Traveling to far off places is something that most of us love and enjoy. Countries also welcome wholeheartedly tourists as it adds up to their foreign exchange reserves and brings in tons of revenue. However, there are countries on the world map that would rather not have you visit them, which is why you shouldn’t add them to your travel bucket list. Here’s a list of ten such countries where the age-old wisdom “Don’t listen to what they say. Go see” shouldn’t be followed. You’ll be shocked to see the list:
1. NORTH KOREA
The country has been in the news forever for its extremely stringent rules about how they can use the internet and what haircuts they can take. However, this country requires a tourist to book a complete package of the tour before they even land! You are forced to be with your guides throughout the tour. Also, the United States of America doesn’t have an embassy for North Korea which means that you need to give China a visit before you can go ahead and book the tour.
2. SAUDI ARABIA
The country of Saudi Arabia requires visitors to be legally sponsored by a proper legal citizen of the country. The visa process is quite stringent which gives you a 50% chance of being granted one even if you have been successfully sponsored, making it a country you wouldn’t really classify as “tourist-friendly”.
3. IRAN
Iran is one of the countries that does not host an American embassy post the hostage event that took place in the year 1979 (the event was beautifully depicted in the movie ‘Argo”). However, you can still travel to Iran by acquiring a visa from Pakistan’s embassy in the USA. This will further require you to travel with a group, which becomes a cumbersome process for a person who’s out there to rewind himself.
4. CUBA
After years of strained relationships between the United States and Cuba, things are beginning to relax slowly. Despite this, traveling to Cuba is not an easy task unless you can prove that you are traveling for official or work reasons. If you’re traveling for leisure, you will definitely have to wait longer.
5. SYRIA
As you must be aware, Syria is facing severe conflicts on a daily basis which makes it extremely unsafe to visit. However, if you still wish to visit this country, then you must know that the visa is almost impossible to get. It involves a complex procedure and an eternal wait for your visa to be ready, in most cases it is declined. Even if you get one, you shouldn’t visit the country unless war and man-made conflict is something that helps you rewind!
6. SOMALIA
This country is famous for the existence of several pirates that roam in the seas surrounding it and this counts for a great reason to not visit this place. It also requires an invitation and a sponsor for you to visit the country – if you wish to encounter the pirates! So, visit Somalia at your own peril.
7. CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
This is one of the countries that does not host an embassy for America which means that citizens of the US must apply for a visa via the embassy for France. Also, the borders of Central African Republic are very restricted
8. ANGOLA
Visiting Angola is a complicated affair and requires you to spend a lot of your hard-earned money. Before you book your tickets for the flight, you will have to pay fees for application and invitation. These steps even precede your application for a visa, which not only makes the process cumbersome but also very costly.
9. LIBYA
There have been strained relations between the US and Libya for the majority of the 21st century and the American embassy shut in 2014 as a result of that. There are a couple ways to visit this country without a visa but none worth the risk posed by Libya.
10. ALGERIA
Algeria also believes in making tourists spend a lot before they visit the country. You need to book accommodation and receive a certificate for the same and then you need to get invited by a travel agency in the country. This qualifies you for the application of visa, and only then you can visit the country. Algeria is clearly not a tourist-friendly country!
So, these are the top ten places you definitely shouldn’t add to your travel bucket list