Planning a holiday next year? This is where the government really, really doesn’t want you to go

Heading into the new year, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s (DFAT) Smartraveller service has slapped a “do not travel” warning on 23 countries.

None of them are much surprise: war-torn Ukraine, Palestine and Yemen; military junta-run Myanmar and authoritarian North Korea; and large swaths of Africa, where the threat of terrorism, kidnapping and other violent crime looms, all feature on that list.

So too do Russia and allied Iran and Belarus, where Australians are at risk of arbitrary detention or arbitrarily enforced laws targeting Westerners.

“Russian authorities regard Australia as an ‘unfriendly’ nation and act accordingly,” DFAT said about the world’s largest country. 

“If you’re in Russia, leave immediately using commercial options.”

The starkest warning, though, is saved for Afghanistan.

After re-seizing power in the country in 2021 following the disastrous US exit, the Taliban has promoted itself as a tourism destination in an attempt to bolster its fragile, war-ravaged and aid-dependent economy.

“Tourism brings many benefits to a country.

“We have considered those benefits and aim for our nation to take full advantage of them.”

“Nowhere in Afghanistan is safe… understand that you could die and make a will before you go,” it states.

While the “do not travel” countries are unsurprising, travellers may be a little shocked to see the advice for some of the safer nations on Smartraveller’s list.

France and the United Kingdom are the only Western European countries to be marked as “exercise a high degree of caution” – the second level of advice.

Thailand, another popular destination for Australians, also has the same warning, while travellers to Rwanda and Zambia, which both have Mpox outbreaks and border “do not travel” areas, are told to “exercise normal safety precautions” – the first and lowest tier of Smartraveller advice – although specific parts of those nations have higher advisories.

The advice for each country is based on a range of factors, including intelligence from ASIO and Australia’s allies, and objectively reflect the risks travellers would face there, according to DFAT.

“We frequently review our travel advisories. However, we don’t change them for all issues and incidents,” Smartraveller states.

“We update travel advisories if there are new or increased risks to Australians.”