Safety & Health
The things worth knowing before any trip
A short list that applies regardless of destination, assembled from everything else on this site.
Kwame Boateng
25 articles by Boateng
Food & Culture
Coffee, tea and drinking culture
How a place drinks reveals a good deal about it, and the conventions differ more than the drinks do.
Flights & Transport
Getting between airports and cities
The first and last journey of any trip, frequently the most expensive per kilometre and the easiest to get wrong.
Safety & Health
Alcohol, substances and the legal position
Substance laws vary enormously and penalties abroad are frequently far more severe than travellers assume.
Food & Culture
Souvenirs worth bringing back
Most purchases made abroad are regretted, and the categories that are not have identifiable characteristics.
Money
Emergency money and what to do if it all goes
Losing cards, cash and documents simultaneously is recoverable, and the recovery depends on arrangements made beforehand.
Planning
Coming home and what to do with it
The return is planned less than the departure and matters more than people expect.
Safety & Health
Sun, water and the outdoor risks
Drowning and sun exposure account for more traveller harm than most of the things people worry about.
Where to Stay
Camping and outdoor accommodation
Rules on where you may sleep outdoors differ enormously between countries, and the practical requirements are consistent.
Money
Budgeting a long trip
Extended travel has different economics from a holiday, and the daily rate falls substantially with the right approach.
Planning
Travelling with a disability or a condition
Accessibility varies enormously and information is poor, which makes verification the central task.
Food & Culture
Museums, sites and getting something from them
Most visitors see too much and remember nothing, and the fix is to see less deliberately.
Money
Scams that target travellers
The techniques are remarkably consistent internationally, which means recognising the pattern protects against most of them.
Flights & Transport
Jet lag and long flights
The evidence on adjusting to time zones supports a few specific measures and not most of the folk remedies.
Safety & Health
Altitude, heat and cold
Environmental conditions cause more traveller problems than exotic disease, and they are the most preventable.
Where to Stay
Long stays and slow travel
Staying a month somewhere is a different activity from visiting, with different logistics and a different set of problems.
Flights & Transport
Car hire and driving abroad
Where a car transforms a trip, where it is a liability, and the charges that appear afterwards.
Planning
Visas, entry rules and the paperwork
Entry requirements change frequently, apply differently by passport, and are the traveller’s own responsibility.
Food & Culture
Markets, and how to use them
The most informative place in most cities, and the one visitors use least effectively.
Money
Travel insurance and what it actually covers
Policies differ substantially in what they exclude, and the exclusions are where claims fail.
Flights & Transport
Layovers, connections and what can go wrong
Connecting flights are where itineraries fail, and the protections differ substantially depending on how the ticket was booked.
Safety & Health
Staying safe without staying home
Risk while travelling is real, distributed differently from how people assume, and mostly manageable with ordinary precautions.
Where to Stay
Choosing where to stay in a city
Location determines more of the experience than the room does, and the criteria are not the obvious ones.
Food & Culture
Eating well as a traveller
Finding good food in an unfamiliar place is a skill with a small number of reliable rules.
Money
Travel money: what actually costs you
Currency conversion is where travellers lose the most money without noticing, and the mechanisms are simple once described.