But you'd be amazed how many people forget! When travelling on any Explore tour you'll need a valid passport and all the relevant visas for the whole country, or countries that the tour visits.

If you don't have one already you'll need to apply for a full passport. From our experience in the UK, applying for a new passport can take up to 6 or 8 weeks, so leave yourself plenty of time.

If you do have a passport, please double-check the expiry date! We would hate for you to be denied boarding at check-in or for entry to your country of destination to be refused simply because your passport is no longer valid.

Many countries insist on travellers having at least 6 months validity left from the time of departure from that country - this is something we also stipulate for all of our customers. So if you only have 4, 5 or even 6 months left on your passport at the time of leaving home you need to renew it.

British Citizens can find more about passport applications at UKPA.

As well as a valid passport, you'll need to make sure you have all the necessary travel visas required for the whole of your journey. Please also bear in mind that you might require visas for any transit stops during your flights - if stopping en route in the USA for example.

The type of visas needed varies hugely from country to country. And of course is different for different nationalities. Some countries don't require visas, whilst others have amazingly complex sets of rules for applications. And of course requirements are changing all the time.

For all these reasons, you need to start thinking about visas at the time you book - for some tours in Central Asia for example, it can take up to 7 weeks to apply for and receive all the necessary visas.

You'll find a guide to the visa requirements for each tour on the individual tour dossier. We do our best to keep this information up to date, but do ask that our customers double check the requirements, either with the relevant consulate or Embassy, or by using a visa agency.

Each individual traveller is responsible for ensuring that they have a valid passport and all relevant visas for their holiday.

Want to take the hassle out of this whole process? Why not contact Travcour (UK). Explore have been working with Travcour for many years now - they are a specialist travel visa and passport agency, who, for a fee, can make all the necessary visa applications for you.

Some countries refuse admission to visitors not meeting their accepted standards of dress or appearance, even if they are holding a valid passport and entry visa. Please check these details when applying for visas.

You should also be aware that certain countries may refuse entry if your passport bears an Israeli visa or stamp.