The 99 Countries Americans Can Visit Visa-Free (2015)

Map by Camoka4 via Wikimedia

The map above shows the 99 countries American passport holders can travel to visa-free. What this means in practice is that you don’t need prior permission to enter any of the countries listed. However, be aware that virtually all countries impose time limits on how long Americans can stay, generally anywhere between 14 and 90 days.

Moreover, there may be restrictions on what type of activities you can do while there. Most countries will allow tourists, but some may have restrictions for business people, students, etc.

Thus, it’s always good idea to check out the website of the embassy of your destination country and the State Department’s Alerts and Warnings for advisories that may affect your journey.

On top of visa-free travel, many other countries offer visa-on-arrival, which means you still need a visa to enter the country, but can obtain (or purchase) it when you arrive. Once again be sure to check with embassy of the destination country before leaving to find out about cost, what currency can be used to pay for it, duration, etc.

Given that it’s so easy for Americans to travel abroad, you’d think more of them would. However, as of 2014 there were 121.5 million valid passports for a population of 318.9 million people. This means roughly only 38% of American hold a valid passport or 62% don’t.

All data for the map above and the lists of countries below comes from Wikipedia, so there may be some errors. If you notice any please leave a comment in the comment section at the bottom of the page.

Here’s the full list:

Europe

Americas

Asia

Africa

Oceania

Looking for something a bit more exotic? Well Americans can also travel visa-free to the following territories, disputed areas, and partially recognized countries (names in bold are US territories):

So while Americans may have 99 problems, finding a country to visit isn’t one. Have a favourite destination from the list above? Let everyone else know about it the comments section below:

Comments

Me says

March 25, 2015 at 1:12 am

What is the meaning of these lines uniting Greenland, Iceland and Norway?

Fagan says

March 26, 2015 at 1:32 am

Small correction! US citizens can also obtain on arrival visa at the airport for Azerbaijan only if they are flying on New York-Baku direct flight operated by Azerbaijan Airlines. 🙂
http://en.trend.az/azerbaijan/business/2325159.html

- Brilliant Maps says
  
  March 26, 2015 at 7:19 am
  
  Very obscure! Thanks very much for the info.
  
moon76916@gmail.com says

June 14, 2016 at 9:32 am

i can put up the visa of usa

Storky says

November 19, 2017 at 7:39 pm

+ Belarus for 5 days