There’s a lot of excitement that comes along with the idea of travel. Seeing new places, doing new things, meeting new people – they all come along with a plane ticket or a long drive. But there are some common issues that you can run into as well, and in many cases they’re preventable as long as you do a bit of research first.

Five of these troubles that are certain preventable (or fixable somehow) include dealing with bed bugs, dirty water, tourist financial traps, transportation woes, and issues regarding protection from the weather. Consider them all before leaving, and not after you get to your next destination.

Bed Bugs

It’s easy to freak out about bed bugs. Something about them pulls at the central fear core of the modern human experience – the idea of little creepy crawlies getting all over you in your sleep, getting all over your clothes, in your sheets, and potentially stowing away with you when you leave somewhere. There are certain hotels in certain areas that are at particular risk, so be informed about any possible infestations before you choose which hotel to check into, especially in bigger cities or urban areas.

Dirty Water

Depending on the area you go, finding clean drinking water can be an issue. It’s highly recommended that you find bottled water supplies in a lot of more exotic locations, because though the people there might be used to any kinds of particles in local water supplies, you may not, and that’s a sure way to get an upset stomach very quickly and have to deal with all sorts of unfortunate consequences.

Tourist Financial Traps

In some locations, especially when you aren’t familiar with the local economy or how the exchange rate works, you can run into some pretty serious tourist traps when it comes to buying things. These things can be as varied as little local trinkets, to electronics, to clothing. Just be very cautious that you don’t get railroaded into spending an amount of money that you don’t understand on things that you don’t need.

Transportation Woes

Public transportation in other countries can be extremely confusing. You have to learn the etiquette of taking taxis, or the way to get on and off of buses, or the cultural norms of movement and general, and if you aren’t careful, you’ll end up wasting money and not getting where you want to get.

Weather Protection

And it’s dangerous to assume that you understand the weather at foreign locations as well. Even traveling across the same country you can run into issues with sun, rain, tornadoes, wind, or flooding. Always get information ahead of time dealing with seasonal weather conditions to prevent this common problem.