Etiquette & taboos

Normas y tabúes

Dedique cinco minutos a leer esto antes de viajar. Clasificamos las normas locales en tres niveles: líneas rojas, que son ilegales o pueden hacer que le nieguen la entrada; tabúes, que no son ilegales pero ofenden con facilidad; y buenos modales para adaptarse a las costumbres. Cada norma tiene su fuente e indica si está verificada.

Línea rojaModales cotidianosIndia

India: some states ban alcohol completely

  • Before visiting Bihar, Gujarat, Mizoram, Nagaland or Lakshadweep, learn the alcohol rules
  • Drinking or carrying alcohol in a dry area
  • Drinking in parks and other public places

Drinking or possessing alcohol in a dry state can lead to arrest without bail and 5 to 10 years in prison.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: GOV.UK: India travel advice

Línea rojaModales cotidianosUzbekistan

Uzbekistan: change money only at official outlets

  • Change money at official exchange points, and get cash in big cities before heading to smaller places
  • Changing money on the black market

Black-market currency exchange is illegal.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: GOV.UK: Uzbekistan travel advice

Línea rojaModales cotidianosUzbekistan

Uzbekistan: always carry your passport

  • Carry your original passport at all times
  • Leaving your passport at the hotel

The law requires you to carry it; police check often, and you may be fined or arrested if you don't.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: GOV.UK: Uzbekistan travel advice

Línea rojaModales cotidianosJordan

Jordan: don't stay in Petra outside opening hours

  • Enter and leave at the park's set hours
  • If you have questions about ticket prices or extra charges, ask at the visitor centre first
  • Staying in Petra Archaeological Park after closing

You may be arrested and prosecuted; visitors have been locked in the park overnight.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: GOV.UK: Jordan travel advice

Línea rojaModales cotidianosMorocco

Morocco: don't proselytise

  • Respect the local Islamic faith
  • Trying to convert Muslims to another religion or handing out missionary material
  • Publicly criticising Islam (including online)

Proselytising can mean a fine or up to 3 years in prison; publicly criticising Islam can mean up to 2 years.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: GOV.UK: Morocco travel advice

Línea rojaModales cotidianosTürkiye

Türkiye: you must carry photo ID

  • Carry your passport and cooperate with police checks
  • Going out without any photo ID

Not carrying photo ID is illegal; checks are common in Istanbul and elsewhere.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: GOV.UK: Turkey travel advice

Línea rojaModales cotidianosChina

China: carry your original passport

  • Foreign visitors should carry their original passport
  • Carrying only a copy or photo of your passport

Police make random ID checks and do not accept printouts; if you cannot show your passport, you may be fined or detained.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: GOV.UK: China travel advice

Línea rojaModales cotidianosChile

Chile: no drinking in public places

  • Drink in restaurants and bars
  • Drinking in streets, squares, seafront promenades and other public places

It is illegal.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: GOV.UK: Chile travel advice

Línea rojaModales cotidianosBolivia

Bolivia: carrying any amount of drugs is treated as trafficking

  • Stay away from drugs of any kind
  • Carrying any amount of drugs

The minimum sentence is 8 years; sniffer dogs check passengers leaving on international flights.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: GOV.UK: Bolivia travel advice

Línea rojaModales cotidianosArgentina

Argentina: even small amounts of drugs can mean prison

  • Stay away from drugs of any kind
  • Possessing even a tiny amount of drugs

Can lead to a long prison sentence.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: GOV.UK: Argentina travel advice

Línea rojaModales cotidianosPeru

Peru: carry ID at all times

  • Carry your passport or a valid ID document
  • Going out without ID

You must show it when police ask, or you may be taken to the nearest police station.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: GOV.UK: Peru travel advice

Línea rojaModales cotidianosPhilippines

Philippines: zero tolerance for drugs

  • Stay away from drugs of any kind
  • Possessing even a small amount of drugs

Even small amounts of drugs bring mandatory prison sentences.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: GOV.UK: Philippines travel advice

Línea rojaModales cotidianosCambodia

Cambodia: drugs, including cannabis, are a serious crime

  • Stay away from drugs of any kind
  • Possessing or trafficking any drugs

Can lead to a long prison sentence, up to life imprisonment.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: GOV.UK: Cambodia travel advice

Línea rojaModales cotidianosSweden

Sweden: drugs, including cannabis, are strictly prohibited

  • Stay away from drugs of any kind
  • Possessing, using or carrying drugs, even in small amounts

Up to 10 years in prison and heavy fines.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: GOV.UK: Sweden travel advice

Línea rojaModales cotidianosPortugal

Albufeira, Portugal: code of conduct in public places

  • Behave appropriately in public
  • Behaving inappropriately in streets and squares

On-the-spot fines of €150–1,800.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: GOV.UK: Portugal travel advice

Línea rojaModales cotidianosAustria

Austria: be ready to show your passport

  • Carry your passport
  • Assuming your driving licence counts as ID

The law requires you to be able to show your passport at all times; Austria does not accept a UK driving licence as official ID.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: GOV.UK: Austria travel advice

Línea rojaModales cotidianosNetherlands

Netherlands: cannabis is tolerated only in designated places

  • Understand that 'tolerated' does not mean legal
  • Smoking cannabis in public places
  • Buying or possessing drugs outside designated places

Using it in public is illegal; buying or possessing it outside designated places can mean prison.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: GOV.UK: Netherlands travel advice

Línea rojaModales cotidianosNetherlands

Netherlands: everyone over 14 must be able to show ID

  • Carry your passport
  • Going out without any ID

€100 fine for those over 16, €50 for those aged 14–15.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: GOV.UK: Netherlands travel advice

