It only takes the slightest mistake to turn a dream vacation into a nightmare.
As travelers revealed in an online forum.
The pitfalls are many, from packaging errors to airport errors and book the wrong dates.
These examples and many more have been served in a Reddit forum after user “Medium-Decision6899” asked, “What’s the dumbest travel mistake you’ve made?”
The responses came thick and fast.
‘JustGenericName’ contributed to the debate with their painful hotel mishap, writing: ‘Ouch! I booked a hotel on the wrong side of the Grand Canyon (pictured)’
‘JustGenericName’ contributed to the debate with their painful hotel mishap, writing: ‘Ouch! I booked a hotel on the wrong side of the Grand Canyon.
“Fun fact, that ’10 miles’ from the trailhead is a five hour drive.”
Along the same lines, “Bruce_e” replied, “I once booked a month-long Airbnb for the wrong month.”
‘Cubsfanjohn’ contributed to the thread with this unfortunate story: ‘I forgot to write where I was staying and had to make a transatlantic phone call on a payphone in Berlin to my mum to check my e -mails. The worst part is that she was walking the dog and didn’t answer.
I showed up at the station to catch my bus, I obviously missed it. I bought a train ticket, read arrival time as departure time and also missed that. Good time
And ‘jtonkinson’ – he booked a hotel in Portland, Oregon instead of Portland, Maine.
Botching the basics of booking was a common theme.
“MaddBadger” said: “I booked a train from Venice. When the train never arrived, I found out that I had booked a bus. We missed it.
In response to this comment, ‘Medium-Decision6899’ wrote: ‘I did something similar. I showed up at the station to catch my bus, I obviously missed it. I bought a train ticket, read arrival time as departure time and also missed that. Good time.’
‘Horkbajirbandit’ continued the missed train theme with this remark: ‘At least you didn’t miss your train because you were too busy filming it arriving. The doors closed in front of me and I had to wait three hours to move on to the next one (I had actually booked the ticket two months in advance). It’s the day I stopped filming stories for social media.
Not all ticket incidents were related to the trains. One user recalled queuing to visit the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam before realizing their ticket was “for the following year”.
‘ShinjukuAce’ said: ‘I booked a trip to Istanbul in December, assuming it would be hot as it was on the Med and Middle East. I didn’t check the weather forecast, I didn’t pack warm clothes and it was snowing when I arrived’
‘Riceingonthecake’ shared a passport error – ‘pack a passport in the check-in bag’
Several travelers have made crucial mistakes when packing for their vacation.
‘ShinjukuAce’ said: ‘I booked a trip to Istanbul in December, assuming it would be hot as it was on the Med and Middle East.
“I didn’t check the weather forecast, didn’t pack warm clothes and it was snowing when I arrived.”
‘Hugobosslovescandles’ said: ‘I hiked the Grand Canyon for a week at university and forgot to pack a single pair of underwear.
“I had to go to the doctor when I got home because I had such a rash on my scrotum.”
“JennItalia269” shared a similar experience after she forgot to pack underwear on a three-week trip to South America.
I hiked the Grand Canyon for a week in college and forgot to pack a single pair of underwear. I had to go to the doctor when I got home because I had such a rash on my scrotum
“No offense to the Brazilians here, but let’s just say their men’s underwear style was not my idea of comfort,” they said.
Airports turned out to be another vacation hazard in the Reddit thread.
One user said, “I took the wrong airport in Berlin and missed my flight.”
Fellow Redditor ‘cheesetrain’ shared a similar story while visiting Belfast, Northern Ireland.
“When I arrive at the bus station, I ask for an ‘airport’ ticket. I take my ticket and get on the bus,” they wrote.
“Thirty minutes into the trip, where we should be approaching the airport, I check my Google maps and see that we are heading in the wrong direction.
A traveler traveled to Barcelona alone after her husband noticed his passport had expired the day before his trip
“I ask someone if the bus goes to Belfast airport. He looks horrified and tells me it’s going to Dublin airport. I missed my flight, had to take a much more expensive new flight from Dublin airport.
While ‘Trekker_Cynthia’ shared their husband’s passport blunder which caused him to miss their vacation altogether.
“The day before our first trip to Barcelona he noticed that his passport had expired,” they wrote.
“Hotels were non-refundable at that time, so I said goodbye and took the trip solo.”
In another passport incident, “brainonvacation78” recounted how they seized their son’s passport instead of their own “before driving three hours to Chicago for a flight to Cuba early the next day.”
They continued, “Fortunately, I have an amazing friend who picked mine up from my house and met me halfway. I got back to Chicago at 2am and caught my flight at 6:30am. I gave my friend $100 for saving my ass.
“Riceingonthecake” also shared a passport error – “putting a passport in the check-in bag”.
Another user, “KjunFries”, explained how he booked a rental car – for the wrong day.
“The rental company was completely inflexible, so I ended up shelling out over $500 twice for a four-day rental,” they wrote.
“Then I discovered a taxi to and from my destination – where I didn’t need a car anyway. It would have only cost $150.
