One of the biggest issues faced when people travel is the lack of communications with friends and loved ones back home.

Everyone knows that, when you are on the other side of the world sunning yourself or in the middle of an African village working with kids, the last thing on your mind will be calling home. This is fine until something happens either to you or in the country or area in which you are working. At this point, not only do you have no way of contacting home but, chances are, you don’t know how to contact the local authority who might be able to help you. These issues can be overcome with a little research and planning.

Consider the following:

Phones

Take a cheap phone from home and buy a local sim card when you arrive. Make sure that you load the phone with all the numbers you might need, such as contacts at home, contacts in country, such as the local embassy or consulate, and the details of your insurance company, travel company and airline. It is also worth writing out a paper copy of these numbers and storing a copy on your email account should the phone get lost or stolen.

Carry a local phone card and some loose change and keep it in a separate purse or wallet for emergencies. Also make sure you know how to use the local phone boxes!

Internet

We all know that there are hundreds of ways to keep in touch via the web, so have a look into what options might suit you.

Setting up a new email account may be enough, or sending messages back via one of the social networking sites will keep everyone up-to-date. You could set up a blog and, if you update it regularly, you could let people know when you might be out of contact and for how long. Setting up a Skype account will mean that, as long as your parents or friends at home have their computers on, you can speak to them online. Make sure you keep the account topped up in case you need it for an emergency.

In general, just make sure that people know your rough itinerary. If you are going to be out of touch, this could be through a mixture of texts, emails and blogs, and can include people at home and the people you have met whilst travelling.

Locating schemes

Several companies provide a location scheme whereby you register your details before travelling and, in the event of an emergency, natural disaster or terrorist attack, the details are used to help track you down.

For more information on these schemes, see the Foreign & Commonwealth Office 'LOCATE' scheme.