Travel safety
Is it safe to go there?
Most trips go wrong in boring ways: a phone lifted from a café table, a taxi that takes the long way round, a scooter skid on gravel. The dramatic risks that fill the news are real, but they tend to sit in specific regions, and those regions are often hundreds of miles from the beach you are looking at.
This hub explains how we grade safety on the Waymark map, and then looks at popular destinations that people worry about. In each case we go region by region, because 'Is Mexico safe?' has a very different answer in Mérida than it does in Tamaulipas.
Safety basics that apply everywhere
Before the country-by-country detail, a few habits do most of the work wherever you go.
- Theft is the most likely problem. Carry one card and a little cash in a front pocket, and keep a second card back at your room.
- Spiked drinks and methanol are the hidden risks. Buy your own drinks, watch them being poured, and be wary of very cheap spirits in places where bootleg alcohol is common.
- Roads kill more travellers than crime does. Wear a helmet on any bike or scooter, and avoid long drives after dark where roads are poor.
- Taxis are a common weak point. Use apps or official ranks, and share your trip with someone.
- Tell someone your plans. This matters most if you hike, dive or travel alone.
What our four safety levels mean
Our safety filter is built on the UK government's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) travel advice. That advice has two formal warnings, and we add a softer level for places with known risks that have no formal warning.
No official warning. Normal precautions, the kind you would take in any big UK city, are enough.
No formal travel ban, but a known risk such as gang crime, unrest or violent robbery. Most visitors have no reason to go, and if you do, go with local knowledge.
The FCDO advises against all but essential travel. A holiday does not count as essential, and most standard travel insurance will not cover you.
The FCDO advises against all travel. Conflict, terrorism or kidnap risk is high and consular help may be impossible.
Why 'essential only' matters even if a place feels calm
When the FCDO advises against all or all but essential travel to an area, most standard travel insurance policies stop covering you there. That includes medical evacuation, which can easily cost tens of thousands of pounds. A trip into a warning zone can feel completely normal and still leave you uninsured on the one day it isn't.
Warnings also change. FCDO pages are updated every few weeks for busy destinations, and an area can be added at short notice after unrest or an attack. Sign up for the FCDO's free email alerts for any country you have booked.
Popular, but worth reading up on
These destinations are well loved by UK travellers and have at least one area with a warning. Each guide shows exactly where the lines are drawn.
Warnings cover about a dozen states, mostly cartel areas in the north and west. The Caribbean coast and the Yucatán are not on the list.
Read the guide →Warnings cover the Venezuelan and Ecuadorian borders and remote jungle and Pacific regions. The classic backpacker loop is clear, but drugging scams are a real risk.
Read the guide →North Sinai and the Libyan border are 'no travel' zones. Cairo, the Nile and the Red Sea resorts are not. Dive boat standards and harassment are the practical issues.
Read the guide →One narrow no-travel strip on the Syrian border. Elsewhere, drink spiking, Istanbul bar scams and unofficial taxis are the things to watch.
Read the guide →Warnings cover the deep south and the Cambodian border. Full moon parties, methanol and scooters are the risks that actually catch people out.
Read the guide →No formal no-go zones, but specific neighbourhoods of Kingston and Montego Bay are best avoided. Resorts are generally calm.
Read the guide →No warning zones, but high crime. The FCDO is unusually specific about which roads, trails and gates to avoid.
Read the guide →Warnings cover only remote Amazon rivers. The big one for visitors: the FCDO says to avoid all favelas, including tours.
Read the guide →No warning zones in the tourist heartland. Fake guides and medina theft are the daily irritations, and the Algerian border is closed.
Read the guide →The Somali border region is off-limits, but the big safari parks and the south coast are clear. Lamu Island has an exception.
Read the guide →Kashmir and the Pakistan border are no-travel zones, and Manipur is essential only. The Golden Triangle, Goa and Kerala are clear.
Read the guide →Five-minute safety check before you book
- Open the FCDO page for your country and read the Warnings box at the top.
- Check the exact towns on your route against any warning map, including the roads between them.
- Read your insurance policy's wording on FCDO advice. Most exclude areas under a warning.
- Save the local emergency number and your nearest British embassy number in your phone.
- Sign up for FCDO email alerts for that country, so changes reach you after you have booked.