Last updated August 2026
Traveling abroad is one of life’s great pleasures, but it can be stressful, especially if you’re jetting to a new destination. Here are tips to help you get ready for your trip and stay safe and healthy while you’re away.
For each country, the State Department website offers:
Travel Advisories: Country-by-country safety ratings (Level 1–4) with details on crime, terrorism, and health risks. You can also see global alerts like the current Worldwide Caution notice.
STEP (Smart Traveler Enrollment Program): Enroll for free to register your trip with the nearest U.S. embassy. You get security alerts, severe weather warnings, and the embassy can reach you in a crisis. If you travel often, set up an account to streamline the process. STEP enrollees also receive updates and alerts on health conditions for countries they visit.
A pre-trip planning guide covering entry requirements, local laws, embassy contacts, and health/insurance considerations.
Country-specific pages with entry/exit requirements, plus info on local laws, health conditions, transportation safety, and embassy info.
The State Department website also offers guidance on:
- Lodging safety
- Personal needs resources for seniors, LGBTQ+ travelers, travelers with disabilities, women, dual nationals, and those traveling with minors.
- Activity-specific tips for cruises, adventure travel, studying abroad, business travel, journalists, and more.
- Help abroad: What to do if you’re arrested, a victim of crime, lose your passport, need emergency financial assistance, or go missing.
- Resources for living abroad: For longer stays: voting from abroad, federal benefits, life events (birth, marriage, death), and services for Americans at U.S. embassies.
Beyond the State Department, resources worth checking:
- CDC Travelers’ Health: Destination-specific vaccine recommendations, disease outbreak notices, and the Yellow Book (travel-medicine guide) for in-depth health guidance. Its survival guide provides a good roundup of health-and-safety tips for international travel.
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection: What you can/can't bring back, duty rules, Global Entry, and TSA PreCheck.
- Sherpa: Aggregates entry requirements, visa rules, and health documentation needs by destination.
Before you leave, work through this checklist:
- Check your travel documents now, not the week before. Some countries won’t let board your flight unless your passport is valid for at least six months. If your passport will expire within the next year, check current passport-processing wait times and plan your renewal accordingly.
- Make copies of your passport. Leave one copy of the biographical data page with someone at home, pack another in your carry-on, and tuck a third in your checked bag. If your passport is lost or stolen, you’ll be glad you did. It’s also a good idea to take a photo of your passport and e-mail it to yourself.
- Get vaccinated, and do it early. Check the CDC’s site to see which vaccinations are required or recommended for your destination. You’ll typically need to deal with any vaccinations four to six weeks before departure.
- Sort out your prescriptions. Make sure you have enough medication to last the entire trip, plus a buffer in case of delays. Talk to your doctor ahead of time if you’ll need a refill while you’re away. Always carry medications in your carry-on, not your checked bag.
- Don’t exchange currency at the airport. Airport currency conversion booths are notorious for bad exchange rates and high fees. Instead, get cash from a local bank or ATM once you arrive at your destination. And when the foreign ATM asks whether you accept its currency conversion rate, decline that option—doing so will provide you the conversion rate offered by your bank back home, which likely will be far more favorable.
- Buy the right power converters and adapters before you go.
- Check your cellphone plan. Check with your wireless carrier before you leave to find out whether your phone will work at your destination and what it’ll cost you to use it. Data charges can be brutal if you don’t plan ahead.
- Button up your home. Think about getting a house sitter, pausing mail, newspaper, and package deliveries, paying bills in advance, making the house look lived in while you’re gone, and alerting your home security company or local police.
- Alert your bank and credit card companies. Let them know you’re traveling (and where) so they don’t flag legitimate charges as fraud and freeze your accounts while you’re overseas. This takes a few minutes and can save you a major hassle.
