Get in. Travel to Baghdad is not recommended because of security concerns. Westerners are particular targets of kidnapping and assassination by militant and extremist groups. Baghdad airport is secure, so transiting there if necessary is safe.
People Also Ask
Baghdad right now is probably the safest it has been in years — but that isn't saying much. There is still an ongoing threat of terrorist attacks as well as frequent protests and civil unrest.
The safest bigger city to visit in Iraq is probably Erbil, and this city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has a moderately big expat population. Any city in the Kurdistan region is one of the safer ones in Iraq.
Not only is Baghdad worth visiting alone itself, it's an ideal base to begin your Iraq tour. A day trip north takes you to Samarra and its iconic spiral minaret. Further south you'll find the holy cities of Najaf, Karbala and ancient Babylon. You'll likely be the only tourists in town so take advantage while you can.
Baghdad, whose name means the “Garden of God,” has fallen from grace. Known for centuries as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, its landscape has been marred by concrete blast walls, barbed wire, steel barricades, sandbags and crumbling buildings pockmarked by bullet holes or gutted by explosions.