yes / NoBelê / Nabe-LE / na
5 more phrases
- Excuse meBiburebi-BU-re
- How much is it?Bay chande?bay chan-DE
- DeliciousKhoshakho-SHA
- TeaChacha
- GoodbyeXwa hafizkhwa ha-FIZ
Sorani in Sulaymaniyah and Kurmanji around Erbil, written in Arabic script in Iraq. Arabic is understood but is not the language to lead with in Kurdistan; English is widespread in Erbil among the young and in the hotels.
Religion
Shia and Sunni Muslim, with Christians and Yazidis in the north
The Kurdistan region is Sunni and relaxed, with Christian Ainkawa selling alcohol openly and the Yazidi shrine at Lalish an hour from Erbil. Baghdad and the south are Shia and observant; cover arms and legs, and women cover their hair at the shrines. Ramadan closes the daytime everywhere.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Greet with salam aleikum and a handshake with men; wait for a woman to offer hers
- Dress modestly everywhere and cover more in Baghdad and at the shrines
- Accept the tea, which is sweet and constant, and the food, which is a lot
- Keep the passport on you; the checkpoints are many and want to see it
Don't
- Do not photograph checkpoints, soldiers, police or government buildings
- Do not raise politics, sect or the war unless your host does
- Do not refuse hospitality, which is total and will not take no
- Do not use the left hand for food or for handing things over
Where to stay in Erbil
No Holistay rentals in Erbil yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Erbil on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into Erbil EBL
20 minfrom the airport· 8 km as the crow flies
20 min by taxi from the terminal gate.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
