Driving to Baghdad 🇮🇶 الطريق الى بغداد

Описание: in this video you will watch traveling overland experience:
1. how to deal with checkpoints
2. how is driving from Kurdistan all the way to Baghdad
3. road conditions & driving skills
4. food & water availability on the road
5. iraq and kurdistan visa details

Countries which are eligible for Iraq visa on arrival:
USA, UK, France, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Switzerland.
European Union countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

Requirements to be eligible for iraq VOA :
1. cost $77 paying on arrival (please bring cash), time for processing the sticker visa may vary from 30 minutes to 1:30 hour.
2. you have only to fly into one of these airports (baghdad, najaf or basrah) either international flights or flights from Erbil or Sulaymaniyah airports into iraq federal airports.
2. bring negative PCR test, maximum 72 hours.
3. hotel booking, otherwise they might force you to book at least one night from their hotels list at the desk, cheaper price will be around $65. so book your hotel in advance to not loose time.
4. might check your return tickets & travel insurance.

+Extra notes:
1. there are ATM after immigration, but cash is king in iraq.
2. no quarantine.
3. two options to leave the terminal (no hassle, no random taxis are allowed inside the airport, a private company run the transportation), either by a shared airport car to outside the airport gate, around 10000 iqd per person then from there taxis available(bargain), or a private airport taxi which have a fixed prices around +-$25 depends on the destination.
4. exchange rate is fluctuating, $100 around +-147000 iqd

visa on arrival length and number of entry?
single entry for 2 months stay.

how many airports are in federal iraq?
three international airports, Baghdad, Najaf and Basrah.

what about other nationalities, how to get iraqi visa?
long process but not impossible. single visa is expensive, but to get a better price then travel groups will be cheaper (minimum 5 travelers) through a travel agency.
it will be either by providing an invitation letter, and then through iraqi embassy in your home country you can get the iraqi visa sticker. or with a pre authorized entry permit to get visa on arrival at an iraqi airport.


can foreigners rent and drive car in iraq?
No

can foreigners travel overland around iraq with shared taxis or private cars?
yes

traveling between federal iraq and kurdistan?
with your iraqi visa you can travel overland and by air also to kurdistan without any extra clearance or expenses, if you are eligible for kurdistan visa on arrival.
but if you have only kurdistan visa, then you cant travel overland to federal iraq. you have to fly into federal iraq airports (baghdad, najaf and basrah) from Erbil or Sulaymaniyah airports

(for example, USA citizens are eligible for Visa on arrival for both federal iraq and kurdistan, so they can travel with their iraqi visa overland to kurdistan also. but not overland from kurdistan to iraq unless you already got your iraqi visa earlier)
( for example, landing in baghdad airport, you got your iraq visa, then traveling overland or by air to Kurdistan is possible, then later its possible to re-enter iraq again overland or by air from kurdistan)



KURDISTAN travel details
Kurdistan and Iraq have two different visa regimes.
Kurdistan region consist of these Provences (Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Duhok and Halabja)

which countries are eligible for visa on arrival:
USA, Denmark, Ireland, Portugal, Canada, UAE, Italy, Qatar, Australia, Estonia, Japan, Romania, Austria, Finland, Kuwait, Slovakia, Belgium, France, Latvia, Slovenia, Brazil, Germany, Luxembourg, South Korea, Bulgaria, Greece, Malta, Spain, Croatia, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Cyprus, Hungary, Norway, Turkey, Czech, Iran, Poland, UK.

kurdistan visa length and number of entry:
single entry for 30 days.

Requirements to be eligible for kurdistan visa on arrival:
1. cost $77
2. negative PCR test no longer than 72 hours.
3. might ask for return ticket, hotel booking, insurance. but not always.

Extra info
No quarantine

what about other nationalities, how to get kurdistan visa?
its called entry permit, kind of an evisa, travel agencies do it by around $200.

how many airports are in kurdistan:
two international airports, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah airports.

can foreigners rent and drive cars in Kurdistan?
yes, just dont forget to bring your international license.

can foreigners travel overland around Kurdistan with shared taxis or private cars?
yes

can foreigners travel overland from kurdistan to federal iraq?
only if they have active iraqi visa (not kurdistan visa) or active iraqi residency.