Thought this might be an interesting trip to post about and share my experiences.

So I visited Iraq last year in July for 4 nights. I crossed overland from Turkey via bus and returned via the same bus/route. I wanted to share this as this region is one the most beautiful I’ve been to and the people there are really amazing – so friendly and humble.
There are safety concerns in Iraq – I don’t want to ignore that – but when I visited, the Kurdish region was very secure. In fact, Mosul was being liberated while I was there, only an hour from Dohuk, but even the drivers would not drive near Mosul so there was never any direct security threat. Always check the current situation though if you are planning to go in the future.

Destination: Iraqi Kurdistan - Erbil, Dohuk, Amedi & Lalish

Length of Time: 5 days (3 full days), July 2017

Budget: (prices in USD)
Accommodation: $60 ($20/night but I got one night free due to a misunderstanding with the hotel staff)
Transport: $140 ($40 for return bus tickets to Turkey, $70 for day trip to Amedi and Lalish, $15 inter-city shared taxi, $15 for various short taxi rides within cities)
Food: N^othing – seriously though, I got a few free meals and everything else I ate was all less than $1 for a portion

Accommodation:
Bekhal Hotel, Erbil (Cheap with nice staff but pretty run down)
Dolphin Hotel, Duhok (Cheap, clean and very friendly staff)

Activities:
Erbil – I mostly wandered around the city, seeing both touristy sites and more general everyday places. The Citadel is a must and getting lost in the bazaar is always fun. I also walked to Shanadar Park which isn’t too special but kinda interesting with replicas of various monuments and structures. Spending the evening around sunset in the main square was really nice as it comes alive during this time and great to meet and talk with various locals.
Dohuk – Again, mostly walked around the city. Went up to the damn which had a great view but itself was nothing spectacular. More walking through the city streets trying local foods, and checking out the shops. There’s also a nice view from the Azadi Panorama with an Iron Throne-esque instalment overlooking the city. The best view, however, was from the Zawa Mountain, a short taxi ride outside the city. The bazaar is also worth a look around, can find almost anything there. I didn’t visit but there’s also an amusement park called Dream city which is very popular with the locals I heard.
Amedi – More wandering around. The town is beautiful when viewing from the surrounding valley but there’s very little of interest in the town itself. The Mosul gate on the Western edge of the plateau was one of few historical sites of interest. Other than that, I just enjoyed the views of the surrounding mountains as the landscape was beautiful.
Lalish – Some of the local Yazidi children/teens showed me and my driver around. I couldn’t really get what they were saying as they were speaking Kurdish but it was pretty interesting nonetheless. A little more wandering around the village and trying to talk with the Yazidis that stayed there, but to little success due to the language barrier.

What Went Right:
Well, I made it to Iraq which was pretty cool in the first place. It was very easy to get around (besides the 45°C heat). Shared taxis run between the major cities and taxis within each city are easy to find. Food was incredibly cheap (75c for an amazing falafel wrap). Everyone there is very helpful and friendly as well, especially when you’re a foreigner – always getting offered various things including free food and drinks. And even though this was Iraq, the Kurdish part was extremely safe when I visited and had no problems with any potential security threats.

What Went Wrong:
One of many lessons I learned while travelling was from Iraq: Don’t arrive in a country with no money, no knowledge of the local language or nowhere to stay – even having just one of these things would have gone a long way for me when I first arrived. I caught the bus form Mardin in Turkey, arriving in Erbil at midnight (I was told it would arrive at 5pm…). I was kinda fucked until a really nice Syrian man offered to share a taxi and also helped me find a hotel for the night.
Iraqi Kurdistan does not have any ATMs really. I arrived with about 300 TL (75ish USD) and that was not enough. Luckily, there is one ATM in the Erbil Rotana Hotel (the most high-class hotel in the region) where I could withdraw USD and convert to Iraqi Dinars on the street.
Language is always a bit of an issue while travelling but I had more trouble here than anywhere else as this area is not frequented by tourists. My conversational Turkish was useful as probably 1 in 4 people I talked to could also speak Turkish but knowing some Kurdish would go a long way. I got a guy to drive me to Amedi and Lalish for a day and he spoke nothing other than Kurdish – still made it where I wanted to go and he was a very helpful guy, but was a definitely hard to communicate.

Recommendations:
Embrace any moments you get to interact with the local people there. The region is a mix of Kurdish, Arab, Turkish, Assyrian and many other populations so you get to learn a lot from everyone and also experience some of the best hospitality in the world.
There isn’t too much to see in terms of specific tourist sites, but wandering around the cities and towns gives you a small snapshot of the region – the people, the food, the environment, and even the history.
Accommodation can be cheap, especially when staying in hotels/guesthouses around the bazaar area is both cities but this accommodation is usually very low standard. Erbil has many nicer hotels, but depending on your budget, these may be too expensive.
The whole region is fairly cheap as Westerner travelling there. But in terms of travelling solo the cost of accommodation and transport to far-flung places adds up and may not be the more budget-friendly destination. That said, if you stay in the major cities, you can travel reasonably cheaply.

Final Verdict:
Check the security situation before you go but I loved it and hope to visit again and explore a little more in the near future.

If anyone has questions about logistics or anything else, I’d be happy to answer.
And finally, the best part – Pictures