Línea rojaModales cotidianosGreece

Greece: drunken rowdiness and indecent behaviour lead to arrest

  • Behave appropriately in public
  • Drunken rowdiness and indecent exposure
  • Wearing costumes that may be seen as offensive

Police will arrest you, and courts usually impose heavy fines or prison.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: GOV.UK: Greece travel advice

Línea rojaModales cotidianosItaly

Italy: don't buy from unlicensed street vendors

  • Shop at proper stores
  • Buying from unlicensed street vendors

It is illegal, and local police may stop and fine you.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: GOV.UK: Italy travel advice

Línea rojaModales cotidianosItaly

Italy: rules around monuments and fountains

  • Keep the area around monuments clean and quiet
  • Going into or splashing in public fountains (Florence, Rome and elsewhere)
  • Swimming in Venice's canals
  • Eating and drinking next to major churches, monuments and public buildings
  • Sitting on monument steps, littering, or scratching or writing on monuments

All are local offences; urinating in public can bring a fine of up to €10,000.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: GOV.UK: Italy travel advice

Línea rojaModales cotidianosSpain

Spain: show photo ID when police ask

  • Carry photo ID
  • Ignoring a direct instruction from the police

Police can take you to a station until your identity is confirmed; ignoring a direct instruction from the police can count as 'disobedience'. Real police check documents only and will not ask to see your wallet.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: GOV.UK: Spain travel advice

Línea rojaModales cotidianosSpain

Spain: drinking in the street is banned in some areas

  • Drink in bars and restaurants
  • Walking around drinking in the street

Illegal in some areas; you can be fined on the spot.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: GOV.UK: Spain travel advice

Línea rojaModales cotidianosFrance

France: carry your ID

  • Carry your passport or official photo ID
  • Leaving all your documents at the hotel

You must show ID on the spot when police ask, or at a police station within 4 hours.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: GOV.UK: France travel advice

Línea rojaModales cotidianosAustralia

Uluru: climbing is not allowed

  • Walk the base track around Uluru and learn about Anangu culture
  • Climbing Uluru

The climb closed permanently on 26 October 2019; climbing breaks the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act and is punished.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park: climb closure

Línea rojaModales cotidianosItaly

Rome's Spanish Steps: no sitting, eating or drinking

  • Walk up the steps and keep moving after your photo
  • Sitting, resting, eating or drinking on the steps

Banned by Rome's urban police regulations since 2019; media report fines of €250, rising to €400 for dirtying or damaging the steps.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: ANSA: Rome bans sitting on the Spanish Steps (2019)

Línea rojaModales cotidianosIndonesia

Nyepi in Bali: a whole day of island-wide silence

  • Stay in your accommodation all day, lights off and quiet
  • Adjust flights and check-in or check-out dates in advance
  • Going out into the street or to the beach
  • Booking flights in or out of Bali on that day

Everyone on the island, including tourists, must comply; I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport closes for the whole day.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: GOV.UK: Indonesia travel advice

Línea rojaModales cotidianosThailand

Never insult the Thai royal family

  • Treat portraits of the royal family and related topics with respect and care
  • Posting or sharing any criticism of, or jokes about, the royal family, online included

The lèse-majesté law is interpreted very broadly and can bring long prison sentences; it applies to past and present members of the royal family.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: GOV.UK: Thailand travel advice

TabúModales cotidianosMorocco

Morocco: avoid public displays of affection

  • Show restraint near religious sites and in tourist areas
  • Kissing or hugging in public

It causes offence; same-sex intimacy can be prosecuted in Morocco.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: GOV.UK: Morocco travel advice

TabúModales cotidianosMorocco

Morocco: during Ramadan, don't eat or drink in public by day

  • Check opening hours during Ramadan
  • Dress according to local custom
  • Eating, drinking, smoking, chewing gum or swearing in public during the day

It offends people who are fasting.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: GOV.UK: Morocco travel advice

TabúModales cotidianosTürkiye

Türkiye: during Ramadan, don't eat or drink in public by day

  • During Ramadan, check shop opening hours and be patient with people who are fasting
  • Eating, drinking, smoking or chewing gum in public during the day (including in a car)
  • Playing loud music, dancing or swearing

It offends people who are fasting.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: GOV.UK: Turkey travel advice

TabúModales cotidianosPhilippines

Philippines: avoid too much intimacy in public

  • Behave appropriately in public
  • Overly intimate behaviour in public

It may be treated as 'grave scandal', punishable by a fine or 6 months in prison.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: GOV.UK: Philippines travel advice

TabúModales cotidianosMalaysia

Malaysia: pass things and eat with your right hand

  • Use your right hand to eat with your fingers, to pass and receive things, and to shake hands
  • To point the way, make a loose fist and point with your right thumb
  • Pointing at people or things with your index finger

Not illegal, but seen as rude.

Sin verificarFuente: Tourism Malaysia: travel guide

TabúModales cotidianosJapan

Take off your shoes when you see a genkan (entrance step)

  • Take off your shoes at the entrance of homes, some restaurants, temples and hot-spring facilities
  • If unsure, look for a shoe rack or slippers at the entrance
  • Stepping onto tatami or indoor wooden floors in shoes

It is seen as very rude.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: JNTO: Japanese etiquette

Buenos modalesModales cotidianosGermany

Germany: most shops close on Sundays

  • Shop for food and essentials on Saturday
  • If you need to shop on Sunday, go to shops at railway stations, airports or petrol stations
  • Planning a shopping trip for Sunday

There is no penalty — you will just find everything closed. Sunday is protected as a day of rest by the constitution, and each state allows only a few 'open Sundays' a year.

Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: Library of Congress law blog: Germany's shop opening laws