Tweet
To register a trip outside the U.S. with the U.S. State Department takes only about 5 min. You can do it on line. They ask for only your passport number, an address where you are going, and the names and passport numbers of the people you are traveling with. Should there be an emergency where Americans need to be evacuated, the State Department then knows how to contact you. If someone desperately needs to contact you, the State Department knows how to do it. In the event of a hurricane, etc., if they don't know where you are, you are left with trying to find out where they are and adding yourself to the list of Americans they are compiling; it's much better, in my opinion, to be on the list to start with.
To register on line with the U.S. Department of State
https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/ui
If there is a U.S. Consular Agency where you are going, it's good to know where it is; they cannot circumvent local authorities, even if they are corrupt, but they can offer you more aid than you are going to get anywhere else: advice, names of lawyers, transfer of money and goods to you while you are in jail, etc.
To register on line with the U.S. Department of State
https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/ui
If there is a U.S. Consular Agency where you are going, it's good to know where it is; they cannot circumvent local authorities, even if they are corrupt, but they can offer you more aid than you are going to get anywhere else: advice, names of lawyers, transfer of money and goods to you while you are in jail, etc.