Planning

THINGS TO ARRANGE BEFORE YOU GO

Your Itinerary

Know how you will travel while abroad. There are many options to find deals on flight, hotel, and rental car. Make sure that you know the terms when booking any of these and avoid pitfalls or scams. Know how will you get from the airport to your hotel, and how will you get to each of the sites on your itinerary.

As much as possible, plan to stay in larger hotels that have more elaborate security. Safety experts recommend booking a room from the second to seventh floors above ground level – high enough to deter easy entry from outside, but low enough for fire equipment to reach.

When there is a choice of airport or airline, ask your travel agent about comparative safety records.

Legal Documents
Have your affairs in order at home. If you leave a current will, insurance documents, and power of attorney with your family or a friend, you can feel secure about traveling and will be prepared for any emergency that may arise while you are away. If you have minor children, consider making guardianship arrangements for them.

Register your travel
It is a good idea to register your travel with the State Department so that you may be contacted if need be, whether because of a family emergency in the U.S. , or because of a crisis in the area in which you are traveling. Travel registration is a free service provided by the State Department, and is easily accomplished online at https://travelregistration.state.gov. (In accordance with the Privacy Act, the Department of State may not release information on your welfare or whereabouts to inquirers without your express written authorization.)

Credit
Make a note of the credit limit on each credit card that you bring, and avoid charging over that limit while traveling. Americans have been arrested for innocently exceeding their credit limit. Ask your credit card company how to report the loss of your card from abroad. 1-800 numbers do not work from abroad, but your company should have a number that you can call while you are overseas.

Insurance
Find out if your personal property insurance covers you for loss or theft abroad. Also, check on whether your health insurance covers you abroad. Medicare and Medicaid do not provide payment for medical care outside the United States . Even if your health insurance will reimburse you for medical care that you pay for abroad, health insurance usually does not pay for medical evacuation from a remote area or from a country where medical facilities are inadequate. Consider purchasing a policy designed for travelers, and covering short-term health and emergency assistance, as well as medical evacuation in the event of an accident or serious illness.

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WHEN TO USE A TRAVEL AGENT

When you are strapped for time. Earmarking guidebooks and comparing hotel prices can take weeks. A travel agent can quickly steer you to the right locations and hotels and book everything for you (but you still have to do the packing). And while agents do charge a fee, it may not be more than an extra night at a hotel.

When you have a complicated itinerary. Visiting several cities? “We know the fastest trains, where there’s a lot of traffic getting in and out of a city, and when it’s too much trouble to have a car,” says Judith Wolf, a Spain specialist at Frosch Travel, in Deerfield, Illinois. Agents also specialize in certain countries, so they know which sites sell a limited number of tickets and what days a landmark is closed. And since some agents work in large offices, “there are 70 other people I can go to if I don’t know something,” says Wolf. To find a local agent, consult the American Society of Travel Agents (asta.org) and search by ZIP code.

RESEARCH

• Know about the Safety of your destination.
• Know about the health risks at your destination.
• Know when and how to barter, and when and how much to tip.
• Know where the nearest embassy is located.

Make it a point to dress in a way that will not identify you as a tourist! Your destinations will likely be tourist destinations -- most of those locations will have "eyes on the street" that will allow for safety, but while traveling to quaint locations be careful not to become a target.