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is a hotel employee, do not open the door. Ask the person to wait until you can verify the visit by calling the front desk. Too many terrifying robberies of vulnerable people are the result of this ruse.

4. When walking the streets at night, stay in well-lighted areas where many others are present. Never start a conversation with a person who seems just a bit too friendly and says he/she wants to help you find bargains, fun, food, sex or other kinds of entertainment.

5. Never accept a ride in an unmarked taxi, nor if any other private driver offers you a lift. That's too often the way to find yourself helpless, robbed and bleeding in some alley or rural.

6. As elderly people, we know our stomachs can't stand the things we fed to it when we were young. As a general rule, and despite what you see on the travel TV sites, do not buy ready-to-eat food from street stalls. If you intend to dine out in a city where the food is not familiar to you ... nor to your poor old belly ... check with your hotel staff, tour guide, the internet or other source to find out where the cleanest restaurants are located.

7. Respect your body, especially if it has been around for too many decades. Don't try to do everything you planned on the first day of your trip. If you've just come off a ten-hour, red-eye flight with four stops in as many cities, check in to your hotel and take a two- or three-hour nap. We did this in Barcelona last year, and although we at first felt we were missing some touring and tasting in the beautiful city, we really needed the sack time.

Then, awaking at midnight, we strolled out onto the street hoping to find a Spanish version of an all-night McDonalds. However, as we went around the corner just a block from the hotel, we were greeted with blazing lights, wide-open cafes and hundreds of people out for the evening. After a fine dinner of tapas, we found out that evening in Barcelona doesn't even get started till 9 pm.

8. Whether with a spouse or as part of a tour group, always practice the buddy system, just like the one you did at the old swimmin' hole when you were kids. Now with cell phones and other electronic doo-dads, it is easy to keep in electronic touch everywhere at all times. However, as tourists, it is safer yet when you also make sure your buddy is within eyesight at all times.

9. When traveling with children, all the suggestions above go double for the little ones. The heartbreaking story of the little British girl who disappeared in Portugal two years ago and has never been found is a bitter lesson to all travelers. The horror of it should be enough for parents, teens and older relatives to keep wide open eyes on the younger ones 24-7 with no exceptions.

10. This may be a futile request, but maybe it will do some good for travelers. You must realize that if you plan a vacation this year, it will cost you considerably more than last year. And, from the press, oil racketeers and soothsayers, the prediction is that it will only get worse. Maybe it won't if all of us who need to travel decide to dig in our heels and declare, "Enough is enough! We're not going to pay those sucker prices any more!"

Whether it is a posh hotel, an overpriced cafe, a glitzy ocean cruise or fancy theater, just ignore the price quoted to you and either turn around and walk away, or make an offer you believe is fair. If enough tourists would stand up on their hind legs and do that, maybe the prices will start dropping down to where they belong. Anyhow, it is worth a try.

Learn more about this author, Ted Sherman.
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