Which countries are open for tourism?
It’s very confusing trying to keep track of all the changes that are going on when it comes to international travel rules and restrictions. It might feel like you wake up each day and either the rules have already changed or new announcements have come out saying that change is coming.
Before traveling, make sure to do your homework. You’ll want to visit blogs such as this one in addition to local news and embassy/government updates for your home country and your destination.
What I’ve done below is categorize countries on whether they are open for tourism. The purpose of this post is to give you a general overview of where you could travel to and point you in the right direction for more information. Keep in mind that this is also a snapshot of the current situation, so things will look different in a few weeks or months. You can expect that countries and different regions/states within them will be in different stages of reopening. For example, some businesses might be closed, some or all restaurants may only be able to serve people via take away, and curfews may be in effect.
You can expect that countries and different regions/states within them will be in different stages of reopening. For example, some businesses might be closed, some or all restaurants may only be able to serve people via take away, and curfews may be in effect.
Bucket 1 (Green): countries that are open to foreigners and tourism, but still have some restrictions and rules regarding PCR tests and quarantining*.
| Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Panama (curfew and restrictions will vary by region in Panama*), Belize, St Lucia, Jamaica, Dominican Republic and Barbados, Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda, US Virgin Islands | Zimbabwe, Zambia, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt | South Korea, Thailand -travel to South Korea & Thailand may be expensive due to high fees, and there is a mandatory quarantine* **The cheapest 14 days mandatory quarantine package for Thailand may cost you around US$ 960/- per person** |
Bucket 2 (Yellow): countries that have travel ban lists, meaning you’ll need to check if you’re able to travel there from your current location. These countries might also only allow certain groups, such as citizens or their family members*.
| United States, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Venezuela, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua | South Africa, Senegal, Rwanda, Namibia, Morocco, Ghana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Yemen, UAE, Oman, Jordan, Bahrain | China, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka | Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine | Turks and Caicos, Sint Maarten, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts and Nevis, Haiti, Grenada, Cuba, Bermuda, Aruba, Puerto Rico |
Bucket 3 (Red):countries that are not open for tourism or international visitors.
| United Kingdom, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Monaco | Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Cayman Islands, Argentina, Peru, Uruguay | Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Lebanon, Kuwait, Israel | New Zealand, Fiji, Australia | Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam |
Visit Travelbans.org to know more about the country you’re interested in visiting. You can type in the country in the search bar, and there will be four categories of information: OPEN FOR CITIZENS, OPEN FOR FOREIGNERS, OPEN FOR TOURISM, and QUARANTINE. If you scroll down, you will see latest news with the corresponding date in the FULL RESTRICTIONS Section (you would hope to see something current from 2021). This section will give you more detail about domestic and international travel for that specific country.
The other helpful site is The Points Guy country-by-country guide. It will take a while to read through the whole guide, so we recommend clicking the region of the particular country you’re interested in and reading the country entry. It will contain details and helpful links for more information.
Many of us miss traveling, so may there be good news on the horizon. We hope this post has been helpful, and stay safe!
*: this information was found in The Points Guy country-by-country guide
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