Travel Mistakes I Have Made And How To Avoid Making Them
Everybody makes mistakes, everybody has those days…………
Apologies for the above reference if you aren’t a Hannah Montanna Fan. Today I wanted to share with you some of the mistakes I have made on my journeys whilst exploring, so you can laugh at me and maybe learn a thing or two!
1) Planning too much
Planning is a difficult thing to balance when travelling, not planning enough can lead to stress and last-minute panic, and planning too much can leave you losing money on cancelled flights, or hostel stays that no longer fit into your plans. I made this mistake on my trip to Australia I overplanned what I was going to do and this left me having to rush through places I really enjoyed and as a result, I had to skip some things I would have loved to see. As wishy wash as it sounds one of the best things about discovering new places is not knowing what tomorrow has in store for you and just being able to go with the flow.
Obviously, it is important to plan parts of your trip and some countries will require proof of where you are staying/exit journey, however, I think one of the things I have learnt is to not plan much to create you the freedom of being able to go wherever you want to go and explore on the day. Now on my travels, I normally have the next 2/3 nights of accommodation booked. And if there are any holidays e.g. Christmas/summer holidays, I will take this into consideration as accommodation may need some further ahead planning.
2) Taking layover flights too close together
Do you really want to be sprinting through an airport to your next flight with a backpack, only to find out the plane has already taken off? I made this mistake flying to Bangkok a few years ago, there was a cheaper flight (only about £25) and the layover was about an hour in Istanbul, it could have all gone smoothly, but unfortunately, it didn’t. My flight from London was delayed by about 30 minutes, so by the time I made it to Istanbul and sprinted to the other side of departures, I was told the gate was closed and I have missed my flight. The staff were nice enough to help me find another flight but unfortunately, as my two connecting flights were with different airlines I had to pay again for the ticket, meaning, in the end, I should have just paid the extra £25 for the direct flight!
I think we all know flights rarely run exactly to schedule, so take your lesson for me, opt for a direct flight to your destination if possible or at least a long layover and ideally have both flights with the same airline. This way if you do miss your connecting flight due to a delay the airline will put you on the next available flight at no extra cost.
3) Overpacking
An easy travel mistake to make as a first-time backpacker, you may think you need your whole wardrobe and bathroom cabinet, but trust me you don’t. Almost any destination you could go to will have a shop if you forget something and chances are you will use so much less stuff than you think anyway. The inconvenience of overpacking is annoying when you have to lug your backpack from station to airport to hostel. Also if it’s packed to the brim, you can never find anything and it’s always a battle to get it closed when you are moving accommodations.
The best way to try to pack light is to lay everything out you think you will need on your bed and then make 3 categories. You will have a pile for non-negotiables another for useful things and the last pile is the luxury items. Non-negotiables are like underwear, phone charges, toothpaste, useful things are dresses, sandals, suncream and luxuries are makeup, books, hair curlers. This will help you rule out what you really need and what you want to take.
4) Not being aware of your surroundings
Now this one is a very specific travel mistake I once made whilst in Vietnam, but I still believe there is a lesson to be learnt here. I was on a night bus from Hanoi to Ha Giang to start the Ha Giang Loop when unfortunately I started feeling pretty ill. My stomach was flipping and I knew I had eaten something my body didn’t like. I was stuck on a cramped bus at night with no idea when our next stop would be, so I tried to sleep it off. So when I noticed the bus coming to a stop, I immediately ran off and made it to the service station toilets to vomit up nearly everything in my system. I really wasn’t very well and obviously took a while at the stop because when I came back out my bus was gone. Not only was my backpack on the bus, but it was also 3 in the morning and I was on the side of a road by myself with no idea where I was and no one else to be seen.
So my lesson here is to be aware of what’s going on around you, if you are in my exact situation maybe let the bus driver/another passenger know you’re getting off and ask how long you have before the bus leaves. I think this could apply to any situation whilst travelling because they will be times when you won’t be 100% sharp, you might be ill or hungover or just tired and you might end up getting on the wrong bus, or leaving your valuables somewhere. My point is to minimise the stupid mistakes and be aware, especially when you are on your own.
5) Don’t drink too much
This one is particularly important if you are travelling solo, but just as important if you’re in a couple or group. I found in a lot of places backpacking was popular, it also came with a strong party and drinking culture, maybe because hostels can be quite a young crowd and people just want to enjoy themselves and have fun. And I am the first one to admit it’s really easy to get wrapped up in it all when you are solo travelling, it’s a great way to make friends and it seems like a lot of fun.
However, I personally learnt the hard way drinking too much whilst travelling can cost you a lot. It’s so dangerous to be in a place you don’t know very well on your own and drunk to the point you have lost control. You can get hurt, things can get lost or stolen and you can’t always trust the people around you. Also being hungover during the day all the time can see you missing out on some amazing exploring that can be done.
Have fun and enjoy yourself, just know your own limits and surround yourself with good people!
I think travelling is all about making mistakes, the age-old saying it’s not about the destination it’s about the journey, is so true. Some of my best stories and moments in my travels are also some of the biggest mistakes I made. So travel cautiously and try not to make tons of mistakes but also accept they will happen and most likely for a reason too!
Let me know your travel mistakes and funny stories in the comments below!
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