I'm doing a project for school and I have to write about that and why we can't. I've heard about us not being allowed to go to Cuba (via America, that is, we can go from somewhere else) and some mixed reports about N. Korea, but are there others? You don't have to, but if you are kind enough to give me some reasons WHY we can't, please give a link to where you learned that, because I need to list sources. Thanks a lot. - Josh

the State Department keeps a list of those nations where it is HIGHLY DISCOURAGED for Americans to travel as tourists. Business reasons are a different matter entirely

Places like the Philippines, Mexico and believe it or not, Bali.. due to terrorist/Religious Extremist activity and drug activity. Somalia.. because there is no functioning government.

additionally the US Military has places that are OFF LIMITS to personnel for any reason unless exceptions to policy are granted( for blood relatives)

You actually CAN go to Cuba from the US; you just need to obtain the proper documents from the Treasury Dept. beforehand.

I'm a traveler (28 countries and counting!), and from what I know, there is not a single country on the planet that Americans are "banned" from visiting. The hardest place to generally access is Saudi Arabia; they hardly let anyone in (regardless of whether or not you're American), unless you are there for business or a pilgrimage to the Holy Sites (Muslims only). However, as with Iran and North Korea, it is possible to visit; you just need to go through a tour company. I don't think it's possible to visit any of these countries on your own.

The best source for you to cite is the US Dept. of State's Bureau of Consular Affairs. Wikitravel is also pretty good, and their information is usually more accurate as recent travelers update this more often that the official government pages.

Americans can visit North Korea just like any foreign tourists now. The only restriction is that they have to leave by plane and can't take the train out of the country. A possible reason for this is that the tourist group is not accompagnied by their North Korean guides any more on the long train ride out of the country. (It takes over 24 hours to get to Beijing, and honestly, the trip is not that eventful and taking the plane out is the better option anyway.)

there's no where you cant go there's only countries that wont allow you entry and countries that are not safe for you to go. If you do gain entry to countries like N.Korea, Iran, etc most likely the US government would want to know why you went and what exactly you did there.

cuba, north korea, iran. all three its because we have or have threatened to nuke all three