What do I need before going?

Really there are other things I need? There very well could be. Many countries require entry visas. Basically an entry visa is a piece of paper, a page in your passport, or a stamp on a page in your passport that tells the immigration folks in the country your going to that you have permission to go there as a tourist. You may be able to get a visa on entry into the country, but just in case check with their embassy in the USA. Most all country embassy's have a presence on the world wide web these days so just go into a search engine and key the country name followed by embassy and a link to their web page should come up. You may have to poke around their site some to find where the entry requirements are but they are probably there. There may be more than one embassy web site and more than one location for a consulate in the US. To get an Egyptian entry visa we had to send our applications to the San Francisco, CA office. (http://www.egy2000.com/indexl.htm) Don't forget to check if a visa is required for a place you may stop along the way other than to change planes. We are going to spend three days in the United Kingdom (http://ukinusa.fco.gov.uk/en) so we had to check their web site too.

The embassy web sites also have information about what to see and what to do to enjoy their country. They have tips on staying safe and customs and courtesies that are observed in their country that may be different than ours.

You also need to check the US State Department web site (http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis_pa_tw_1168.html) to see if there are travel restrictions for your destination or restrictions for intermediate stops you might make along the way. This website also offers other tips about traveling abroad. While you are at the State Department web site see if there are any immunizations that you will need to get before you go to your destination. Some may be required, others may be suggested. Immunizations sometimes require more than one injection a specific period a part so this may delay your departure if you don't work on it right away.