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Verboten vacations: Forbidden is in
5. Got money?
Your ATM card and credit card may not work in a country that’s “off limits.” “It’s pretty tricky,” says Peter Frank, who edits the travel site Concierge.com. “Travelers cheques are probably useless, and the last thing you want to do is carry around a big wad of cash. But depending on the destination, that may be your only choice.”
6. Mind your own government
The biggest hurdle to visiting a “forbidden” place may not be that country’s regime, but your own government. Kelly Hayes-Raitt, a Santa Monica, Calif., Middle East activist and blogger, says her trips abroad have left her with an FBI file listing her pre-invasion and post-invasion trips to Iraq. “It’s not easy traveling to countries that the U.S. has deemed off-limits,” she says. Among the challenges: securing visas, researching accommodations and getting wheels once you’re in the country. “Some of these countries, like Iran and North Korea, require American tourists to have full-time minders, which really increases the cost for single travelers dramatically,” she told me.
7. Don’t break any rules — push to change them
Another challenge in traveling to an off-limits country is making sure that you don’t violate any laws, according to James Friedlander, the president of New York-based Academic Arrangements Abroad. Without the necessary permits, your trip may be illegal. “Many times, getting permission is possible through high-level cultural institutions or political contacts,” he says. For instance, the U.S. government routinely allows academics and journalists to visit these banned countries. But the long-term solution is to push for these rules to be lifted. “With the change in administration in Washington, some regulations regarding travel to Cuba, for example, will be relaxed,” he says.
8. Have a security plan
While many of these destinations aren’t as dangerous as you might think, you still have to plan ahead and take certain precautions. Philip Farina, a San Antonio-based security expert, recommends you design a back-up plan that enables you to get to a safe environment if you find yourself in danger. “This includes letting your friends and family know where you will be heading, checking with the U.S. Department of State and the Overseas Security Advisory Council to see who the danger-players in that country are, and how they operate,” he says. Farina says you should carry a hidden kit containing a copy of your passport, emergency cash, a local phone card, a map of the travel region and the telephone number of a company that specializes in high-risk evacuations — just in case.
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9. Shut up
You’ll be tempted to tell the world about your Cuba vacation, but you might want to think twice. Not only could you face fines and imprisonment, but your friends might take a dim view of your choice of destination. “I think that the biggest hurdles to traveling to a forbidden destination are the propaganda machine and the hostile, uninformed reactions of fellow Americans who really know nothing about the countries in question or about the laws regarding travel there,” says Julie Schwietert Collazo, the managing editor of Matador Travel and a frequent visitor to Cuba. “There’s also the fear that we’re doing something terribly unpatriotic by going to these off-limits places. I don’t think there’s anything further from the truth.”
Even if more countries are open to Americans than ever before — and even if more Americans want to visit these undiscovered destinations — it’s still likely that large parts of the globe will continued to be free of Western visitors. At least, for now. That’s the assessment of Babs Ryan, who wrote a book about globalization called “America’s Corporate Brain Drain.”
“Unfortunately,” she told me, “the beautiful, history-rich Middle Eastern countries will still be ignored by most Americans. Even frequent travelers lump Muslims and Arabs into one category or are ignorant about the difference in cultures in that region.”
And in that case, ignorance is not necessarily bliss.
Every Monday, my column takes a close look at what makes the travel business tick. Your comments are always welcome, and if you can’t get enough of my column, drop by my blog for daily insights into the world of travel.
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