The following tips will help make your trip safe and enjoyable:

• Make sure your passport is valid for at least six months after your expected return.

• Photocopy the first two pages of your passport and your visas and keep them in a separate place.

• If you enter a country that requires a visa, be prepared to show evidence you have enough cash to support yourself, plus your return ticket to prove you will be leaving.

• Find out well in advance of your trip what vaccinations are required.

• Take out extra travel insurance and leave a copy of the documentation with someone at home.

• If you need to carry medication, carry a copy of your original prescription and make sure all medicines are in their original packaging.

• Do not expect to rely on credit cards or ATMs as they are not globally accepted yet.

• Never carry every piece of identification you have in one place.

• Rather than carrying papers with all of the important numbers (passports, travelers' cheques, credit cards, phone numbers to call for lost or stolen cards, ID, etc.) send yourself an email with all of the information prior to departure.

• Carry extra passport photos with you in case you need to apply for a visa while you are travelling.