Grand tour
Baghdad to Basra in Ten Days
The week-long southern run with the north added first — Samarra's spiral, Mosul's rebuilt old city, and the Parthian columns at Hatra — before you turn and follow the rivers down through Babylon, the shrine cities and the marshes to Basra.
10 DAYS · ACTIVE PACE · 6–12 TRAVELERS · FROM $1,980
This is the run down the rivers with the north added at the front. Before you turn south you go up past Samarra to Mosul, where the old city is being rebuilt street by street around the Al-Nouri mosque, and out to Hatra, whose Parthian columns stood through the Romans and, more recently, through people who came to level them. Then the long turn south: Babylon, Karbala, Najaf, the ziggurat at Ur, the marshes, and Basra where the two rivers finish. Ten days buys the fuller picture, and it costs you the driving to get it — two days carry four hours or more in the vehicle, and Mosul weighs on you more than it tires you. It suits travelers who have read a little beforehand and want the whole arc of the country rather than its highlights.
DAY BY DAY
Day
01
The museum, then Mutanabbi Street
Begin at the National Museum — plan the trip so this is not a Saturday, when it shuts. The Warka Vase, the Nimrud ivories, room after quiet room. Afterwards, Mutanabbi Street and its book stalls, ending with tea at the Shabandar among the old photographs on its walls.
Day
02
Taq Kasra and the gold domes
The Abbasid Palace and the Mustansiriyah School — one of the oldest surviving colleges anywhere — then out to Ctesiphon to stand under Taq Kasra, the widest brick arch ever built without steel. Back for the Martyr's Monument, and Kadhimiya at dusk. Cameras stay in the vehicle there, phones are fine, and women cover their hair.
Day
03
The spiral at Samarra
North for the day to Samarra, once the largest city on earth. Climb the Malwiya's spiral ramp with the plain opening out below, walk the Great Mosque's outer wall that runs further than seems reasonable, then the Abu Dulaf minaret and the Abbasid pool palace. There is no shade on any of it — bring a hat and water.
Day
04
Mosul's old city on foot
Mosul is where the trip turns serious. You walk into the old city on foot, because the lanes are too narrow for the vehicle, past houses still in rubble to the Al-Nouri mosque and its leaning minaret, both rebuilt after 2017. The churches stand a few streets over. Our guide grew up nearby.
Day
05
Out to Hatra and Nimrud
A long day out into the desert. Hatra first, its Parthian temple columns still standing after the Romans failed twice to take the city and Daesh later tried to level it. Then Nimrud, the Assyrian capital, which came off much worse — some of what you saw in the Baghdad museum was carried out of here. Hard, and necessary.
Day
06
South at last, to Babylon
Down at last, past Baghdad, to Babylon — the longest drive on the itinerary. You walk in through the reconstructed Ishtar Gate and along the processional way, over Nebuchadnezzar's bricks with his name stamped into them, to the basalt lion that has stood uncatalogued in the open for twenty-five centuries. From here south, no shop will sell you alcohol.
Day
07
The two shrines of Karbala
Two shrines a few hundred metres apart — Imam Hussein and, across the square, his brother Al-Abbas. The square between them has held millions at Arbaeen; today it holds a few hundred, and the walk across is the point. The tents recall the battle, and Zainab's hill is where she is said to have watched it. Phones only, hair covered.
Day
08
Najaf, Kufa, and Wadi al-Salam
Kufa and its mosque on the way in, then Najaf itself. The Imam Ali shrine is the brightest thing for a hundred kilometres after dark, its gold visible long before you reach it. Beside the city, Wadi al-Salam runs to the horizon — five million graves, the largest cemetery anywhere. The silver market is the south's best.
Day
09
Ur, Uruk, and the marshes
Three things in one day. The ziggurat at Ur, restored enough to climb, with the ruins of Abraham's supposed house beside it. Uruk next, where writing began as marks pressed in clay, usually empty of anyone but you. Then the marshes at Chibayish — a reed mudhif built without a nail, and a canoe among the buffalo.
Day
10
Qurna, and out at Basra
The last day, at the bottom of the country. Qurna first, where the Tigris and Euphrates finally join into one river. Then Basra: the museum in a former riverside palace, the carved Ottoman shanasheel balconies leaning over the creek in mid-collapse, and a boat out onto the Shatt al-Arab before the flight home.
THIS ROUTE, PHOTOGRAPHED
What you will be looking at
What's included
- A guide who has led this route before, not a freelancer we found last week
- Driver and private vehicle for the whole route
- Hotels, booked for you on request
- Meals, arranged on request
- Visa support and your letter of invitation
- Entry tickets to every site in the itinerary
What's not
- International flights to and from Iraq
- Personal spending and tips
- Alcohol — it is not sold south of Baghdad, and we will tell you where it is
BEFORE YOU COME
Questions we are asked about this tour
Is Iraq safe to visit?
We have run group trips continuously since 2008, and the answer we give is practical, not promotional: the cities on our routes — Baghdad, the shrine cities, the south, Kurdistan — receive foreign travelers every week. You travel with an Iraqi guide and driver the whole time, we handle every checkpoint, and we adjust routes if conditions change. We will always tell you plainly what is and isn't sensible.
Do I need a visa?
Citizens of more than 30 countries — including the EU, UK, USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea and China — receive a visa on arrival at Baghdad, Basra, Najaf and Erbil airports (around US$77, cash). We confirm the current rules for your passport before you commit to anything.
What should I wear? What about women visiting shrines?
Everyday dress in Iraq is modest but relaxed: shoulders and knees covered is enough almost everywhere. At shrines, women need a headscarf and an abaya — the abaya is lent free at the shrine gate, and our guides walk you through the etiquette so nothing is awkward. Many of our travelers say shrine visits ended up being their favorite moments.
Can I pay by card or withdraw cash?
Treat Iraq as a cash country. US dollars exchange easily everywhere; cards work in a growing number of Baghdad and Erbil hotels and malls but nowhere you should rely on. We tell you exactly how much cash to bring for your trip — most travelers are surprised how affordable the days are.
What are the groups actually like?
Eight to sixteen people, usually five or more nationalities, ages from late twenties to seventies. An Iraqi guide and driver stay with the group throughout; hotels are the best available in each city (solid 3–4 star). The pace is curious rather than rushed — long lunches are part of the itinerary, not a failure of it.
Can I join alone?
Most of our travelers come alone. We match roommates by request or arrange a single room for a supplement, and solo women regularly join our groups — see the questions above about dress and safety, and ask us anything else directly.
What is the food like — and can I drink the water?
You will eat well: masgouf grilled over embers by the Tigris, qeema in the shrine cities, Kurdish breakfasts of honey and clotted cream, dates from Basra groves. Stick to bottled water, which is cheap and everywhere. Vegetarians manage easily; tell us about allergies and we brief every restaurant ahead.
The gate is open.
Tell us which month suits you and we will tell you which group fits.