Traveling to a foreign country can be both exciting and terrifying. Exciting because there are new sites to see, new cultures to immerse in, new adventures to experience, and new cuisines to try.
Terrifying because any traveler visiting a different place will often have no clue what the people are like, who to call in case of emergencies, how to get to places in their itinerary, and overall just what to expect.
Before traveling out of America, it’s recommended that travelers do their due diligence – research the country they’re visiting and be as informed as they can be. This can go a long way in ensuring their safety when they visit a foreign place.
The State Department takes American citizens’ safety extremely seriously. To that end, it has created a platform where citizens can find travel advisories about any country around the world.
State Department Travel Advisories
The State Department has created a resource on its website where American citizens can inform themselves about travel advisories for the country they are visiting. This can be accessed through travel.state.gov and is updated regularly.
Users can simply search for the country they plan on visiting and find information about its safety level, as determined by the State Department, as well as other travel guidelines.
For example, on the website, North Korea is labeled a “Do not travel” destination because it has been graded a safety level of 5. The Maldives, a popular vacation destination, is at level 2, which calls for a heightened level of caution.
Visiting the State Department’s website and looking at the travel advisories should be part of any American citizen’s pre-trip planning. That way, they can make an informed decision about whether or not it’s safe for them to visit that country.