A traveller's best friend is experience, and it can take dozens of trips tobuild this the hard way. Fortunately, there are some tips that can be passed on to help the inexperienced traveller before they even step on a plane.

Travel planning

Most people have the good sense to work out their journey time to the airport and then add a little extra for unforeseen delays. But is that enough, should something major go wrong - if the car breaks down, for instance, or there are traffic tailbacks due to roadworks or an accident? Remember, too, to try and avoid travelling at peak periods such as Christmas, Easter and July and August, when families are taking their holidays. This applies particularly to weekends, especially Saturdays.

The traveller should find out in advance of flying whether he will be required to pay an airport tax on departure and, if so, how much. This is normally only a token sum, but it would be frustrating to have to change a £50 travellers' cheque in order to pay it. Departure taxes are almost always payable in local currency. Occasionally an equivalent sum in US dollars will be accepted. The ideal arrangement is to work out roughly how much transport to the airport will cost, add on the airport tax, if any, and then throw in a little extra for incidentals.

Taking taxis

Most travellers would agree that the task of dealing with taxi drivers could be elevated to a science. In some parts of the world, overcharging alone would be a blessing. What is really disconcerting is the driver who cannons through red lights or uses part of the pavement to overtake on the inside.

And what about the fare? Without a meter, the obvious foreigner will almost certainly be overcharged. But even the sight of a rank full of taxis with meters should not raise too much hope. Meters often 'break' just as you are getting in.

Two good tips for dealing with the drivers of unmetered taxis are:

1. Know a little of the local language - at least enough to be able so say "hello""please take me to...", "how much?" and "thank you". This throws the driver a little. After all, the driver's aim is only to try and make an extra pound or two. He doesn't want to get involved in a major row at the risk of being reported to the authorities.

2. Try and have the correct amount ready to hand over. It prevents the driver pleading that he has not got sufficient change - a ruse that often succeeds, particularly when the passenger is in a hurry. It also avoids 'misunderstandings'.

A typical misunderstanding might go like this: the traveller hands over a note worth, say, 100 blanks for a trip that he believed was going to cost him 20 blanks. However, the driver, with the note safely tucked into his pocket, tells him he was wrong, he misheard or was misinformed. In fact, the journey cost 30 blanks and 70 blanks is handed back as change. This leaves the passenger in an invidious position. He cannot snatch his note back, and is faced instead with the indignity of having to argue for a relatively small amount (very rarely would a driver attempt to cheat on too large a scale). In most cases, the traveller will shrug his shoulders, walk away and put his loss down to experience. And this is what the driver is relying on. That is the reason he is not greedy: he knows that even the most prosperous-looking passenger would baulk at too big a reduction in his change.

Tea oils the wheels

If you must spread around a little 'dash' to oil the palms that facilitate your progress, do so carefully, after checking how to do it properly with someone who knows the ropes. You may be able, for instance, to avoid a few days in a Mexican jail for a mythical driving offence. On the other hand, you could end up in jail for trying to bribe an officer of the law - and then you might have to hand out a great deal more to get out rather than rot for months awaiting trial. The 1 or 5 bill tucked in your passport is the safest approach if you do decide on bribery, as you can always claim that you keep your money there for safety. But it may only be an invitation to officials to search you again, and since all officials ask for identity papers, you could go through a lot of dollars this way. When you think a bribe is called for, there's no need for excessive discretion. Ask how much the 'fine' is, or whether there is 'any way' of obtaining faster service.

Bribes, by the way, go under an entertaining assortment of different names. 'Dash' is the term in West Africa, except in Liberia, where the euphemistic expression is 'cool water'. 'Mattabiche', which means 'tip', 'corruption' or 'graft', oils the wheels in Zaire. In East Africa, the Swahili word for tea, 'chai', serves the same function. 'Baksheesh' is probably the best-known name for the phenomenon, and is widely used in the Middle East. It is a Persian word, found also in Turkish and Arabic, that originally meant a tip or gratuity, but took on the connotation of bribe when it was used to describe money paid by a new sultan to his troops. 'El soborno' is 'pay-off' in Spanish-speaking countries, except Mexico, where the word for 'bite' ('la mordida') is used. In India you have the 'back-hander'; in Japan 'wairo' or, when referring more generally to corruption, 'kuori kiri', which translates lyrically as 'black mist'. The French refer to the 'jug of wine' or 'pot de vin'. The Italians use the term 'little envelope' ('bustarella') and Germans have an honestly distasteful term for a distasteful thing: 'schmiergeld' which means 'lubricating money'. Even there, however, exporters gloss over the matter by simply using the abbreviation 'NA', 'nuzlich abgabe', which means 'useful contribution'.

Smiling strangers

Beware of the 'Smiling Stranger' when abroad. It is here that experience really counts, as it is often extremely difficult to separate the con man from a genuinely friendly person. A favourite ploy is for him to offer his services as a guide. If he asks for cash, don't say "I would like to help, but all my money is tied up in travellers' cheques." The Smiling Stranger has heard that one before and will offer to accompany you to your hotel and wait while a cheque is cashed.

The warning about confidence tricksters also applies to some extent to street traders: not the man who operates from a well set-up stand, but the one who wanders about with his arms full of bracelets or wooden carvings. He may give the souvenir hunter a good deal, but prices on the stands or in the shops should be checked first. Sometimes they will be cheaper in the latter, when, frankly, they should not even compare. After all, the wanderer does not have any overheads.

The ultimate avoidable hassle

Do not try smuggling anything through customs, especially drugs. Soft drugs may be common in the countries you visit, but think twice before buying. A local dealer may be a police informer. Prosecutions are becoming more common and penalties increasingly severe - from ten years' hard labour to mandatory death - and in some countries, sentences are hardly more lenient for mere possession.

Local courtesies

One of the biggest minefields for the unsuspecting traveller is local courtesies and customs, and most of us have our pet stories about how we have unwittingly infringed them.

It is worth knowing that you should not insult a Brazilian by talking to him in Spanish. The Brazilians are proud of the fact that they are the only nation in South America to speak Portuguese.

It's also important to understand that the Chinese, Japanese and Koreans believe in formalities before friendship, and that they adore business cards. Everyone should realise that they must not ask a Muslim for his Christian name. And it is of passing interest that Hungarians like to do a lot of hand-shaking.

It is easy to become neurotic about the importance of local customs. Respect is always crucial, but many people today, especially in the major towns, have access to modern global culture through their television screens and will be somewhat familiar with the ways of Western travellers. In any case, civility, politeness, warmth and straight dealing transcend most linguistic or cultural barriers.

The model visitor

If you wish to be respected, wear respectable clothes. If travelling on business, wear sober business clothes. Apart from when you're on the beach, in many countries women would be well advised to make sure their skirts are below the knees, their necklines demure and their arms, if not always their heads, are covered. Sometimes dark glasses are not a good idea - take them off, so your eyes can be seen.

In practice, none of this is much fun when the temperature is 45 degrees in the shade, the humidity is 100 per cent and your luggage weighs 35 kg. Nevertheless, try to keep your clothes clean. If not backpacking, use a suitcase instead of a rucksack and (if male) shave and get your hair cut as close to a crew-cut as possible without looking like an astronaut. A moustache is better than a beard, but avoid both if possible. Long hair, as long as it is suitably neat, is usually more acceptable for women.

There's no excuse for failing to research the countries you intend to visit. Talk to people who have lived in or visited them and find out what problems you are likely to encounter. If you go prepared and adopt a sympathetic, understanding frame of mind you should be able to manage without trouble.

You might also check the section on Culture Shock for further useful advice.