With the end of the US occupation in 2021, Afghanistan has become a safer place to travel again and we have started seeing more visitors trickle in, especially starting 2023, and they are visiting a larger part of Afghanistan than previously possible.
The overall impression from these early visitors is that the Taliban are friendly and courteous to foreigners and the threat of ISIS seems far away. Downsides are the many checkpoints, the absolutely terrible state of the roads, the grinding poverty and the ruthless treatment of women.
Some people have ended up spending months in jail on spying charges, though none of the people we have seen jailed so far have been standard tourists (a neonazi, a controversial Youtuber, an former soldier turned aid worker, …). People who aren’t military veterans or idiots have been fine.
Women, even solo travelers, have been visiting Afghanistan post-Taliban takeover. What’s that like? James Willcox says: “On a good day as a female traveller, you get to see all the things the guys can see and on a bad day, you get ignored by everyone.” Updates in our female travel to Afghanistan thread.
Table of Contents
Wakhan Corridor
We haven’t written a lot about Afghanistan yet. The only place where we have detailed information on is the Wakhan Corridor.
Transport
Travel guide
Money: there are no ATMs, Afghanistan is a cash economy. Money changers are present in all big cities, they accept both Euro and US dollar. Western Union is available. Updates welcome here.