How to Plan a Trip to a Politically Unstable Region

Whether you have to travel to a politically unstable part of the world for work or you choose to trek through hostile environments for thrills, the key to coming home safely is acknowledging potentially dangerous situations and knowing how to avoid them. Careful planning isn't just smart--it may save your life.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

1. Purchase newly updated guidebooks and get busy on the Internet familiarizing yourself with the local laws and customs. Even something as seemingly benign as taking a Buddha statue out of Thailand--a very politically stable country--could get you in big trouble. Other good resources include travel agents, Web sites and online travel community boards, and the embassies, consulates or tourist bureaus of the countries you plan to visit.
2. Check the current travel warnings issued by the U.S. State Department at travel.state.gov. Warnings advise Americans when and where they should not travel due to hostility or danger and are issued any time a perceived threat targets U.S. citizens as a group. Listen to them. Read the Consular Information Sheet specific to your destination (also at travel.state.gov), which provides details on the location of American embassies and consulates, unusual immigration practices, health conditions, political disturbances, unusual currency and entry regulations and crime, penalties and security information. Watch for public announcements on the same site about terrorist threats or other significant risks to the security of Americans abroad.
3. Apply for all necessary visas and make sure that your passport is valid for at least six months from the day you enter the country. Not having valid travel documents gives local authorities an easy--and valid--reason to detain and fine you.
4. Stay in larger hotels, which tend to have more elaborate security arrangements. Experts recommend booking rooms from the second to seventh floors: high enough to deter easy entry from outside, but low enough for fire equipment to reach.
5. Book nonstop flights whenever possible, since takeoffs and landings are the most dangerous times of a flight. See 408 Book Airline Tickets.
6. Purchase travel insurance and check that the coverage is appropriate. If your own policy doesn't cover you, purchase a shortterm health and emergency assistance policy for travelers, that covers emergency medical evacuation.
7. Register at the nearest in-country U.S. embassy or consulate. This will make it easier if you urgently need to be located or evacuated. It will also facilitate the issuance of a new passport should yours be lost or stolen.

Tips & Warnings

• Travelers may obtain up-todate information on security conditions by calling [phone] or [phone] (outside the United States and Canada).
• Leave copies of all your important documents with someone at home, along with your itinerary, your flight numbers and, particularly, your return date. Tuck an extra set in your luggage.
• Access consular information sheets, travel warnings and public announcements by calling the Office of Overseas Citizens Services at [phone]. Or get them from any of the 13 regional passport agencies; from U.S. embassies and consulates abroad; or by sending a self-addressed stamped envelope, indicating the desired country, to the Office of Overseas Citizens Services, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Room 4811, U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C. 20520-4818.
• When you are in a foreign country, you are subject to its laws and are under its jurisdiction, not the protection of the U.S. Constitution.
• Do not use short cuts, alleys or poorly lit streets. Try not to travel alone at night. Avoid public demonstrations.