More people are traveling (1) abroad / aboard in the 21st century than ever before. Going away for a week or two's (2) vacating / vacation has never been easier, and the age of (3) mass / massive tourism has truly arrived! If you prefer the comforts of home and have never been away before, here's how it works.

If you enjoy the convenience of a (4) packing / package tour (where you pay for your flights, (5) transfers / transits to and from the airport, and (6) acommodations / accomodations / accommodations in advance), you simply go to the travel (7) operator / agency , pick up a (8) brochure / catalog or two, find a (9) destiny / destination and (10) itinerary / itinerant that suits you, and (11) reserve / book it. You then (12) pay a deposit / make a down payment , and pay the (13) remainder / balance closer to your travel date. Just before you (14) leave / depart , your tickets arrive and then you're away.

If you are an (15) independence / independent traveler who prefers more freedom and (16) flexibleness / flexibility , log on to the Internet, find a website that sells cheap flights, choose your (17) departure / departing date and return date, then pay the (18) airfee / airfare . You will then automatically have an (19) a-ticket / e-ticket logged with the airline. If you choose a hotel at the same time, your chosen hotel will automatically be informed of your (20) booking / reservation . You should also receive (21) consternation / confirmation of everything by email. Closer to the date of your (22) trip / excursion , some airlines will even let you (23) check in / check-in online, to save you from waiting in line for ages at the airport (24) terminus / terminal . (25) Ticketless / Ticketfree travel has eliminated the need for piles of unnecessary paperwork. It's all so easy!

Or is it? Here are just a few things that you ought to consider (and remember, this all has to be done before you even get to the airport!).

First of all, you will need to check your passport: have you got one, for a start, and is it still (26) validated / valid ? Most countries will not let you in if your passport (27) runs out / expires within six months. Secondly, what about a (28) visa / visor ? More and more countries require you to have one, and this will cost you money (and time and effort, too: in some cases, you have to present yourself in person at the country's (29) emmbassy / embassy ). Thirdly, you will need to get (30) traveler's checks / traveling checks and / or foreign (31) currancy / currency : if you choose the latter, you need to check the (32) exchange / changing rate to make sure you are getting a favorable (33) deal / bargain , and then in most cases you will need to pay (34) comission / commission / commision to the bank who supplies it. Finally, have you got adequate (35) insurence / insurance / insureance cover, are your (36) vaccinations / vaccinnations / vacinations up to date, will your mobile phone work abroad, and have you made (37) arrangments / arangements / arrangements for someone to look after your cat and dog, and water your plants, while you are away? (continued on page…)