The 12 foreign countries where you're most likely to get sick

Going abroad is exciting, with the chance to soak up new cultures, experience new scenery and meet new people. But branching out from the comfort (and hygiene) of your home country can increase your susceptibility to getting ill, which is precisely why doctors advise getting vaccinations before visiting some foreign destinations.

Because knowledge is power and all that, we thought we'd share medical travel insurer Get Going's research into the 12 riskiest foreign nations for tourists when it comes to stomach and bowel illnesses - so basically, the most uncomfortable kind. The main causes of transmission of bugs, the research determined, were: contaminated food, contaminated water/ice, handling unhygienic money, poor sanitation, human contact, and insect bites.

Using government data to find out the riskiest destinations, along with various official healthcare sources to find out the most common bugs, Get Going rounded up the places to avoid if you want to avoid getting sick on your travels at all costs. Sadly, as you can imagine, they're some of the most beautiful (and popular) tourist destinations in the world: