Do your homework before you go

Americans will be heading to other countries over the coming months by the millions, and for almost as many reasons. No matter the purpose of your journey, whenever you cross the border of a foreign country, it's important to remember that much more than currency, food and language can be different.

In many cases, once you leave the United States, basic rights, freedoms and protections that we take for granted here may have absolutely no meaning there.

The same goes for issues of crime and punishment. In many countries, for example, seemingly innocent infractions can result in significant fines and lengthy imprisonment. Business misunderstandings can be regarded as fraud; a simple handshake can be taken as a binding contract. It's important to remember that a number of other countries still execute people they consider to be drug traffickers.

With this in mind, here are several tips all travelers can use, no matter where they call home.

First, remember that it is always the traveler's responsibility to obtain any necessary travel documents for their trip. That's especially true in these days of self-booking and Internet intelligence. If you're booking your trip through a travel agent, the agent should inform you of any particular travel requirements, but if they don't, you can't automatically assume there are none.

Always be sure that your passport is in order and that it has at least six months' validity before it expires. Some countries won't admit you if it doesn't.

If your itinerary is taking you to countries that require a visa, make sure to obtain it well in advance of departing. The same goes for any vaccinations that may be necessary. Otherwise, you can easily find yourself stranded at a border with one country not wanting to admit you and the other not wanting you back. The Web site of the Centers for Disease Control (www.cdc.gov/travel) provides information on medical requirements in most countries, often with area-specific warnings.

Two other online resources are www.tripprep.com and www.worldclinic.com. Another Web site, www.personalmd.com, lets travelers cache medical records in a secure file so they can be accessed in case of a health emergency. Finally, the Allegheny County Health Department maintains free resources on the subject of medications necessary for foreign travel. If you have questions, you can call them at 412-578-8060 and leave a message, and a trained adviser will call back.

Also note that most countries issue various visas according to the traveler's purpose for visiting. Tourist visas, for example, are generally valid for up to a three-month visit, as long as the traveler doesn't try to engage in any money-making activity while there. While it may be tempting for other travelers, such as people on business trips or students taking courses abroad, to sign up for the simpler tourist visas, it's always better to obtain the proper documentation.

It's also a good idea to make and leave with someone at home a list of all important travel documents you're taking with you. Take a copy for yourself and keep it someplace separate from the documents. Include on that list serial numbers of your traveler's checks, passport, visa, airline tickets and credit card information, along with a copy of your planned itinerary. How about the 800 phone numbers of your credit card companies to call if your plastic gets demagnetized, lost or stolen? That way, if you lose everything, you're only one phone call removed from information that will help you get quick replacements. Or stash it in an electronic account that you can access from overseas.

Another point for concern: Naturalized Americans planning to visit their native countries should also find out if that nation believes it has any claim on them.

If you, your parents, and in some rare cases even your grandparents were born in another country, you may find yourself eligible for taxation as soon as you cross its border -- or even worse. There are rare instances in which American men who have returned to visit their grandparents in their native land have been forcibly inducted into that country's military.

So if there is even a remote chance that you might be considered a citizen of a country you plan to visit, check your legal obligations with its U.S. embassy or consulate before you go. The Department of State maintains a Web page listing addresses and phone numbers for all the foreign countries with which we maintain diplomatic relationships (www.state.gov/www/travel/ consular_offices/fco_index.html). Another good resource for finding foreign embassies is www.embassy.org. Or if you need basic background on a country, try www.countrywatch.com, which maintains detailed data on 191 countries.

Very often, the key to smooth foreign travel is simply advance preparation and knowledge.