FCO Travel Advice - mapped

[mattcbf600]

I'm not sure if any of you have seen this but it's a fantastic use of British Government data that amazingly makes it easy to do things like plan a ROW overland trip at a glance (well, figure out the official dangerous bits anyway).

Story:
FCO travel advice mapped: the world according to Britain's diplomats | News | guardian.co.uk

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I'm completely blown away by how cool this is - a useful tool for all of us I'd suggest.

Here's what it looks like

Matthew

[henryuk]

I've found the FCO travel advice very useful in the past, mainly for impressing your mates by showing them how hardcore you are and how dangerous the places you've been are! The situation on the ground is not always what it is portrayed to be by the good old FCO, so while their information might make a useful browse take it with a large pinch of salt....

Generally if somewhere is too dangerous to be they will not let you in at the border, and if you run into a trouble spot once in a country the authorities will usually direct you or (as was the case for a friend of mine who rode into a rocket attack in Jammu and Kashmir) escort you back to a safer area.

I've had more trouble of drunk kids in Germany and thieving chav scum in Sheffield than I have in some of the 'red' countries!

Matt - will you be going to the Brighton burn up in September? I will be coming down to london for it, starts at the Ace Cafe.

[mattcbf600]

Originally Posted by henryuk

Matt - will you be going to the Brighton burn up in September? I will be coming down to london for it, starts at the Ace Cafe.

Well I'll have to now wont I! I always say I'm coming to Derby, but so far have managed to miss it every single year by being out of the country with work.

[henryuk]

Grand, you can check out my Frankenscooter - the ultimate low budget off-road luggaged up adventure bike! At the mo' it looks like someone rode a pizza delivery bike into a kids motocross bike, but I reckon it's the future!

[mattcbf600]

Originally Posted by henryuk

Grand, you can check out my Frankenscooter - the ultimate low budget off-road luggaged up adventure bike! At the mo' it looks like someone rode a pizza delivery bike into a kids motocross bike, but I reckon it's the future!

Sweet.... point me in the direction of dates and times... if I put it in the diary there's every chance I'll make it.

[henryuk]

9th/10th/11th September 2011.

[mattcbf600]

Originally Posted by henryuk

9th/10th/11th September 2011.

in the diary. cheers dude.

[nicodeemus]

it's a pretty nice tool although one draw back is the branding of a whole country because of issues in isolated areas.. ideally it would just be the areas of concern that are coloured.. eg mindanao = no no, rest of the philippines.. fine. the drill down to the FCO advice is helpful for this and should always be consulted.

something else is that the FCO became a lot more cautious in recent years after getting caught out in eg bali bombing & legal scares, and so as a result are morely likely to offer off-putting advice when the situation on the ground is okay.

i agree with henry, there's some parts of england i wouldn't go and as a traveller it can be the countries that less visited due to perceived safety concerns that are the most facinating and rewarding (says he, just back from sierra leone)

[ilesmark]

Yep - cheers for that. Very interesting and useful to see it graphically represented like that. Shame they don't break it down further ie shading particular areas of individual countries.

[mattcbf600]

Re breaking it down - if you zoom into the map a little it actually pin-points the trouble spots rather than colouring the whole country - which is handy.

m

[nicodeemus]

Originally Posted by mattcbf600

Re breaking it down - if you zoom into the map a little it actually pin-points the trouble spots rather than colouring the whole country - which is handy.

m

good to know and sounds like exactly what's needed but doesn't work my side.. can i ask what browser and zoom you're using.

cheers
nick

[geoffshing]

Am I right in thinking it affects your travel insurance by going to a country where the FCO recommends not to??

That means I'm buggered if I go to Mexico/Thailand/Turkey/India/Philipines.......... Skegness it is then! Boo!

[mattcbf600]

Originally Posted by nicodeemus

good to know and sounds like exactly what's needed but doesn't work my side.. can i ask what browser and zoom you're using.

cheers
nick

Irritatingly I can't replicate it on the zoom in any more, however, it is working if you zoom out a couple of levels - which is hardly helpful. I'll report it as a bug as it was working this morning.

[nicodeemus]

good call dude thanks.

@geoffshing worth checking with your insurance company but i think you'll be fine with those countries, might only be issues with those which are listed as complete no-go to all areas by FCO.. currently only ivory coast, libya, somalia and yemen.

[ilesmark]

Originally Posted by nicodeemus

geoffshing worth checking with your insurance company but i think you'll be fine with those countries, might only be issues with those which are listed as complete no-go to all areas by FCO.. currently only ivory coast, libya, somalia and yemen.

Some insurance companies will automatically exclude all cover for anything anywhere in countries blacklisted to whatever level by the FCO. This is a bit unfair IMO, but nevertheless for your own sake it needs checking out before you go.

There are a number of threads about this on the HUBB. What you want is a company with someone you can actually talk to, rather than one of these internet-only ones. When I did my overland trip I used Campbell Irvine, who were prepared to cover for dodgy places provided I told them in advance which ones I was going to and that any claim did not arise for the reason the place was blacklisted.

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