Following is a summary of contacts for obtaining essential travel information prior to an overseas journey. Keep this list handy for future reference.

Travel Advisories: The U.S. Department of State's Office of American Citizens Services and Crisis Managements administers the Consular Information Program, which informs the public of conditions abroad that may affect their safety and security. Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings are vital parts of this program.

Information sheets are available to more than 200 countries, virtually every one in the world. These reports do not generally include advice but purport to present conditions, such as health, crime, and any instability, in a factual manner so that the traveler can make an independent evaluation concerning travel to a particular country. Travel alerts are used to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions that pose significant risks or disruptions to Americans abroad.

Warnings are issued when the State Department decides, based on all relevant information, to recommend that Americans avoid travel to a certain country.

For current bulletins and up-to-date information on security conditions at worldwide destinations, contact the U.S. State Department's Overseas Citizen Services/Consular Affairs hot line at 888-407-4747 or, even better, access their excellent site, www.travel.state.gov.

Health Precautions: For recommendations and comprehensive health-status reports on your prospective destinations, contact Centers for Disease Control, 877-394-8747 or 800-311-3435. Vast amounts of useful and timely information are available at www.cdc.gov/travel. Do, for your continuing medical/travel records, have any inoculations registered in a yellow International Certificates of Vaccination (booklet PHS-731), available through your physician or public health office.

Travel Insurance: Don't leave home without it. Trip cancellation and interruption policies generally cover your travel investment in the event that you, your traveling companion or a close family member at home falls sick or suffers a severe accident, either before or during a trip. A majority of these policies are "bundled" and will, very importantly, pay for overseas medical expenses and emergency medical evacuation, should you need it, as well as provide live emergency assistance 24/7. A true lifesaver.

Compare carefully the policy inclusions and exclusions and premiums of top-rated travel insurers at www.insuremytrip.com, www.travelinsurancecenter.com, and www.travelinsure.com.

Medical Assistance Abroad: If you did leave home without travel insurance, there is a partial medical alternative for the price of a modest donation. The International Association for Medical Assistance to Travelers (IAMAT), 716-754-4883 or www.iamat.org, is a 50-year-old nonprofit organization whose "aim is to advise travelers about health risks, the geographical distribution of diseases worldwide, immunization requirements for all countries, and to make competent medical care available to travelers by western-trained doctors who speak English besides their mother tongue." It will provide a directory of qualified English-speaking doctors located in 125 countries, as well as many other invaluable services to the traveler. Its approved physicians have agreed to a very reasonable fixed payment schedule to cover medical visits at their office or your hotel and have pledged to be on call to IAMAT members 24 hours a day.

Customs: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, established in the wake of 9/11, is operated under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security. Returning American citizens are exempted from paying duties on the first $800 of dutiable items purchased abroad. This is your basic customs exemption. Family members, regardless of age, who live in the same home and return together to the United States may combine their personal exemptions to make a joint declaration.

For comprehensive details on duties, exempt and forbidden items, serious shoppers should request information from the CBP Service Center 877-227-5511, or at the CBP Web site www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel.

Electrical Current: Small American electrical appliances, like a toothbrush and shaver, operate usually on a standard of 110 volts, 60 Hz. AC, and are rarely compatible with overseas currents and outlets. Franzus Company, at 800-706-7064 or www.franzus.com/services.html, includes online and in their free pamphlet, "Foreign Electricity Is No Deep Dark Secret," a list of the voltages and outlet types for nearly 150 countries. Appropriate plugs and adapters may be purchased through print and Internet catalogs such as Magellan's, 800-962-4943, www.magellans.com, and TravelSmith, 800-950-1600, www.travelsmith.com.

Weather Conditions: For preparation in travel planning and packing, check weather forecasts for destinations across the globe at www.weather.com/activitiestravel/vacationplanner. For the recorded historical temperature highs and lows for the exact period of your journey, take a look at www.wunderground.com.

Irene Croft Jr. of Kailua, Kona, is a travel writer and 40-year veteran globetrotter. Her column is published in this section every other week.