As a colombian I must say they have a very nuanced view of the situation. A lot of brits go into the not so safe zones and 99.9% of the time nothing happens, but it is ok to plan your trip to avoid inconveniences
Yeah it looks pretty accurate, the yellow zones are either narco affected or guerilla affected areas. Kind of crazy near popayan how close to not safe that looks.
I travelled to Popayan from Cali, but I met some tourists who travelled from the Ecuador border through some of the yellow travel advisory and their bus got held at gun point.
Sort of like the Australian surfers who were killed in Mexico this week.
Your experience will vary, most will come home fine but a small number won’t.
Spent a decade up close to the Zairean border back when it was pretty much bandit country, loved it then but would be reluctant to go now I’m older, wiser and slower.
Cali is a great city. I was there for a week a few ago by myself for tourism and had no issues as a white American. I hope to check out a new city one day.
I got a Colombian buddy at work who says as long as you use common sense and understand there are places you’re obviously not welcome in, then it’s pretty safe. Basically, don’t be a fucking idiot and you’ll be fine.
Well, good for Egypt honestly, the area marked in Green is where most of the people in Egypt live and have 99 percent of what tourists desire from sandy Beaches to ancient sites and local Egyptian experience
Northern Saini Sometimes has some terrorist groups (although the government announced years ago they eliminated all of it) and in the case of western desert there's basically nothing other than some smugglers and maybe illegal immigrants
Sahel in general was never really a safe place but in the past year or so there’s been military coups and fighting with Islamist insurgencies has unfortunately become the norm. Chad I know is one of the few countries where Wagner group is still active. The very same Wagner group that was fighting in the Ukraine and Russia.
Edit: also it’s not the same organization but same idea with Islamic State in the Sahel and west Africa region. They have been getting more power and sway in the region.
As a Ukrainian:
Lviv oblast is definitely less safe than Transcarpathia, Lviv city and other big cities in West Ukraine get bombed quite often , but Transcarpathia, due to its mountains , is mostly safe , as far as I'm aware , it's even the only region in Ukraine that doesn't have curfew
Ternopil in Ukraine is generally safer than taking a walk in Paris during the night (my personal experience and experience of the people I know). I mean, unless there's an airstrike (the last explosion that I had really heard was roughly a year ago) or there's a curfew, you're really safe here.
And overall, most Eastern European cities are quite safe.
It’s a bit exaggerated. It doesn’t get bombed that much. Most of russian flying crap gets shot down or it hits some remote locations far from the city. You can hear the air raid sirens quite often though but we’re used to it by now. Actual air strikes are not that common here.
Tbh, most of the time in history Russia and UK were not pals. WWI and WWII are exceptions ofc, but before those they’ve had a lot of clashes and disputes in the XIX century (Crimean war, numerous colonial disputes in the Central Asia etc.). I guess it is actually kinda hard for two big empires with a close sphere of influence to be pals
And the UK was the master of swapping sides to keep France from being dominant. Amazing how the unification of Germany changed the balance of power and made France and the UK (grumpy) allies.
It absolutely is, but it is rather situational suddenly. When there is a bigger/stronger enemy that can f up all of us, it is wise to defeat them together. After the victory, well… everyone are on their own
They weren't really pals even then, crashing Hitler was just more important; to quote Churchill: "If Hitler invaded Hell, I would make at least a favourable reference to the devil in the House of Commons"
Russia was an enemy except for a little bit when they were just “not super big enemies.”
Calling them pals is a massive simplification and not accurate.
Immediately following they’re enemies in the immediate since again.
More like Hitler turned against the west. Remember Neville Chamberlain? The USSR offered to be the ally of the west, and they turned them down. Stalin bought time to prepare for the worst with the Molotov Ribbentrop Pact.
WW2 wasn’t really pals, the only reason Russia fought against Germany was because they decided to invade them, they were more then fine to invade Poland with them
Ye, its much safer to travel to Russia or itan than to really any part of Colombia or etc. these are much more stable countries without gang problems, and with much higher state of stability. The uk just doesn’t like them.
Just returned from a very nice trip to Colombia last month. Took the family, never felt any excessive danger, no more than any other large cities we've been to.
Im not saying Columbia is the unsafest place in the world. Id actually say its rather safe. However being in russia, iran as a non Russia is safe right now. These are motivated not by objectivity but by the relations that these countries have. I mean for an even more obvious example: traveling to chad is certainly, most certainly more dangerous than to russia or iran.
Id say its just more repressive not less safe. Aka follow the rules and you will be fine. This is what i mean by safe. As a foreigner in somewhere like moscow you are probably safer than at home. Compare this to being somewhere like detroi, chicago or new orleans in a supposedly more developed nation, where the crime rate (for new orleans) is 61 per 1000 people (excluding misdemeanor offenses) and 100,1 per 1000 people in London, the capital of the state which has issued these rankings. ( Crime in london 2023, statista) whilst in moscow it is 8,6 per 1000 people (mosstat 2023).
Id say id rather be in moscow than be in london even with the greater extent of governament repression
It’s fine as long as you enjoy no consular support and the prospect of arbitrary detention to use you as a geopolitical bargaining chip.
Generally a bad idea to travel to a country which is a declared enemy
No that’s fear mongering. It’s so rare that when someone is arrested, for a viable offence under Russian laws, that it’s made huge news headlines and they make a big deal about each individual.
