asalamy - I was in Dublin a few months ago, and definitely had to show my passport both entering and exiting Ireland from the UK.

Third World Countries? Queens NY in comparison to someplace like Old Delhi India or parts of Western Africa.Not even close!

Have your son take a look at www.gapyear.com - there's loads of information there about visas, vaccinations, insurance. It is primarily aimed at young travellers from the UK, but the information provided is relevant for travellers from all countries and much of it will apply to your son regarding his trip.

You can download a 'Malaria Awareness' guide, and in the countries section there's info on Nigeria and Ghana.

You need visas for both countries, and apparently even Bill Gates was refused a visa for Nigeria in 2007. So you may not need to worry about your son visiting those countries.

Also, the World Health Organisation website will advise which immunisations your son will require for each country - and it takes 8-12 weeks to fit them all in with sensible gaps between each set so he needs to think about that NOW.

<<and it takes 8-12 weeks to fit them all in>>

I have been after him for a couple months to get on this. He wants to leave home in a couple weeks, and the country toward the end of October, so he clearly has left this very late. No fault of mine. Before I went to the Philippines many many years ago, we went once a week for a month and got a shot in each arm, so I certainly knew this and told him.

Some areas of Africa require protection against Yellow Fever, a nasty series of jabs

Kudos to your son, artsnletters, on wanting to undertake this adventure, and even moreso to you for being such a supportive and sensible parent. I've followed this thread with interest and wish him all the best for a fantastic trip.

You've got lots of good (and some not so) information to sort through. I think you've got your answer now on the entry/exit into the UK so no more comment on that.

May offer some other considerations ?
On the subject of travel in Africa, I agree giving Nigeria and Ghana a pass but do not overlook the Northern part of the continent (Morocco, Egypt), the eastern part (Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar) and even the south (Botswana, S.Africa) as possibilities for varied and exciting experiences. And these can be had safely and inexpensively. If he has his wits about him once he gets there, he will definitely find safe and cheap ways of visiting and exploring these countries. I know cos I've done it myself, albeit a few years ago, but many close friends of mine have done it more recently. The same goes for travel in S.E. Asia and India. There are some wonderful adventures waiting for him to experience in all these countries and continents, and ones that I think he will appreciate given his character that you've described. He will also meet plenty of other travellers like himself to help him along.

Like a previous poster, I too think that he will go through $10K quickly. It's harder to be prudent with cash on a trip like this so suggest either putting some of it aside for emergencies or save a bit more before leaving. If he doesn't have to rush, the world will wait for him !

On the subject of visas, if he plans on visiting Russia, he may have to look into obtaining his visa AND invitation from his home country before he leaves. As far as I know, the only exception for this requirement are cruise ship visitors who typically visit for only a day or two. However given his open ended travel plans, it might be better and cheaper to look into it before his departure - if he plans to go there. Also, central Europe and the eastern bloc countries are wonderful destinations and relatively inexpensive.

One other consideration might be to check the time of the year with respect to climate and weather of the countries he may visit. Severe winters can be limiting in the Northern Hemisphere, and India/SE Asia in Monsoon season is no picnic. Remember that the African winter is in July/August and can be a pleasant respite from the burning sun for travelling, but you will need warm clothing in S. Africa (toque and gloves in the early mornings as my family discovered on their vacation there this year). Avoid desert nations during their summer; its hotter and more oppressive than you could ever imagine.

One last thing, it may be helpful to him (and you) for him to carry the means for mobile communication beyond a cell phone. The world is very connected nowadays, even in remote areas. His independent nature may not think it necessary but its good to have.

Can't wait to read reports of his adventures. Please keep us posted and ask away for advice. The FODORS Africa and Asia boards are helpful, as is Lonely Planet for travellers his age.

Good luck !

M

PS And lets not forget a tiara at the bottom of his backpack in case of an emergency. :)

Yellow fever is one shot, not particularly nasty. He will need that certificate to get into any country if he's coming from one where it's endemic. If I were you, I might worry more about the grandparents-rather uncool that he's using the money they set aside for college.
There is a well-established backpack trail, and he won't be alone out there. I don't think asking for weekly email is excessively constricting, but I'm a mom!

Mathieu, thanks for your insights. It sounds like the eastern side of Africa is less dicey than the western side. I'm supposed to be in charge of suggesting an itinerary that avoids the worst of the weather, but it isn't helpful that he's starting this trip essentially at the beginning of November. I've heard November through March is a good time to be in India as well as the southern end of the African continent, but as long as he's in western Europe, he wants to see what's on his agenda there first, since it's going to be the most expensive leg. And Turkey is supposed to be in there too, although early winter seems a bad time to be there. Right now I'm thinking maybe western Europe, then Turkey, then India around the first of the year, then where he can fly to in South Africa, and working his way north from there. That saves the diciest part of the trip until he's (a) got some experience in the third world, and (b) is closer to heading home. Maybe he comes up through Morocco and flies home from Spain?

(The funny thing is, he'd think it was hilarious to wear a tiara.)

SusanSDG, I feel pretty bad about the grandparents, although in my son's defense, with his learning disabilities college may just not be in the cards. He spent three semesters trying to get some purchase in community college and managed to complete a whole three courses. The grandparents are very traditional, security-minded folks, and while that's admirable, it doesn't work for everyone and certainly lacks any scope of vision. My mother thought I should go get a nice secure clerical job for the federal government after I finished my undergrad degree and serve out my time. Instead, I got a Ph.D. and now do considerably more interesting and challenging stuff than pushing papers around.

