- Tourists love visiting spots with unique architecture or natural beauty, but it’s not always safe.
- Currently, there are 21 countries on the US government’s “do-not-travel” list.
- The State Department considers travel risky there due to terrorism, kidnapping, and other threats.
Accidents and injuries can happen anywhere, but the US government warns that the risk of terrorism, kidnapping, and other dangers is higher in some countries than others. That’s why it lists some as level-four, advising that Americans should not travel to them.
“All countries will rank destinations slightly different,” Alan Fyall, a professor of tourism at the University of Central Florida, told Business Insider. While they frequently overlap, the US and the UK don’t have identical lists, for example. Historical and cultural ties, proximity, and level of familiarity may all play a role in shaping these lists, he said.
For some of these countries, the US has suspended embassy operations. That makes it difficult for it to assist travelers when they’re in trouble, and that’s part of the reason the warnings can be stringent, said Fyall.
“Do you really want to go and rescue your citizens from a country that, really, they’re not that advised to go to in the first place?” he said.
The US and UK governments also issue warnings for specific areas of some countries, such as near the Thailand-Malaysia border or the Western Desert in Egypt. The US and UK also caution against travel to Gaza and Northern Israel.
While some risk-takers travel to these countries for a thrill, others visit for family or business. “Some people think the perceived risk is overstated,” Edward Dramberger, a University of South Carolina tourism and hospitality professor, told BI.
Nations and regions can move up and down the US’ list, but here are the 21 countries the State Department considers “do-not-travel” zones as of March 2025.