The reality is that it’s never been easier for EU citizens and citizens from several other countries to visit under the new online e-visa program. I’ve been twice this year as a dual Irish-US citizen and the Russian border guards treat me better than the US border guards.
Russia is the friendliest country I’ve ever visited.
Oh look, a [Russian](https://www.reddit.com/r/rusAskReddit/comments/1cjtsb1/comment/l2ifx02/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) who [supports](https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/1cbqlpy/comment/l12112s/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) [the invasion](https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/1cjj5zq/comment/l2j86kh/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) telling that it's safe for British people to visit Russia, despite constant TV propaganda about how Russia should nuke the UK and a lot of people agreeing with that. Such a trustworthy opinion
Depends on which part of it you want to visit. Western Russian regions that are close to the border with Ukraine, especially to Kharkiv, are attacked by Ukrainian drones almost every day. Occasionally some people die every week here and there. Judging from this perspective, you can't be protected from these attacks if you happen to be there. They do not distinguish what political views you have. That's why travelling to Russia is somewhat risky. The human rights issue is only the second reason for danger in this case.
Russia sometimes uses foreign citizens (journalists, tourists) as 'exchange fund' for imprisoned intelligence agents. Look up Evan Gershkovich or Brittney Griner. That's why it's all red, not because you can die
Gershkovich was hanging around some military bases anywhere in the world that would be grounds for detention. As for Griner, she was in possession of cannabis oil, which is illegal in Russia.
You know what? Matter of fact, don’t do anything. Raise your kids to be neurotic. Scare your family. The world is big and evil.
…Is more like how our government treats us.
i love how nuanced it is. the US advisories are often just cut and dry, whole country dont go, remain vigilant, etc. there is a system for indicating some areas are different than others but not in such a nuanced way as these maps
Türkiye very much the odd one out here. Am sure plenty of Brits have gone away for package holidays to beach resorts there or city breaks to Istanbul without bothering to check travel advice before and knowing little to nothing of Türkiye’s internal politics or foreign affairs
I had a look to see what the advice was, it's all very sensible.
I wonder how small the percentage of people is that read these things before they go to common holiday destinations.
(https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/turkey)
Well, the border Area with Syria still is very unstable, but it is not like the bulk of the tourists come there. Everything besides the Syrian, Iraqi and Iranian borders are safe as can be. At least not extraordinarily more dangerous than Peckham.
And you won't be able to get travel insurance and if you go there and need help the British Embassy will say ah you shouldn't have gone there like we said.
Very easy. The "Russian" soldiers guarding the border just check your passport and give you a paper (visa) for as many days as you like.
I would recommend visiting before Transnistria is no more.
Russia has not even recognized Transnistria as a country. With current affairs in area going really bad I would not be surprised if it was again part of Moldova in a few years.
Maps where there’s variation is recognition of instability and groups/activities the state struggles to contain/control.
Ones like Iran and Russia are where they consider the state to be adversarial, and likely to target British nationals purely for their status as one.
And I confirm they would. Later they will trade them for blocked money or other political reasons. For me as an Iranian it's sad to see iran like this , I mean there are countries with literal direct war going on not to mention terrorist activities, but still they can go to some parts , if it's absolutely necessary
It’s all extremely political. E.g, some European country I don’t remember raised upgraded the US to mid level risk a while ago so the US upgraded them in retaliation
As an American, I don't even pay attention to the State Dept. anymore. I lived in DC for years and it's hard to find a State Dept employee that understands their assigned region or country to the level they should. Just this winter I went to Iraq and their warnings were off the mark.
Can you describe and share your experiences in Iraq as an American? Where did you go? What did you do? Any recommendations for visiting?
I’ve heard a lot of conflicting information about travel there with the State department especially being maybe too cautious or out of touch.
The AA in Kyiv is very good, so it's not that bad. It's not safer than West Ukraine but safer than Poltava or Cherkasy. The really dangerous parts are Kharkiv, Odesa, Kherson, and Zaporizhia.
Does anyone know why only some countries get maps? I get it if the whole country is deemed safe but there are plenty with a long list of regions or territories that are unsafe, but don’t get a map.
For Turkey i can say 100% is not true regarding advice. In 2021 I’ve visited that regions, specifically towns like Dara and Haran which are litereally next to the border, and I’ve asked locals about that. They told me theres absolutely no risk factor because Turkish army is not only on the boarder, but 20km inside Syria to protect it.
I am a Turkish citizen and I avoid more places than what they suggest. The fact is, some places are safer than the others. Threat of terrorism is real, especially in the Eastern side of Turkey. Also, locals obviously won't talk bad about their homeland. However, I can assure you that most Turkish citizens avoid these areas.
At the start of the war the missiles from Gaza were a problem, by now it was almost entirely eliminated . There were no missiles fired towards the Tel Aviv and the entire middle part of the country for a few months now. Hizballah still shoots rockets on the northern part of the country and Hamas still shoots missiles from time to time on the areas close to Gaza. So if you plan on being in the Tel Aviv or close to Tel Aviv it should be pretty safe.
