The Foreign Office (FCDO) provides detailed guidance for travel to any of the 226 different nations and territories around the world. The goal is to help people make informed decisions and ensure their safety while travelling.
Updates are regularly given, advising prospective travellers about specifics such as entry or visa requirements, recommended safety and security measures, risk levels, weather warnings and more. It’s beneficial to gather as much information as possible about your destination before setting off.
However, you run the risk of putting yourself and your group in danger if you travel to a location that the FCDO advises against visiting. Not only this, but it is likely to void your travel insurance.
Currently, the FCDO advises against visiting certain parts of destinations like Turkey, Mexico, Thailand and Egypt. The Liverpool Echo has broken down the full details for each below.
Turkey travel advice
Each year, millions of UK residents flock to Turkey for their holiday, usually without incident. Certain areas of the country are advised against by the FCDO, but luckily these tend to be far from tourist-popular resorts.
As stated in its most recent update, the Foreign Office advises the following when thinking about travelling to Turkey:
- 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 travel advice
Each year sees hundreds of thousands of visits to Mexico from UK citizens. Much like Turkey, there are parts of Mexico that the Foreign Office currently advises against all but essential travel to:
- 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 travel advice
Similarly to Turkey and Mexico, the majority of Thailand is deemed safe for UK tourists by the FCDO. However, due to “regular terrorist attacks”, there are certain provinces in southern Thailand that should be avoided:
- 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 travel advice
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
For more information about travel to these or any other countries click here.