Adventure Travel Planning for 2010

December 31, 2009

You’ve had a bit of a break from my blogs but it’s time for me to ramp it up again and start thinking seriously about my 2010 travel goals and my professional goals for this website in 2010. Look for some significant changes in the New Year that I’ll announce early next week.

Meanwhile, I think you’ll be quite suprised by the Economist article which rates countries according to probable levels of social unrest. Those countries with very high levels are ones you might want to rethink visiting, at least in the short term. The countries that might put the ‘adventure’ back in real adventure travel inlude:

  • Ecuador (and in theory the Galapagos)
  • Bolivia
  • Haiti
  • Madagascar
  • Ivory Coast
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • Zaire
  • Chad
  • Sudan
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Moldova
  • Yemen
  • Tajikstan
  • Uzbekistan
  • Iran
  • Iraq
  • Afghanistan
  • Pakistan
  • Bangladesh
  • Burma
  • Papua-New Guinea

Most of the countries with a high probability of social unrest are known to you. Less well known are those countries that still have a high risk of social unrest, many of which are or have been popular tourist destinations. Stay a tad more tuned if you plan on visiting one of the high risk countries noted below (only popular ones mentioned).

  1. Mexico
  2. Guatamela
  3. Honduras
  4. El Salvador
  5. Nicaragua
  6. Panama
  7. Argentina
  8. Venezuela
  9. Peru (interesting that Colombia is now not rated this high)
  10. Thailand
  11. China
  12. Russia
  13. Turkey
  14. Greece

If you’re an adventure traveler but still safety conscious then from the point of view of social unrest only, safe bets are Canada and the United States, Iceland and Greenland, Costa Rica, Brazil and Uruguay, Australia and New Zealand, Botswana, Libya (a surprise to me!), Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Japan, Laos, Bhutan, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

I spelled out the countries because the Economist map assumes you’re an expert on world geography and country placement and I appreciate it’s not everyone’s forte.

May this list give you pause for thought as we enter the New Year. Most of us are extremely fortunate through the luck of our birthplace and should we choose to go to a country in trouble it’s usually just a matter of hours or days before we can leave if something goes terribly wrong.

My best wishes for a very Happy New Year and to all my blog subscribers a big thank you! May 2010 be filled with adventurous travel.

Leigh McAdam

www.hikebiketravel.com

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Posted by Hike Bike Travel | Filed Under Adventure Travel, Miscellaneous travel tips 

Comments

2 Responses to “Adventure Travel Planning for 2010”

  1. karen Telleen-Lawton on January 2nd, 2010 3:29 pm

    Wow, this is an interesting list. I’m surprised at the addition of the Galapagos, which seemed very calm when we visited a few years back. Come to think of it, though, the crew did have certain precautions about pirates – I had forgotten.

    I bring groups to Palestine and Israel every other year, and have felt very welcome by everyone there, though the Israeli walls and guards are disconcerting.

    My husband and I are considering visiting friends on a sabbatical in Turkey this year, so I’m unhappy with its presence on your list. Would that be a yellow flag only if we plan to be out hiking and biking, or for any travel?

    thanks for your informative website!
  2. WhiskiJack on October 13th, 2010 10:44 am

    Thank you for putting this together. It’s so helpful. I wonder where Tanzania falls on that list. I visited there 2 years ago, had no problems at all – beautiful country, beautiful people, children, and of course animals/scenery. But, a few months after I returned I heard of another person’s trip who did run into some challenges.

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