Everyone has their story: a dumb mistake they made when they were traveling.
Me? It was the time we were in Japan and, wanting to put milk in my coffee, I added this instead. Not recommended. My numbskull husband forgot to bring his passport for our cruise (that story had a happy ending, though). But plenty of people — both those who rarely travel and those who travel all the time — have made their own travel mistakes.
A couple of months back, a Redditor who goes by the handle of ssteamer-goggins asked:
What Travel Mistake Will You Never Make Again?
Here were some of the best answers:
Don’t Bring a Hunk of Cheese in Your Carry-On
That’s the advice a user called Dulaneyhomestead6 had. Sounds like someone didn’t read this post. 😉
Know Your Travel Mate
Irideflamingo said:
Traveling with my best friend! Don’t do it! We didn’t speak for 6 months after she ruined Paris.
There was a time in my life when I traveled with lots of different friends (who/how long depended on the trip). I always made sure we had ground rules before we traveled. The most important one for me was, “We don’t always have to be attached at the hip.” I always figured we may not have the same interests for every step of the travel, so if I wanted to do one thing and they wanted to do something else, it was established that we could break up for a few hours/the day to pursue whatever we were individually interested in.
The Laundry Mistake
FeistyMuttMom said:
Before thinking “I don’t need to pack much, I can do laundry on the trip” make sure the hotel has a viable laundromat nearby. We were bouncing every few days and I ended up spending an inordinate amount of time washing things in the shower and hoping they’d be dry enough to pack before hitting the next train.
I know that so many people plan to do laundry and re-wear clothes on a trip. And frankly, if you’re out of town for more than a week or so, that really makes sense. But yeah, DO make sure the hotel has laundry facilities (and if they have a DIY washer/dryer situation, at least ensure they have an adequate amount of washers or you’re going to have to wait until one is available). Or at least find a place nearby (in which case, know when they’re open/closed, how they accept payment, etc. And have a backup place, just in case).
Saving Money on Flights
One user, Beginning_Key2167 suggested they won’t try to get THE cheapest airline tickets anymore. And that makes perfect sense. You could spend hours and hours looking for another flight – but all that time just to save you $20? Nah.
Saving Money on Accommodations
Of course, many of our readers use hotel points for their stays. But most people still pay with a credit card. Some might decide to stay at a cheaper place to save some money. It may not be all that. Here’s what user Flashy_drama5338 said:
I once stayed in a hostel in Lisbon for four days. Got no sleep. It was also so far from the centre I had to get a metro several times a day it was costing me extra. I felt really bad psychologically until I went up to Porto and stayed in a very nice apartment. It was double the price of the hostel but it was worth the money just to get some decent sleep. I will never do that again. I will always spend a bit extra for comfort.
Not Writing Down Where I Parked My Car
That bit of advice came from DramaticLemo and OMG, YES!
Storytime. 20-something years ago, not only did I work in an allied health field, but I was a supervisor/management type person. We had a managers’ meeting at the main office in Fort Lauderdale. But I lived in Tampa, so they paid for us managers to fly to Ft. Lauderdale and back for the day (this was years before Zoom calling and the like). They were paying for parking too, so instead of parking at the off-site place I’d typically park at, I parked my car in TPA’s big parking structure. The meeting started at, I dunno, 8am? 9am? Way too early in the morning and I didn’t pay enough attention to where I parked my car. (SO NOT a morning person)
So we have the meeting and fly back home to Tampa. It’s 10pm or some ridiculous time like that. And I have NO FRICKIN’ IDEA where I parked my car. I’m walking from floor to floor, looking for it, and hitting the “lock” button on my keyfob so maybe I’ll hear the horn. Nuthin.
This goes on for over 45 minutes. I’m on my third floor of the airport. Oh, and did I mention that I had been wearing professional-looking “work” shoes? I don’t wear those things in real life – it’s Crocs or sneakers, all the way – so my feet were KILLING me (I eventually took the shoes off and walked in my stocking feet).
I finally flagged down an airport security person. He invited me to sit in his golf cart and he drove me around until I finally found my car.
So yeah…write down where you park your car!
The One Good Thing About These Dumb Mistakes
And if there’s one thing you can say about making dumb travel mistakes – if you’ve done it once, chances are you’ll never do it again. 😉
Here’s the rest of the thread.
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