Is Erbil Safe in January 2026?

Unlicensed taxi touts at Erbil International Airport (EBL) aggressively approach arriving passengers in the arrivals hall and quote flat fares of $50–80 USD for the roughly 7 km ride into central Erbil. The legitimate going rate negotiated at the official taxi stand is IQD 25,000–40,000 (approximately $19–30 USD). Touts rely on passenger exhaustion, unfamiliarity with IQD, and the absence of metered cabs to extract inflated fares, and often switch to quoting in USD to obscure the markup.

How to avoid: Walk past touts in the arrivals hall to the official taxi rank outside the terminal. Negotiate the fare in IQD before entering the vehicle and agree on a price before departure. Alternatively, ask your hotel to arrange a pickup or use the ride-hailing app Snapp if available in Erbil at the time of travel.

Unlicensed men positioning themselves as guides at the entrance gate of the Erbil Citadel (Qal'at Arbil) on Citadel Street offer to lead tours of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. They typically begin walking alongside tourists without stating a price, then demand $20–40 USD at the end for what may be a superficial and historically inaccurate walk. Some claim to be official Kurdistan Board of Tourism guides but carry no credentials, and a few use the opportunity to steer visitors toward affiliated carpet or souvenir shops inside the restored citadel grounds.

How to avoid: Licensed guides can be arranged through the Kurdistan Board of Tourism office adjacent to the main citadel gate or through your hotel. Agree on a price in writing or via clear verbal confirmation before the tour begins. A legitimate licensed guide tour of the citadel should cost IQD 30,000–50,000. If someone joins you without being invited, politely but firmly decline before they begin.

During Newroz (Kurdish New Year, celebrated on March 21) and the surrounding week, hotel rates across Erbil inflate by 200–400% as the city fills with Kurdish diaspora visitors and domestic tourists from across the KRI. Some accommodation providers advertise online rates that do not reflect the Newroz surcharge, then present a higher total at check-in citing "festival pricing" or "seasonal adjustment." Budget guesthouses in the bazaar area and mid-range hotels along Gulan Street are the most common venues for this practice.

How to avoid: Book and fully pay for Newroz-period accommodation at least 6–8 weeks in advance via platforms that show total price at booking (Booking.com, Expedia) and confirm the rate in writing with the property. If a property presents a higher rate at check-in than the confirmed booking, show the confirmation and insist on the booked price or dispute through the booking platform. Avoid walk-in bookings during the Newroz week.

The Qaysari Bazaar, the historic covered market directly adjacent to the Erbil Citadel, sells counterfeit branded clothing, electronics, and goods labelled as authentic Kurdish handicrafts that are in fact mass-produced imports. Stallholders frequently claim items are handmade by local artisans or are genuine branded merchandise at a discount, when the goods are factory-produced counterfeits. Visitors paying souvenir prices for "authentic" Kurdish textiles or branded goods are routinely misled about provenance and quality.

How to avoid: Buy Kurdish crafts only from stalls where the artisan is visibly working on the product or where the seller can explain the regional origin in specific terms. For branded goods, assume anything in the bazaar at a steep discount is counterfeit. Genuine handmade Kurdish kilims and textiles have irregular weave patterns and minor imperfections — machine-made copies are perfectly uniform.

Informal money changers operating near the Qaysari Bazaar and along Gulan Street quote favorable IQD/USD rates verbally, then use sleight-of-hand counting techniques or a rigged calculator display to short-change the visitor when the physical notes are handed over. Because IQD notes come in large denominations (up to 50,000 IQD per note) that look similar to smaller notes, it is easy to hand back an incorrect bundle. Some changers quote a rate, then claim the rate changed mid-transaction and reduce the payout.

How to avoid: Use bank ATMs in the Ankawa (Ainkawa) district or the currency exchange desks inside major hotels and shopping malls such as Family Mall on 100m Street, where rates are posted publicly. If using a street changer, count every note yourself before handing over your currency, and have someone with you. Never let the changer recount the notes after you have verified them.