Regardless of how many travels or trips you make a year, or even if it is your first time; no one is immune of general and common travel mistakes that have the tendency of giving you a headache or even ruining the supposed and anticipated trips.
We all make regrettable decisions every day of our lives and same applies to traveling. Travelers can make mistakes and commit judgmental errors that flaw even the most diligently planned vacation.
These mistakes range from getting on the wrong bus, turning down the wrong lane, missing their flights and in turn, realizing they really did not do as much research as they should have.
The following are some of the top mistakes you are liable to make during travel:
Getting Lost
Photo by One From RM
For first-timers, there can be plenty of cities that look confusing. Most often than not, an average traveler allows their mind to wander in the city with the very many structures and centers of attraction, prompting a loss of the slightest clue of where they are.
Planning in advance is the key to avoiding getting lost in an unfamiliar city, especially where you don’t speak the same language. You can research beforehand the routes, times between attractions you want to go within that day and try to stick to the plan.
You also can try CityMapper, this is direction app that similar with Google Map but it will show more detailed journey planner information comparing withGoogle. The app will alsogive you details on real-time departures and disruption alerts, as well as Uber integration and cycle routes.
Another tip is getting the business card from the hotel or hostel you are staying or number of any local friend, who you canget in touch in case of getting lost.
Booking Insufficient Time In Between Flights
Photo by tompagenet
You cannot really predict flight and general weather conditions, and if you get delayed, you will be forced to make a connecting flight or cruise by booking with probably an unfamiliar airport or cruise.
Because of this, you might get late; hence, you should book with some buffer. Two hours between connecting flights is recommended so despite of the security line and finding between terminals, you can still make able to make your flight in time.
One thing you do not want to do is give in to a last-minute international business or vacation trip that demands you leaving in the next few hours, say 2-3 hours.
You won’t able to have a proper preparation and moving to airport within such a short time will be mission impossible. You will not want your trip to have a rough start.
An Over Ambitious Itinerary
You probably are afraid of changing your plans and really you might have justifiable reasons- ranging from weather concerns to shortage of money.
You also probably are not conscious of your travel method to help you plan appropriately.
Remember, the time taken to travel from A to B by road is different from how long it would take you by sea or air.
All of these factors should be catered for because you obviously cannot travel the entire country in a single visit. Otherwise, you are most likely going to have an unsuccessful or unaccomplishable trip. Your opportunities are limited when you pack too many activities or countries or locations into a single trip because you might end up getting too busy to find the hidden gems or even follow up on local tips.
I learned the lesson in my trip to Vietnam last year. I was ambitious and decided to book a hanoi to halong bay day tour in the same day I arrived to Hanoi- the capital city. I didn’t realize that the distance between two cities is 4 hours.
And I was too exhausted from waking up early for the flight to Hanoi and spent 4 hours in the car. Even Halong Bay is so beautiful but the tiredness was a big drawback.
Necessary trip information and guide travel books are available as well for every traveler. These books highlight the essence of your destined environment, the duration of each trip type and days of the month and years you should actually travel.
Yes, because, you cannot afford to travel at the wrong time when some things are not favorable enough. Moreover, this information and guidebooks entail a detailed itinerary, information about visa and how to get to your already-booked hotel- virtually everything you should know about your prospective adventure.
Meanwhile, it should be noted here that you cannot totally rely on conventional Guide Books- that is even more dangerous because they are meant to inform your travels, not define them.
