If you’re in an emergency situation abroad, the embassy and your travel insurance won’t rescue you, but this post might. I’m not even trying to be boastful, but several news outlets reported recently that I, a travel blogger, helped get more people out of the Middle East during the “Epic Fury” war, than the government did.
From the moment I arrived in Kuwait recently, I started hearing missiles overhead (or what I learned later were “interceptions”) and immediately thought to contact the US embassy for information about what to do. The response was basically an automated,“Enroll in STEP, wait for notifications”.
By the time they actually sent me useful information (which sounded identical to a “How to Self-Evacuate the Middle East” blog post I had written for others days before), and a form to fill out to be considered for a government-assisted evacuation, I was already home. Because I decided to self-evacuate myself, which, fun fact, is actually exactly what the governments want you to do.
When something goes wrong overseas, most travelers imagine the same scenario.
You call the embassy.
They organize an evacuation.
A government-funded plane eventually flies you home.
That’s the movie version. The real version is very different. And I think it’s because we portray the wrong idea of government assistance when we travel.
Most bloggers and influencers (including me, guilty) have at one point posted a “travel safety tips” post, usually starting with “Enroll in STEP, know where the nearest embassy is, etc” But now that I’ve actually lived through a major emergency, I know that’s not always the most helpful tips to know! Especially if the embassy has recently been bombed like it was in Kuwait.
Because of the heavy and positive promotion of those tips, many travelers assume that if you’re an American abroad and something serious happens — war, political unrest, natural disaster — the U.S. government will come get you.
But in reality, the system is designed around something else entirely:
You getting yourself out.
And since I’ve done that, I’m going to explain what you should realistically do in an emergency situation abroad.
My Top 5 Tips for Getting Out of an Emergency Situation Abroad
While navigating my own evacuation, a few things proved far more useful than people might expect. They were no-brainers to me as someone who has traveled a lot and has had to do these things before, but to many, some of these things might be as scary to think about doing as the situation they’re in.
Trust me on this one, these tips are what always work.
Tip #1: Follow Local Voices and News
Government advisories are important — but they’re often cautious and sometimes slow to update. Government leaders on the news are at a totally different level. They do not give any cautious or practical advice, and during this recent emergency, they actually confused and misled us more than helped us.
We watched the news to see if we should flee ASAP or wait it out. If I only relied on the US news with government officials talking, I’d probably still be in Kuwait, or gone mad.
Instead, be sure to check the news in and around the country you are in.
Local journalists, bloggers, and influencers frequently share real-time information about what’s actually happening, what to do in an emergency, and contact information for help. Check their posts and search their websites to see if they’ve posted anything that can help you.
That kind of local insight can be invaluable when you need to make decisions quickly.
Tip #2: Ask Locals for Help
One of the most underrated strategies during travel emergencies is simply talking to people who live there. The people who helped get me out the most were a Kuwaiti travel influencer, a local tour guide, and a traveler already having spent time in Kuwait.
Locals often know:
- the fastest routes out of a city
- which borders are easiest to cross and what you need to cross them
- which transportation is still operating and contacts for them
In many cases, they’ve navigated situations like this before and have been trained to offer this kind of help!
The local people you should be asking for information and help are usually hotel reception, tour guides, or travel industry experts, like blogger/influencers. But again, check their posts first, because there’s a good chance they’re getting a lot of messages about it and might not be able to answer everyone!
Tip #3: Find Other Travelers/Help via Group Chats
As soon as I decided I was going to self-evacuate Kuwait by finding a land transfer, I announced it on social media in cases anyone else needed the information for the car or route. Hundreds of people messaged me. So I made a group chat on Whatsapp, and put all of the information on a blog post.
Then I posted the links for people to join the group chats if they were stuck, and nearly 5,000 joined them. That’s 5,000 people that governments around the world weren’t helping, but others were.
If you find yourself in an emergency situation, look up on regular search, on Facebook, and ask on social media if anyone knows any group chats or groups in general you can join. These proved to help hundreds if not over a thousand people get out safely.
