Visit Afghanistan: “Urban Attacks Are Infrequent”

Travel Blog • Jim Benning • 11.02.05 | 1:12 PM ET

That’s but one of Robert Young Pelton’s “once dangerous, now safe (sort of)” travel recommendations for 2006. Pelton’s picks, published in National Geographic Adventure, also include Colombia (“Yes, I did get kidnapped in Colombia”) and Sabah, which he calls, curiously, “Borneo for grown-ups.” Ever cautious, Pelton suggests avoiding central Iraq, delicately noting that “People are hunting you.”