The Foreign Office has warned against travel in areas of some destinations popular with British tourists.
The department provides guidance for travel to any of 226 nations and territories in a bid to help people make informed decisions and stay safe. Regular updates advise people of any entry or visa requirements, as well as safety and security measures and risks, and weather warnings, and it can be useful to have as much information about the place you are visiting as possible.
If you travel to a destination the FCDO warns against visiting, you may put yourself and other members of your group at risk, as well as voiding your travel insurance. And the FCDO currently warns against visiting some parts of Turkey, Mexico, Thailand and Egypt, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Here are the details for each in full.
Turkey
Millions of people travel to Turkey from the UK each year, and most of these trips are free from issues. The FCDO advises against travel in a number of parts of the country, though thankfully the resorts most popular with British tourists are considerably far from these.
As per its latest guidance, the Foreign Office advises:
- against all travel to within 10km of the border with Syria due to fighting and a heightened risk of terrorism
- against all but essential travel to Sirnak city
- advises against all but essential travel to Hakkari Province
Mexico
Hundreds of thousands of trips to Mexico are made from the UK each year. As per its latest guidance, the Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to the following parts of Mexico:
- the city of Tijuana except for airside transit through Tijuana airport, the Cross Border Xpress bridge from the airport linking terminals across the Mexican-US border, and the federal toll road 1D and Via Rápida through Tijuana to the border
- within 40km of the Guatemalan border between the Pacific Coast up to and including the border crossing at Gracias a Dio
- on Federal Highway 199 (Carretera Federal 199) between Rancho Nuevo (just outside San Cristobal de las Casas) and the Chancalá junction just outside Palenque (where Federal Highway 199 meets Federal Highway 307)
- the state of Chihuahua except for the city of Chihuahua, the border crossing in Ciudad Juárez (accessed by federal toll road 45), federal toll road 45D connecting the cities of Chihuahua and Ciudad Juárez, the Copper Canyon rail route to and from Chihuahua and towns immediately on this route including Creel, the road from Creel via San Juanito to San Pedro, and the state highway 16 from San Pedro to Chihuahua
- the state of Colima, except for the city of Manzanillo accessed by sea or air via the Manzanillo-Costalegre International Airport
- the areas southwest of road 45D in the state of Guanajuato
- the state of Guerrero, except for the town of Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa accessed by air
- to the areas in the state of Jalisco that are south and southwest of Lake Chapala to the border with the state of Colima, and to the northern municipalities of Bolaños, Chimaltitán, Colotlán, Hostotipaquillo, Huejúcar, Huequilla el Alto, Mezquitic, San Martin de Bolaños, Santa Maria de los Ángeles, Totatiche, and Villa Guerrero
- the state of Michoacán, except for the city of Morelia accessed by federal toll roads 15D, 126 and 43; and the federal toll road 48D between the city of Morelia and the General Francisco Mujica airport, the town of Pátzcuaro accessed by federal toll roads 14D and 15 from Morelia, and boat trips out to islands on Lake Pátzcuaro, and the Federal Highway 15D
- the state of Sinaloa, except for the cities of Los Mochis and Mazatlán, road 32 that runs between El Fuerte and Los Mochis. the 15D federal toll road that runs the length of the state. amd the Copper Canyon rail route to and from Los Mochis, El Fuerte and the towns immediately on this route
- the state of Tamaulipas, except for the border crossing at Nuevo Laredo accessed by federal toll road 85D from Monterrey, federal highways 80, 81 and 85 between Tampico, Ciudad de Victoria and Magueyes, and the entire area of Tamaulipas south of these highways
- the state of Zacatecas
Thailand
As is the case with Turkey and Mexico, most of Thailand is deemed safe for travel by the FCDO. However, due to “regular terrorist attacks”, UK travellers should avoid a number of provinces in the south of the nation.
All but essential travel is advised against for the following areas:
- Pattani province
- Yala province
- Narathiwat province
- Southern Songkhla province except for the areas north of and including the A43 road between Hat Yai and Sakom, the areas north-west of the train line which runs between Hat Yai and Padang Besar, Hat Yai to Padang Besar train line (though people are advised against all but essential travel on the train line itself)
Egypt
Much of Egypt is to be avoided, as per the latest FCDO guidance, though popular resorts such as Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh are not included within the warning.
The Foreign Office currently advises against all travel within 20km of the Egypt-Libya border, except for the town of El Salloum, where “all but essential travel” is advised, and to the Governorate of North Sinai.
“All but essential travel” is advised against for the following areas:
- the northern part of the Governorate of South Sinai, beyond the St Catherine-Nuweibaa road, except for the coastal areas along the west and east of the peninsula
- the Ismailiyah Governorate east of the Suez Canal
- the area west of the Nile Valley and Nile Delta regions, except for Luxor, Qina, Aswan, Abu Simbel and the Valley of the Kings, the Governorate of Faiyum, the coastal areas between the Nile Delta and Marsa Matruh, the Marsa Matruh-Siwa Road, the oasis town of Siwa, the Giza Governorate north-east of the Bahariya Oasis, the road between Giza and Farafra, Bahariya Oasis, Farafra, the White Desert and Black Desert
- the Hala’ib Triangle and the Bir Tawil Trapezoid