West Voyage Tips and guide

The West or the Occident refers to various nations of western Europe and North America, as well as Australia and New Zealand, which together comprises a single civilization.

The West has a complex and mixed cultural heritage dating back more than three millennia, shaped by the rise and fall of Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire, the Renaissance, the colonization of North America and Oceania, and the Industrial Revolution. Countless kingdoms, republics, and empires have left archaeological sites, old towns, and megacities for you to explore.

Map of the West

The origin of the Western civilization can be traced back to the ancient Mediterranean world, with the Ancient Greece and Rome being considered the birthplaces of the Western civilization. Major advances in philosophy, literature, science, aesthetics, engineering, warfare, governance, and religion shaped the Greco-Roman culture. The civilization is also closely associates with Christianity, its dominant religion.

The concept of the West started to take shape in the 4th century CE when Christian Roman emperor Constantine the Great divided the empire between the Greek East and Latin West. The Eastern Roman Empire, later called the Byzantine Empire, continued for a millennium, while the Western Roman Empire lasted for only about a century and a half. The eventual Christianization of Europe in late antiquity would ensure that Christianity, particularly the Catholic Church, remained a dominant force in the Western culture for many centuries to follow.

In 1054, when the church in Rome excommunicated the patriarch of Byzantium, the division between the Western church and Eastern church culminated in the Great Schism. Even though friendly relations continued between the two parts of Christendom for some time, the crusades made the schism definitive with hostility. The West during these crusades tried to capture trade routes to the East and failed, it instead discovered the Americas.

During the Age of Discovery, the period of colonization involving Western European powers, an idea of the "Western" world emerged, which was solidified by the Renaissance intellectuals who associated it not only with Christianity but also with the intellectual and political achievements of the ancient Greeks and Romans. The widespread influence of Western culture extended globally through imperialism and colonialism by Western powers from the 15th to 20th centuries, which continues to this day through the exportation of mass culture.

The Western culture encompasses the social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, belief systems, political systems, artifacts, and technologies rooted in European and Mediterranean histories, and later circulated around the world through colonization and globalization.

Despite being the core of Christianity since late antiquity, the West has been known for its irreligious sentiments since the mid-20th century with the separation of church and state, and the secularization of the Western world.

Although the West is often stereotyped as the "homeland" for white people, the notion is being changed since the 1960s due to the civil rights movements and liberal laws in various countries.

Most of the West has a temperate climate. The European side of the Atlantic Ocean is milder than that of North America due to the influence of the Gulf Stream. On the other hand, parts of Alaska, Greenland, northern Canada and the Nordic countries are in the Arctic, with cold or cool weather all year round, and few inhabitants.

Due to the relative isolation from the rest of the world, getting into the West can be more difficult than getting out of it, depending on where you live. Some countries have anti-immigration laws and strict visa policies that adversely affect non-Western travellers.

Flying is the most common way to get into the West since the late 20th century, with many non-Western airlines serving Western destinations and vice versa.

Sailing is another popular way to get into the West, with both the Suez Route and the Cape Route being popular.

Travelling to the West overland is possible but can be challenging, depending on the local political situation. Between Asia and Europe, the Silk Road was popular for caravans in ancient and medieval times, and the Hippie Trail was considered legendary in the 1960s and 70s. However, following the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the civil war in Afghanistan, both routes quickly became unpopular.

Latin Americans may use the Pan-American Highway to enter the United States and Canada overland. Just be aware that it's practically impossible to pass overland between Colombia and Panama; the Darién Gap stands in the way.

Although the Western countries are generally safer and more hospitable than non-Western countries, non-Western travellers can be subject of cultural stereotypes and even violence in some countries.

• Asia — often called the East to distinguish from the West
• Eurasia — a landmass comprising Asia and Europe