If you’re travelling abroad from the UK it pays to check out the official foreign travel advice for your destination. Even if you’re returning to a favourite resort, it’s still worth doing this. Local conditions may be different since you were last there and it’s easy, and very frustrating, to get caught out.
UK Government FCDO Travel Advice
Comprehensive advice is provided by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) on GOV.UK under the heading Foreign travel advice. You can search by destination, of which there are 226, listed alphabetically. And yes, the United Nations recognises only 195 countries. Some territories are either disputed (such as Palestine) or have historical identities. Examples are the Vatican City, and Pitcairn Island, and these territories have their own separate entries.
Each entry has five main subheadings: Warnings and insurance, Entry requirements, Safety & security, health, and Getting help. Further down the Warnings and Insurance page is a link to more detail about the FCDO, and additional general guidance: more about FCDO travel advice. Here there are several sections of interest if you like to explore how advice is compiled, as well as important information such as Advice for women travelling abroad and Festivals in Europe: travel checklist.
Despite the dry way in which the information is presented, this advice carries a wealth of useful information.
Check Travel Advice as a Matter of Routine
Individual countries and territories have specific guidance to match their unique characteristics. For example, there are clear warnings against drug use in the Netherlands (despite its reputation as being very tolerant), and entries for most Muslim countries, especially in the Middle East, carry clear warnings as to how to dress, and advice for the LGBT+ community.
While some advice may seem over-cautious, even frightening, it’s not designed to be so. A lot of effort goes into making sure the advice is accurate and it quite rightly warns people not travel to war zones, other areas of endemic conflict, and countries or regions recently afflicted by natural disaster. If you use the GOV.UK travel advice as a resource to help with informed choices, it is a powerful body of information.
Even Popular Destinations can have Surprising Advice
Spain is a good example, and illustrates the importance of being well-informed. At the time of writing, there are no warnings against travel there. It’s rightly a popular destination with British travellers – for its coastal resorts and for many other attractions, including a rich cultural life and many outdoor opportunities such as mountain trekking in the Pyrenees and elsewhere.
However, for such a well-known and popular destination for British travellers, the Safety and Security advice section seems surprisingly long. First time travellers to Spain, for example, may not realise the need to carry photo ID (a UK driving licence or similar) nor that “Demonstrations, political gatherings or marches can take place with little or no warning, particularly in cities.” There are also sobering warnings about guarding against wildfires, and a reminder that the Balearic Islands have limitations on the sale and consumption of alcohol. Also note that using unlicensed taxis may result in a €600 fine. As with visits to any foreign country (and indeed to any new city in the UK) it pays to stay alert and act prudently and respectfully.
Check as you Plan, and Again Before You Go
Even with last-minute bookings, it’s useful to be as well prepared as possible, so go straight to the FCDO part of GOV.UK to get up to speed on your destination. If you plan your holiday several months ahead there’s even more time to get ready.
Stay up to date, by signing up to email alerts which will tell you when the advice is changed. Often that might be a small amendment of little consequence, but it could be more significant. For example, in May this year the advice for Spain was updated to reflect revised regulations for the use of child car seats. That’s irrelevant for many tourists, but could be a make-or-break issue for anyone travelling with a young family.
Read around for more detail
One other aspect of official travel advice is worth noting. It may not cover the fine details of your destination, so it is worth looking elsewhere online, carefully. Take Spain again. Every year, the news media run alarmist headlines about various bans or ‘harsh’ regulations. These headlines can be vague and make it sound as if the Spanish have it in for the Brits.
Not so at all. By reading on, it becomes apparent that they are talking about very local regulations. These are items like more smoking-free beaches since 2021, and a ban on night swimming between midnight and 07:00. And there is little or no tolerance of rowdy behaviour. In short, perfectly reasonable expectations that most holiday-makers will welcome. Nevertheless, wherever you’re going, it’s worth checking for really practical information about the area you’re staying in so you can avoid making innocent mistakes.
Insurance
An important FCDO recommendation is to “research your destinations and get appropriate travel insurance. Insurance should cover your itinerary, planned activities and expenses in an emergency.” This is good sound advice and is one which most travellers already adopt.
Travel insurance is a whole topic in its own right, but a key detail is worth mentioning here. If you go to a destination where the “FCDO advises against all travel to…” your insurance is likely to be void and ineffective. If a regular tourist or business traveller chooses to travel to a ‘no go’ destination then the warning is clear: “Your travel insurance could be invalidated if you travel against FCDO advice. Consular support is also severely limited where FCDO advises against travel.”
Travel with Peace of Mind
Most people travelling abroad from the UK are going to safe destinations. Hazards and risks are little different to those we find at home. However, lack of information can quickly cause problems. In most cases, checking the FCDO travel advice takes a few seconds or maybe a few minutes. It’s easy and it’s worthwhile. Why not do it every time you travel?
By Declan Morton, writer and editor at Essiell Ltd and Money4Travel.
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