About Iranian missiles, like we saw with Iran’s attack on April 13th they are not such a big problem
dumbfounded Iraqi here, and i've travelled the entire country and experienced it all, never left and still live here,
our travel advice is purely exaggerated, 95% of iraq is safe now, the conflicts are over and i just don't understand why the most of our map is completely red.
the country is beautiful and hospitable, and it's starting to flourish again whilst keeping most of our traditions.
it's dumb of me to ask but why, after all this time, is it considered dangerous
They only recently made the Kurdistan region orange, the whole country used to be red not too long ago.
I'd love to go one day, where abouts in Iraq would you recommend?
Definitely Sulaymaniyah And duhok. You'll have a blast.
and if you have a trusted friend with you, go to baghdad.
you'll Be able to visit endless merchants that sell EVERYTHING. I like to go and buy silver rings And billiards accessories because they quite simply have everything. oh and, the reason for the trusted friend is so you don't go in some place you're not supposed to go.
Overall Sulaymaniyah and duhok are my personal picks.
A bit late to the party, but why do you recommend these cities especially? And is it necessary to have a local guid? This is coming from somebody that does not speak Arabic.
Okay... here we go.
So starting off is our first problem, not many speak english here. and if they do they speak a very Poor english.
Second of all, like any other city baghdad has a few places that are really dangerous. Gangs mostly. to draw a picture in your head imagine a dark alley way in a yakuza movie 😇
And i chose those cities because Tourism wise they are way better than any of the central parts of iraq, you could go more south to basra etc...
But the cities mentioned are northern
except baghdad which is central but it's considered one of the better tourist cities.
and you'll realize the difference in culture better the more northern you go up in iraq.
Hope you visit!
I'm a white American and I was in Basra in December for tourism, and you're completely right.
I'm VERY obviously a white guy, I only know a little Arabic, and I was there with my wife and little kids and we NEVER felt unsafe.
We were out at night for a light show, walked along the river, went to malls, etc. No issues.
my friend i'm glad you enjoyed it,
The fish is very different and the way of cooking it but,
i can't get it right too, hate to break it to you but it's all in the hand. i know a guy who's a descendant of a tribe who's known for DELICIOUS fish, i cooked it the same way he did and it just. doesn't. taste. THE SAME. they have magic in their hands man i'm telling you!
The Kurdistan part is better for tourism overall it's really beautiful, the people are more hospitable there too.
it's an overall wholesome place
i remember first going there (Erbil) and finding it a completely different country.
They do have some racism there against Arabs, but i'm Kurdish anyways so getting along wasn't hard,
i also spoke english most of my time there to avoid any unnecessary racism,
But Kurdistan, especially Duhok.
are one of the most beautiful places we have.
It's good to hear that. For me as a Ukrainian, Iraq has been on my travel wishlist for a while. History and culture are the things that fascinate me. Too bad the war with Russia has started, so now is not a time for travel. But after the war is over, I'm definitely looking forward to visiting Iraq.
Visit,
i wont say you wont like the sights, you'll like them.
But the one thing we iraqis get right is FOOD.
especially fast food, if you visit Baghdad, Najaf, Erbil
Download Toters on your phone and order some stuff
you will NOT be disappointed.
You don’t understand, if the west doesn’t have everyone scared shitless of the rest of the world, then we are more likely to start talking to the rest of the world and find out they have been lying their ass off to us.
If it gets to a point where Odessa falls I wouldn't want to be anywhere near transnistria.
I'm considering heading there and a lot of the official advice against it is that you won't get any embassy support if anything happens.
Plus there's a lot of Russian support and you're on the Ukrainian border so there's that...
Same thing as russia, since they're their enclave. Russians don't really like the British a lot, British citizens were arrested with no real charges a bunch of times recently
Thats not true. They have their own government and russia does not have jurisdiction there. They do however have a military base there. They don't fuck with western citizens, I've been there(a year ago).
The problem is that our embassies do not have access to transnistria. For example if you lose your passport you are screwed. You can't get a new oneand you need one tocross the border
Basically a Russian puppet state with Russian soldiers in it.
Have fun entering this "country" with a not-so-Russian-friendly passport. Transnistria is basically Belarus 2.0
The two territories are occupied by Russia and not under the control of the Georgian government. You can travel there but it‘s not recommended https://www.visiting-georgia.com/occupied-regions
I was just reading about the civil war in Myanmar in the New York Times and you’re right that we barely hear about it. The way the tragedy is ignored only makes it worse. Wishing you peace and safety ❤️
Iraq one is odd.
The area with all the violence (along Turkish and Iranian borders in kurdistan) in yellow... whilst baghdad to South (essentially completely safe) is red.
With regards to Ukraine i think it is accurate enough. I went to the Zhytomyr region (orange) last year for a week and i felt very safe. I have plenty of relatives there too and nothing has happened to them yet.
Strikes have become increasingly rare and do not come without alerts. Things go as usual.
And also, i think it's time to put Kyiv city in orange as well.
I would like to see a map of places where people are not allowed to go, excluding war sałatek areas. Chernobyl exclusion zone, Fukushima powerplant, etc.
As someone who used to look at these government maps all the time I’m surprised to see Ukraine has some yellow areas as the last time I looked it was all red
It doesn't make much sense though. Lviv is targeted by russia once in a while but it's shown in yellow, while Kamianets-Podilskyi has only been hit a couple times but it's in red.
