Antimicrobial resistance is a global problem which affects also tropical countries. Travelers to these regions expose themselves to the risk of being colonised and infected with multidrug-resistant bacteria. The region visited, the occurrence of diarrhoea and the use of antibiotics are the principal risk factors leading to colonisation with multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, which can affect up to 80% of travellers. Colonisation with meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin resistant enterococci are often due to contacts with the health care system of the visited country. For the practitioner evaluating a patient returning from abroad it is important to consider the risk of infection with multidrug-resistant bacteriae. Screening for these bacteriae in the stool or by mucocutaneous swabs can be discussed in certain situations.