Ah, travel mistakes! Who doesn’t make them? Let’s be honest, we all do. Like that time when we forgot to tag our suitcase and it got lost. Or when we went to the airport without our passports. We were traveling to Canada and presumed that, as American Citizens, our Driver’s Licenses should be enough for crossing the Canadian border.
We weren’t completely wrong. If we were to cross the border to Canada by car, our driver’s licenses would have been enough. Or if we were to cross the border by boat. But NOT by plane! Obviously, we didn’t have enough time to go back home and return to the airport in time to catch our flight. The mistake was costly!
Table of Contents
- Common Travel Mistakes
- [1] Not Buying something you like as soon as you see it
- [2] Not checking where “near the city center” really is on Google Maps
- [3] Not reading reviews
- [4] Not taking taking enough cash with you when you go abroad
- [5] Over tipping
- [6] Not buying travel insurance
- [7] Not informing your Credit Card company about your travel plans
- [8] Not bargaining for a lower price
- [9] Exchanging money at the airport
- [10] Waiting in line at the big attractions
Common Travel Mistakes
Even after countless trips and and many lessons learned, I still make my share of travel mistakes. But with every oversight I learn a lesson. So here are some of the most common travel mistakes you can make and how you can avoid them:
[1] Not Buying something you like as soon as you see it
You think you can buy it later. Perhaps on your way back to the hotel.
Maybe you can find a better price in another store.
You might find something similar, or even better.
But you won’t! That pair of cat-eye sunglasses with red frames that I didn’t buy in Florence three years ago, still haunts me. I should have bought it right away, no hesitation. Lesson learned: if you see something you like when you travel, just buy it.
[2] Not checking where “near the city center” really is on Google Maps
Accommodation prices run quite high in the city center. Even the tiniest, ugliest rooms may cost a fortune. But the farther you go from the city center, the lower the prices get. So booking a hotel “near the city center” seems like the best compromise, right? Not really.
Near doesn’t always mean close by. In fact, if you look on the map, you may discover that near can be actually quite far. This is one of the most common travel mistakes people make when booking a hotel room.
If your hotel room is a 20-minute bus ride from the city center, you may end up spending quite a lot on transportation. Not to mention the time you waste on commuting.
We’ve made the mistake of staying in apartments “right next to the city center” and discovered that the hustle wasn’t worth the “savings.” Besides, the convenience of being able to stop in your hotel room for a quick break during the day is priceless.
[3] Not reading reviews
The worst travel mistake you can make is not informing yourself ahead of time about the places you are going to visit. Not knowing what to expect is like having false expectations. Reading reviews for all the bookings you make (hotel rooms, tours, transportation, etc.) will give you a pretty good idea about what to expect.
I always read both bad and good reviews. Someone else’s good review may be actually be bad news for you. Like the one I came across a few years ago when I was looking for a quiet hotel room in Barcelona: “This place is awesome! There are several nightclubs and bars just steps away from the hotel…”
It’s also important to read the most current reviews. Things may change (for better or for worse) over time.
[4] Not taking taking enough cash with you when you go abroad
Traveling with cash may seems risky. There is always a chance of loosing it. Or being pickpocketed. But landing in a foreign country with little or no money in your pocket seems a lot riskier to me.
Most travelers prefer plastic for the sake of safety and convenience, but when you’re traveling abroad, cash is king! Especially when you first arrive at your destination and you may need some cash to pay a train fare, catch a cab, or grab a bite to eat. Also, wherever you travel, you will encounter many places that accept only cash.
As a rule, I always take enough cash with me to cover for my minimum expenses, as if I didn’t have a credit or an ATM card. If something bad happens and for some reason I can’t use my cards, I always have enough cash for that trip.
[5] Over tipping
Tipping is considered the norm only in America and that’s mainly because the restaurant industry underpays its workers. In Europe the gratuity is most of the times included in the check (service fee). If it’s not included, rounding up the total to the nearest figure is enough. A 5% tip is normal in Europe and a 10% is considered big!
In Asia tipping varies. In countries like China and Taiwan, tipping is not only uncommon but it may be prohibited by law in some places. As a general rule, you should check the local tipping customs of each country before visiting it. So when you travel outside the USA, tipping 15%-20% is totally unnecessary.
[6] Not buying travel insurance
I never buy travel insurance. Don’t really nee it. I always plan ahead, play smart and take good care of my health. Especially when I travel. I don’t see any need to add another expense to the already high cost of traveling. It would be just a waste of money. Is this you? If it is, I think you should reconsider.
