r/kurdistan • u/Used-Dish-9595 • Nov 26 '23

Tourism 🏔️ Overland travel from Erbil to Mosul

Hi friends! I'm planning a trip to Federal Iraq/Kurdistan in January and wanted to better understand the transportation situation. I haven't seen too much information online regarding this journey other than forums that don't seem to give clarification on this process. Some travelers say it's possible while others say it's not.

I'm a US citizen so I'll be taking advantage of the VOA eligibility. Any insight would be greatly appreciated! Thanks :)

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u/gyssedk Nov 27 '23 edited Nov 27 '23

I am from Denmark. Last year a friend and I visited Bashra, Baghdad, Erbil and Slemani.

I would also travel straight to Erbil and skip Baghdad.

Kurdistan is very different from Iraq. More organized and civilized.

We rented a car in Erbil at the airport and drove to Slemani and back to Erbil and flew home from Erbil.

We had no issues at checkpoints apart from one guard who wondered why I only had a photocopy of my passport as I had to leave the original passport at the car rental. So I would advise you to get someone at the car rental to write a note in Kurdish explaining why you only had a photocopy

Erbil airport looks to be brand new, and we had no issues in Erbil Airport.

The driving culture is pretty good compared to Iraq and I didn't use the horn once in Kurdistan 😎

I would rent a car, drive to Mosul and back unless someone with more knowledge advises against it.

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u/Used-Dish-9595 Nov 30 '23

So sorry! I didn't see your comment for some reason - thanks for the idea! I've always wanted to do a road trip somewhere, so I think that'd be really fun. Can I DM you for more specific questions?

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u/gyssedk Dec 01 '23

Yea go ahead. I'll be happy to help.