While the Foreign Office doesn’t enforce its travel advice, it does discourage all travel or ‘all but essential travel’ to specific regions
UK holidaymakers have been warned against travelling to certain areas in Turkey, Mexico, Egypt and Thailand among other destinations due to safety concerns. The British Foreign Office assists tens of thousands of UK travellers who encounter difficulties abroad each year, stating that in many cases, these difficulties could have been avoided.
While the Foreign Office doesn’t enforce its travel advice, it does discourage all travel or ‘all but essential travel’ to specific regions where it believes ‘the level of risk is unacceptably high’. This can be due to threats of terrorism, civil unrest or disease outbreaks.
Travellers may find their travel insurance invalidated if they ignore Foreign Office advice. Below is a comprehensive list of the Foreign Office warning areas and the most recent travel advice for Turkey, Mexico, Egypt and Thailand.
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Turkey
For Turkey, the Foreign Office advises against all travel within 10km of the Turkey-Syria border with Syria, affecting parts of Antakya, Kilis, Akçakale and Ceylanpinar due to conflict and a ‘heightened risk of terrorism’. Those planning to visit Turkey are advised to research their destination and ‘get appropriate travel insurance’, which should cover your itinerary, planned activities and emergency expenses.
Egypt
For Egypt, the Foreign Office advises against all travel to certain parts of the country. It advises against all travel to: The North Sinai Governorate, reports Birmingham Live. Warnings apply to all but essential travel to the following areas:
The northern section of the South Sinai Governorate, beyond the St Catherine-Nuweibaa road, excluding the coastal areas along the west and east of the peninsula. The Ismailiyah Governorate is east of the Suez Canal.
The area west of the Nile Valley and Nile Delta regions, with the exception of Luxor, Qina, Aswan, Abu Simbel and the Valley of the Kings, the Faiyum Governorate, the coastal areas between the Nile Delta and Marsa Matruh, the Marsa Matruh-Siwa road, the oasis town of Siwa, the Giza Governorate north-east of the Bahariya Oasis, the White Desert and Black Desert and the oasis towns of Bahariya, Farafra, Dakhla (Mut) and Kharga. Certain roads and the deserted area between them and the Nile Valley are also deemed safe for travel.
The Hala’ib Triangle and the Bir Tawil Trapezoid.
Mexico
Mexico is also on the list where the Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to certain parts. The city of Tijuana, except airside transit through Tijuana airport, the Cross Border Xpress bridge from the airport linking terminals across the Mexican-US border and the federal toll road 1D and Via Rápida through Tijuana to the border. The city of Tecate in Baja California, including roads between Tijuana and Tecate.
The state of Chihuahua, excluding the city of Chihuahua, the border crossing in Ciudad Juárez, the federal toll road 45D connecting the cities of Chihuahua and Ciudad Juárez, the Copper Canyon rail route to and from Chihuahua and towns immediately on this route including Creel, the road from Creel via San Juanito to San Pedro and state highway 16 from San Pedro to Chihuahua. The state of Sinaloa, apart from the cities of Los Mochis and Mazatlán, road 32 that runs between El Fuerte and Los Mochis, the 15D federal toll road, the Copper Canyon rail route to and from Los Mochis, El Fuerte and the towns immediately on this route.
The state of Tamaulipas, except for the border crossing at Nuevo Laredo accessed by federal toll road 85D from Monterrey and the federal highways 80, 81 and 85 between Tampico, Ciudad de Victoria and Magueyes, and the entire area of Tamaulipas south of these highways. The state of Zacatecas.
Areas southwest of road 45D in the state of Guanajuato. The state of Michoacán, except the city of Morelia accessed by federal toll roads 15D, 126 and 43; and the federal toll road 48D between the city of Morelia and the General Francisco Mujica airport, the town of Pátzcuaro accessed by federal toll roads 14D and 15 from Morelia, and boat trips out to islands on Lake Pátzcuaro and Federal Highway 15D.
The regions south and south-west of Lake Chapala up to the border with Colima state, along with the northern municipalities of Bolaños, Chimaltitán, Colotlán, Hostotipaquillo, Huejúcar, Huequilla el Alto, Mezquitic, San Martin de Bolaños, Santa Maria de los Ángeles, Totatiche and Villa Guerrero are included. The state of Colima is also included, excluding the city of Manzanillo which can be accessed by sea or air via the Manzanillo-Costalegre International Airport and direct travel via road 200 from the airport to Manzanillo.
The state of Guerrero is included, except for the town of Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa which can be accessed by air. The area within 40km of the Guatemalan border from the Pacific Coast up to and including the border crossing at Gracias a Dio, plus the Federal Highway 199 (Carretera Federal 199) between Rancho Nuevo (just outside San Cristobal de las Casas) and the Chancalá junction just outside Palenque (where Federal Highway 199 meets Federal Highway 307) is also included.
Thailand
British holidaymakers planning trips to Thailand should note that the Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to parts of the south, near the Thailand-Malaysia border.
The Foreign Office also advises against all but essential travel on the Hat Yai to Padang Besar train line that runs through these provinces due to regular terrorist attacks in the provinces by the border with Malaysia.