I am not stereotyping any country at all, let's clear that out of the way right now. I will be traveling alone and I am real non-confrontational. I can handle myself pretty well, but I would rather not be put in a situation where I felt unsafe. My experience of other countries is limited to movies and stories from other people. I just can't get that scene out of Trainspotting out of my head, where the "typical American" goes to the bathroom and gets robbed. I'm sure that people in the world are the same over...mostly good but a few bad apples everywhere. For some reason I picture eastern Europe as less safe, but I don't know where I picked this up from. So any experiences and suggestions are appreciated.

Welcome to the Boards, phish!

I would have a hard time categorizing any EUROPEAN country as dangerous. I've been to a good chunk of E. Europe, too, and have never run into a violent or dangerous situation when I travel. Of course, you do have to use common sense. There are neighborhoods in my own Columbus, OH, that I wouldn't walk in at night. I don't flash large amounts of bills in public places like bus stations. You know, sensible precautions like that.

So, I would say take your pick and go where you are interested.

Now, outside of Europe, I would say there are some dodgy countries...Colombia, stay away from...Algeria, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc. I just stay current on world events and that is usually good enough to know where there are active shooting rebellions, insurgencies and stuff like that going on.

You can go to the U.S. government's travel advisory page at: http://travel.state.gov/travel_warnings.html. However, I think they go overboard...

Have fun!

worldwidemike

omgosh... now i'm not a wuss - but i will be travelling alone. The governments warnings of Lisbon, Madrid, and Barcelona kinda scare me. Compared to their meek warnings of the rest of Europe, I'm not having a good feeling. eek!

they also say 1/10 tourists in Amersterdam will be a victim of some sort of a crime. That doesnt seem to worry me tho, unlike in Spain or Portugal... I wont obviously stand out as a tourist.

Well, it's all relative and there's crime everywhere - especially here. But, I notice they have left the US off their own list! :chef:

To gauge your relative risk, it would be more accurate to do some comparative analysis:
USA #6 in per capita assaults! GO USA!
Global crime rates.
I'm not sure how accurate these stats are - different countries could have some varying definitions of crimes or under-reporting, who knows? But, point is, be careful when travelling abroad but don't be too scared, kid! You might even actually be safer! :lol: -_-

You know, i was thinking that. I've walked thru some pretty rough neighborhoods here and have been totally fine, but man they really make Spain sound like Compton or Queens.

I dont remember which country, but they said 'use the same caution you would in any large US city.'

heh... I think the anxiety of spending alot of money yesterday on plane tickets got to me.

:) :james

Hmm... but I don't use much caution in large US cities. They're just cities. :D

This is a related question: i'm getting ready to do some serious travelling, but have always wanted to hit up mid-east, mediterranean, NE africa, etc. now i'm super concerned, especially b/c war in iraq, sketchiness in iran, etc.

i know that being super poor & cheap makes a huge difference, but does anyone think that the danger is so high as to preclude travel plans. everywhere i go i try to stick to the countryside.

any recent personal experiences yea or nay on these amazing regions?

Last time I was in the Middle East was a few years back. However, I'd say you'll be safe in just about all of them, with the common sense exceptions: Iraq, Afghanistan, Algeria, and Lebanon.

If you're discreet and keep as low a profile as possible, I think you'll find the people of the region extremely welcoming and friendly. It is part of their culture to offer hospitality to a stranger.

I say read up on current events in the countries you're planning on visiting, and if there are no active shooting or hacking off limb type rebellions, or spate of kidnappings, etc., go for it!

worldwidemike