This can be for a variety of reasons, including conflict, natural disasters or even health risks associated with certain regions.

While the government sometimes advises Brits to only travel in emergencies – or essential situations – there are some parts of the world in which a ‘do not travel’ order is issued.

This essentially means that Brits mustn’t travel there and if they do, not only could it be incredibly dangerous for those travelling, but any travel insurance would be instantly invalidated.

“British people make around 50 million trips abroad during an average year. Almost all of these trips are trouble-free,” explain The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).

“But every year the FCDO helps tens of thousands of British nationals who have got into difficulty abroad. In many cases, these difficulties could have been avoided.”

There’s 19 countries in which the FCDO advises against all travel, and a number of other regions in which only parts of the country are advised against visiting.

So which countries are on the ‘banned’ list?

FCDO advises against all travel

1. Afghanistan
2. Belarus
3. Burkina Faso (except Ouagadougou)
4. Central African Republic (except Bangui)
5. Haiti
6. Iran
7. Iraq (except the Kurdistan Region of Iraq)
8. Israel (Northern Israel)
9. Lebanon
10. Libya
11. Mali (except Bamako)
12. Niger (except Niamey)
13. Russia
14. South Sudan
15. Sudan
16. Syria
17. The Occupied Palestinian Territories – Gaza, The West Bank and Northern Israel
18. Ukraine (except Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Chernivtsi and Lviv)
19. Yemen

Haiti is on the list (Getty Stock Photo)

To find out the travel guidance for different countries and regions, you can head over to the FCDO website and type in the name of the country.

While the government also advises against all travel to certain parts of specific countries, there are also regulations in place on travelling within a certain distance of borders.

For example, the FCDO advises against all travel within 30km of Algeria’s borders with Libya, Mauritania, Mali, Niger and Tunisia.

There’s also a ‘do not travel’ order in place for within 10km of Turkey’s border with Syria.

Meanwhile, other countries have an ‘all but essential travel’ warning which means only vital travel is permitted.

The FCDO advises against travel to certain countries (Getty Stock Photo)

Explaining what constitutes as essential travel abroad, the FCDO says: “Whether travel is essential or not is your own decision.

“You may have urgent family or business commitments which you need to attend to.

“Only you can make an informed decision based on your own individual circumstances and the risks.”