Practical Information for visiting Iraq

The currency is the Iraqi dinar (IQD), which runs to large numbers — the largest note is 50,000. US dollars are widely accepted and often preferred for hotels and tours; bring clean, unmarked, recent notes, as damaged or older bills are frequently refused.

Iraq is a cash economy. Card acceptance is limited to some hotels and a few businesses in Erbil and Baghdad; assume cash everywhere else. International ATMs exist in Erbil and parts of Baghdad and are unreliable elsewhere.

Bring more cash than you expect to need, in dollars, and change it at licensed exchange offices, which are numerous and give better rates than hotels.

Bargaining is normal in markets. Tipping is appreciated and not obligatory; drivers and guides expect it, and rounding up elsewhere is enough.

Coverage for mobile networks reaches the cities and main roads, run by Zain, Asiacell and Korek, with 4G in urban areas. Coverage thins in the western desert and in the mountains, and quality varies considerably.

A local SIM is cheap and worth getting on arrival; a passport is required. Note that a Kurdistan SIM may roam expensively in federal Iraq and vice versa.

Internet shutdowns are a recurring feature. Access has been restricted nationally during protests and, routinely, during school examination periods. Do not plan on being reliably contactable.

Wi-Fi in hotels is common but often slow, and power cuts affect it as much as bandwidth does. Download maps, documents and translations before you travel, and carry a power bank.

Read your government’s current advice before anything else. Most still advise against all or all but essential travel to much of Iraq, with a different and generally less restrictive assessment for the Kurdistan Region. Insurance is frequently invalidated by travelling against that advice.

• The security picture is regional and changes. Kurdistan has been comparatively stable for years; Baghdad, the south and the shrine cities are visited by organised groups; areas near the Syrian border and parts of the north-west remain dangerous.
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• Checkpoints are constant. Carry your passport and permits, be patient, do not photograph them, and follow your driver’s lead.
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• Unexploded ordnance and mines are present in former conflict areas, including around Mosul and along old front lines. Stay on cleared paths and never enter ruins or fields off a marked route.
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• Kidnapping has historically targeted foreigners. Low-profile travel, no fixed published itinerary and a reputable local operator are the standard mitigations.
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• Political demonstrations can turn violent quickly. Avoid them entirely.
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• Extreme heat in summer is itself a hazard, particularly during power cuts.

Medical facilities are limited and uneven. Private hospitals in Erbil and Baghdad are the better option; public facilities are under-resourced. Anything serious means evacuation, usually to Turkey, Jordan or the Gulf, so insurance with medical evacuation cover is essential — and check it is valid given your government’s travel advice.

Vaccinations: routine cover plus hepatitis A and typhoid; rabies and hepatitis B for longer stays. Polio boosters are sometimes advised. Check requirements well ahead.

Do not drink tap water. Use bottled water, including for teeth, and be careful with ice and salads outside good restaurants. Waterborne illness is common, and cholera outbreaks have occurred in the south.

Heat is the most likely problem between June and September. Dehydration and heatstroke come on quickly at 45°C and above.

Dust affects asthma and other respiratory conditions severely during storms; bring an inhaler if you use one, and a mask.

Bring all prescription medication with you in original packaging with a doctor’s letter; pharmacy stock is unpredictable.

Dress conservatively. Long trousers and covered shoulders for men and women. Women should carry a headscarf for shrines and mosques, and in the shrine cities of Najaf and Karbala an abaya is generally required and can be borrowed at the gate.

Alcohol is restricted and its sale has been formally banned nationally, though enforcement varies and it remains available in parts of Kurdistan and in some Baghdad venues. Do not drink in public.

Photography. Never photograph checkpoints, police, soldiers, government buildings, bridges or oil facilities. Ask before photographing people, and expect women in particular to decline.

Right hand for eating, giving and receiving. Remove shoes entering homes and mosques.

Hospitality. Accept the tea. Refusing food and drink repeatedly is read as an insult rather than as politeness, and paying for a meal you have been invited to is usually not permitted.

Antiquities may not be bought or exported under any circumstances; penalties are severe. Homosexuality is criminalised and attitudes are hostile.

Emergency numbers: 104 for police, 115 for ambulance and 115 or 999 for fire, with 122 also used for police in some areas. English is unlikely; your guide, driver or hotel is realistically the fastest route to help.

Medical. Private hospitals in Erbil, including the larger international-standard facilities, and in Baghdad, are the best available. Payment is required up front and in cash. Serious cases are evacuated abroad.

Consular. Several countries maintain an embassy in Baghdad and a consulate in Erbil, though services are reduced and some have suspended them entirely. Establish before you travel what assistance would actually be available to you.

Register and communicate. Leave your itinerary with someone outside the country, register with your embassy if it offers that, and carry your operator’s emergency contact.

Keep offline copies of your passport, visa and insurance, and enough US dollars in cash to leave at short notice.