🇸🇿 Eswatini

Solo travellers

Solo travel is workable, but Japan's MOFA advises against going out alone or at night and Australia says to avoid walking alone, particularly after dark and in isolated areas. Share your itinerary with your lodge or a friend, and use transport arranged by your accommodation.

Solo women

Canada notes women travelling alone may face harassment and verbal abuse, and Japan tells women not to walk alone. Sexual and gender-based violence is a serious national problem and reported rape cases have been rising, although most documented cases involve partners or family members, and none of the governments reports visitors being targeted. Dress conservatively, especially at royal or rural homesteads, avoid walking alone after dark, and do not accept informal lifts.

After dark

The UK, Canada and Japan all tell you not to walk in downtown Mbabane and Manzini after dark, and Japan calls those areas dangerous. Japan also reports violent night-time home-invasion robberies. Stay inside your lodge grounds after dark and take a pre-arranged taxi when you need to move.

Driving and public transport

Traffic drives on the left and you need an international driving permit (UK licence holders need the 1949 version). The highway between Mbabane and Manzini is relatively good, but secondary roads are often dirt tracks with potholes, and livestock, abandoned unlit trailers and drink-driving are the main hazards. Do not drive at night. The airport coaches between Johannesburg and Mbabane are generally safe, but the UK says other public transport can be dangerous, and Canada tells you to avoid khumbi minibus taxis. Singapore's MFA warns robbers use anti-jamming devices to defeat remote locking, so check your doors by hand.

LGBTIQ+ travellers

Same-sex sexual activity between men is treated as a crime under Roman-Dutch common law ('sodomy'), as ILGA's database and the Human Dignity Trust both record. No penalty is written into statute, and the Human Dignity Trust reports there has never been an arrest or prosecution under it. The provision covers men only; lesbians are not covered by it, but research cited by the Human Dignity Trust found one in four lesbians reported sexual violence.

The state's attitude is openly hostile. Amnesty International reports the King has said LGBTIQ+ people have no place in Eswatini during his reign, and MambaOnline reports he repeated this in April 2026. The Minister of Commerce has twice refused to register the LGBTIQ+ organisation ESGM, despite a 2023 Supreme Court ruling that the first refusal was unconstitutional, and the case is still before the High Court. The UK says LGBT+ people experience discrimination and many are not open about their orientation, and Canada says 2SLGBTQI+ travellers should carefully consider the risks.

In practice, none of the sources reviewed reports a foreign visitor arrested or attacked for their orientation, so the gap is between the legal position and daily experience. As a visitor you are far more likely to face disapproval than prosecution, but the law and official hostility give you no protection if something goes wrong. Keep public affection out of sight (the UK says it will most likely be frowned on) and do not rely on the police or courts for support. We found nothing on the position of transgender or intersex travellers specifically, so treat this guidance as a minimum.

Wildlife and adventure activities

Canada advises using reputable, insured operators for zip-lining and rock climbing and never doing adventure activities alone. Tour operators may not meet international standards, so check the equipment yourself.

Rainy season storms

The wet season runs from about October or November to April. The FCDO says violent thunderstorms with lightning, heavy rain and hailstones are common, especially in the Highveld, and sometimes damage property and roads and cause flooding in some areas. Canada adds that fog and severe storms near Mbabane and in the forests near the South African border cut visibility, and Singapore's MFA flags fog and flash floods, especially at night. When a storm approaches, shelter in a building or a hard-topped vehicle, and stay away from isolated trees and open ground.

Flooded roads and low bridges

Canada notes some roads become hazardous in the rainy season. Do not drive through flooded roads or over submerged low bridges. Water can be deeper and faster than it looks.

Wildlife

Game reserves hold elephants, rhinos, hippos and crocodiles. Canada advises keeping a safe distance, staying in your vehicle unless a professional guide or warden says otherwise, and following park rules closely.

Earthquakes, volcanoes and cyclones

No source reviewed identifies earthquake, volcanic or coastal cyclone hazards as a concern for visitors to Eswatini.

Malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases

Malaria is a real concern only in the north and east, in the Eastern Lowveld and Lubombo Region and the eastern parts of the districts next to it, from November to May. Mbabane has no malaria and the rest of the country has almost none. Use repellent and cover up in the evening everywhere. CDC lists dengue among the diseases present, and Canada and TravelHealthPro report a risk of chikungunya; both are spread by daytime-biting mosquitoes, and there is no vaccine advice for Eswatini for chikungunya.

HIV and sexual health

The FCDO cites a 2015 UNAIDS estimate that 28.8% of adults were living with HIV, one of the highest rates in the world. This is not a risk in normal travel, but you should use condoms, avoid unsterile needles, tattoos and piercings, and know that the country is considered to have an intermediate or high prevalence of hepatitis B.

Tuberculosis

TravelHealthPro says Eswatini has reported TB incidence above 40 cases per 100,000 people. The risk to most travellers is small, but avoid prolonged close contact with anyone known to have infectious TB, and talk to a doctor if you will work in healthcare, prisons or shelters.

