Recently, I asked fellow American travelers in the BuzzFeed Community about the worst mistakes they made on their first trip abroad.
Here are the top 13 answers:
1. “I mistakenly booked a 12-hour stopover on an already 8-hour flight, thinking (for some reason) that the stopover would be over sea.”
2. “We crossed the Friendship Bridge into Canada, but were turned away because my wife had pepper spray.”
“US customs disposed of the spray in question. We went to a hotel in Canada and found my wife’s handgun in our luggage!”
—Larry DeBrewer
Via NBC/youtube.com
3. “Not having travel insurance. It’s something I’d never thought about before, but you might need it. I was on a 12-day Mediterranean cruise when a woman on the same cruise fell and broke her ankle. She was taken by helicopter to the nearest hospital. Some of her relatives who remained on the cruise told me that the helicopter ride and the first three days of hospitalization had already cost them $10,000.”
“Who knows how much it ended up costing me? Travel insurance is a must for me.”
—Straker
Via NBC/youtube.com
4. “When I was 15, my paternal grandfather found out that his first wife was still alive in his native Yugoslavia. A few months later, when I turned 16, my father took me abroad to meet my grandmother and other relatives I had only met a few times before. After a few weeks in Europe, I started smoking.”
“When I came home, I went back to Chicago by myself, and my sister met me at the airport. She asked me if I smoked, and I lied.
Later, when I was on the flight back home, I found a note saying that my grandmother had died while on the plane. My grandmother also said that she knew I smoked because she had cigarettes in my luggage. My grandmother promised not to tell my father, but she was eventually caught by a neighbor and told my father.”
—smellytortoise841
FLAT / BEST IMAGE / BACKGRID
5. “I was using my Apple GPS to find a store and accidentally walked into a corporate office.”
“Now we are much more careful about mistakes on the GPS list. Some of them don’t translate well.”
—pbbt
Republic Records / via giphy.com
6. “Our group decided to procrastinate and give up on the only thing we all agreed on – a decompression spa day on day 1. We abandoned our only pre-flight plan and planned our itinerary after we arrived, which was a bad idea.”
“I didn’t get any sleep on the 16 hour flight to Korea. After some sleep in the hotel, my friend and I decided to make Day 1 a “random but busy day” instead of relaxing at a Korean spa as planned.
It’s not good to feel exhausted, especially if you’re neurodiverse and dealing with time differences, new external stimuli, and lack of access to coping mechanisms (i.e., no edible marijuana in most Asian countries). On day two, I had a bit of a mental breakdown from losing my travel pass, which was basically $5 in Korean won. And then, on day four, a sleep-deprived friend started yelling at me in public, and the overstimulation of it all triggered a full-blown panic attack.
If you’re traveling internationally with a large time difference, make a plan and stick to it, and take the time to slow down at the beginning rather than the end, otherwise it will be a strain on you or someone in your group.
It was a great trip, but I have some regrets. I regret not having enough time to go to the spa in Korea. Once we decided to postpone, everything was ruined. A day that we had set aside to breathe and enjoy was ruined. If I had refreshed myself instead of running exhausted, I would have enjoyed the other days more.
—reneb4b1d76327
Via NBC/youtube.com
7. “When I was in the Marines, I was stationed in Iwakuni, Japan. We weren’t allowed to leave the base for the first three days after we arrived. On the fourth day, we were taken on a tour of Iwakuni and Hiroshima. I don’t know why I wore brand new leather sandals. By the time we got back to base, my feet were sore and blood was oozing out of the patterned leather.”
“I wish I could say I’d never make the mistake of putting on new shoes again, but I’d be lying. It took me far too long to learn that lesson.”
— Shannon m49e341999
Via NBC/youtube.com
8. “I flew to Paris and got lost because I didn’t read the hotel directions carefully.”
“People often say that Parisians are unfriendly, but the train driver who showed my friend where the toilets were (after we reached the last stop) and even let us on the train back home with a bottle of water, the people who volunteered to carry our luggage up and down the stairs, and the man who lent us his phone to get directions to our hotel proved them wrong!”
We also forgot our current adapter and the young lady working the breakfast area at the hotel lent us one.”
— Laughing Tiger 39
Netflix
9. “We were stationed in Germany in the ’70s, and after a couple of weeks there, we went into a department store. I barely spoke any German (just “please,” “thank you,” and “do you speak English?”) and hadn’t even started my German lessons yet. I asked the store clerk if she spoke any English, and she replied curtly, “no.” She had no idea that I’d only just arrived, but it turned out to be a great lesson.”
“I took German language and culture classes and would always refer to a German/English dictionary when I didn’t understand something. It was a great four years and I’ll always be grateful for those early lessons.”
—wickedgamer21
Via MGM/youtube.com
10. “When asked where you’re from in a foreign country, don’t give the name of your state instead of the name of your country.”
11. “We took a trip to Paris and I didn’t immediately turn to the concierge (or tips). He knew all the amazing, secluded places for dinner!”
“Some of the places he took us felt like people’s homes, with tables set up in the living and dining rooms. It was an amazing dining experience that we definitely would have missed. Make friends with your concierge!!!”
—Creative King 77
Via NBC/youtube.com
12. “In Europe, making a train reservation doesn’t guarantee you a seat!!!”
13. And finally: “This spring break, I went on a trip with some teachers and office staff from my school. At one point, our group (about 8 people) had to ride a city bus around the neighborhood to our next tourist spot. FYI, this tiny bus could fit about 20 people. As one of our group (not me) was talking at length about life, a local passenger asked in a friendly manner, “Excuse me, where are you from?” To which the woman in our group replied, “Texas.” The local replied, “They say everything is big in Texas, but does that mean you’re loud too? Why are you so loud? No one wants to hear your whole conversation!” So embarrassing.”
“We quickly learned that people who use public transport like a quiet ride. They’re not on holiday.”
—fabzombie97
Marvel Studios/Via Disney+
What’s the worst mistake you made on your first trip abroad? Share your experience in the comments!
Note: Some answers have been edited for length and clarity.