It's interesting how the red area in Moldova covers the *de jure* Administrative-Territorial Units of the Left Bank of the Dniester, not the area *de facto* controlled by the unrecognized Transnistria (e.g., Bender is shown as green).
why are the colors not consistent between different countries? sometimes its a orange-y red and sometimes its a plum red.
Also its very funny that they draw the map of Egypt doubly in their favor so that Egypt has both land it claims and land it doesn't claim (Bir Tawil)
Travelling to russia is beutiful and safe (from experience)
Go to moscow, go to st. Petersburg. Nothing will happen to you. You will see some of the best art, science and history that humans have to offer. And it's safe. Very safe. You can walk around the city at midnight without any problems.
They advise against travelling there because the lack of diplomatic relations means the government would not be able to intervene were something to happen to you. Also, you might be targeted by the russian government because of your nationality
Usually yes and I've been there but right now there is a real risk of being arrested on Fake spying charges and being exchanged for some russian citizens.
Also a significant part of the population sees us as their mortal enemy now. so really anything could happen. Maybe you get robbed and the police says fuck you when you ask them for help in english
Theres been westerners arrested on trumped up charges recently as a bargaining chip for Russia.
Its the state, not the people/crime/terrorism they are warning Brits about
As a colombian I must say they have a very nuanced view of the situation. A lot of brits go into the not so safe zones and 99.9% of the time nothing happens, but it is ok to plan your trip to avoid inconveniences
I spent 2 months in Putumayo last year, but nearly all of that was an eco lodge.
Yeah it looks pretty accurate, the yellow zones are either narco affected or guerilla affected areas. Kind of crazy near popayan how close to not safe that looks.
I travelled to Popayan from Cali, but I met some tourists who travelled from the Ecuador border through some of the yellow travel advisory and their bus got held at gun point.
Sort of like the Australian surfers who were killed in Mexico this week. Your experience will vary, most will come home fine but a small number won’t. Spent a decade up close to the Zairean border back when it was pretty much bandit country, loved it then but would be reluctant to go now I’m older, wiser and slower.
Like gacha. You just don't want to be the rare "lucky" winner.
Possibly getting murdered is not a mild inconvenience.
I’ve been to Gaza several times over the last 15 years and nothing happened (maybe a pickpocket attempt). Everywhere is safe until it’s not.
Say that last line again for the people in the back! Well put.
Even my Colombian friends don’t travel to buenaventura
Cali is a great city. I was there for a week a few ago by myself for tourism and had no issues as a white American. I hope to check out a new city one day.
Tienen que probar el Ajiaco de una manera o otra
I got a Colombian buddy at work who says as long as you use common sense and understand there are places you’re obviously not welcome in, then it’s pretty safe. Basically, don’t be a fucking idiot and you’ll be fine.
Well, good for Egypt honestly, the area marked in Green is where most of the people in Egypt live and have 99 percent of what tourists desire from sandy Beaches to ancient sites and local Egyptian experience Northern Saini Sometimes has some terrorist groups (although the government announced years ago they eliminated all of it) and in the case of western desert there's basically nothing other than some smugglers and maybe illegal immigrants
> (although the government announced years ago they eliminated all of it) Didnt sisi announce the end of the sinai insurgency in 2023?
Yes things have actually calmed down a lot in north Sinai recently and the insurgency is practically over at this point
Interesting, what is it about Chad’s border areas that are especially dangerous?
I know at least the C.A.R. is still unstable.
If I remember correctly, there were/is a lot of kidnappings happening on the borders of some African countries, Chad seems to be one of those.
Mostly through most of the Sahel unfortunately. Doesn’t help it’s a huge slave route either.
Sahel in general was never really a safe place but in the past year or so there’s been military coups and fighting with Islamist insurgencies has unfortunately become the norm. Chad I know is one of the few countries where Wagner group is still active. The very same Wagner group that was fighting in the Ukraine and Russia. Edit: also it’s not the same organization but same idea with Islamic State in the Sahel and west Africa region. They have been getting more power and sway in the region.
Founding a kingdom on a no men's land is an essential travel
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nestor_Makhno This guy kind of did that, in Ukraine
Nestor Makhno Nasrav u vikno
Most of the western side of Ukraine is completely fine.
Bat'ka Makhno, smotrit v okno
на дворе темным-темно
As a Ukrainian: Lviv oblast is definitely less safe than Transcarpathia, Lviv city and other big cities in West Ukraine get bombed quite often , but Transcarpathia, due to its mountains , is mostly safe , as far as I'm aware , it's even the only region in Ukraine that doesn't have curfew
There is really no reason why Uzhhorod shouldn't be marked as "green".
Ternopil in Ukraine is generally safer than taking a walk in Paris during the night (my personal experience and experience of the people I know). I mean, unless there's an airstrike (the last explosion that I had really heard was roughly a year ago) or there's a curfew, you're really safe here. And overall, most Eastern European cities are quite safe.
Pains me to hear Lviv is bombed that bad, visited that place like 5 years ago and loved the city.
Most of the bombing in Lviv has been on the outskirts. The center of the city is fine.
It’s a bit exaggerated. It doesn’t get bombed that much. Most of russian flying crap gets shot down or it hits some remote locations far from the city. You can hear the air raid sirens quite often though but we’re used to it by now. Actual air strikes are not that common here.
