Travel can be all kinds of exciting, but the mix of new places, systems and an unfamiliar language can very quickly become a recipe for disaster.
Someone asked “Everyone has a travel blunder, what's yours?” and netizens shared their most embarrassing stories. We got in touch with veteran travelers Caz and Craig Makepeace to learn more about red flags. So get comfortable, scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your own thoughts in the comment section below.
More info: Instagram | yTravelblog.com
Someone asked “Everyone has a travel blunder, what's yours?” and netizens shared their most embarrassing stories. We got in touch with veteran travelers Caz and Craig Makepeace to learn more about red flags. So get comfortable, scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your own thoughts in the comment section below.
More info: Instagram | yTravelblog.com
#1
Ok storytime
i was in Cape Town. I hadn’t had my morning coffee and was staying at an apartment hotel without a coffee maker so I needed to go out to find coffee.
went to the cafe and ordered coffee. The barista says “with milk?”
in my pre-caffeine daze I respond “no, I take my coffee black, like my soul“
No sooner had the words left my mouth, I remembered where I was, and my stomach sank as I looked into the face of the black barista.
Then he gave the biggest smile and said “your skin is white (thumps his chest twice) but your soul is black!”
and i smiled back and thought to myself “that could easily have gone the other way!” But it had a wholesome ending.
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108points
#2
41M..Plane hit turbulence, dislocated both hip replacements. Had to lay in the center aisle for 45 minutes all while passing out in pain until we could emergency land.
89points
#3
18... Euro trip with buddies.. didnt realize U2 was in Amsterdam. We went to 20 hostels, hotels everywhere and couldnt find a place to stay.. we were going to stay up all night, and take the train out of the country the next morning. Sitting on a corner smoking rolled american spirits and American stops and asks for cigarette on a bike, we oblidge - get to talking.. He is from San Diego like us.
He runs a rental company (Pre Airbnb.. 2009) - lets us stay in one of his 2 stories 4 bedroom rentals for 5 nights for like 100 euros a piece. It was EPIC!
We later go to Berlin, to realize... U2 was in Berlin that night as well.. no hostels ( last leg of the trip, not much cash for a hotel).. A young couple with a baby hear us complaining and invite us to their house 30 mins outstide of Berlin. They set up 2 tents in their backyard for us. Put the baby down, roll 2 HUGE spliffs, and bring us dessert and tea for the night.
Next morning we accompany the husband to a bakery - buy them breakfast and part ways.. While they were blunders on our part - it ended up being the coolest blunders ever!
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89points
Bored Panda got in touch with veteran travelers Caz and Craig Makepeace to learn more about some red flags when putting together a trip. “Some red flags I look for: How current are reviews? If there hasn't been any current ones, especially post-pandemic, something dramatic might have happened.”
“I also check reviews for a balance between negative and positive. If it skews in either direction it could be a red flag. You also want to take into consideration differing opinions - some people may be more or less particular than you.”
#4
At the end of a trip to Rome, I needed to take a train to the airport to catch my flight. So at the track where the train to Roma Fiumicino was announced, I got on the train. The train was fast but it took way longer than I thought and I started to worry a bit that I would be late for my flight. Then we arrived at the next train station. Which was Florence! So somehow I had taken the wrong train, for which I did not have a ticket, *and* I had missed my flight. I explained the situation to the conductor, and he kindly let me stay on until the next stop, which would be Milan, without having to pay for a new ticket. By the time we reached the next station, I had gone online to book a hotel room in Milan and to book a new flight from Milan home the next day. I had never been to Milan and I had a good time there, so in the end it worked out.
82points
#5
Case full of firearms. Airline lost it, when I explained that it was filled with firearms they magically found it 15 minutes later.
80points
#6
Put my keys back through the letterbox of the AirBnB as requested.
Few minutes later realised I needed the keys to access the garage my rental car was parked in.
Took an hour and a half for someone to appear and let me in. Got to the airport just in time to see my plane take off.
78points
“Look at how the managers also respond to negative reviews. If they are rude and negative back, it's probably a customer service red flag. Compare photos from reviews to hotel photos. Do they match? Or are the hotels heavily photoshopped? Outdated websites are a red flag I pay attention to. You should expect an updated site with current information and easy-to-navigate booking options,” they shared.
#7
Not mine but I saw something about an airport in Austria that has an entire department dedicated to assisting travelers who are supposed to be in Australia.
78points
#8
I lived in China in college and took a trip from Beijing to Kunming, travelling across a large portion of the country. We took a 28-hour bumpy train ride, learning when we arrived that it would have been cheaper to fly.
70points
#9
Falling asleep in a train with my headphones on and my backpack not close to me…
Woke up and it was gone.
Train from Budapest to Vienna.