Not being travel insurance is one of the biggest mistakes you can make. I’ve learned the lesson the hard way a few years ago. We were getting ready to go on a two week cruise to the Caribbean. We were expecting this trip to go like any other ones: smooth and care-free. But this time it didn’t.
The night before our departure, we’ve got a phone call from across the world that my father-in-law went into a come. So, instead of embarking on a trip to the Caribbean, we embarked on a plane to Romania to be with my father-in-law.
All our vacation plans went out the window and so did our hard earned money invested in it. Should I have bought travel insurance, I could have just rescheduled the trip for another time. Lesson learned: bad things can happen, so cover yourself up.
[7] Not informing your Credit Card company about your travel plans
One of the great advantages of using credit cards is the protection they offer against unauthorized charges on your account. But this peace of mind comes at a price. Because of the big financial damage they suffered over the years, the credit card companies began watching your charging habits very closely.
Lately, at the smallest suspicion of fraud, they will freeze your account. And nothing will raise suspicion faster than a foreign transaction. Be sure you inform your credit card company of your travel plans. It will save you a lot of time and frustration when you travel.
[8] Not bargaining for a lower price
Depending on where you are in the world, bargaining is either a part of everyday life or is considered a rude and offensive practice. Here in the U.S., every item we buy in a store has a fixed price that can’t be negotiated. But in many other parts of the world haggling is expected, so vendors state their prices higher than what they expect to receive.
Bargaining is a great part of the travel experience, but knowing how to do it is important. There are a few basic rules that you should keep in mind before you begin negotiating:
- Never start haggling for an item if you don’t intend to buy it
- Understand the reasonable value of the item in the market
- Decide what you are willing to pay
- And last, but not least, never speak first!
[9] Exchanging money at the airport
Every time I see people changing money in an airport, I can’t help wondering if they really know what a big rip-off that is. It’s true that many are willing to pay a little extra for the convenience of skipping a trip to their local bank. But is that worth paying 25%-27% more for the exchange?
Changing money at the airport is one of the most common travel mistakes. The rate you pay for the currency is much higher than the official bank rate. There is also a service fee if you convert less than $500 into a foreign currency. And if it says “NO FEE,” don’t believe it. It simply means they are making their money by giving you an even worse exchange rate.
The best idea is to bring some local currency with you from home, which you can order from your local bank before your trip. Looking for an ATM machine in the airport is also an option, but there are not too many.
[10] Waiting in line at the big attractions
You can’t avoid the crowds around popular attractions, but you can avoid standing in line for hours to buy tickets. For a small booking fee, you can order your tickets online, then go directly to the entrance at the appointed time.
Another option to avoid standing in line is to join a bigger group or a guided tour. Big groups always get priority at the tourist attractions. They usually arrive by bus, after being picked up from a hotel or from a meeting point.
The third option to avoid crowds is to hire a local guide. Of course the fee is higher, but it can save you a great deal of time. These guides have lots of connections and they may get you access to almost any attraction in town.
We tried this when we were in Istanbul and wanted to visit the Basilica Cistern. The ticket line was as long as the eye could see, so we decided to give it up. But just as we were ready to leave, a local guide approached us asking if we wanted to hire him and get to the front of the line.
Of course we said yes and in less than two minutes got inside (through a side door). That was one of the most enjoyable experiences we had in Istanbul. Our tour guide was funny, knowledgeable and seemed to know the right people in town, hahaha!
What are the biggest travel mistakes you ever made? Add them to our list in the comments section below and if you liked this post, pin it for later
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Lina
I don’t agree about changing money at the airport – sometimes the rate of a currency is better than in a bank. I don’t know how it works.
Anda
You may have been lucky. It never happened to me to find affordable rates at the airport.
Cindy
Great list! I too have faced all of these except the travel insurance one – we have medical travel insurance and then buy additional coverage based on how much our out-of-pocket costs would be if the worst happened. On the other hand, I once flew to California — where I planned to rent a car — without my driver’s license. (For some reason I did have my passport.) And I really feel your pain about the sun glasses. . . somehow the one’s that get away are the hardest to forget!
Linda Bibb
Spot on article! We’ve made a lot of the mistakes you mentioned and have learned from them, but the one we continue to repeat is not buying an item when I first see it. Most recently, Dan regretted not buying a hat from a souvenir shop and spent the rest of our time in Bali looking for it.
