Everyone who has travelled anywhere in the world knows they are bound to encounter some sort of travel nuisance on one of their journeys abroad. It could be a really bad hotel experience, a hard time booking their reservation or even a lost passport, but whatever happens it can really spoil an entire holiday. Avoid these top five travel troubles will make your journey more pleasant, so you don’t need another holiday when you get home!
1. Hunting for the perfect trip
It can be really frustrating when you know the sort of holiday you want and how much you can afford, but finding the ideal destination at an affordable price turns out to be a real nightmare. Sometimes there is just too much information to take in, especially when you’re trying to piece together all the elements yourself—flights, hotels, meals, visas… it all adds up to time and energy you don’t need to spend.
While there are plenty of people who love independent travel, there are also tons of benefits to booking an all-inclusive holiday every now and again (this list has just a few). Imagine that you don’t have to worry about many of the odds-and-ends of planning a trip: where you’ll get your meals, what entertainment you’ll find, how you’ll get to and from the airport, etc.
2. Losing your luggage
There is nothing more frustrating that getting to a destination only to find the airline has lost your luggage. It can ruin the start of a holiday as you stand watching the conveyor belt go round and round with no sign of your bags appearing. Fortunately, as a traveller, you have rights if your luggage is lost—just knowing these can make the experience less anxiety-ridden.
It takes a lot of patience to wait at the airline counter so you can fill out the necessary lost baggage forms, but it’s worth it. The longer your bags are missing, the more compensation you’ll be entitled to, but you need to make sure your travel insurance (which is worth having for a truly stress-free trip) covers you for lost luggage as well as the airline.
To reduce the risk of this happening to you, make sure you label all your bags very clearly and it’s always a good idea to place something very recognisable on your bags so that no-one else picks anything of yours up by mistake! You should also keep all your valuables on you, including vital items like contact lenses. It’s also a great idea to pack a change of clothes in your hand luggage, just in case!
3. Serious sunburn
It can be tempting to stay a little longer in the sun than you should without the much needed protection. The best way to avoid sunburn is to make sure you wear an appropriate sun screen all the time. If you go swimming, it’s important to use one that is water-resistant and to apply more every now and again, just to be sure. It’s best to avoid swimming at midday when the sun is at its highest in the sky and to wear a hat when you are sight-seeing or exploring.
4. Food poisoning
The best way to avoid getting food poisoning is to be extra careful when it comes to what you eat. There are official guidelines to help you avoid illness if you’re travelling to a developing country, as well as plenty of good tips on how to enjoy local food and street markets while minimising your risk.
General rules in developing areas include sticking to bottled water and avoiding ice cubes, and sticking to produce that has been peeled or cooked, rather than just washed (think oranges and potatoes rather than lettuce or salads).
5. Losing your passport
You need to keep your passport somewhere safe when you are travelling to your holiday destination and once you get there. It’s never a good idea to carry your passport around with you when you are holiday—rather, it’s far wiser to leave it in the hotel safe. However, many hotels have a no-liability policy for items left in the safe, where they do have liability for items left at the front desk. So if you’re particularly concerned about the security of your hotel room, consider leaving your passport with the front desk and getting a receipt.
You should always have a photocopy of your passport with you when you travel abroad on holiday, just in case you do lose it. This makes life easier all round when it comes to getting a temporary one to get you home, and dealing with your embassy. These days, many people also choose the email themselves snapshots of their passport photo page.
There are plenty of ways to reduce your travel stress—what are your top tips?
