How to travel from Erbil to Sulaymaniyah by shared taxi

Go to Erbil's Sulaymaniyah garage (Garaj Slemani) in the morning — taxis leave all day, but the wait is shortest between 7:00 and 11:00.

Tell the dispatcher your destination; you will be pointed to the next car filling up. A shared taxi leaves when its four seats are taken.

Agree the fare before you get in — a seat costs a fixed rate posted at the garage; paying for two seats gets you the front or more room.

Keep your passport handy: the road passes through at least one checkpoint where foreigners are asked for identification.

The drive takes about 2.5 hours via Koya; there is one rest stop with a café and toilets roughly halfway.

You arrive at Sulaymaniyah's Erbil garage on the city edge; city taxis wait outside and a ride to the centre takes about 15 minutes.