The most closed countries in the world, where it is difficult to get tourists: the story of an experienced traveler

What difficulties can you encounter before entering some countries?

Answered by a traveler who has traveled to 135 countries.

Now, because of the pandemic, traveling is like a lottery – you can and you can’t. Not so long ago you could fly to Zanzibar, but now it is not so easy to get there. Whether you will be lucky or not is known only to the higher powers. And tourists had enough difficulties as it was – there are many countries where even before the lockdowns everyone was not allowed to go. Because of the dangerous situation, restrictions on the number of foreigners on the territory or just because of that. Here are 10 places that are the most difficult to visit, according to experienced traveler Stanislav Beloglazov.

photo traveler, director of photo agency and photo school Magnet

During the lull, when there was no military action there, I tried to enter from the Lebanese side. We stopped at the border by car, talked to the border guards. And they said that they had nothing against Russians. At the same time, we had to check with Russian military organizations to see if they had any objections to our entry. We sent a request and were denied. It turned out that we should have made arrangements in advance.

Libya

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Yemen

From interesting places – mainland Yemen, but now there is a war there, which does not stop. It seems to be possible to see, but it is not worth traveling – just dangerous. And there are no civilian flights. Instead, you can visit, for example, the island of Socotra.

Brunei

Brunei is the richest sultanate in the world. Tourists can fly there only with a transit visa on the plane of Royal Airlines.

Saudi Arabia

If girls are traveling, there are countries where they alone may not be able to enter – for example, Saudi Arabia. It is forbidden to enter there until the age of 25 without a male escort. In addition, it is difficult to obtain a tourist visa. It used to be possible to enter the country only as part of a pilgrimage group, if the traveler is a faithful Muslim and confirmed it. But now tourists are also being allowed in.

Saudi Arabia

North Korea

North Korea is also considered difficult to access. But there is a way out – you can get there as a tourist by flying to Vladivostok, and then on a tour voucher to Pyongyang. Expensive, but no problems. But you won’t be able to move freely around the country and shoot everything you want.

Congo

Stanislav: There are interesting places in Congo, but there is no power there, or rather, there is a lot of power and complete anarchy. But still you can go to the mountains to see gorillas and climb the volcano. There is a small safe territory on the border of the country, though it is expensive. Visa there costs $ 400, not counting the tourist package. In general, there are many territories in the depth of Africa, where it is difficult to get to, and dangerous there. Wars, epidemics…

Congo

Easter Island and New Guinea.

Stanislav: From difficult but interesting points – Easter Island. It is a Chilean island, but you have to fly 4500 kilometers from Chile to get there, and the ticket will not be cheap. Or here, for example, the island of New Guinea. Its Indonesian part is easy to get to, but the second part is Papua New Guinea. And you have to get a visa through the Australian consulate. It took me 3.5 months to get one.

Bhutan

Bhutan until recently was formally open, but the authorities controlled the number of foreigners on the territory. Before that, you could only get there as part of a group of at least five people from the same country. In addition, there was a fixed minimum amount to spend per day. From Nepal, you can only get there by Royal Bhutan Airlines. But it is no more expensive than some other trips to European countries. So Bhutan is an open “closed” kingdom – very interesting, worth a visit. Especially to be on holidays, where they dance with skulls and masks. The more so that recently most of the restrictions have been canceled there, and now you can go without a tour package. However, with the arrival of the pandemic and there again everything became complicated.

Japan

It is not easy to get to Japan too – if you apply for a visa on your own and without a travel agency – you must be personally invited by a resident of this country. And then you have to prove that you know each other – for example, by showing a photo of you together.

Japan

Benin

Stanislav: We were planning a trip to Benin for the Voodoo Fest. But since there is no consulate in Russia, we could only get a visa in Brussels. In the end we went there without a visa – and, of course, we were not allowed on the plane. We had to fly to Togo, and from there we had to drive to the border by car and negotiate a transit visa in the middle of the night with French-speaking border guards. Russians cannot get such a visa, but you can get one for cash. Besides, some territories may be closed due to war or epidemic. Here we have to orient ourselves according to the situation, but often these issues are solved for money.

But there are also opposite examples. They say that in the village of Ganvier in Benin, which is on the water, not allowed – there allegedly everything is very sacred and secret. But Stanislav found a way out – he and his team got into a boat and swam to their destination. At their request, the boatman called the Voodoo sorcerer and brought them to his shaman’s house. The sorcerer arrived in a flash, met them and showed them all his sorcerous abilities. So, if you turn on imagination and fearlessness, sometimes you can get to even the most inaccessible places. But it is better, of course, not to take risks and do it only in the company of experienced travelers.

Benin

Stanislav’s summary: In general, Russians travel well – even Americans will be more difficult. We have better relations with – conventionally – third world countries than they do with Americans. Although there are exceptions – in Albania they may not treat Russians very well. But in general, there are normal people around: if you communicate in a human way, they will treat you the same way.