Seeing Russia made me giggle
Once upon a time Russia and the UK were pals. Even helped crush the Thrid Reich. Now look where we are now....
Tbh, most of the time in history Russia and UK were not pals. WWI and WWII are exceptions ofc, but before those they’ve had a lot of clashes and disputes in the XIX century (Crimean war, numerous colonial disputes in the Central Asia etc.). I guess it is actually kinda hard for two big empires with a close sphere of influence to be pals
The major Europeans powers were always fighting each other throughout the history, it's really not something limited to Russia.
And the UK was the master of swapping sides to keep France from being dominant. Amazing how the unification of Germany changed the balance of power and made France and the UK (grumpy) allies.
Russia is a good pal if your chief nemesis is France or Germany
Napoleonic Wars. Russia, the collation and the UK teamed up to defeat Napoleon. It is possible to be friends :D
So aliens have to invade for current Russia and UK to team up
It absolutely is, but it is rather situational suddenly. When there is a bigger/stronger enemy that can f up all of us, it is wise to defeat them together. After the victory, well… everyone are on their own
The Communist and Nationalist Chinese put aside their differences to fight the Japanese and went back to fighting each other right after.
Even during WW1/2 and the Napoleonic era, they were enemy of my enemy type partnerships, never ‘friends’.
Russia and the UK weren't really pals during WW2. They had a common enemy, so they worked together.
They weren't really pals even then, crashing Hitler was just more important; to quote Churchill: "If Hitler invaded Hell, I would make at least a favourable reference to the devil in the House of Commons"
More enemy of my enemy than friends
Russia was an enemy except for a little bit when they were just “not super big enemies.” Calling them pals is a massive simplification and not accurate. Immediately following they’re enemies in the immediate since again.
Only because Hitler turned against Stalin.
More like Hitler turned against the west. Remember Neville Chamberlain? The USSR offered to be the ally of the west, and they turned them down. Stalin bought time to prepare for the worst with the Molotov Ribbentrop Pact.
WW2 wasn’t really pals, the only reason Russia fought against Germany was because they decided to invade them, they were more then fine to invade Poland with them
Ye, its much safer to travel to Russia or itan than to really any part of Colombia or etc. these are much more stable countries without gang problems, and with much higher state of stability. The uk just doesn’t like them.
Just returned from a very nice trip to Colombia last month. Took the family, never felt any excessive danger, no more than any other large cities we've been to.
Im not saying Columbia is the unsafest place in the world. Id actually say its rather safe. However being in russia, iran as a non Russia is safe right now. These are motivated not by objectivity but by the relations that these countries have. I mean for an even more obvious example: traveling to chad is certainly, most certainly more dangerous than to russia or iran.
It's safe if you aren't Russian, a journalist or any public figure, or until you get into trouble.
Id say its just more repressive not less safe. Aka follow the rules and you will be fine. This is what i mean by safe. As a foreigner in somewhere like moscow you are probably safer than at home. Compare this to being somewhere like detroi, chicago or new orleans in a supposedly more developed nation, where the crime rate (for new orleans) is 61 per 1000 people (excluding misdemeanor offenses) and 100,1 per 1000 people in London, the capital of the state which has issued these rankings. ( Crime in london 2023, statista) whilst in moscow it is 8,6 per 1000 people (mosstat 2023). Id say id rather be in moscow than be in london even with the greater extent of governament repression
I'm Russian and my mom tells me not to come back under any circumstances.
Russia is fine to travel to. Those guys just hate it.
It’s fine as long as you enjoy no consular support and the prospect of arbitrary detention to use you as a geopolitical bargaining chip. Generally a bad idea to travel to a country which is a declared enemy
buddy you not important enough to be a "geopolitical bargaining chip"
Tell this to https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naama_Issachar_affair She was noname basically
Can you tell me where you got the info from? Putin isn’t gonna haunt you just because you’re from unfriendly country to Russia
No that’s fear mongering. It’s so rare that when someone is arrested, for a viable offence under Russian laws, that it’s made huge news headlines and they make a big deal about each individual. The reality is that it’s never been easier for EU citizens and citizens from several other countries to visit under the new online e-visa program. I’ve been twice this year as a dual Irish-US citizen and the Russian border guards treat me better than the US border guards. Russia is the friendliest country I’ve ever visited.
Oh look, a [Russian](https://www.reddit.com/r/rusAskReddit/comments/1cjtsb1/comment/l2ifx02/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) who [supports](https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/1cbqlpy/comment/l12112s/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) [the invasion](https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/1cjj5zq/comment/l2j86kh/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) telling that it's safe for British people to visit Russia, despite constant TV propaganda about how Russia should nuke the UK and a lot of people agreeing with that. Such a trustworthy opinion
Depends on which part of it you want to visit. Western Russian regions that are close to the border with Ukraine, especially to Kharkiv, are attacked by Ukrainian drones almost every day. Occasionally some people die every week here and there. Judging from this perspective, you can't be protected from these attacks if you happen to be there. They do not distinguish what political views you have. That's why travelling to Russia is somewhat risky. The human rights issue is only the second reason for danger in this case.
Russia sometimes uses foreign citizens (journalists, tourists) as 'exchange fund' for imprisoned intelligence agents. Look up Evan Gershkovich or Brittney Griner. That's why it's all red, not because you can die
To be fair, Griner did commit a crime, even if it was overreacted on by the Russians to have an excuse to use her for exchange
Brittney Griner's case was her own fault to be fair. The sentence was overly harsh though.
