Additionally, fighting on behalf of, or supporting designated terrorist organizations, is a crime that can result in penalties, including prison time and large fines in the United States. For more information, U. Read the country information page. The CDC's latest guidance on international travel for vaccinated people can be found here. You are about to leave travel. Department of State. Links to external websites are provided as a convenience and should not be construed as an endorsement by the U.
Department of State of the views or products contained therein. If you wish to remain on travel. Cancel GO. Skip to main content. Gov Travel. Passports International Travel U. Stay Connected. Law Enforcement. The shared taxi had a short break somewhere on the way. One older woman took me under her wings as she saw I was traveling alone. She escorted me to the bathroom, talking to me all the time, asking if I have anyone waiting for me in Nasiriyah.
I know enough Arabic to understand what it was about and I was trying to explain that. I just called my host and gave the phone to the old lady and her husband. They were relieved that I had a friend waiting for me in Nasiriyah. She also brought a bottle of fruit juice. One man paid for my ticket. I tried to pass a 10, dinar, the price of the ticket, note to the driver but the men in the van just said to put my money away.
At , I was already at the Nasiriyah checkpoint. I thought that wearing an abaya would be enough to get away from the security check. But no! I was wearing an abaya I bought in Abu Dhabi.
The policemen doing the border control thought I was an Emirati woman. I handed my passport to them and a piece of paper on which I have written the name of my host and his telephone number. The policemen are very welcoming and kind people. We were chatting and laughing. It was a great opportunity for me to practice Arabic. I called my host and the policemen asked him to pick me up from the checkpoint. Look, I knew I was going to need a local contact but I thought that it was going to be enough if we called him from the checkpoint.
While waiting I was offered water, tea and falafel. I was definitely being spoilt. What can I say, Iraqi hospitality is everywhere! An hour later, my host arrived.
Until he arrived, the shared taxi driver was not allowed to leave. Once my host registered himself as my host in Nasiriyah and we took a couple of selfies with the policemen at the checkpoint, we were ready to leave.
In the meantime, the passengers of the shared taxi left. The shared taxi driver had to pay for their private taxi which was 25, Iraqi dinars. The driver was really pissed because of that. But, of course, I paid this amount to the driver. The whole story was about 1 hour 30 minutes. Personally, I really enjoyed this little adventure. However, I would not repeat it this way because I have caused a lot of trouble to people, especially the passengers in the shared taxi.
Lesson learned: If you travel to Nasiriyah independently, make sure you have your guide or friend waiting for you at the checkpoint. Here, they will also register you and take a photo of your passport at the first checkpoint. The above-mentioned prison will be on the way to the Ziggurat. At the entrance of the Ziggurat, they will take your passport. On your way out, you will pay the entrance fee 25, IQD for foreigners, IQD for Iraqi citizens and then you will also get your passport back.
In order to enter Mosul, you will have to have a sponsor. Again, it means someone who lives there. But It could be that they let you go through the checkpoint without a sponsor.
There have been examples for both. I can recall two checkpoints in Kurdistan during my one-month journey around Iraqi Kurdistan. They are friendly and respectful. Peshmerga is the military of the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq. They are responsible for taking care of the security of Iraqi Kurdistan and protecting the people. They are one of the most highly respected people in Kurdish society. Once, on the way to Aqrah from Soran and once on the way to Barzan from Soran.
I was asked to show my passport, tell them what I was doing In Kurdistan and where I was traveling to. I politely answered all the questions and after about half an hour, we the road again. I answered all the questions I was asked as last time.
After this particular interrogation, they invited me for lunch, prepared a sandwich for me and arranged a car that drove me where I wanted to get to. In Iraqi Kurdistan, there are two international airports. The cheapest airline flying from Dubai is Fly Dubai. You can get to Iraqi Kurdistan from Turkey and Iran. I crossed the two most popular land borders of Iraq. My experience was extremely positive both when crossing the Turkey-Iraq and Iran-Iraq border.