Food, water and water-borne disease

Drink bottled or purified water and avoid ice in restaurants (Japan's MOFA). Japan says cholera occurs outside the capital, and a small outbreak in April 2023 followed an imported case. Freshwater in rivers, lakes and dams can carry schistosomiasis, so avoid swimming or wading in untreated freshwater. There is no vaccine.

Rabies and animals

Rabid dogs are common (CDC) and wildlife can carry the virus. Avoid contact with stray dogs, supervise children, and if you are bitten or scratched, wash the wound with soap and water for about 15 minutes and get medical care straight away. CDC says post-exposure vaccine is typically available throughout most of the country. Ticks and other insects can spread illnesses such as African tick-bite fever.

Medical care

Basic healthcare is available, but there are shortages of common medicines and capacity for emergencies is limited. Serious cases are generally evacuated to South Africa, and providers may ask for proof of insurance or payment up front. Call 977 or 933 for an ambulance, and 999 for police. Buy insurance that covers medical evacuation.

Legal entry requirement

Eswatini requires a yellow fever vaccination certificate from travellers aged 9 months or older who arrive from a country with yellow fever risk. CDC and TravelHealthPro extend this to anyone who has passed through an airport in such a country (CDC: layovers over 12 hours), and Canada and German travel-medicine sources say the same. You do not need one if you fly directly from the US, UK, Canada or Europe. Eswatini itself has no yellow fever, so this is a paperwork rule and not a health recommendation: CDC and Canada both say vaccination is not recommended for the destination. German travel-medicine sources note some reports since 2016 of certificates being requested from travellers arriving from South Africa, though this does not appear to be consistent, so carry yours if you have one.

Recommended vaccinations

Check that routine vaccines are up to date, including measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis and polio. CDC and Canada both flag rising measles cases worldwide. Then:

• Hepatitis A: recommended for unvaccinated travellers (CDC, TravelHealthPro, German travel-medicine guidance).
• Typhoid: CDC says to consider it for rural travel, a month or more in the country, or visiting friends and relatives; TravelHealthPro recommends it for most travellers.
• Hepatitis B: CDC recommends it for unvaccinated travellers of all ages, and TravelHealthPro says it could be considered for all travellers.
• Rabies: consider it for outdoor or animal-related activities, long stays, or trips where reaching prompt post-exposure care could be hard.
• Tetanus: TravelHealthPro recommends a booster if your last dose was over ten years ago, given limited medical facilities.
• Cholera: only for higher-exposure travellers such as aid workers, per TravelHealthPro.
• BCG (TB): TravelHealthPro recommends it for unvaccinated children under 16 who will live in Eswatini for more than three months, and for some healthcare workers.

Malaria

Malaria is prevented by tablets, not a vaccine. CDC and TravelHealthPro recommend prescription antimalarials if you will spend time in the eastern and northern border districts between November and May, and none for Mbabane.

Where governments differ

Eswatini sits at the mild end of the scale, but the governments do not agree on how much caution to advise:

• United States: exercise increased caution, because of crime and civil unrest (reissued 10 July 2026).
• Canada: exercise a high degree of caution, because of civil unrest only (updated 9 September 2026).
• Australia: exercise a high degree of caution, because of civil unrest (page updated 13 February 2026).
• United Kingdom: no warning is listed, and the advice was still current on 18 September 2026.
• New Zealand: no advice level is issued.
• Japan: no danger information is issued, though its safety notes are the most detailed on night crime, border zones and public transport.
• Germany: notes crime is lower than in South Africa or Mozambique but rising, and urges you to avoid demonstrations and night travel (read via search excerpts because the German ministry site did not respond).
• Singapore: no advisory level, only practical driving and theft advice; it calls major roads generally safe, which is milder than the UK, Canada and Germany.
• Hong Kong: the Security Bureau's outbound travel alert system does not cover Eswatini.

The disagreement is about emphasis, not facts. Every government that comments agrees on the same practical points: do not drive at night, avoid protests, and be careful downtown after dark. The US is the only one that puts crime alongside unrest as a reason for its rating.

Health sources

CDC and TravelHealthPro agree that malaria transmission is confined to the north and east from November to May, and that yellow fever is not present in Eswatini but a certificate is needed from arrivals from risk countries. German travel-medicine guidance says malaria risk is low nationwide, which is a difference in framing rather than a contradiction of the seasonal zone. TravelHealthPro recommends typhoid vaccination for most travellers, while CDC and German guidance treat it as a choice for higher-exposure trips. WHO says Eswatini is working towards eliminating malaria by 2028, with many remaining cases imported. ECDC and RKI publish no Eswatini-specific threat or country page that we could find.

LGBTIQ+ sources

ILGA, the Human Dignity Trust, the UK and Canada all agree same-sex activity between men is criminalised and that discrimination is widespread. Human Dignity Trust adds that no arrest or prosecution has ever been recorded, which is why lived experience for a discreet visitor can differ from the legal position.