Comments on: Travel mistakes I keep on making

By: Luke

Luke — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 19:06:37 +0000

I understand completely. I ran around Petra from about 7am for 4-5 hours and then had to rush to the airport for a late afternoon flight. We were pushing it! My problem was that when I arrived in Syria I couldn’t leave and ended up in Damascus for 4 weeks! So really cut short my Jordan experience!

By: Maria Alexandra

Maria Alexandra — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 13:02:06 +0000

ONLY *six* hours in Petra?!?!?! That’s a CRIME my friend! You gotta go back! Some of my fondest memories come from that site. Absolutely incredible. I spent 2 days hiking all over the place and think I could have still gone for one more day.

By: Andy Jarosz

Andy Jarosz — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 19:25:57 +0000

Hello Martin, good of you to drop by. Yes, guilty of that one too. On the one hand it feels good to know everything’s arranged but as you say your plans are bound to change. I guess it depends on length of trip and transport availability. In parts of Europe you get big discounts on trains if you book ahead – it can be worth sacrificing flexibility for cost. I haven’t managed two hotels for one night yet though

By: Martin Riviere-Allen

Martin Riviere-Allen — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 09:09:11 +0000

Being a regular visitor to Greece, I made a mistake this year that I have not made since 2001 – I booked more than the first night in advance! We always end up moving arround – which i ‘forgot’ so ended up with 2 hotels. Which was useful as it was somewhere to keep the extra ‘stuff’ we didnt need!

By: Tu Nguyen

Tu Nguyen — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 00:11:19 +0000

“Obsessed with trying to avoid paying for fuel I wouldn’t use I have on several occasions driven the last 50-100km with the warning light on flashing, wandering whether I would regret my frugality.”

and

“3. Not thinking ahead for dinner”

lol – I hear you man.

But what is life, without an element of risk?

By: Nomadic Samuel

Nomadic Samuel — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 01:13:37 +0000

I enjoyed your point about having a great meal. Personally, I’ve found that sometimes the best places are the hole in the wall types of cafes/restaurants the guidebook never mentions. On the other hand, some of the best meals I’ve ever had are found through the pages of LP. I like to have a combination of both over time – planned and spontaneous.

By: Thomas Dembie

Thomas Dembie — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 22:04:28 +0000

Made the same mistake at Petra. Most people don’t realize just how vast the site actually is. I remember our tour guide, who has been giving tours for years, mentioned he still hasn’t seen everything.

By: Eurotrip Tips

Eurotrip Tips — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 11:14:16 +0000

That’s the thing with travel: it never goes 100% as planned. You just never know how dull or amazing a place is going to be, and therefore the time you allowed this place might or might not be off.

Same goes for dinner: you never know how hungry you are going to be, how tired and how broke. The great little plan you had might just fall to pieces depending on the situation.

I prefer to call these travel experiences rather than travel mistakes, because I think these situations are often out of control, therefore not mistakes.

I have personally made “mistakes” 1 very often, but then again, I’m sort of glad I did because I get the chance to go back to places I’ve cut short on. Nothing to complain about, eh?

By: Ciki

Ciki — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 09:00:10 +0000

Mine is usually not bringing enough cash.. so many times we got stuck in 3rd world countries where even if you had a CC it was of no use. Sometimes it could also be not changing enough of the local currency at the big cities – once you get out into the remote.. could be stuck for weeks.
Good read – great post:)

By: lara dunston

lara dunston — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 09:00:01 +0000

Good tips. Make same mistake as you and David when it comes to eating out – for travel writers, a bad meal is a wasted meal as it’s one we can’t write about. Frustrates the hell out of me when we eat somewhere less than satisfactory.