We’ve all made them, though I don’t think we’ll ever avoid all of them. But more often than not, there are ways around the travel mistakes we make. Sure, it might be way more fun to talk about all the room upgrades we score, the elite status benefits we enjoy, or the deal for flights that DIDN’T get away, but let’s face it, we’ve all made a bunch of mistakes. So let’s air them and have some fun laughing at ourselves and commiserating with each other. Here’s Part 1 and Part 2 of the series.
The Most Common Mistakes
No matter how much we plan or how well we assume we’ll carry out those plans, there’s always a lot that’s not under our control. I started asking around and found that some travel mistakes are more common than others. And some people agree on how best to avoid those mistakes, but not always. Based on my own experience as well as that of many other frequent travelers, here are the mistakes and how to avoid them. There are so many of them I’ve actually made this a 3 part series!
Passport issues
This one surfaced for a friend of mine just last month. Passports have an expiration date, that’s obvious. And in general, they are valid up until the day they expire. But not always and not everywhere. Some destinations require at least 3-6 months remaining on your passport in order to travel. If you need a visa for your trip, these remaining months are essential. It’s good to have a beginning of the year checklist for travel. Or maybe start your checklist on your birthday so it coincides with your passport. In either case, do put checking your passport dates on that travel to-do list.
Image source: https://www.rushmypassport.com/passport-renewal-faq.html
Not doing your homework
This is a tricky one because I fall right in the middle of the planning spectrum. My cousin has a trip planned to Paris and she’s already got opera tickets, Eiffel Tower tickets, and three city tour tickets all paid for and booked. For me, that’s way too much planning ahead. I’ll do some planning, but I like to get somewhere and see what I feel like doing and how I want to spend my time. I’ve never not been able to get an opera ticket or city tour when I’ve made plans from my destination rather than planning so far ahead. If you don’t do your homework though, you may miss out or create stress for yourself. Case in point is hotel rooms, or lodging in general. Though some people can wing that, I do prefer to know where I’m going to stay and how I’ll get there when I arrive.
Not reading reviews
A similar mistake can be reading too many reviews and believing what you read. I think the more we travel, the better we get at discerning information and whether or not it applies to us. There are, of course, reviews that are helpful and mention information that’s useful. Reading hotel, tour company, and things like seats on plane reviews can save us a lot of time, money, and disappointment. And if I’m paying cash for a hotel stay, I always use Pruvo to monitor for price drops to save even more money.
Image source: https://seatguru.com/airlines/United_Airlines/United_Airlines_Boeing_737-900_A.php?flightno=1200&date=
Not reconfirming plans
Sometimes I think I go overboard reconfirming things. Not because I’m a nervous traveler, but rather because I think it’s a good habit to have. The first time you forget to reconfirm and your plans get messed up, you’ll never not reconfirm again, right? Of course even when I’ve reconfirmed, plans still get messed up.
Not double checking your plans
I’m thinking if you are good about reconfirming you’re also the one who double checks, and maybe triple checks all the plans and itineraries. It’s weird how you can read the same thing over and over again and not notice a date or time until during one reading you say aloud, holy cow, how did I miss that! Make sure someone in your travel group is the double checker. You do know the story of the guy who got on the plane to OAK when he should have been on the plane to AKL, or the travel blogger who picked up the wrong car from the wrong rental company at AKL. Ooops, that would be me!
Not packing a change of clothes in your carry-on
If you’re one of the few lucky ones who has never lost a bag or arrived days before your bags did, I’d like to meet you! I’ve made this mistake numerous times and each time I do, I swear I’ll always pack a change of clothes in my carry-on. Of course, this is a mistake that’s not necessarily going to ruin your holiday, but it still is a major hassle when it happens.
Putting valuables or medicine in checked baggage
It’s called a must have for a reason and though this one is an easy mistake to make, it’s one we all need to pay attention to. Of course, at some point, you have to decide what absolutely does not belong in checked baggage. After all, you can’t wear all your favorite clothes and shoes on the plane with you… or can you?
Overpacking
This is definitely a mistake that almost everyone I speak with makes, no matter how experienced a traveler they become. I once swore I’d never travel with my cousin again unless she stopped overpacking. To be honest, I still think I overpack and struggle with it on every trip I take. And I do sense I’m improving. When I see what other people travel with, it doesn’t look like I overpack, but it’s more my perception. Overpacking and how to keep from doing it should be a blog post all by itself!
Image source: http://www.youngfreemichigan.com/blog/how-to-avoid-over-packing
Using your cell phone without an international plan
I remember having lunch with a friend who told me she didn’t realize she was so addicted to using her phone until she forgot to get a good cell phone plan before she left on her trip and then saw her bill when she got home. Her bill for the week was hundreds of dollars. Remembering to use airplane mode is a must. And whether you use an economical plan from your carrier, a SIM card, or just free wi-fi when you can access it, it’s essential to have a plan as to how you’ll use your phone so you don’t spend your whole coffee budget and then some, on cell phone charges!
It’s true that mistakes can mean learning the hard way. But it’s the learning that’s important! Have you made any of these mistakes I mentioned? How do you avoid them?
“If you’re one of the few lucky ones who has never lost a bag or arrived days before your bags did, I’d like to meet you!”
I don’t want to curse myself, but so far I haven’t run into a lost/delayed bag at all. I’ve taken travellers’ advice and started packing a change of clothes just in case though. Large ziplocks have been useful for this so I could stuff some clothes in the bottom of my laptop bag.
Minor first world issue I did have tho.. had two checked bags, got priority due to purchased fare. At my origin airport, one was tagged priority, by mistake the other wasn’t. They were ended up being one of the first and last bags off the plane.
Your Part1 article also reminded me of the difference money exchanges have in rates that I’ve run into.
A good rule of thumb I like to use is take a round number, like $100, use the posted rates at the exchange to calculate it to the foreign currency then back to your original currency again. The bigger the difference, the worse that exchange is.
Usually I’ve found the rates at US airports (PHL/BOS) to be about 10% worse than those in Tokyo airports when exchanging for Yen.
I’m changing my name to Jinxed! I carry a change of clothes, too. Hmm, first bag and last bag. You do have interesting math percentages. Interesting idea about exchange rates. I’ll try that. Math is for sure your friend. Keep that lucky star shining bright, and thanks for reading!
Having a 12:05 am flight and like most people you think that is the middle of the night on say Thursday when it was actually it was the crack of dawn on Wednesday the day before and you missed your flight by 24 hours. I know several gate agents and people can not wrap their brain around it, and it happens all the time
That’s a good one, David. I always make a note to myself jotting down the DAY of the week for my flights so as not to get those hours confused. Time zones and daylight savings time changes are tricky too. Thanks for reading!