Security Alerts

No [INVALID] most experienced travelers don't even give it a second thought. Remember your greatest risk of bodily injury is the drive to your airport. Do be careful. This subject was beat to death a couple of days so just scan back a few days to read the responses.

Just returned 9/29 before State Dept issued warning. It was suggested to me to register with the embassy in the cities I visited, that way you can be notified of trouble and helped to evacuate if needed.

Do you register at the embassy in person or via mail or email?

Here is the website for the State Dept. with all the American Consulates. You can register here. While you are traveling, you can read updates on a daily basis on this website if you like. Just as an extra note, I am American and live in Germany, am registered as a resident of Germany and they have yet to send me any kind of notices or alerts. This is something I seriously do not worry about....http://germany.usembassy.gov/acs/index.html

I went to the U.S. State Department website and registered there. You can enter your trip itinerary there as well.

It would be interesting to know whether or not travelers/members on this forum actually take the time to register when traveling anywhere in Europe...sort of an unscientific poll.

Short answer is NO. Not sure what the benefit is of registering unless it helps to identify the body. Give me a good reason.

Registering with the embassy/consulate is a good idea if you are planning a long term stay in a country or have moved there or are traveling in an area that has received an official state department warning (nowhere in Europe yet). If you're just going for a few days or a a week, there is no need. Just keep an eye on the news. If there's trouble where you are, you'll know. Then make it your business to contact the consulate yourself....as for identifying the body, well, they don't do that. They will assist the local police. However, one bit of information you should know: If you are traveling with someone who does pass away overseas, call their consulate first[INVALID]before you call anyone else. In some countries, the paperwork and bureaucracy is absurd. The local consulate will know its way around all of it and give you good advice.

Hey Sharon! I had the same concerns... Im going to Italy in two weeks. Check out my question under the Italy forum. I got a ton of positive responses!

I registered with the embassy on my last trip. If something happens while you are there, anything from natural disaster (earthquake, hurricane, volcano) to public protests or terrorist attacks, the state department will notify all US citizens on it's registry. If it's really bad they will even help you evacuate. It takes very little time to register online and costs nothing.....................I think it's best for people who travel with a laptop. Generally, I'm not checking email during my vacation so I came home to some advisories (nothing important) in my email. If possible, send the advisories to someone you check in with regularly by phone. Hopefully they will read them and relay them to you if necessary.