Travel: Something to declare - Trouble spots Warnings in new guide books

Hungary: "Racially motivated attacks by skinheads against gypsies, Africans and Arabs are not unknown, and the murder of a British tourist on Margaret Islands in Budapest in the summer of 1995 has turned that idyllic spot into a ghost town after dark" - Hungary (Lonely Planet, pounds 11.99).

Namibia: "In the last couple of years there has been an alarming increase in rapes and violence in general against women, albeit mostly confined to the townships. Therefore, women travellers unfamiliar with the area are advised to avoid walking around by themselves at night" - Namibia Handbook (Footprint, pounds 9.99).

Washington DC: "It's true, DC ain't Kansas: scan any copy of the Washington Post for a rundown of the latest drive-by shootings and crack-war escapades. However, almost all the crime that makes the newspaper headlines takes place in neighbourhoods (most of NE, SE and distinct parts of upper NW) that tourists have no business venturing into" - The Rough Guide to Washington DC (pounds 8.99).

Zambia (Lusaka): "Cairo Road and the streets on its west side are dangerous. People get mugged regularly here and pickpockets prowl the markets and bus stations. Naturally, rich-looking tourists are a tempting target" - Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia (Lonely Planet, pounds 9.99).

Contact the Travel Advice Unit on 0171-238 4503 or 4504, or fax 0171- 238 4545; on the Internet, at http://www.fco.gov.uk/ or on BBC-2 Ceefax from page 470 onwards