How to Research Local Customs

Most of what travelers "know" about a destination’s customs came from a listicle written by someone who spent four days there. Better sources exist, they are free, and reading three of them takes about twenty minutes. The trick is knowing which three, and knowing that the most authoritative source and the most useful source are rarely the same document.

What You Need to Know

1. The legal layer

The local laws and special circumstances section of the U.S. State Department’s country information is the place to start, because it covers the things that carry a penalty rather than a raised eyebrow. It is specific: of the 211 destinations covered, 27 restrict photographing government or military sites, 29 restrict exporting antiquities, 26 address public conduct and 15 address dress.

2. The second opinion

The U.K. FCDO writes its country advice for a different audience with different assumptions, and it routinely notices things the U.S. page does not, and the reverse. Reading both takes five extra minutes and produces a noticeably fuller picture. Global Affairs Canada is a third.

3. The local voice

Government pages tell you what is prohibited. They cannot tell you how a greeting works, when a household eats, or what a gesture means. For that, read writing from the place: a national newspaper’s culture section, a local tourism board, a museum’s own site, a writer who lives there. Prefer a source with a name and a place over an anonymous list.

4. The person

The best source is somebody who is there. A local guide, an accommodation host, or a colleague from the country will answer a direct question better than any page, and will tell you which of the things you read is out of date. Asking is not an imposition; it is a normal conversation and it is usually welcomed.

What to be careful of

Undated pages, sources that describe a whole continent, listicles that mistake one city for a country, and anything that presents a custom as quaint. Also be careful of very old travel writing, which can be beautifully written and completely obsolete, and of your own memory of a place you visited a decade ago.

What to Do Before Your Trip

• Read the local laws section of the State Department country page.
• Read the FCDO page for the same country.
• Find one substantial source from the country itself.
• Write down three questions to ask your guide or host on arrival.
• Note the date on everything you read.

Important Considerations

Distinguish law from custom as you read, and keep the two lists separate. Getting a custom wrong is a moment of awkwardness; getting a law wrong can end a trip. The government pages are good at the second and poor at the first, which is exactly why the local sources matter.

Watch for the difference between what is written and what is practiced. A dress code stated formally may be applied loosely in a capital and strictly in a rural town, or the reverse. This is where a person on the ground is worth more than any number of pages.

And read for the specific places you are going. A country page is a country page; the question you actually have is what happens at the mosque you plan to visit on Friday, or at the market in that particular town.

Tips for Group Travelers

• Send the two government links at deposit time.
• Summarize only the legal points, and link the rest.
• Ask your local guide to brief the group rather than doing it yourself.
• Collect the group’s questions before arrival and put them to the guide.
• Re-check close to departure. Laws change.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Relying on a single listicle.
• Reading about a region instead of a country.
• Ignoring the date on a page.
• Confusing custom with law.
• Not asking the person who actually knows.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where should I research local customs?

Four places in order: your own government’s country information page for what carries a penalty, a second government’s page for a different view, a substantial source written from the country itself for how things actually work, and a person who is there for what is current.

Are government travel pages good on culture?

They are excellent on law and thin on custom, which is the right way to use them. They will tell you that photographing a bridge is illegal; they will not tell you which hand to pass something with. Use them for the first and local sources for the second.

How current does my research need to be?

Laws can change within a year and travel advice within a week, so check the date on anything you rely on and re-read close to departure. Deep custom changes slowly, but the way it is applied in a particular city can change quickly, which is what a local guide is for.

Related Travel Tips

• Culture, customs and responsible travel, the section this guide belongs to.
• What to Research Before Visiting Another Country.
• Cultural Etiquette Basics. What you are researching.
• Language Basics for International Travel.

Plan Your Trip With LABUSA Travel

The fourth source, a person who is actually there, is the one hardest to find from a distance. LABUSA Travel works with local guides who answer these questions as a matter of course.

Talk with a LABUSA Travel advisor about a trip you are considering, or browse our destination guides for a specific country.

Verify Before You Travel

Country information and local laws are published by the U.S. Department of State, with independent assessments from the U.K. FCDO and Global Affairs Canada. All three change without notice.