Another mistake is not double-checking to make sure you’ve made all your travel arrangements. (We use the TripIt app to keep it all organized.) It would be horrible to arrive somewhere and discover you had nowhere to sleep that night.
Anda Galffy
I didn’t know about that app, Linda. Thanks for telling me about it.
Carl Hummels
These tips are very handy and useful because while traveling we are in a hurry which leads to such mistakes.In these mistakes, what I always use to do is not printing my reservation details, but from now I will print them because I have suffered a lot due to my mistake.
Anda Galffy
Thanks, Carl.
Dorothy
These are great tips! In reference to the credit cards, I can’t’ tell you how many times that we have called the credit card company and told them our travel plans, and they had contacted us for suspicious activity in another country. Sometimes it feels like a losing battle.
Meg Jerrard
Wonderful tips. I have gotten into the habit of calling the credit card companies well in advance as last trip our card was placed on hold several times for possible fraud due to us travelling overseas. I have fallen victim to over tipping as well, but working as a waitress in the U.S. I got used to the idea of large tipping.
Nick Wheatley
Oh my gosh – I just took a trip to Jamaica and had to turn around after I had left for the airport to get my passport. Also my wife still reminds me of the time that I didn’t buy her that wooden carved turtle bowl. The reservation details is clutch for making sure that you can actually get into the country you are visiting. Thanks for outlining some important details to make sure my trips go smoothly!
Paige
There are so many lessons here I’ve learned the hard way. The most recent was checking what “city-center” actually means. That drives me insane when I just trust a site instead of Google-Mapping. I swear, never again! Great tips for travelers!
Victoria
Great list, Anda! but i have to say I don’t think i make any of these mistakes anymore:) oh here is another one (i dont make): if your child is traveling abroad with other people not his parents make sure to write a notarized release for them
Anda Galffy
My son is grown up now, Victoria, but I don’t think I would have ever let him travel abroad with anybody else but me. Seriously!
Mikkel
Great tips here! I want to find those red sunglasses for you and buy them! I feel so bad you didn’t get them when you saw them too, but lesson learned. I 100% agree that I never exchange $ at the airport, and you have included great tips to avoid long lines. I always print my reservation info too in case I can’t access the web. 😉
Anda Galffy
Hahaha, thanks for the good intention! Much appreciated.
Indrani
Yes near can be actually far … I have experienced that. I also check for the current reviews. Thanks for that info on tips and bargaining for lower prices. Well bulleted points.
Medha
I pretty much agree with all your points. Informing your credit card company before travelling is something I also learned from (not-so-good) experiences yet I usually forget to do it in time haha. Also, exchanging money at the airport is a horrible idea but sometimes when I am flying out of my country, I am unable to get hold of the local currency of the country I am flying into, forcing me to exchange it at the airport. As for buying something as soon as you like it, I have mixed feelings about this one. I usually like to check out more stores and compare the price but often I’ve let go of things I liked in hope of finding something better and later regretting that decision 😀
Anda Galffy
I like shopping around too, Medha, However, once in a while you come across an item that really steals your heart. In my experience, even if you find similar items somewhere else, you won’t find the same identical one. That’s when “shopping around” actually doesn’t help.
Ruth
This article is spot on! We have suffered because of not buying something right away. You have no idea how many things we wanted to buy in Munich last year. We saw things and said we were going to get them on our last day in town. Guess what? We had problems with our train reservations and had to leave suddenly. We are still thinking about those things we wanted. We agreed on taking a small backpack to fill with purchases (if needed, for our next trip).
Anda Galffy
Yep, I know that feeling, Ruth. Regrets, regrets! I am generally cautious with spending money on things I like when I travel. One of the reason is that I can’t return them in case I have buyer’s remorse. However, once in a while, you may come across an item that you are really sold on. That’s the one you have to buy right away!
Kimberly Erin
I am not a rookie by any means when it comes to traveling, however on the basis of being Canadian, over tipping is a problem I always have. I feel awkward for tipping less than 18% as its cultural to me.
J. Endress
Wonderful post. I confess to making almost every single one of these mistakes. Being a good traveler is definitely something both learned and earned. Thanks for sharing this post.
