Read State Department Travel Tips Before Planning Your Trip
Planning a solo trip this summer? Before going alone, do your homework and research everything you can for your own safety. Recently, in time for the summer tourist season, the US Department of State updated a number of travel guidelines on its website .
If you’ve never reviewed them before (and should), the department rates each country based on one of the following four recommendation levels:
- Level 1. Follow normal precautions.
- Level 2: increased precautions.
- Level three: redefine the journey
- Fourth level: do not travel
The Department of State bases its rankings using readily available public information on local crime, terrorist activity, civil unrest, health, and natural disasters / weather – which means this is a good measure to check before visiting a place you may not be familiar with. …
At a minimum, they update Tier 1 and Tier 2 guidelines every year, and countries update Tier 3 and 4 guidelines every six months, although they are often updated more frequently based on current events. If you’re planning a trip, here’s the current position for countries with a tier 2 recommendation that you might want to consider. (And given current events, some of the listed countries may be more obvious than others.)
Third level
Burkina FasoBurundiChadDemocratic Republic of CongoEl SalvadorHondurasGuinea-BissauLebanonMauritaniaNicaraguaNigerNigeriaPakistanSri LankaTurkey
Fourth level
AfghanistanCentral African RepublicHaitiIranIraqLibiaMaliNorth KoreaSomaliaSouth SudanSudanSyriaVenezuelaYemen
Of course, the consultative system has the disadvantage that there are always regional differences in some countries. (The Department of State recently canceled regional warnings. For this reason, you should visit their website for country-specific guidelines; you can find local risk information available there.) However, you should still carefully consider any travel plans to your destination with basic tips.
If you want to stay safe overseas, always participate in the Department of State’s Smart Traveler Registration Program or STEP; Get updated travel alerts and emergency resources.
In addition, it is always a good idea to contact the local US Embassy or Consulate at your destination, who can also provide you with any information or resources you may need during your trip.
For a closer look at each country’s recommendations, you should visit the Department of State’s website .