The Traveller's Magazine
Experience is everything and that is more true than anything else when it comes to travel. You could be BFFs with Rick Steve and still be a chronic over-packer, we’re sure he doesn’t judge. Amateur mistakes or not, these are four travel blunders that can easily be avoided.
Chronic overpacking
This is the easiest travel sin to commit because “you never know” and a girl can find any excuse to pack another pair of shoes or another dress. It’s called the “Just in case” syndrome and it’s dangerous when travelling onboard low cost airlines with strict luggage rules. Your usual fashion regime should also take a holiday when you board the plane, just make sure you pack enough pairs of clean undies, that’s the only rule. It’s a proven fact, Britons are chronic over-packers.
Not buying something you love when you see it
When you’re on holiday, you don’t have the luxury of “thinking about it.” That cute maxi at Topshop? It’ll still be there in a week once you’ve decided you really need it. Shopping abroad is a totally different game. It’s an impulse buyers paradise. If you see something you love, buy it. You may think you’ll circle around or come back later but you never do. Don’t let that hand-painted silk scarf from an Indonesian island you didn’t buy haunt you for the rest of your life.
Underestimating Heathrow
Heathrow is a lot like a black hole of chaos. It’s big, really big. It can take you an hour just to get from security to your gate no matter how many of those moving pavements you take. Jumbles queues, slow security searches, more queues… forget that idea of being a cosmopolitan jet setter right now if you’re taking off from LHR. Travelling long-haul? Arrive 3 hours early and wear comfortable walking shoes, you’ll feel like you’ve walked a marathon by the time you’re ready for boarding.
Not tightening your shampoo bottle
This is one’s simple but is probably worse than the others. There is nothing more awful than opening your bag to put on your bikini the second you reach your hotel in Honolulu, only to find every single thing you packed smelling like a soapy fruit cocktail. Tighten those shampoo bottle caps and wrap them in a plastic bag. Then another. Tape that one shut and then wrap it again. Honestly, you cannot take any chances with this one. Simply zipping them into your toiletry bag is just asking for them to explode mid-flight.
What other travel mistakes have you made in the past? What did you learn the hard way?
