Travel health & safety by country
Travel health guides for 53 countries: drinking water safety, food risks, vaccinations, altitude warnings, mosquito-borne disease seasons, heat risk, and medical infrastructure.
Safe tap water
ArgentinaAustraliaAustriaBelgiumCanadaChileColombiaCosta RicaCzechiaDenmarkFinlandFranceGermanyGreeceHong KongHungaryIcelandIrelandIsraelItalyJapanNetherlandsNew ZealandNorwayPolandPortugalQatarSaudi ArabiaSingaporeSouth AfricaSouth KoreaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandTaiwanUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited States
Universal traveler-health rules
- Travel insurance with $250,000+ medical + $500,000+ evacuation is genuinely essential outside Western Europe + Australia + Canada + Japan. ER costs without insurance can hit $30,000+ in the US, similar in most of Asia.
- Visit a travel-health clinic 4-6 weeks before departure for non-routine vaccines (Yellow Fever, JE, Rabies). Some require multiple doses spaced 28 days apart.
- Bring 2× your prescription meds, in original bottles, with a doctor's note. Customs may question certain medications (Adderall, codeine, etc.).
- The 'safe to eat' rule: boil it, cook it, peel it, or forget it. Plus busy-stall test for street food.
- For traveler's diarrhea: Pepto-Bismol prophylactically (2 tabs 4× daily) reduces incidence 60%+. Treat with loperamide + electrolytes; antibiotics only if fever or blood.