I spent just under a month driving through Iraq (from Basra all the way up to Mosul and then Turkey, i.e. not just Kurdistan), returning last month. I entered at the Shalamcha border crossing from Iran.

To answer your questions:

-No you don't need a carnet. You will be issued with some sort of customs document when you enter. The cost was $100 for a car, I don't know what it would cost for a bike. It is important that you tell the customs officer which border you will leave Iraq from if you are not returning to the same crossing.

-Getting an Iraqi visa is simple. Since March 2021, Iraq has started issuing visas to individual tourists. However, Iraqi embassies do not issue visas to individual / independent tourists. Tourist visas are only issued at international airports (Baghdad, Basra, Najaf), and should technically be available at land border crossings into Federal Iraq but not into the Kurdistan region. In practice, I can only say that visas are available at the Shalamcheh / Shalamcha border crossing with Iran (Khorramshahr to Basra). I have not heard of anyone trying to get a visa at the borders with Kuwait, Jordan or Syria, or other border crossings with Iran, but they should technically be available. A visa costs $75 and it's a good idea to have a hotel booking arranged (though not strictly necessary).

Just to make it clear, if you want to go to Iraq proper (Baghdad etc), you should not enter from Turkey (or the Haji Omran / Beshmaq / Parviz Khan crossings from Iran) as the stamp you are given at the Kurdistan border (which now costs about $70) is not valid for travel outside of Kurdistan.

-Can you be more specific about 'limitations'? If you mean in terms of areas you can visit, a proper Iraqi visa (a paper visa stuck in your passport) is valid for the entire country (including Kurdistan). However, the political situation in Iraq is complex and sometimes police / militia will not let you into a certain area if you don't have a contact there.

Iraq was an amazing experience for me, maybe the most genuinely welcoming and kind people I have ever met, and the historical sites (if you are interested in ancient history) are fascinating. I highly recommend visiting, so long as you are aware of the security situation and preferably have some local contacts to assist.

Good luck

EO

__________________
EurasiaOverland a memoir of one quarter of a million kilometres by road through all of the Former USSR, Western and Southern Asia.