Good experience in just 48 Hours, it would be nice to see you next time in Erbil. I am from Erbil , I enjoy to spend some of my free time with travelers and that’s what I am doing since 2007.

The cheaper way to get in Kurdistan is through Turkish border in Silopi and for people from Europe, USA, Canada & Australia there is a free Visa for 10 days waiting them at the border or in the Airports in Erbil & Sulaimani.

Hopefully there will be a section about Kurdistan in the next edition of Middle East Lonely Planet travel guide, a guy from Lonely planet was in Erbil last year taking photos of many places .

Thanks Chris and Good Luck

Just came across your site through twitter. This post is really interesting.
I’m Kurdish from northern Iraq, and I’m really happy someone like you has had the chance to see my homeland (Kurdistan not Iraq that is).

You’ve sumed it up really well, us Kurds don’t want to be part of Iraq and the fact our region has been safe since 2003 and even before is a sign that we do things our own way.

I hope you get another chance to visit us and see the other cities, especially Duhok and Sulaimaniyah. Once all the infrastructure is finished it will be a more easy to travel around.

I’d encourage all the readers to take a visit also. I live in the UK and travel back often. For me it’s a simple uncomplicated trip every time.

Thanks again Chris and all the best with your travels.

I’m glad that you had more time in Erbil than I managed. My visit in April was just an hour due to a bad schedule conflict.

The Kurdistan (not Iraq) stamps in my passport did cause a few issues for me arriving in USA several days later.

For those wanting to follow in Chris’ footsteps, the visa situation seems to be fluid. I got different answers from Iraq embassies around the world, from Timatic (who keep a database of visa requirements), and also from Austrian Airlines who I flew with. I was almost denied boarding at Vienna. The impression I got is that most likely all people visiting on passports from western countries would probably be okay, but no guarantees.

I just now got a moment to read this. I served in Iraq in 2004 about 40 mins from Tikrit. Obviously, I was not there as a tourist.
I met several very nice Iraqis while I was there that had nothing to do with the current violence and only wanted to live an ordinary life.
My heart went out to them. I felt bad that they were trapped by circumstance. I’m glad you wrote this post to show another side of Iraq.

I loved the last part when you’re in Vienna and you go to the cafe by the river like it’s your hometown.

The way you describe things makes me actually feel it. Great post. Looking forward for your FAQ.

Saravanan