Dangerous natural disasters, wars, and political crises can occur without warning, creating conditions that make a country unsafe for inbound travelers. Before finalizing your travel plans, always inform yourself about the typical conditions to expect at your destination. But also monitor the situation in your destination country right up to departure. Current information is provided by the Department of State on their website at:
http://travel.state.gov/travel
- Country-specific information:
Is provided by the Department of State on all countries. Included are the locations of the U.S. embassy and consulates, health conditions, information on minor political situations, crime, and drug penalties, entry requirements, and currency.
- A state department travel warning:
Indicates that the destination has been dangerous or unstable for a long time. When a warning is in effect, it often is triggered because the situation gets bad enough to necessitate the closure of an embassy or consulate. Without people on the ground in a destination country, our foreign service can't assist Americans traveling there. If you travel to the destination anyway, and an emergency occurs, you will be on your own.
- A state department travel alert:
Indicates that a short-term situation in the destination country is causing heightened security risk to American travelers. Natural disasters are often the cause, but also terrorist attacks, a coup d'état, large demonstrations, riots or violence in a wide area, or the anniversary of a terrorist event. A travel alert may include information on how long the situation is expected to last.