Kat
I had recently made two mistakes back in September and November 2017. The former was forgetting my credit card at home and the latter was not checking my flight departure time! In Sept, I was going to travel to Portugal but was busy working that I forgot to pack my credit card in my travel wallet. Had only realised this after I had checked in at Kuala Lumpur airport! I was not able to go home, else I would have missed my flight. I ended up travelling in Portugal and Ireland for 18 days without a credit card – only cash! 🙂 In November, I misread the departure time for a domestic flight in India – it was 9.45am but I thought it was 11.45am. Had to book another flight which cost me more money. I got the flight timing mixed up with another flight haha! Harsh lessons learnt but I bet you now I double and triple check to make sure that I have my credit card and I do not miss my flight! 🙂
Anda Galffy
It must have been hard being without a credit card for three weeks. The good part was that you probably spent less, hahaha! Misreading the departure time however seems very serious. I’m sure you are not going to forget this for a while. So sorry for you.
Mar
I couldn’t agree more with all of your advise, especially not telling the credit card company and then, while on hyper expensive roaming, having to call and wait for their call center person to answer for 20min and blowing $100 in the process just on roaming fees. I could not agree more with the waiting in line bit, in my short holidays, I make sure to book private guides and maximise time. Of course, time is money so if you don’t have it, you need to have the budget to afford alternative
krista
these are so helpful! especially printing the reservations! It happened to me twice where the phones died and we didn’t have the directions! Loads of information! love this!
Wendy Maes
I once booked a hotel on the wrong date. I booked it for Feb. instead of March and noticed it only the day before we left. Thank God they still had a room available and they forgot to charge us the no show fee.
Anda Galffy
Hahaha, not being charge the no show fee was a great luck!
Keri | Ladies What Travel
Some very simple, but important and often overlooked tips there! How many times have I seen something, said I’d go back for it later and then never get round to it! 😉 #TheWeeklyPostcard
Anisa
Yep I have done most of these. I usually try to use my credit card for most of my expenses while traveling because you get a good rate and get points but I know sometimes you need cash. I haven’t had a problem finding ATMs at airports.
California Globetrotter
I’d have to say of all of these, #1 is my downfall. I never ever buy anything because I have pre-buyer’s remorse and then by the end of the trip I wished I had! I really should get better at it, but I always feel they just become dust collectors! But I do proudly display my souvenirs near my travel wall. Happy New Year!
Esther
Hahahaha, oooooh these are all so so true! Very good list!
Rhonda Albom
Wow, I have at one time or another made all of those mistakes. Overtipping? Not a problem these days as I live in New Zealand where tipping is not customary or expected. The one that has affected me the most is not buying it when I see it. I have missed buying some unique things because I waited till later. I also check online where the best place to exchange money is. On several occasions, it happened to be the airport.
Anda Galffy
I’m really surprised to hear that. I am in the hobbit of checking the exchange rate constantly when I travel and I have never seen the airport rates anywhere close to the exchange booths in the city, or the bank rate.
Emese
Hi, Anda, this was a great post. It made me smile, since I made some of the same mistakes you did, like not bringing enough or any money to a foreign country, thinking that now they have ATMs. They do, but you still need cash. Or I forgot to tell my credit card company that I was traveling, which was a hassle fixing from a foreign country when they blocked my account. After more than two decades of traveling I still make mistakes, and I learn from them or sometimes I don’t. But if you go with the flow, everything turns out ok, things can be fixed and you can laugh about it all later. Thanks for sharing this, I enjoyed it.
jill
All good tips – and I think I’ve been bit by every one of them at one time or another. Especially that “staying near the city center” one!
Deborah Regen
To err is to be human, but we can always learn from past mistakes! These are good reminders of what to do and not to do. Absolutely have some of the local currency in hand and don’t use the exchanges at the airports and pay the higher fees for the transactions. Another don’t is don’t overpack which so many people do. If you are really missing some article of clothing or cosmetic you can usually buy something suitable while in your destination. Unless you plan to be in the middle of nowhere, which is unlikely!
Upeksha
Great list. I’m definitely guilty of item 1 – not buying something because I think I can find better one somewhere else and regretting it. Drives my husband crazy!
Anda Galffy
Hahaha, my husband is the same way. Men don’t have patience to shop around.
Sharon
Great post! I’ve made some of these mistakes and learned the hard way. For our last trip to Europe, I did get cash at my local bank, for a good exchange rate. It seemed like maybe I was being overcautious, but I was glad I did, especially for Prague. The Czech money system baffled me and I couldn’t speak a word of the language, so it was nice to have the cash already in hand!
Anda Galffy
Yea, it’s a great idea to have some local currency with you before you land.