Are You Traveling Somewhere Safe?

Every now and then a horrible story will hit the news about a traveler who is beaten, kidnapped, killed (most recently in Brazil). This certainly decreases travel to those areas, as expected. Some places are just better left alone and not visited. And not all those places may be immediately obvious.

When planning a trip the first thing you should do is research to make sure your destination is safe for tourists. Check again right before you leave for the trip. It may be that certain areas should be avoided, or maybe just after dark. But following the advice of Foreign Affairs agencies should be a major priority for any traveler.

The following site is maintained by the Government of Canada...but hey, not safe for Canadians equals not safe for Americans. Each country shows the level of caution that should be taken, as well as if travel should be avoided all together. Clicking on a country will show international advisories and reasons caution should be employed.

http://travel.gc.ca/travelling/advisories

A map of advisories is also available on the site.