I took a bus from Turkey to Iraqi Kurdistan. The bus runs between Diyarbakir and Erbil on daily buses. The journey takes 8 hours. The border crossing between Iraqi Kurdistan and Iran is more adventurous because there is no public transport running between Iraqi Kurdistan and Iran. Read also how I crossed the border from Iraqi Kurdistan to Iran! If you are eligible for Visa on Arrival with payment, get your passport and the exact amount of the visa fee in USD ready.
At the visa desk, you need to fill in the visa application form and pay the visa application fee. Ready to go! Extremely straightforward. You can exchange some of it at the airport and then you can change the rest later in the city of Baghdad.
From where: When you are in front of the terminal, just across the street, there is a parking lot. On the ground floor of the parking lot, there are white minivans going to the Abbas Ibn Firnas Square.
This square is located just outside the security zone of the airport. Time schedule: It operates until early morning. From here, you can take a Careem. I have a separate travel guide about the best and most beautiful places to visit in Iraq. These places include the most important places in Iraq, really all the major landmarks in Iraq.
Most of these places are historical places but there are also a lot of amazing natural wonders among them. I started my list from the south, from the capital city of Iraq, Bagdad, and I take you all the way to the highest mountain of Iraq, Mount Halgurd, in Kurdistan. In the end, you have several options. You can either travel back to Baghdad and fly out from there. Or you can travel from Mosul to Erbil and fly out from there.
Or, from Erbil, you may continue your journey around Iraqi Kurdistan. To get to some of the tourist attractions where no public transport is available, you can always use a private taxi. Traveling by shared taxi is the most common and most comfortable form of public transportation in Iraq, both in the south of Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan. At the moment, there are two railway lines operating in Iraq. One of them runs between the capital, Baghdad and Mosul.
This one just opened recently in July It only runs once a day. Check out the details of this train connection:. Price: 10, Iraqi dinars for regular seats and 40, Iraqi dinars for bed in a sleeping compartment. Tickets are not sold online. A couple of days prior to departure, simply show up at the train station and buy your ticket. As for the sleeping compartment, in the sleeping compartments, there are only two beds.
You get a thick blanket and a pillow. Before getting on the train, your bags will be inspected by the security staff with a sniffer dog and metal detectors. There used to be both international and national train connections for Iraq.
I want to write about these two because in the future they might open up again. There was a train connecting Bagdad and Istanbul through Syria. It was built by Germany in the s to connect Berlin and Baghdad. During the Iran-Iraq War , it was closed. As for the national train connections, there were train connections from Baghdad to Falluja.
Moreover, there were trains available for pilgrims on Fridays to visit the holy city of Samarra from Baghdad. Hertz has a car rental counter at the Babylon Rotana Hotel.
Be aware that a certain amount for the deposit will be booked on your account. Moreover, you will get a letter from Hertz that proves that you are authorized to drive their vehicle. You will need to show it at each checkpoint you pass along with your passport, visa and vehicle documents. Generally, highways in Iraq have a lot of ruts and potholes. Some highways can have better quality. From Sulav to Duhok: 67 km for 6, Iraqi Dinars per person 4. Sulav is the village next to Amedi.
You can read my stories about hitchhiking adventures in the following two blogs. Then, you can decide if you want to hitchhike or not. Hitchhiking from Soran to Duhok.
Hitchhiking from Soran to Aqrah. Renting a car in Iraqi Kurdistan is one of the best options if you want to travel around independently. Everybody said it was great and nobody had issues at checkpoints. In the big cities, the roads are pretty good.
Busses run irregularly and routes are subject to frequent changes. Rundown transit vehicles are frequently involved in accidents. We do not make assessments on the compliance of foreign domestic airlines with international safety standards. General information about foreign domestic airlines. Authorities impose curfews on short notice throughout the country.