Forgot to ask, Mathieu - what do you recommend as a mobile means of communication? Right now he's not planning on anything. Keeping cost low is very important.

Oh for heaven's sake, corli33. You know nothing whatsoever about me or my experience, where I live or what I drive. As a matter of fact, you are completely, totally wrong on every count.

I don't appreciate your "participation" (if you can call it that) on this thread, as you've had nothing constructive whatsoever to offer this discussion. You are only looking for a platform for your own irrelevant (in the context of this thread) opinions. In all honesty, why don't you go post in the lounge on threads where people want to talk about the stuff you're interested in?

I was born in an NIC (newly industrialized country) that used to be Third World, but has modernized in the past 30 years.

I lived for 20 years in Los Angeles. I don't think it's Third World at all. Yes, there is homelessness, crime, hunger, unemployment, a high percentage of immigrants. But this describes urban life. If we equate cities like LA, the Bronx, and Queens to the Third World, we could also say that Paris, Berlin, and Rome are "Third World." These cities have characteristics as described above, too.

Of course, it certainly isn't true that Paris/Berlin/Rome are Third World cities, and we know this here at Fodor's because most of us have traveled there. This is why it's so important for more young Americans to travel internationally to explore and learn from the rest of the world. And this is why I applaud artsnletters for encouraging his/her son to travel.

Americans consist of 5% of the total population in the world, and yet our lifestyles require/allow us to consume more energy than western Europe, China, and Russia combined. If more of us are able to see first-hand what Third World countries are really like, we'd realize how lucky we are to be living in a society surrounded by such immense wealth.

I feel fortunate to have immigrated to the US and am thankful for the educational opportunities, for if it weren't for these opportunities, I wouldn't be able to contribute to the American economy today. I hope that the younger generation of Americans will take their experiences abroad and use it to build a more intelligent, efficient, and open-minded America.

Thanks, nancicita, for injecting a dose of reality and rationalism.

artsnletters-I would highly recommend a "travel sized" laptop (netbook) that is inexpensive but very nice to have while traveling around for looking up places to stay or stay connected to his family. I LOVE the ACER which was about $297 at Sam"s Club. There are alot of similar ones now at about every possible computer purchase place.
Although I fly as an international flight attendant everyweek overseas,I use my netbook everywhere. Skype can be used with the built in webcam so you will be able to see him-very important for us moms?

I would love to have one of those for myself, but unfortunately it's beyond my budget right now and far beyond his. I think it would be very difficult to talk him into taking one even if provided for him, and harder still to hang on to it when he's planning on traveling rough. Darn! It's hard to imagine not talking to him for such a long time.

there are internet cafes EVERYWHERE these days - that's usually the cheapest and easiest way to stay in touch.

Hope he has a lovely trip and don't worry too much about him - loads of people his age are doing the same thing in the same parts of the world. Not everything can or needs to be planned out in detail.

Oh and on Nigeria, while I agree its of limited general tourist interest (although it has its intersting parts, you may as well see similar elsewhere) and not as safe as the main African destinations, I'd disagree it's quite the nightmare portrayed by some here. I get the feeling that most of the comments relate to the north of the country, (smuggling in Christian missionaries?) but the south isn't quite as bad as that.

I'm in Bangkok at the moment and uselessly brought my netbook. I am not staying in a hotel with wifi (when you're spending $9 a day for a hotel room, it's already pretty cool to have air-con, satellite TV and a swimming pool, so I'm not complaining), so I just pop into an internet cafe from time to time at 0.75 baht per minute (that's about $1 per hour). My netbook is a useless piece of baggage on this trip.

Doing business in Nigeria is usually with accompanied highly armed bodyguards and back up vehicles. So, I tend to think it would be far off any tourist safelist.

As for the laptop, since it's really just a means to stay in touch, and does not need to have the latest bells and whistles, might it be practical to check shops that sell secondhand computers, or even thrift stores? Some of these places have enormous quantities of old electronics show up in them. I'm borrowing an old laptop from a family member for my Ireland trip, as I use a desktop, and I don't want to take my husband's. Even if you're not related to the kind of people who always have to have the latest thing, there are a lot of slightly obsolescent but functional computers out there.

If the OP and her son are looking for a way to keep in touch, I would look into an iPod Touch rather than a full computer. I don't have one so I don't know many details, but it does have wifi capability and may be able to use Skype? I'm not sure. Something to check into, anyway, and I'd much rather carry that around than a laptop. However, it sounds like neither may be in the budget, in which case I think internet cafes will work just fine (at least in Europe; I'm unfamiliar with other places on his route).

For those of you who want to follow this saga, I will do my best to keep you posted. The trip is beginning in a couple weeks with a ride-share/hitchhiking trip from the Bay Area to NYC, possibly quite roundabout, so it will turn up on the United States board for starters. Thanks for all your help!

linca - I agree that Nigeria is not the safest place and not on most tourist lists - but the worst area is the north with all the oil business- there you definitely need armed bodyguards as kidnapping is a real risk. It's a massive country though, and it's not the norm everywhere.