My wife and I are relatively frequent and experienced travelers but made a rookie mistake.
65points
“Map the hotel location, as "Close to water" could mean several blocks away. I always look for phrases that determine if the hotel has a resort fee. Also called amenities fee, property fee, destination fee, facility fee. These are hidden and unnecessary fees I don't want to pay,” they shared With Bored Panda.
#10
Left my driving license in a village which was only accessible by trekking back then. On top of that, it was left in the top most hotel.
I had checked out from the hotel, trekked for 45 mins to reach a bus point, caught two buses to reach another town with the total duration being approx. three hours in total.
Upon reaching there, the new hotel asked me for my license. Me realizing my blunder had to go back the whole route back again, trek up and down again just to get my driving license and wasting an additional 6-7 hours.
63points
#11
Landed in Mexico City in 2008.
Man in airport asks if I need a taxi and I did, so I accepted. He walks me to his car and I open my Mexico travel book and start reading. It tells me not to accept rides from taxis unless they are at formal stands, and to always negotiate the total fare in advance, so you don't get ripped off. I ask my driver how much the fare is, and the amount he asks is more than the cash I had, SO I ask him to take me to an ATM.
I keep reading my guide book, and it says not to let anyone take you to an ATM, because they might rob you. The driver leaves the main road and drives through an impoverished looking neighborhood with some dude laying face down on the sidewalk in the middle of the day. We get to an ATM, I walk over and withdraw the money, and as I turn around the driver says "Stop." I figure I'm going to get robbed but je just points out that I had left my debit card in the ATM.
We drove on to my destination (a big bus station) where I discovered he charged me 5x the standard fee.
I got lucky, don't be that dumb.
I got lucky, don't be that dumb.
59points
#12
Forgot underwear. Was staying at a cheap resort in a tiny town. No one sold clothing. Nearest possible place was on another island or the mainland.
Made do with the one pair I was wearing and a swim suit during washings.
51points
We also wanted to hear their opinion on when it would make sense to “splurge” for convenience. “From backpacking in hostels, to camping in tents, and luxury home rentals, we've stayed in all types of accommodation for our past 26 years of travel. Our focus is always on exploration and memorable moments, so accommodation is normally just a place to sleep at night. Before booking your accommodation, really tune into what's most important to you.”
#13
Me and some friends wanted to go to the Panzermuseum in Munster (Germany) in the early 2000's so we planned a trip by car (from the Netherlands). After arriving and a night in an hotel we couldn't find the museum. Finally we asked someone, turned out we were in Münster, not Munster. 280 km off.
We got drunk and all was good.
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50points
#14
Left my backpack on a train platform while traveling on my last day in the NL. Said backpack contained my and my partners passports along with some rather expensive booze that were to be gifts. Let’s just say a mad scramble ensued that did not turn up the bag, but someone tried to turn it in.
Got a linkedIn message a couple of hours later and got the bag and passports back, but the booze was missing. Considered it the price of being a bonehead.
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50points
#15
A friend of mine and I were playing the floor is lava in our hotel room. Turns out the bench in the entrance of the room couldn't take someone jumping onto it from the bed. We paid for the bench obviously, but it was hard coming up with a story less stupid than the truth.
49points
“This will help you have more accurate expectations and less disappointment with your hotel stays. I'm okay with staying in lower-quality accommodation because I want to use that money savings on experiences. But, this may be different for you, if comfort makes a more enjoyable experience for you.” You find more of their work on their website and on Instagram.
#16
Being detained by the Chinese military police in Beijing for having a camera in my pocket at the living tomb of Mao Zedong.
45points
#17
Well I am embarrassed to share this but here we go. Was on a business trip from London. Thought of buying some drinks in the airport for which my passport was mandatory to show as proof.
Standing in the middle of a duty free shop, i couldn't be able to find my passport and my flight was in another hour. I was damn sure i entered the airport with the passport.
Well, I finally found the passport in the pizza box which i finished for lunch and threw it in the dustbin. I swear I don't know what I was thinking!! The accompanied business partner was petrified and pissed off. Well i would too.
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44points
#18
Forgot about time difference and booked all the hotels a day later than required. For a 2 week trip.
44points
#19
I missed my flight home on a layover in Rome from Ghana to California. And… well… I told everyone I fell asleep and missed the flight. But I really was sitting at the wrong gate reading and didn’t hear that they apparently had been calling my name forever and then just left me behind. To my credit it was a really good book. And I truly was exhausted from traveling. Even though I missed my flight they tried to put me on the next one, but that one was overbooked so they ended up paying for a hotel there. Wasn’t that big a deal in the end lol.
43points
#20
Scammed into buying a cheap print of the Colosseum in Rome as an original water color.
41points