Foreign Office shares all countries you should avoid

While choosing a holiday destination can be exciting, it’s important to know about the places that are not recommended for travel so you can avoid them whether you’re backpacking or booking a short break.

To help with that, the Foreign Office updates its travel advice pages for 226 countries and territories to help you stay in the know.

Here are all the places that the Foreign Office has issued travel warnings for. You can find out more information about each country and territory via the government website.

Some places aren't safe to travel to - make sure to check the travel advice for your destinations before travelling (Image: Canva)

All the countries and territories you shouldn’t travel to

If you travel against advice from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), your travel insurance could become invalid.

The FCDO adds: “No travel can be guaranteed safe. Read all the advice in this guide and any specific travel advice that applies to you”.

6 tips for cheaper family holidays

All travel to the following countries/territories or parts of them is advised against:

• Afghanistan
• Algeria
• Armenia
• Azerbaijan
• Belarus
• Burundi
• Benin
• Burkina Faso
• Chad
• Côte d'Ivoire
• Cameroon
• Central African Republic
• Congo
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Djibouti
• Eritrea
• Egypt
• Ethiopia
• Georgia
• Haiti
• Indonesia
• Iraq
• Israel
• India
• Iran
• Jordan
• Lebanon
• Libya
• Mali
• Mauritania
• Moldova
• Mozambique
• Myanmar (Burma)
• Nigeria
• Niger
• Pakistan
• The Occupied Palestinian Territories
• Philippines
• Russia
• Somalia
• Sudan
• Syria
• Saudi Arabia
• South Sudan
• Tunisia
• Togo
• Turkey
• Ukraine (check for specific areas)
• Venezuela
• Western Sahara
• Yemen

Recommended reading:

•  Can you still use a burgundy passport for travelling in 2024? Rules to follow
• Is the new UK passport black or blue in colour? Why it changed and what it means
• Why are passports different colours and what does each colour mean? 

Best and worst airlines in the UK

Travelling to the following countries/territories or parts of them should only go ahead if essential:

• Angola
• Bangladesh
• Brazil
• Colombia
• Ecuador
• Ghana
• Guatemala
• Kenya
• Kosovo
• Laos
• Mexico
• Malaysia
• New Caledonia
• North Korea
• Peru
• Papua New Guinea
• Tanzania
• Thailand
• Ukraine (check for specific areas)
• Uganda

You can find out more information and set up email alerts for updates on travel advice via the government website.