Customer and staff safety is the single most important factor in everything that Explore does.

We think about the safety of our tours constantly, and have extremely experienced Senior Management and Operations teams who know intimately the countries in which we operate. We monitor and assess the threats of operating in every country as an integral part of our work.

We liaise closely with the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO), whose travel advice we not only follow to the letter, but discuss in detail with them.

Sometimes tough decisions have to be made to abort a tour at the last minute or to re-route an itinerary part way through. Occasionally we will pre-empt the FCO and decide to leave a region based on our own feedback from Tour leaders or local agents on the ground. We make no apologies for this - safety always has and always will come first.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) issues travel advice for UK citizens to every single country.

Much of what they say is advisory, giving up to date information on crime levels in a country and advising on certain health and safety aspects.

However they also issue prescriptive advice. This may advise against 'all travel' to a certain country, or against 'all non-essential travel' (including holidays) to a country or region. Whenever this kind of advice is issued, Explore will comply immediately.

Whether you are a UK national or not, we recommend that you read through the FCO advice for any country you are planning to travel to. Like the UK government we are keen that you 'Know Before You Go' www.fco.gov.uk/travel

As well as reading the FCO advice, we are keen that customers appraise themselves of the latest situation in any country to which they are considering travelling.

Whilst we are constantly making decisions on where we should and shouldn't be operating, very often it is a very subjective and personal decision. If you feel personally unsure about the safety of an area please don't book.

If the situation changes once you have booked, normal cancellation conditions will apply, unless Explore (or the FCO) decide that the destination should be avoided.

Whilst we base all our tour operating decisions on UK FCO advice, we are also aware that many of our customers are from other countries around the world.

However we would, therefore urge you to monitor your own country's advice and contact us if you have any concerns about the safety of running tours in any given country or region.

Here are some links to the US, Canadian and Australian travel advice:

USA: US Department of State - International Travel

Canada: Canadian Consular Affairs

Australia: Smartraveller.gov.au

Most crime is basically opportunistic and common sense is always your best safeguard. Your Tour Leader will be able to advise you and your group on local safety - especially if travelling in big cities, where most muggers, swindlers and drug peddlers are most likely to be active.

It's reassuring to know that travelling as part of a group, you are far less vulnerable than being on your own.

A few other thoughts

Explore's local agents and Tour Leaders often have better and more up to date information than other sources.

Having run tours for over 25 years now, we have a very good feel for the politics and current affairs of the different parts of the world. Our relationship with Embassies and Consulates around the world is extremely strong.

Just in case - we have a full crisis procedure laid down, with simulations undertaken regularly. This includes access to specialised professionals such as doctors, counsellors and crisis experts.

World Electric Guide and more

We recommend visiting www.kropla.com: it offers all manner of useful info, from a World Electric Guide to dozens of Useful Travel Links.