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Brazil is the newest country to no longer require an entry visa for Americans, making tourism there easier and less expensive.
Brazil is the newest country to no longer require an entry visa for Americans, making tourism there easier and less expensive. (Photo: Jaime Spaniol/Unsplash)

6 Places Besides Brazil You Can Visit Without a Visa

Paperwork? Fuggetaboutit. From Brazil to Thailand, just get a ticket and go.

Published: 
Brazil is the newest country to no longer require an entry visa for Americans, making tourism there easier and less expensive.
(Photo: Jaime Spaniol/Unsplash)

New perk: Easily find new routes and hidden gems, upcoming running events, and more near you. Your weekly Local Running Newsletter has everything you need to lace up! .

Starting on June 17, Brazil will join the ranks of countries that don鈥檛 require a tourist visa from Americans. This will save travelers from having to track down one of only ten Brazilian consulates in the U.S. and pay the聽$40 fee (which we recommend putting toward post-swim caipirinhas, the country鈥檚 tart national cocktail).

The change in policy has been a long time coming. For the past several years, Brazil has experimented with streamlining entry requirements for citizens of the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Japan, four countries deemed a significant source of tourism revenue.

Brazil鈥檚 Ministry of Tourism聽first tested the waters with visa waivers during the 2016 Rio Games. Then in January 2018, it introduced an electronic visa program for the four countries mentioned above and slashed the fee to a quarter of its original cost, from $160 to $40. The move paid off, helping contribute to a聽 in travelers compared to 2017. Now聽you鈥檒l be able to enter and stay for up to 90 days鈥攚ith the possibility to extend to 180 days total鈥攚ithout having to do any paperwork.

鈥淭his is one of the most important achievements of the Brazilian tourism industry in the last 15 years,鈥 said Marcelo Alvaro Ant么nio, the country鈥檚 minister of tourism, in a聽. 鈥淲e are confident that it will be extremely beneficial to the country.鈥

Meanwhile, if you鈥檙e looking for this kind of hassle-free international adventure, you鈥檙e not limited to Brazil. Americans have long been able to visit our closest allies, like Canada and the European Union, with only a valid passport, and globally there鈥檚 a fairly even split between nations that require visas聽and ones that don鈥檛. Here are six聽other outdoor meccas for Americans that don鈥檛 require a visa in advance. 聽

Thailand

(IgorBukhlin/iStock)

Want to deep-water solo this Southeast Asian nation鈥檚聽? You鈥檙e in luck. You can vacation in Thailand for up to 30 days without a visa鈥攑lenty of time to climb in the famed Railay Beach area, then hightail it to the country鈥檚 southern islands to dive world-class coral gardens among angelfish, manta rays, and whale sharks. Just ensure you have a passport that鈥檚 valid for at least six months past your date of entry, as recommended by the U.S. State Department. 聽

Guatemala

(Simon Dannhauer/iStock)

While this is not the only Central American country that lets you duck the red tape鈥攖he whole region is pretty much fair game鈥攊t鈥檚 a rising聽hub for mountain biking and a longtime surf mecca. As long as you have a return ticket booked, you鈥檙e free to ride its jungle singletrack and catch consistent surf at at El Pared贸n for up to 90 days.

New Zealand

(Ooriya Ron/iStock)

It may take 12 hours or more on a plane to get there, but trust us鈥攊t鈥檚 worth it. New Zealand鈥檚聽jaw-dropping scenery provides an epic backdrop for hiking, biking, and backpacking, and from the聽famous Milford Track in the South Island鈥檚 Fiordland National Park to the rugged Tongariro Alpine Crossing up north, adventuring in Kiwi country is unlike anywhere else. And you鈥檒l have 90 days to play as long as your passport is valid for three months after your date of departure.

Morocco

(Starcevic/iStock)

This North African nation is famous for its Atlantic coast, which is lined with year-round surf spots in places like Taghazout and Imsouane. Morocco has great climbing, too. Head inland to the聽, a 1,300-foot-tall rift between the High Atlas Mountains and the Sahara, to send聽. There鈥檚 a 90-day limit on your stay, and you鈥檒l need a passport that鈥檚 valid for six months and has one empty page.

Japan

(Phattana/iStock)

If you get depressed scrolling through the proliferation of posts on Instagram every winter, know that a quick trip to Hokkaido is actually pretty easy鈥攅xcluding the international flight. Lift tickets often cost less than elsewhere in the world, too. Once you鈥檙e there, you can stay for three months sans visa. Just make sure there鈥檚 at least one blank page in your passport for the entry stamp before packing your bags.

Tahiti

(nevereverro/iStock)

Voyaging to French Polynesia may seem like a pipe dream, but it鈥檚 relatively easy to get there these days. Not only is there the standard 90 days of visa-free travel, but with the introduction of a new direct route to Tahiti from San Francisco, courtesy of the budget airline聽 (from $329 one-way), a direct last-minute trip is within the realm of possibility.

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