"Do Not Travel" Countries for U.S. Citizens

Not even kalbahamut dares to travel to any of these countries! XD (According to his country map, anyway)

Loads to see in Iraq, Iran and Syria. If they manage to calm down over there I'm sure plenty will visit.

Iran is quite calm as far as tourism goes, it's just US government stirring up the pot especially lately.

I agree. Who is really interested in history, especially Roman or Persian or Mesopotamian, should absolutely go there when peace reigns again. If peace reigns again. And if the monuments are not destroyed by then.

I knew a couple of archaeologists who worked in Syria before the war; they loved it there and were saddened to see so much of its heritage lost. The way they talked about it, I would have liked to have gone there, too.

I tried to get to Iran. Didn't get he visa, but I would have loved to have gone.

I've also considered going to work in Iraq, as I have many friends who have made a lot of money there. And I had plans to travel to Syria before the civil war started I think in 2010... still wish I had gone. Not much left anymore. I wouldn't mind going to Libya. And North Korea I would probably pass on though I've heard trips there are pretty interesting. The rest... yeah I'll skip those.

Strange, North Korea is one place I would love to go to. Though the fact you would be paying to support a despotic dictatorship that routinely tortures its own people to death, does put me off actually going. It would be as close as we can get to actually going back in time though and it is a pretty unique country.

I think I would be extremely annoyed by the fact that I wasn't allowed to interact with any locals that were not pre-approved, that all experiences were scripted and pre-planned with no deviations from the itinerary permitted, that I'd have government agents looking through my photos determining which I was allowed to keep. It's just a morbid very expensive puppet show they put on for tourists. I know it would be a unique experience but I also think it would be horrible. And that's to say nothing of the fact that your chances of ended up in a forced labor camp are pretty high.

Even though I would travel to some of these places I think the list is pretty reasonable with the exception of Iran. Though I know it is dangerous (mostly because the government is likely to incarcerate you for spying), compared to other countries on the list it doesn't really seem to fit. I know so many people who have visited Iran and had a lovely time doing so.

While North Korea definitely should be on the list, I don't think it fits with the rest of the list at all. The others are because of war, terrorism, lawlessnes/crime - and I think North Korea is probably one of the safest countries in the world considering terrorism/crime. While there is the risk of being locked up I doubt it's any problem if you stay very respectful and don't break the rules. Especially if you aren't American/South Korean/Japanese I would think. Iran however I don't think fits the list at all. From what I know it's pretty stable and safe, at least if you stay in tourist areas. Probably only on the list because of US relations.

Kal, your reasons against going to N. Korea are the things which happened to my parents when they visited the Soviet Union in the 1970s. They weren't allowed to interact with locals and whenever their group went to a restaurant to eat, their guide went ahead of them and told everyone to leave their tables while the group ate. My mom said she could hardly eat, being watched by all those people standing along the walls waiting for the tourists to finish their meals so they could return to their own lunches. One of the men in the group was a smoker and once he forgot the rules and dropped a cigarette butt on the ground. Immediately a man materialized from nowhere and began tearing it apart as though he was looking for a secret message or something. It brought home to their group that they were always being watched. Still, my folks always said it was the best trip of their lives and there's always hope that N.Korea will someday be more tourist-friendly.

The best way to somehow see a different side of North Korea is to work with them, rather than just looking around. While it's not an option available to many people, there are some wonderful accounts that give also a glimpse behind the scenes: e.g. Guy Delisle's graphic novel Pyongyang (also translated to English) or Liberation Day, the documentary about Laibach's concert in North Korea.

Socotra is a lovely island off the coast of Yemen.

Surprised that Venezuela isn't here.

And Cameroon!

Well, it is now. Sadly.

I'd consider going there for work but I don't think I'd want to live there and I know I wouldn't make much money. I'd mostly be interested in going as a tourist.

Chuck Norris can go anywhere Chuck Norris wants.

Surprised Cameroon is not on the list tbh. Seeing as they’re in the middle of a genocidal civil war...

And Trump wonders why there aren't more immigrants from Norway...

Missed Libya and CAR :( .... : )

Yes and no. There are direct flights now. If you're creative enough, you can get a license, which is not granted for tourism. Without it, you still have to detour to another country.

missed Mali and South Sudan

Somalia's not so bad. As long as you're Somali, and you stay with your tribe, and avoid Al Shabaab, and drones, and hyenas, and malaria...

None of these countries are on the list randomly. I think you might be confusing the Central African Republic with Luxembourg. Common mistake.

You shouldn't be so harsh. Of course, CAR is not a safe place. But don't say things like that. It could hurt people that are on JetPunk and are from CAR. I'm not trying to be mean...

@quiantaene is this sarcasm?

I'm guessing people in the CAR have better things to do than quiz sites. Half their adult population is illiterate.

Why Haiti? Did I miss anything?

I got Iran, Iraq and North Korea. I'm British so I don't even know what this is!

I certainly wouldn't recommend going to the Sentinel Islands We've seen how that works out.

Why US citizens not aloud in Haiti and Venezuela?

This is not about where they're allowed or not. Reasons for this advisory can be political for example. When a country is not in good terms with the US or in a critical state itself or there's a lot of violence going on. But hey some people look for that. "Dark tourism".

You can see the rationale here for Haiti, Venezuela's is similar though it also includes poor health infrastructure and arbitrary detention of US citizens, especially those with dual citizenship.

It's worth mentioning that the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Sinaloa, Colima, Guerrero, and Michoacan are also listed as "Do Not Go" areas.

The countries on this list aren't necessarily forbidden to US tourists it's just that the State Department advises American citizens to not travel to them for any reason. That could be due to high levels of crime, social unrest, kidnapping, civil war, terrorism, breakdown in social services, or when the government of the country has a habit of detaining American tourists without good cause. So the countries are deemed not safe to travel to. There are other levels of travel advisories, which are:
Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions
Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution
Level 3: Reconsider Travel
and Level 4, the highest, Do Not Travel

btw Sudan is at Level 4 now, not just South Sudan.