Monitor local media in order to stay informed. The Government of Iraq has begun to take measures to improve the structural integrity of the Mosul Dam. A dam failure could cause significant flooding and disruptions to essential services from Mosul to Baghdad, along the Tigris River as well as areas adjoining the dam. A failure of the Mosul Dam cannot be predicted. Monitor local media reports and prepare contingency plans.
The Government of Canada cannot provide consular services if there is a dam failure. You must carry photo identification as well as a legally certified copy of your visa and registration at all times.
Keep a photocopy of your passport, visa and registration in a safe place, in case they are lost or confiscated. Telecommunications services are very poor or non-existent in remote areas. Cellular network coverage is widespread in major cities.
Most governments have implemented special entry and exit restrictions and requirements for their territory due to COVID Before travelling, verify if the local authorities of both your current location and destinations have implemented any restrictions or requirements related to this situation.
Consider even your transit points, as transit rules are in place in many destinations. This could disrupt your travel. Every country or territory decides who can enter or exit through its borders. We have obtained the information on this page from the Iraqi authorities. It can, however, change at any time. Verify this information with the Foreign Representatives in Canada. Before you travel, check with your transportation company about passport requirements.
Official travel. Different entry rules may apply when travelling with a temporary passport or an emergency travel document. Before you leave, check with the closest diplomatic mission for your destination. Canadians must have a visa to visit Iraq. After 10 days in the country, you must register your arrival with the Iraqi Residence Office Ministry of Interior.
After three months in Iraq, you must apply for a one-year residence permit. You will be subject to additional screening measures prior to being issued an Iraqi visa if your passport contains an Israeli visa or border stamp.
This does not apply to Canadians travelling to the region of Kurdistan. If you plan to travel outside of Kurdistan to other regions of Iraq, you must obtain an Iraqi visa prior to travelling to Iraq.
If you are leaving via the airport in Baghdad without a visa, you may be required to pay a penalty fee at departure. Learn about potential entry requirements related to yellow fever vaccines section. Be sure that your routine vaccines , as per your province or territory, are up-to-date regardless of your travel destination. Some of these vaccines include: measles-mumps-rubella MMR , diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, varicella chickenpox , influenza and others.
You may be at risk for these vaccine-preventable diseases while travelling in this country. Talk to your travel health professional about which ones are right for you. It can spread from person to person by direct contact and through droplets in the air. Anyone who has not completed a vaccine series is at increased risk of being infected with the virus that causes COVID when travelling internationally.
Regardless of where you are going, talk to a health care professional before travelling to make sure you are adequately protected against COVID Hepatitis A is a disease of the liver spread through contaminated food and water or contact with an infected person. All those travelling to regions with a risk of hepatitis A infection should get vaccinated.
Hepatitis B is a disease of the liver spread through blood or other bodily fluids. Travellers who may be exposed e. Seasonal influenza occurs worldwide. The flu season usually runs from November to April in the northern hemisphere, between April and October in the southern hemisphere and year round in the tropics. Influenza flu is caused by a virus spread from person to person when they cough or sneeze or by touching objects and surfaces that have been contaminated with the virus.
Get the flu shot. Measles is a highly contagious viral disease. It can spread quickly from person to person by direct contact and through droplets in the air. Anyone who is not protected against measles is at risk of being infected with it when travelling internationally. Regardless of where you are going, talk to a health care professional before travelling to make sure you are fully protected against measles.
Polio can be prevented by vaccination, which is part of the routine vaccines for children in Canada. Rabies is a deadly illness spread to humans through a bite, scratch or lick from an infected animal. Vaccination should be considered for travellers going to areas where rabies exists and who have a high risk of exposure e. Yellow fever is a disease caused by a flavivirus from the bite of an infected mosquito. Travellers get vaccinated either because it is required to enter a country or because it is recommended for their protection.
About Yellow Fever. It is recommended that you contact the nearest diplomatic or consular office of the destination s you will be visiting to verify any additional entry requirements.
Travellers to any destination in the world can develop travellers' diarrhea from consuming contaminated water or food.
0コメント