Is Somaliland Safe? What Official Advice and Travellers Say
Is Somaliland safe? Calm streets and warm welcomes, and what the official travel advice says before you go.
TRAVEL · SAFETY
Ask people who have travelled to Somaliland about safety, and you will often hear the same surprise: the calm of Hargeisa’s streets, the friendliness, the feeling of being genuinely welcomed. Ask a foreign ministry, and the answer is more cautious. Both describe something real. So, is Somaliland safe? Here is what each side says, and how to plan around it.
Everyday life in Hargeisa: what travellers report
Day to day, visitors paint a very different picture from the official advice. A November 2025 CNN report on tourism in the region quoted a visitor who found that in Somaliland “the people were welcoming and could not believe we had chosen to visit their country”, and a Hargeisa local who wanted visitors to see how safe it is to walk around the city, “where you don’t need a guard”.
The most famous image of Hargeisa’s street-level calm is its money market. The Wall Street Journal described money changers sitting behind “3-foot-tall towers of cash” in the open, with assistants wheeling sacks of shillings to customers’ cars, and a 2025 account of the market notes simply that “theft is rare”. The scene may be changing: in 2026 the government tightened licensing of informal money changers, and most everyday payments now run through mobile money.
“The calm of Hargeisa’s streets, the friendliness, the feeling of being genuinely welcomed.”
Is Somaliland safe? The short answer
Somaliland is far more stable than much of Somalia. It has governed itself since 1991 and holds competitive elections: in November 2024, opposition candidate Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi “Irro” won the presidency, defeating the sitting president. Travellers to Hargeisa and Berbera commonly describe them as calm and hospitable.
Western governments remain cautious, though. The UK advises against all but essential travel to Somaliland’s western regions and against all travel to the east, while the US and Australia advise against travel to Somalia as a whole, Somaliland included. The practical answer: the west of Somaliland can be visited with good planning, while official advice is against all travel to the east.
How safe is Somaliland? What governments advise
United Kingdom. The UK Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to Somaliland’s three western regions: Awdal (including Borama), Maroodijeh (including Hargeisa) and Sahil (including Berbera). It advises against all travel to Togdheer, Sanaag and Sool in the east, where it reports “an increase in violent clashes”. It also warns that your travel insurance could be invalidated if you travel against its advice.
United States. The State Department rates all of Somalia, Somaliland included, at Level 4: Do Not Travel, and notes it has no permanent consular presence there. That blanket rating is contested in Washington. In September 2025, members of Congress asked the State Department to distinguish Somaliland from the rest of Somalia in its advice, and Senator Ted Cruz made a similar request. The advisory, last updated in June 2026, still covers Somaliland.
Australia. Smartraveller advises against all travel to Somalia and rates the kidnapping risk as very high across the country, “including Puntland and Somaliland”.
Why the east is different
Eastern Somaliland borders areas whose control is disputed. In August 2023, the SSC-Khaatumo militia seized the Goojacade army base near Las Anod, and Somaliland’s defence ministry said its troops had vacated positions in the east of the Sool region. In December 2024, fighting broke out in Erigavo, the capital of Sanaag; Somaliland kept control of the city, but tens of thousands of people were displaced. These are the areas the UK says to avoid entirely. Hargeisa, Berbera and the rock art of Laas Geel are all in the west.
Security: the official view
The UK Foreign Office says attacks “occur less frequently in Somaliland” than elsewhere in Somalia, but still considers further attempts very likely, and notes a high threat of kidnapping, including in Somaliland. In October 2008, coordinated bombings in Hargeisa killed at least 19 people according to Somaliland’s then-president.
Practical tips for staying safe in Somaliland
Ordinary common sense still applies. The US State Department notes that crime also occurs in Somaliland. It is polite to ask before photographing people, and to dress modestly; our guide to Somaliland etiquette covers greetings, dress and the small gestures that matter. Khat is widely chewed, but the UK warns that anyone caught carrying it at Hargeisa airport is likely to face prosecution.
Outside Hargeisa, tourists need an armed police escort, CNN reported; your hotel or tour operator usually arranges it. Ask your hotel what is required before you set out.
If something goes wrong
Help is limited. The UK offers no in-person support in Somaliland; British nationals there should contact the British Embassy in Addis Ababa. Australia directs travellers to its High Commission in Kenya. The local emergency number is 990 via Somtel or Telesom. Hargeisa has basic hospital facilities, so insurance that covers medical evacuation matters.
Is Somaliland safe for your trip? It depends on where you go and how well you prepare, and Somaliland rewards travellers who do their homework. Start with our Hargeisa Travel Guide, plan a morning at Laas Geel, and finish on the coast in Berbera.
Sources
- Somalia travel advice (regional risks, safety and security, warnings and insurance, entry requirements, health), UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, updated 19 October 2026.
- Somalia Travel Advisory (Level 4), US Department of State, 21 May 2026, updated 3 June 2026.
- Somalia travel advice, Smartraveller, Australian Government.
- Opposition’s Abdullahi wins presidential election in breakaway Somaliland, Al Jazeera, 19 November 2024.
- Moolenaar, Smith call on State Department to distinguish Somaliland, House Select Committee on the CCP, 3 September 2025.
- Sen. Cruz sends letter urging region-specific travel advisory for Somaliland, Office of Senator Ted Cruz.
- Pro-Somalia militia takes key army base in Somaliland, The New Arab / AFP, 26 August 2023.
- Battle of Erigavo, Wikipedia (citing Garowe Online and UN OCHA, December 2024).
- Suicide bombers strike Bossaso, Hargeisa, killing dozens, IRIN via ReliefWeb, 29 October 2008.
- If Somalia is dangerous, why is it experiencing a surge in tourism?, CNN Travel, 17 November 2025.
- An isolated country runs on mobile money (excerpt), The Wall Street Journal via The E-Sylum, July 2018.
- In Hargeisa, money is measured by the kilo, Dishant Shah, Africa Unfiltered, 18 June 2025.
- Somaliland closes black markets with outcry from informal local money changers, Radio Ergo, 25 August 2026.
Last checked 24 October 2026. Found an error or something out of date? Tell us.
