When traveling abroad it is very important to know where your embassy or consulate is. Having them informed of your arrival and stay is also important, should anything bad happen. Of course, when going to a safe country the risks are lower. Make sure you travel to a country with which yours has diplomatic relations with. Believe it or not, but even the US don’t have such relations with all the countries there. US citizens are advised against traveling to those countries.

The family left behind can contact the embassy or the consulate if they don’t hear from you in a timely fashion. Letting them know of your arrival and accommodation arrangements will ease this process. Make sure you get informed on what the embassy or consulate can and can’t do for you when you’re in a foreign country. For instance the US embassy can’t get any US citizens out of jail if they break the law of the country they visit. The same applies for any other embassy.

Pregnant women are advised against traveling abroad especially when nearing birth. There are situations when traveling can’t be avoided, and they will give birth on foreign soil. Usually kids receive the citizenship of the country they were born in, but US mothers can ensure their newborns’ US citizenship with a Consular Report of Birth Abroad. Informing the embassy about your pregnancy can ease the process.

If your passport gets stolen while you’re in a different country only your embassy or consulate can help by issuing another one while you’re in that country. Everyone knows they can’t return to their home country without a passport. The embassy will inform you of any emergency situation, especially one that involves evacuation.

No matter where you travel, inform your embassy about your accommodation, and the planned route, if you have any. Give detailed information on how you want to be contacted should this be needed.