How do I know if it's safe to travel to a country at a specific time?

Question

Are there travel sites constantly updated with safety tips and political situation of countries?

Answer 1

Many countries have travel advice agencies run by their respective governments.

• The US: http://travel.state.gov/travel/travel_1744.html
• The UK: http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/
• Australia: http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/
• France (in french): http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/conseils-aux-voyageurs_909/index.html
• Germany (in German): http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/DE/Laenderinformationen/SicherheitshinweiseA-Z-Laenderauswahlseite_node.html

and so on. It's best to check the website for your particular country, as there can exist threats to your nationality that don't exist towards others (for example, anti-american sentiment, etc).

Answer 2

Generally the foreign affairs departement of your government will contain travel advice for countries, it's worth checking there. Not only that if you are going to somewhere dangerous, a lot of governments operate a service where you can register with the local embassy in event of emergency etc.

Answer 3

You can also check the your embassy web-site of a specific country, although that might depend on where you're from. Works for me at least (Dutch).

Answer 4

And regarding other kind of safety, weather and such, I was always prefer do check the reports on the country's local weather agency, it usually is more detailed and more oriented to each countries specific details (mountain, etc..).

Answer 5

The country/states government site mostly remains updated with the safety tips\road conditions. The political situations is not necessarily updated though.