Brazil travel advisory updates might not sound like your usual poolside read, but if you’re planning to sip a caipirinha on Copacabana Beach or hike in the Amazon this year, you might want to take five minutes to read this.

The United States Department of State has issued a Travel Advisory for Brazil, which is bureaucrat-speak for “Exercise Increased Caution.” That might sound like something your high school gym teacher yelled at you during track and field, but here it means something a little more serious—crime and kidnapping. Yes, kidnapping. As in, don’t trust that guy who offers to show you where to find the best feijoada.

Let’s break this down with the kind of dry clarity you only get from a government memo and the slightly sweaty panic it might trigger in your WhatsApp group chat. According to the advisory, some areas in Brazil are more trouble than they’re worth. Notably, informal housing developments—those colorful hillside favelas you might’ve seen in artsy travel blogs—are off-limits. In fact, they’re listed as Level 4: Do Not Travel. Same goes for the “Satellite Cities” around Brasília between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., which sounds suspiciously like the worst Cinderella plot twist ever.

Here’s a helpful little list of places the U.S. government wants you to avoid, and frankly, you should listen:

In short, if your travel itinerary includes “local housing tours at midnight,” you may want to revise that plan unless you’re writing a Netflix crime drama.

The advisory isn’t just bureaucratic finger-wagging. Brazil, particularly its urban centers, has a reputation for unpredictable bursts of violence, carjackings, and thefts that start with a smile and end with your wallet gone. Apparently, criminals in places like Rio de Janeiro are now upping their game by lacing drinks with sedatives to rob unsuspecting tourists. That friendly stranger in the bar? He might not just be offering you a drink—he might be offering you a medically induced nap.

Oh, and there was a confirmed case of U.S. travelers being kidnapped for ransom. Not in a movie. In real life. This doesn’t mean you have to cancel your trip altogether, but maybe don’t post your hotel name and room number on Instagram with a selfie.

If you’re still packing your bags for Brazil (and we can’t blame you—this is the land of samba, soccer, and sunsets), here are some precautions that might save your vacation—or your valuables:

Thankfully, not all is doom and gloom. The advisory specifically notes that travel to the Foz do Iguaçu National Park and the Pantanal wetlands is still permitted. These are safe zones tucked in the middle of otherwise red-flagged areas, like finding a perfectly ripe avocado in a bag of mushy ones. So yes, you can still marvel at waterfalls the size of small cities or spy on capybaras doing capybara things, without worrying about being bundled into a van.

The advisory comes with a bouquet of additional suggestions that are worth your time, like creating a travel safety plan, informing your family of your whereabouts, and buying travel insurance that covers emergency evacuation. You know, just in case you need to make a speedy exit from Rio because your date night ended with a blackout and missing passport. It’s not romantic, but it’s realistic.

Also, don’t forget to review the official U.S. Travel Advisory page and the CDC’s travel health page before you leave. Yes, it’s the boring part of trip planning, but also the part that helps you come back in one piece.

And finally, if your heart still yearns for Brazil’s beaches, jungles, or churrascarias, go ahead—but go smart. Sometimes the best travel souvenir isn’t a keychain or bottle of cachaça—it’s making it home without a hospital bill or starring in your own Dateline episode.