Unfortunately, sometimes it is inevitable that things go wrong. If they do, you need to be prepared and know how to deal with the situation. The most important thing you can do is put a little time aside before going to research and plan how to minimise the risks and identify who to contact in an emergency.

• Make sure that you have looked up the key phone numbers for local consulates and helplines

• Have all you insurance details to hand but, most importantly, the policy number and phone number of the insurance company
• If nothing else, make sure that you have registered with at least one location scheme. Check out our suggestions on the communications page under essentials

For more information and advice, check out the ‘when things go wrong’ page on the Foreign Commonwealth Office website where you will find plenty of information about how to deal with different situations and the most important contact numbers. There is also some great information and advice for Gappers on the ‘gap year problems’ page of the gogapyear.com website.