Doxycycline belongs to a group of medicines called tetracycline antibiotics. It is an effective and affordable anti-malarial and doesn\'t require a long \"loading\" time. You can start taking Doxycycline from just 2 days before your trip for it to be effective. Although affordable, the downside to Doxycycline is that it can cause photosensitive skin reactions in certain patients and is therefore not really recommended if you are intending to spend a large amounts of time in the sun. The alternative is Malarone (Atovaquone/Proguanil) To check whether this treatment is suitable for your area of travel please visit http://www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk/.