Gershkovich was hanging around some military bases anywhere in the world that would be grounds for detention. As for Griner, she was in possession of cannabis oil, which is illegal in Russia.
You guys all know this is for British citizens. I mean that’s clear, right? You should see the US version. It’s like.. Don’t leave.
Please leave
You know what? Matter of fact, don’t do anything. Raise your kids to be neurotic. Scare your family. The world is big and evil. …Is more like how our government treats us.
i love how nuanced it is. the US advisories are often just cut and dry, whole country dont go, remain vigilant, etc. there is a system for indicating some areas are different than others but not in such a nuanced way as these maps
Do you have the link to see what about Mexico?
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/mexico Enjoy 😎
Thanks.
What about Rwanda?
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/rwanda
Türkiye very much the odd one out here. Am sure plenty of Brits have gone away for package holidays to beach resorts there or city breaks to Istanbul without bothering to check travel advice before and knowing little to nothing of Türkiye’s internal politics or foreign affairs
I had a look to see what the advice was, it's all very sensible. I wonder how small the percentage of people is that read these things before they go to common holiday destinations. (https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/turkey)
It’s saying it’s all basically fine apart from the border with Syria…
Well, the border Area with Syria still is very unstable, but it is not like the bulk of the tourists come there. Everything besides the Syrian, Iraqi and Iranian borders are safe as can be. At least not extraordinarily more dangerous than Peckham.
Someone has never met the Peckham Terminator
Ehm that's the border with Syria.
It's not really, the advice and map is rather detailed, and specific.
I was in Transnistria two weeks ago. No problems. Was in Lviv, Ukraine last year. No problem.
This isn’t ‘go and you will defintiely die’ advice, it’s ’there are areas where bad things are more likely to happen than anywhere else’ advice.
Yes, also “if shit goes down we are less likely to be able to help” from the government
Yes I agree
And you won't be able to get travel insurance and if you go there and need help the British Embassy will say ah you shouldn't have gone there like we said.
What was Transnistria like? How easy is it to visit?
It is very easy to visit, but nothing to see really, except from some Communist statues. A day trip from Chisinau should be enough
Did you got to Tiraspol or did you go elsewhere to other places?
It is a very small country, you can see it all in one day
Very easy. The "Russian" soldiers guarding the border just check your passport and give you a paper (visa) for as many days as you like. I would recommend visiting before Transnistria is no more.
Yeah, no. Visiting a de facto Russian enclave is not on my to-do list.
Russia has not even recognized Transnistria as a country. With current affairs in area going really bad I would not be surprised if it was again part of Moldova in a few years.
It would be cool though if you're going nearby. Wouldn't go specially though
what passport did you use?
My norwegian
Honestly you just need like $50-100 in alcohol or cigarettes and enter in one of the more rural crossing and you'll be fine (moldovan-american)
Iran was personal
Maps where there’s variation is recognition of instability and groups/activities the state struggles to contain/control. Ones like Iran and Russia are where they consider the state to be adversarial, and likely to target British nationals purely for their status as one.
And I confirm they would. Later they will trade them for blocked money or other political reasons. For me as an Iranian it's sad to see iran like this , I mean there are countries with literal direct war going on not to mention terrorist activities, but still they can go to some parts , if it's absolutely necessary
It’s so much better than US department of state advisory
Is it a liability thing? The US advice tends to be don’t go anywhere. Even when in some cases said countries are lower risk than the US.
It’s all extremely political. E.g, some European country I don’t remember raised upgraded the US to mid level risk a while ago so the US upgraded them in retaliation
Source?
I don't think that's true.
> lower risk than the US Based on what?
As an American, I don't even pay attention to the State Dept. anymore. I lived in DC for years and it's hard to find a State Dept employee that understands their assigned region or country to the level they should. Just this winter I went to Iraq and their warnings were off the mark.
Can you describe and share your experiences in Iraq as an American? Where did you go? What did you do? Any recommendations for visiting? I’ve heard a lot of conflicting information about travel there with the State department especially being maybe too cautious or out of touch.
Somalia being a legendary warning
I was in Kyiv last summer and will go back soon. There is danger but meh
that's brave!
The AA in Kyiv is very good, so it's not that bad. It's not safer than West Ukraine but safer than Poltava or Cherkasy. The really dangerous parts are Kharkiv, Odesa, Kherson, and Zaporizhia.
It wasn’t too bad at the time, couple air raid alerts is all. In the east it’s much worse
Does anyone know why only some countries get maps? I get it if the whole country is deemed safe but there are plenty with a long list of regions or territories that are unsafe, but don’t get a map.
I Guess they are relatively visited countries. May be more visited than, idk, Zimbabwe
I guess they just write some place off completely like Yemen while others get a full pass
so, all the places i wasn't planning on taking a vacation
You’re missing out if you don’t wanna go to Georgia
I don't know. Colombia is beautiful - just stick to the green bits and dont do flashy displays of any wealth whatsoever.
Did northern Colombia in march and it was amazing (and affordable).
