Editor Shannon McMahon is always planning her next trip and often writing in her travel journal. Follow her on Twitter @shanmcmahon_ and on Instagram @shanmcmahon.
Shannon joined SmarterTravel in 2015. A former news reporter, she's lived in the south of Spain, spotted elephants in Sri Lanka, gone spelunking in the Caribbean, hiked Jordan's Petra Basin, interviewed Sao Paulo's Michelin-Star chefs, and explored China via bullet train. Travel trends, news oddities, and her visits to up-and-coming destinations are some of her favorite things to write about.
Her stories have also appeared online on USA Today, The Sun, Huffington Post, Business Insider, blog.TripAdvisor.com, Boston.com, and more. Her educational background is in journalism, art history, gender studies, Spanish, and film. She's been quoted as an expert travel source by CNBC, People.com, MarketWatch, The Washington Post, USA Today, and more.
The Handy Item I Always Pack: "Plenty of extra thick hair elastics. They tame my frizzy curls and come in handy in a surprising number of packing and hotel dilemmas."
Ultimate Bucket List Experience: "Climbing (yes, climbing, it's steep!) the Great Wall of China before it's gone."
Travel Motto: "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness." - Mark Twain
Aisle, Window, or Middle Seat: "Window, of course."
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PassportIndex.org. This puts the U.S. in the sixth-most powerful class of passports, alongside Ireland, France, Belgium, Greece, Japan, Norway, and Malta.
So, where in the world will you need to have a visa to support your passport? Interact with the map below to see.
For short-term travel, there are a few primary ways to acquire a tourist visa. The simplest route is simply getting one upon arrival by paying a fee at the airport—this occurs in most visa-requiring places that are popular for travel, and is known as “visa on arrival.” Some nations, however, may require or encourage you to secure one before your arrival; either by pre-registering or purchasing a visa online, usually called an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) or eVisa, or by applying for one in person at an embassy.
The following countries require or recommend that visas are secured before your arrival. Notable recent changes to this list include Brazil being absent since waiving visas (beginning in June 2019), and Turkey now offering eVisas.
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Terms and conditions vary; some may need to be acquired online. Some countries may simply recommend purchasing one beforehand in case the airport is busy—Australia, for example, may offer visas at your departure airport, but it’s wise (and may be necessary depending on the time of year you’re visiting) to get yours beforehand. Starred nations offer eTA or eVisas, which means you’ll get electronic approval rather than a physical visa to put in your passport—at least until you arrive. Check specific Entry Requirements for your destination on the State Department’s website for more details.
Here are all the countries that require visas for Americans and offer them upon arrival. Starred nations use eTA or eVisa. Notable recent changes to this list include Egypt now offering eVisas and Qatar being absent since waiving visas for visits under 30 days.
Check your destination’s Entry Requirements page on the State Department’s website for more details, and note that some or all visa rules may not apply if you’re entering the country via cruise ship.
Beginning in 2021, U.S. travelers to Europe’s Schengen countries will need to acquire an authorization—which requires a process similar to that of obtaining visa, even though the European Union maintains that the countries remain visa-free for Americans. Called an ETIAS, the authorization will cost about $8 and is similar to SEPTA, the travel authorization that the United States currently requires of European nationals. Here are all the Schengen nations that will require an ETIAS as of 2021.
Editors’ Note: This story was originally published in 2017. It has been updated to reflect the most current information.
3 words: lightweight, durable, & multi-functional. The Carry-On from Away makes traveling that much easier, especially with its removable, TSA-approved battery for your electronics.
SmarterTravel’s Shannon McMahon is a former news reporter who writes about all things travel. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
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We hand-pick everything we recommend and select items through testing and reviews. Some products are sent to us free of charge with no incentive to offer a favorable review. We offer our unbiased opinions and do not accept compensation to review products. All items are in stock and prices are accurate at the time of publication. If you buy something through our links, we may earn a commission.
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