5 Common Travel Mistakes To Avoid

Earlier today, my mind was wandering to places I’ve been and things I did. That reminded me of the things I must NOT to do while traveling. I must admit, few years back when I was planning trips to foreign countries, I used to run to the bookstore to grab a guidebook. ‘How To Tour Italy’ for example. On the contrary I’ve seen travelers without guide books. I must say, I am not opposed to them completely but most of us travelers treat our guidebooks like bibles and obey every word of it. For example, I’ve seen travelers who travel only by the guidebook. They would stand by the bus stop waiting for the tour bus to arrive according to the guidebook, and want the same room shown on the pictures of that book. It is limiting yourself to a book. Now where’s the fun in it eh?

Travel Mistakes To Avoid

1. Relying On Guide Books

Travel Guidebooks | (cc) Photo By Vanbest

So what I do now is scan through the guidebook and put it away, arrive at the destination, interact with other travelers and locals (they know unpopular but best of what their country has to offer), ask the hotel about the activities and attractions (because there is more out there than what the guidebook says), and I’m good to go.

2. Forgetting Your Budget

Money On A Budget | (cc) Photo By Getty Images

Budget is always the first thing we think of as travelers. As important as it is to make a budget, we should stick to it! Don’t be tempted to spend money on unnecessary things like fancy hotels or VIP tour buses. Ride the local buses and interact with locals instead to enjoy the destination fully rather than looking at it through a glass window. Also, try eating where the locals eat, if it looks hygiene of course, instead of the restaurants targeted for tourists. Why am I saying all these? To remind you that you should have a budget and that you should stick to it.

3. Over Packing

Luggage | (cc) Photo By Heather Poole

I’ve done it over and over again, and I am not sure when I will know or learn when to pack just the right amount. Me being a woman probably don’t help either. But it is a common mistake and one that probably every single traveler has made. I find it hilarious that this piece of advice is always ignored and it is one of the best pieces of travel advice there is! So the next time you are in front of that carry-on or suitcase, remember that all that weight you pack will weigh you down and complicate your trip. Most of the things you require will be available at your destination, and even at a fraction of the price! Onebag.com is a good site on packing light.

4. Getting Angry

Rage | (cc) Photo By VirtualErn

We all been there at some point, haven’t we? It normally happens when we cross borders or the places we carefully planned is suddenly controlled by outside factors. For example, at one destination I had an experience where the bus driver taking a detour to deliver his ten bags of rice to his brother’s restaurant :))

It is easy to get angry and start shouting and get your face all red, which most of the time does not help the situation. It will only make your own blood boil. As with everything else there is always another way. Traveling, by definition, is a journey. So relax, get comfortable and enjoy the ride. It is going to be more exciting than sitting in front of a TV.

5. Not Backing Up Your Pictures

Analogue Camera | (cc)Photo By Mike Willis

One of the heartbreaking things that could happen to a traveler is losing the photos that they spent the whole trip capturing. So, the next time you have a camera full of pictures, either download them to your laptop, copy it onto a CD/DVD or upload to a server from an Internet cafe. Get into the habit of backing up photos regularly because we do not want to loose the most beautiful memories we experienced during our travels, do we? Besides, memory cards for digital cameras are very cheap now.

As you can see, little things matter when you travel. Do you have any travel mistakes you want to avoid?