The United States Department of State regularly issues notifications regarding travel to foreign countries. What these different notifications mean, however, isn’t always so clear. It’s important to know what these difference are, though. And to help, the fine folks over at lifehacker.com have created a quick guide to explain the difference between travel alerts and warnings.
Travel Alerts are usually for short-term, typically just weeks, or minor events occurring in specific areas. According to the U.S. Department of State events that fall under Travel Alerts includes: protest and civil unrest, or incredibly popular events like the Olympics. But just because a specific item is on this list, it doesn’t mean the State Department will issue an alert. There doesn’t appear to be an alert for the Rio Olympics, for example.
And if you’re wondering about the Zika outbreak in Brazil, the Center for Disease Control issued its own notice for the region. In fact, for disease related travel notices, you should generally refer to the CDC’s website rather than the State Department.
Travel Warnings, as you may guess, are usually issued for more serious and/or long-term events. The timeframe we’re talking about here is months or years, and normally will apply to an entire country or region. You’ll normally see warnings for government unrest and violence. It’s best to avoid travel to these areas if at all possible.
For a full list of the State Department’s current travel alerts and warnings, you can visit their alerts and warnings page. It’s actually kind of interesting to see what areas are under warnings. Some of these destinations may not even be thought of as dangerous, especially since many travel there most often. Mexico, as an example, does have an outstanding Travel Warning thanks to continued violence from its drug cartels. Of course, others are a little more obvious like the Europe Travel Alert thanks to elevated levels of terrorism in the region.
Rather than manually checking your travel destinations, though, it’s better to signup for the Smart Traveler Enrollment program. This services by the Bureau of Consular Affairs will notify you of travel alerts and warnings. It also provides an extra layer of safety for you by making your contact information available to the U.S. Embassy nearest your travel destination(s). This could be important, especially if you’re traveling to potentially dangerous regions like Lebanon. Fans of Anthony Bourdain will know this well, as Bourdain and crew were evacuated from Beirut by the Marines years ago when conflict erupted during his visit.