Tip #4: Always Know Your Exit Options (and How to Figure them Out)
Before traveling somewhere unfamiliar, ask yourself a simple question, “If I had to leave tomorrow, how would I do it?” But let’s be serious, most of us don’t pre-meditate being in emergency situations, so if you forget to do that, you can still follow these guidelines for exit option research.
Look things up like:
- The map in general – know what countries are nearby, and what current events are happening there
- nearby international airports in other cities/countries
- land border crossings and visa requirements
- alternate flight routes and safe countries to fly to
- current tensions or issues with your own nationality.
These were the things that got me out of Kuwait the fastest. I simply looked at the flight radar map, looked at the surrounding area on a map, and figured out the nearest land border crossing, and city with functioning airport.
Tip #5: Don’t Depend on Travel Insurance, But Always Have It and Money Set Aside
Just like the governments, you should not solely rely on travel insurance to help get you out of emergency situations, or even to pay for them.
Most travel insurance companies do not cover wars, civil unrest, or even natural disasters. They typically clearly state that too. But what they might cover are things like having to go to the hospital if you were injured during one or during the evacuation, so it’s still worth it to have it. (I usually use this company).
Also, just another little story; one of my friends who was with me in Kuwait works for a big company with expensive travel guard insurance. They told her they could get us a secure evacuation through them, and we all got our hopes up. When they finally got back to us, they had confirmed it was available, but just the land transfer alone would be $30,000. The total cost per person for us to do the land transfer I found and get domestic flights home, was $2000.
Make sure that in addition to travel insurance, you also have an emergency cash stash (USD or EUR), and a credit card to use in emergencies as well. Having a separate checking account with its own debit card for emergencies is also smart. I recommend Charles Schwab or Revolut.
5 Misconceptions About Embassies and Government Help
After sharing my experience, I realized how many misconceptions exist about what embassies actually do. A lot of people, including news stations, were shocked when I said that the government wasn’t helping and that I was self-evacuating on my own.
Yes, I was annoyed that they didn’t get me out of the mess that they created, but I wasn’t surprised. Especially after learning and understanding these things.
Here are some of the biggest misconceptions about how the government will help you when you’re traveling abroad:
1. “The embassy will evacuate me if something happens”
Government evacuations do happen, but they are rare and typically only occur when:
- commercial flights stop operating
- borders close
- security conditions collapse
- You are in dire need (elderly, sick, injured, people with kids)
Even then, evacuation transport is a lengthy process and often comes with a catch.
For example, you don’t know how long it will take to get the evacuation. By the time it comes, you could have been the victim of an attack, or developed trauma from being stuck in the conditions.
Also, the government-evacuation ain’t free sweeties! Citizens usually must sign a promissory note agreeing to repay the government for the evacuation flight later (LegalClarity) and I would assume the cost is more than the commercial route option.
2. “STEP means the embassy will find, contact, and rescue me”
STEP is primarily a communication system, not a rescue system.
Its main purpose is to send alerts and help officials contact you during emergencies (Travel.gov). And again, that’s not a personal contact, it’s a general one. They’ll give you tips and information (likely delayed) but it will be up to you to do something with that information.
3. “The government has enough money to help travelers in emergency situations”
They definitely have enough money, but unfortunately, the budget for help abroad is nowhere near as much as it is for other things, like war.
In fact, a recent estimate said that the US government gave a budget of 40 million dollars total to spend on evacuations for US citizens stuck in the Middle East during the war that they caused. Meanwhile, around 1 billion per day is being spent on the actual war, and we’re going into week three of it.
Oh and even with that budget, they still expect to be reimbursed if they have to help you. So you’re probably better off paying out of pocket!
4. “If I go to the embassy, they’ll help me”
Never just show up to a US embassy abroad. First of all, you need an appointment, and second of all, if there is a dangerous situation happening, it could put you in more danger. Like how the US embassy was a target for attacks by Iran, and they succeeded at hitting it.