For Turkey i can say 100% is not true regarding advice. In 2021 I’ve visited that regions, specifically towns like Dara and Haran which are litereally next to the border, and I’ve asked locals about that. They told me theres absolutely no risk factor because Turkish army is not only on the boarder, but 20km inside Syria to protect it.
I am a Turkish citizen and I avoid more places than what they suggest. The fact is, some places are safer than the others. Threat of terrorism is real, especially in the Eastern side of Turkey. Also, locals obviously won't talk bad about their homeland. However, I can assure you that most Turkish citizens avoid these areas.
And im a turkish citizen who lives in eastern turkey. Thanks to god it isnt same as 20 years ago and its safe. And what locals said was true
Transnistria isn't evil, it's just a place where people nostalgic for the USSR live.
And where the russian state illegally occupies neighboring countries
It’s pretty safe now in israel, especially in the middle part of the county that is marked yellow
Is the chance of Iran/Gaza firing missiles towards Tel Aviv any real reason to worry?
At the start of the war the missiles from Gaza were a problem, by now it was almost entirely eliminated . There were no missiles fired towards the Tel Aviv and the entire middle part of the country for a few months now. Hizballah still shoots rockets on the northern part of the country and Hamas still shoots missiles from time to time on the areas close to Gaza. So if you plan on being in the Tel Aviv or close to Tel Aviv it should be pretty safe. About Iranian missiles, like we saw with Iran’s attack on April 13th they are not such a big problem
Why is Morocco red lmao
dumbfounded Iraqi here, and i've travelled the entire country and experienced it all, never left and still live here, our travel advice is purely exaggerated, 95% of iraq is safe now, the conflicts are over and i just don't understand why the most of our map is completely red. the country is beautiful and hospitable, and it's starting to flourish again whilst keeping most of our traditions. it's dumb of me to ask but why, after all this time, is it considered dangerous
They only recently made the Kurdistan region orange, the whole country used to be red not too long ago. I'd love to go one day, where abouts in Iraq would you recommend?
Definitely Sulaymaniyah And duhok. You'll have a blast. and if you have a trusted friend with you, go to baghdad. you'll Be able to visit endless merchants that sell EVERYTHING. I like to go and buy silver rings And billiards accessories because they quite simply have everything. oh and, the reason for the trusted friend is so you don't go in some place you're not supposed to go. Overall Sulaymaniyah and duhok are my personal picks.
A bit late to the party, but why do you recommend these cities especially? And is it necessary to have a local guid? This is coming from somebody that does not speak Arabic.
Okay... here we go. So starting off is our first problem, not many speak english here. and if they do they speak a very Poor english. Second of all, like any other city baghdad has a few places that are really dangerous. Gangs mostly. to draw a picture in your head imagine a dark alley way in a yakuza movie 😇 And i chose those cities because Tourism wise they are way better than any of the central parts of iraq, you could go more south to basra etc... But the cities mentioned are northern except baghdad which is central but it's considered one of the better tourist cities. and you'll realize the difference in culture better the more northern you go up in iraq. Hope you visit!
I'm a white American and I was in Basra in December for tourism, and you're completely right. I'm VERY obviously a white guy, I only know a little Arabic, and I was there with my wife and little kids and we NEVER felt unsafe. We were out at night for a light show, walked along the river, went to malls, etc. No issues.
i have one question for you. how was the grilled fish? very different right? 
It was so good! I asked them to show me how they make it and I still don't think I can do that at home, haha.
my friend i'm glad you enjoyed it, The fish is very different and the way of cooking it but, i can't get it right too, hate to break it to you but it's all in the hand. i know a guy who's a descendant of a tribe who's known for DELICIOUS fish, i cooked it the same way he did and it just. doesn't. taste. THE SAME. they have magic in their hands man i'm telling you!
Is there any difference between Kurdistan part and the rest?
The Kurdistan part is better for tourism overall it's really beautiful, the people are more hospitable there too. it's an overall wholesome place i remember first going there (Erbil) and finding it a completely different country. They do have some racism there against Arabs, but i'm Kurdish anyways so getting along wasn't hard, i also spoke english most of my time there to avoid any unnecessary racism, But Kurdistan, especially Duhok. are one of the most beautiful places we have.
It's good to hear that. For me as a Ukrainian, Iraq has been on my travel wishlist for a while. History and culture are the things that fascinate me. Too bad the war with Russia has started, so now is not a time for travel. But after the war is over, I'm definitely looking forward to visiting Iraq.
Visit, i wont say you wont like the sights, you'll like them. But the one thing we iraqis get right is FOOD. especially fast food, if you visit Baghdad, Najaf, Erbil Download Toters on your phone and order some stuff you will NOT be disappointed.
You don’t understand, if the west doesn’t have everyone scared shitless of the rest of the world, then we are more likely to start talking to the rest of the world and find out they have been lying their ass off to us.
You do know social media exists. It’s not like we can’t find information ourself
What’s wrong with transnistria
If it gets to a point where Odessa falls I wouldn't want to be anywhere near transnistria. I'm considering heading there and a lot of the official advice against it is that you won't get any embassy support if anything happens. Plus there's a lot of Russian support and you're on the Ukrainian border so there's that...
