Erbil: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Erbil is a city of 1.6 million people in Iraq, 429 m (1,407 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Erbil International Airport (EBL), 8 km (5 mi) from the centre. Our booking partner lists 64 places to stay.
Key facts
Daylight in Erbil runs from about 9 h 45 min a day in late December to 14 h 40 min in late June (computed for 36.19° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Erbil is served by 2 airports with scheduled flights within 100 km. The closest large one is Erbil International Airport (EBL), 8 km (5 mi) from the centre, whose 15,748-ft runway is long enough for long-haul wide-body aircraft. The alternatives are Kirkuk International Airport (KIK, 86 km).
Flights to Erbil: every airport, routes and times
Buses to Erbil · Driving and car hire
Where to stay
Our booking partner lists 64 places to stay in Erbil. Of the 60 with a star rating, the largest group is 4-star (24), and 21 are five-star. Across 48 properties with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 8.3 out of 10. Guests have left 18,070 reviews in total.
Hotels in Erbil: the full picture, and book
What people come for
| Sight | Visitors a year | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Kurdish Textile and Cultural Museum | 56,369 | — |
The busiest is Kurdish Textile and Cultural Museum at 56,369 visitors. Figures are the latest each site has published, so they are not all for the same year.
UNESCO World Heritage in the city: Citadel of Erbil.
Tours, tickets and day trips from Erbil
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- Baghdad, 319 km — flights · trains · buses · car rental
- Diyarbakır, 387 km (Turkey) — flights
- Mosul, 81 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Tabriz, 292 km (Iran) — flights
- Karbala, 398 km — flights · trains · buses · car rental
- Sadr City, 314 km — flights · trains · buses · car rental
- Kirkuk, 87 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Abū Ghurayb, 321 km — flights · trains · buses · car rental
- Sulaymaniyah, 146 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Kermanshah, 347 km (Iran) — flights
Twin towns and sister cities: Brașov, Mardin, Nashville.
Common questions
Which airport serves Erbil?
Erbil International Airport (EBL), 8 km (5 mi) from the centre, plus 1 other airport with scheduled flights within 100 km.
How big is Erbil?
About 1.6 million people live in Erbil, across 12,000 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).
What time zone is Erbil in?
Asia/Baghdad, currently UTC+3.
What currency is used in Erbil?
The Dinar (IQD). Traffic drives on the right.
How many hotels are there in Erbil?
Our booking partner lists 64 places to stay in Erbil, bookable on this site.
Which cities are near Erbil?
Baghdad (319 km), Diyarbakır (387 km), Mosul (81 km), Tabriz (292 km), Karbala (398 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 13 September 2026. Hotel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.