There is no secret shelter for civilians, or special plane runways at the actual embassy, so again, not advised to just show up there.
5. “The government will handle everything in an emergency”
The U.S. State Department explicitly recommends leaving while commercial travel is still available. It has never been stated anywhere that if something bad happens, they will help you.
In other words, use them and the STEP program as a precaution and for reassurance that someone knows where you are. But always be prepared to figure out and fund your way out of emergency situations.
The STEP Program: Helpful, But Not What People Think
A lot of travelers assume they’re protected if they enroll in the U.S. government’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP). Again, people like me are likely guilty of making you feel that way, but to be fair, that’s what the gov basically tells us to advise.
STEP is a free service where travelers register their trip with the nearest embassy in the country they are traveling to.
Once enrolled, you may receive alerts about security conditions, demonstrations, health risks, or other emergencies in the country you’re visiting. We didn’t receive notifications during the war until a day or so later, but they did come.
It can also help embassies contact you or your emergency contact during a crisis (according to Travel.gov). However this would be a general mass message, not individual, personalized contact.
For many, an important and positive aspect of the STEP program, is simply peace of mind! Just feeling like the government knows your whereabouts can make many people feel a lot safer. And some of us, less.
But what STEP doesn’t do is guarantee evacuation or rescuing. And it never claimed it would.
In fact, official State Department guidance is very clear:
“If you can safely leave a dangerous situation on your own, you should do so immediately and not expect evacuation by the U.S. government.” (According to Travel.gov)
That sentence surprises a lot of people.
But it explains how the system actually works.
What Happened When I Was Trapped in the War Zone in Kuwait
Like I said initially, I arrived in Kuwait and there were immediately missiles flying over my head. The airport shut down while I was still in it. Two hours later it was bombed by Iranian drones. The airspace I had just flown into was closed, and is still closed to this day of this post.
I’ve done a lot of dangerous things in my travels through 146 countries so far, but I had never been in an active war zone where there’s no way to fly out of it. I’ve also never even thought to rely on the government to help get me out, but for some reason, naively, I thought “Well they started this war, they should at least have a plan to get citizens out, right?” Absolutely wrong.
But I tried anyway. I’d already sent a message days earlier asking if it was Ok to still even come, they told me to enroll in STEP, so I did. Then upon hearing the explosions and sirens, I messaged again, they told me to shelter in place, so I did. Then the news said if you need help to call the consulate, so I did, they told me the same thing; “Shelter in place and watch for announcements”.
So I did, thinking hopefully, magically, the airport would open back up and I’d just fly out. How silly of me.
Two flight cancellations later and I started looking at the map to see what the safest and fastest city would be to drive to in order to fly out of there. It was Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, so I started texting all of my tour contacts in Saudi and Kuwait to ask if they had any drivers that would make the trip. They found cars on both sides, but the problem was a 2km gap at the border.
Next came the government alert, but on social media first: “All US citizens are advised to leave while commercial travel is still available.” And also a very clear message stating NOT to go to the embassy (it had been bombed), and not to rely on them for evacuation.
That meant figuring out logistics myself — transportation, routes, and timing.
In other words:
Self-evacuating.
I remember thinking, “Challenge accepted, let’s GTFO.” It took me maybe two hours to find drivers that would take us all the way from Kuwait to Saudi Arabia, thanks to social media and locals. Then it took a day to do the land transfer and fly out. Another full day to get back to the US. By the time I was home already, I got the notification that the gov was now collecting info to be considered for a government-arranged evacuation.
So in this case, it was a lot more helpful to just be a smart traveler, than to rely on the “Smart Traveler Enrollment Program”. Which is what I hope to teach you how to do in this post.
And while the government did end up providing information and support eventually, the reality is that millions of Americans travel abroad every year. Embassies simply don’t have the capacity (or budget) to physically evacuate everyone during most crises.
So the system prioritizes something much faster:
Commercial flights, land borders, and travelers making their own way out. Keep that in mind if you ever find yourself needing to GTFO.
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xx, Alyssa
