Traveling is an activity that involves a lot of preparation.  Having all necessary information before starting a journey makes the journey more comfortable and pleasant. 

In the United States, the State Departments issues travel warnings based on all relevant information, to recommend that Americans avoid travel to a certain country.  Countries where avoidance of travel is recommended will have travel warnings as well as country specific information.

Travel alerts are also issued to travelers.  These are means to disseminate information about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term and/or trans-national conditions posing significant risks to the security of American travelers.  The alerts are made when there is a specific threat that cannot be countered.

In the United States, country specific information are available for every country of the world. They include such information as location of the U.S. embassy or consulate in the subject country, unusual immigration practices, health conditions, minor political disturbances, unusual currency and entry regulations, crime and security information, and drug penalties.  If an unstable condition exists in a country that is not severe enough to warrant a travel warning, a description of the condition may be included under an optional section entitled “Safety/Security.”  Country specific information generally do not include advice, but present information in a factual manner so the traveler can make his or her own decisions concerning travel to a particular country.