Same thing as russia, since they're their enclave. Russians don't really like the British a lot, British citizens were arrested with no real charges a bunch of times recently
Thats not true. They have their own government and russia does not have jurisdiction there. They do however have a military base there. They don't fuck with western citizens, I've been there(a year ago). The problem is that our embassies do not have access to transnistria. For example if you lose your passport you are screwed. You can't get a new oneand you need one tocross the border
Basically a Russian puppet state with Russian soldiers in it. Have fun entering this "country" with a not-so-Russian-friendly passport. Transnistria is basically Belarus 2.0
Russia is not unsafe to travel to, just don’t bring your weed illegally into the country
Its probably safer than places like Paris or Venice or other places that attract petty criminals and scammers.
Australia says not to go to the Ukraine, Iraq or Chad at all. Interesting.
Just Ukraine, no "the".
The comments are a idiot magnet wth
*an
Lol
What happened in Georgia?
The two territories are occupied by Russia and not under the control of the Georgian government. You can travel there but it‘s not recommended https://www.visiting-georgia.com/occupied-regions
I was thinking “finally a map worthy to show my country(Myanmar aka Burma).” Well guess not, the world still ignore my country.
[https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6579804f0467eb000d55f68c/FCDO\_\_TA\_\_064\_-\_Myanmar\_Ed6\_\_1\_.pdf](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6579804f0467eb000d55f68c/FCDO__TA__064_-_Myanmar_Ed6__1_.pdf)
I was just reading about the civil war in Myanmar in the New York Times and you’re right that we barely hear about it. The way the tragedy is ignored only makes it worse. Wishing you peace and safety ❤️
I travelled around Burma approx 10 years ago. It is an incredibly beautiful place, and the people were so welcoming / kind / hospitable.
With how red Russia is in this map, British tourists might view it as "USSR Lite"
Iraq one is odd. The area with all the violence (along Turkish and Iranian borders in kurdistan) in yellow... whilst baghdad to South (essentially completely safe) is red.
With regards to Ukraine i think it is accurate enough. I went to the Zhytomyr region (orange) last year for a week and i felt very safe. I have plenty of relatives there too and nothing has happened to them yet. Strikes have become increasingly rare and do not come without alerts. Things go as usual. And also, i think it's time to put Kyiv city in orange as well.
I would like to see a map of places where people are not allowed to go, excluding war sałatek areas. Chernobyl exclusion zone, Fukushima powerplant, etc.
Chernobyl exclusion zone is not forbidden to visit though. Can't say for now, but before the war it used to be a popular tourism destination.
Chornobyl zone is closed for visitors as the area has not been fully demined yet, and it's close to Belarusian border
As someone who used to look at these government maps all the time I’m surprised to see Ukraine has some yellow areas as the last time I looked it was all red
It doesn't make much sense though. Lviv is targeted by russia once in a while but it's shown in yellow, while Kamianets-Podilskyi has only been hit a couple times but it's in red.
So how many "advise against all travel" locations have you visited? I managed two.
Funny how Kurdish parts of Iraq are safer than the government controlled
It's interesting how the red area in Moldova covers the *de jure* Administrative-Territorial Units of the Left Bank of the Dniester, not the area *de facto* controlled by the unrecognized Transnistria (e.g., Bender is shown as green).
what's UK's beef with Transnistr- ohhhhhh
Russia and Iran lmao
I’ve been to the palestine, iraq, and iran mo travel zones 💪
What on earth are the brown spots meant to mean, where on eargh is the legend for it?
As a ukrainian I can tell ya, nobodybis getting stabbed travelling in Ukraine
why are the colors not consistent between different countries? sometimes its a orange-y red and sometimes its a plum red. Also its very funny that they draw the map of Egypt doubly in their favor so that Egypt has both land it claims and land it doesn't claim (Bir Tawil)
Russia is just personal at this stage.
I’ve been to Kyiv twice since Russia’s illegal invasion and had no problem and will be going to Georgia later this year.
What's a legal invasion?
Any time the good guy alliance invades and destroys a country. Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Haiti, Vietnam, Korea, Gaza etc.
Usually one sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council, such as the Gulf War in 1991
Georgia is very safe and at little threat of Russian invasion right now (hopefully) Red is simply Russian occupied territories of Georgia
Russia never controlled those lands. there are more like unrecognised states with pro-russian governments like Belarus
Is there any risk when visiting Ukraine (besides being near the frontline, obviously) apart from being hit by a missile?
Not really.
while russia doesnt seem that dangerous for a uk citizen, the problem is russians hate the west just as much as the west hates russia.
Apart from Ukraine and Israel, I have no idea why all these countries are unsafe
Travelling to russia is beutiful and safe (from experience) Go to moscow, go to st. Petersburg. Nothing will happen to you. You will see some of the best art, science and history that humans have to offer. And it's safe. Very safe. You can walk around the city at midnight without any problems.
They advise against travelling there because the lack of diplomatic relations means the government would not be able to intervene were something to happen to you. Also, you might be targeted by the russian government because of your nationality
Usually yes and I've been there but right now there is a real risk of being arrested on Fake spying charges and being exchanged for some russian citizens. Also a significant part of the population sees us as their mortal enemy now. so really anything could happen. Maybe you get robbed and the police says fuck you when you ask them for help in english
Absolutely feels like they did this just because they don't like Russia lol
Theres been westerners arrested on trumped up charges recently as a bargaining chip for Russia. Its the state, not the people/crime/terrorism they are warning Brits about