The Gobi Desert, for example, is a barren wilderness with less than three people per square mile, few lights and no discernible roads for thousands of kilometers; it's as close to visiting the moon as you can imagine. When people head to South America, Bolivia is rarely on their must-do list. As a landlocked country in a continent with incredible beaches, most people don't consider it an essential stop. But they should, with its friendly people, affordable travel and the one-of-a-kind salt flats and multicoloured lakes of the Salar de Uyuni in the southwest. And most travelers heading to East Africa go to Tanzania, where they get to see both the Serengeti and beaches of Zanzibar. However, nearby Uganda also features great safaris at Murchison Falls, visits to the mouth of the Nile, and access to nearby gorilla trekking opportunities.

When choosing a more unusual travel destination, you'll likely find the amenities less designed for travelers, so be prepared. Here a few things to consider before heading off the beaten path:

Navigation
Whether traveling through the Sahara Desert or the Australian Outback, make sure you come equipped with a good guide or great maps. In the Gobi, nights are spent in the gers (round, felt-covered tents) of nomadic people. With few roads, and accommodations that move from week to week with the nomads, finding your way requires an extremely talented guide. Make sure you hire a reputable company to avoid chilly desert nights sleeping in a tour bus.

Health
Getting shots can be a pain in the butt. And the cost of all the medicine required for some trips can end up rivaling the cost of your ticket! But nothing is a bigger downer than getting sick when you're away, so get advice from travel clinics before you go, particularly to exotic locales. Regardless, be prepared for the fact you might still eat or drink something that disagrees with you. And bring Imodium. Travelers' Irony #1: The places where you'd most want there to be a working toilet are the places you're least likely to find them.

Safety
Somehow when we go on vacations, we always manage to pack with us our air of invincibility. For the sake of a good story, we take on events that back home would end with litigation. We zipline off the Great Wall of China and take 130 km/h taxi rides through narrow cobblestone streets during rush hour. Travelers' Irony #2: The places where you most need seat belts are the places you're least likely to find them. Have fun and be a little adventurous! But try not to get swept away in travelers' euphoria, and a good rule of thumb is: if the locals don't do it, you probably shouldn't, either. Also, be sure to buy travel insurance – it's cheaper than you'd expect – and take a travel medical kit. You can pick a good one up for under $20 at MEC, and the scissors can come in handy for all sorts of things while on the road.

Research
On a tight schedule? Figure out travel times and schedules before you leave home. Internet access, while proliferating rapidly, can be hard to get on the road and maps can be downright misleading. Knowing two cities in Bolivia are 150km apart gives you no indication of the time it takes to get between them. Poor road conditions in some countries can often make a short journey into a full-day ordeal.

Forget Your Research
On a tight schedule? Don't be. The more off the beaten path you get, the less schedules matter. To maximize profits, Bolivian mini-buses often only go when they fill up which makes scheduled departure times feel more like suggestions. Driving 10km in Kampala can take anywhere from 10 minutes to two hours depending on traffic. Keep your schedule open, relax and enjoy your trip!