Traveling to another country means a lot of planning to ensure your trip goes as smoothly as possible. Even the best-laid plans can go awry. The users on a recent travel forum swapped stories about the misadventures they experienced while jet-setting, and they're outright embarrassing.
1. Bye Bye
One commenter recalls the night before she and her husband embarked on their first trip to Barcelona, he finally noticed his passport had expired. Since the hotels they booked had a no-refund policy by that time, she waved goodbye and went on vacation - without him.
2. Time Travelers
A few people had trouble getting to their flights on time. One showed up for their flight exactly 24 hours earlier than scheduled, but they were lucky enough to be seated. A second had the opposite problem - they arrived at the airport for a 1 a.m. flight at 1 p.m., 12 hours too late, and they couldn't get their money back.
3. Snowy Weather
Somebody in the thread booked a December trip to Istanbul. They assumed it would be warm because Turkey is in the Mediterranean and the Middle East. They didn't bother to check the weather forecast. Not only was it snowing on their arrival, but they didn't pack any winter clothes.
4. Wrong Passport
Right before driving three hours to the airport for a flight to Cuba, another savvy traveler mistakenly packed their son's passport instead of their own. Fortunately, they had a friend who retrieved their passport from their house and brought it so they could make their flight on time.
5. Nice Recovery
This wayfarer recounts how they were highly jet-lagged upon arrival on their recent trip to Japan. On the first night at the youth hostel they were staying in, they accidentally threw away an envelope containing 40,000 Japanese yen (around $280) in the bathroom wastebasket. After searching for the envelope, they checked the bathroom trash as a last resort, and there was their envelope with the money inside.
6. Right City, Wrong Country
Another globetrotter subscribes to a discounted flight service and found a deal to buy relatively inexpensive tickets to Florence, Italy. When picking up the tickets, the flier couldn't understand why they were for a regional airline carrier. They soon realized they had booked a two-week trip to Florence, South Carolina. They were able to cancel the booking in time but lost out on the discount.
7. Military Time Conversion
Converting time from a 24-hour clock was too much of a challenge for a tourist in Tokyo. They recollect making reservations at a bar on two occasions for 17:30 hours (5:30 p.m.) but arriving at 7:30 p.m. Both times. They were so jet lagged they couldn't accurately convert from military to regular time.
8. Cash Out
One contributor to the discussion admits their most notable mistake was during a trip to Mexico. They left their ID and all their cash in the hotel and went out with only one credit card. When they tried to get a taxi back to their hotel, no one would accept a credit card for payment. Without ID, they couldn't get a cash advance from a bank, so they had to beg a shopkeeper for one. They had to pay $80 to receive $30 in cash.
9. Check the Date
Someone unintentionally booked their rental car for the day before their arrival. The rental agency refused to refund their $500, forcing them to spend another $500 to rent a car. Afterward, they realized they didn't need a rental and that a taxi would have only cost $150.
10. Passports, Please
Some inexperienced visitors to the European Union decided to travel from Germany to Austria without passports because of the EU's open interstate border policy. They made it to Austria without incident but were detained when trying to re-enter Germany. The staff at their hotel had to enter their room, take photos of their visas, and email the pictures to the police to be released from custody.
Source: Reddit.
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