1. Go on line and Map Quest all of your travel itenerary before hand. Print out maps and sightseeing destinations that you have confirmed using your hotel as the starting point and one from the Airport to your hotel and back. Believe me there is nothing more fustrating than trying to figure out freeways and streets unless you have GPS.
2. Bring your personal pillow especially if you're like me and like my feather pillow. Nothing worse than those hotel pillows even if they have the feather pillows, they're still not the same.
3. Bring baggies. They are great for a multitude of things including using them for your panties/small laundry items, and of course snack keepers if you get food items on the road to snack on.
4. Airports are always germy so make sure you take Airborne the day before and that day too and lather up your hands with the stuff that stays on your hands for up to three hours.
5. Keep your manicure slippers that you get with a pedicure. They make great airport disposable slippers that you can keep on through the security check in if you have sandles or no socks.
6. Bring Ceyenne pepper spice in a small baggie. It's great in case you need to use it for self defense. The stuff burns like crazy if blown into your eyes and totally legal to carry this wonderful spice in case you need to jazz up some bland food. LOL
7. Roll your clothes instead of folding them. They pack tighter, you can get twice as much into a suitcase and your clothes won't be as wrinkled.
8. The rest is common sense travel, personal choice of items to bring i.e. books, iPod, music, or drink yourself to sleep on the airplane, but whatever you do, I agree, don't drink the water in most foreign countries unless it's bottled.
Get your rest before you leave so you can burn the midnight oil. Do not plan too many activties so you can do some spur of the moment things. Don't forget your cell phone! Takes lots of pictures so you can remember your adventure and eat lots of customary food for the region.