How to evaluate a safety of a country.

   A great way to quickly ruin a trip is by choosing a place that you don’t feel safe in. I have mistakenly gone on trips without doing enough research and as a result, found myself feeling too anxious to go out and explore on my own. Each person will have their own levels of comfort in terms of safety, and this can also vary depending on who you travel with or how many other people are with you. If you are traveling alone though, it is even more imperative for you to research this before booking as traveling alone is more dangerous than going with someone. Even small things like going to the restroom or to the beach become much more inconvenient when you are alone, and if the country you choose is known for having theft, robbery, assault then you must be that much more careful upon arrival. It is important to note that although we are evaluating the safety of the country, keep in mind that safety within a country can vary drastically depending on the city or neighborhood you are in.

     An easy step to evaluating the safety of a country is to start by asking a local friend. Talking to a friend who is from the country and is familiar with various neighborhoods is by far the most helpful as they will give you an honest picture of what it is like there. Keep in mind that tourism is very different from living there. Asking a friend who has been to the country before is also helpful, but if you are not going to a new country for tourism then the living situation can be very different from your friend’s experience. Most of us don’t have friends in every single country around the world so we need to do independent research to evaluate the safety of our next trip. The first place you can turn to is any government websites that your own country provides.

     I can’t speak for every country, but as an American the US government has many embassies/consulates around the world with Foreign Service Officer living in country and evaluating the safety daily.  The travel.state.gov website is a US Department of State website run by the Bureau of Consular Affairs that provides a Travel Advisory that is updated in a timely manner. Each country is given a Travel Advisory Level ranking of 1-4, with 1 being the safest with Normal Precautions, while 4 is the most dangerous with a Do Not Travel advisory. With each country, they will also provide and explanation for the ranking and what types of crime in certain areas to be aware of. Keep in mind that although something may be ranked a 2 or 3, doesn’t mean it is a dangerous country as the rankings do need to be hire when considering cities within the country with a lot of crime. The ranking should be used as a tool to consider when you evaluate your own risk tolerance. More recently, due to the COVID19 pandemic, you should also consider using your countries national health department to evaluate illness risks. For Americans this would be the Center for Disease Control - https://www.cdc.gov/ . This was a necessity to consider when trying to travel during COVID restrictions as each country had different laws and the CDC would provide an evaluation on the state of the country, ease of receiving medical care as a foreigner, and level of spread. It also helps to check travel blogs and videos of people discussing their experiences abroad in that country. Even just watching a short vlog of someone walking down the street in a city you are hoping to visit will give you a better idea of what to expect. Travel brochures and companies tend to hide these things, so it is important to see actual images of how the country looks on the ground. Another great tool for this is Google Earth – for many places you can search addresses and virtually click through images of the streets in that area. A quick disclaimer though that it isn’t always correct to judge a country based on images. Although things may seem more run down or different from what you may be expecting, doesn’t mean you should write off the country as unsafe and vice versa. Images should be used in addition to your own risk tolerance. There are a few countries I’ve been to where the brochures, images, and tourist commentary were all 10/10 stars, while the reality of living there was very dangerous especially alone as a young, female. While on the flip side, many places I have visited have appeared rough around the edges but were in fact extremely safe with friendly people all around who were willing to help you.
Don’t judge a book by its cover!

By Jac.