Travel Mistakes Everyone Should Avoid Making

There’s nothing comparable to the excitement you feel when you travel. You get to see the world, go places you only ever dreamed of going and you get to create a rich selection of memories and experiences your family will treasure for a lifetime. However, travel can be a complex and irritating thing when you make these common mistakes. Don’t let your travels become a burden laced with unhappy memories by avoiding these common travel mistakes.

Forgetting Documents

What happens when you get to the airport and realize that you neglected to grab your passport or your license? Your entire trip could be ruined. There’s no easy way to remember to pack these documents, so try doing what my husband and I do: I make a list of everything we need in the weeks leading up to a trip. I then pack my travel documents in my day of carry-on bag well in advance and hang a big, bold note to the back of our front door that reads, “DON’T FORGET PASSPORT, VISA, LICENSE, CARDS, MONEY, CHARGERS” and hang it on the door for days. Then I double check to make sure all items are with me before we walk out of the house. So far, so good.

Not Carrying Cash

My husband gets on me about this all the time, but I never carry cash. With my debit card on hand at all times, I don’t feel that it’s necessary and I don’t like the germs that I feel money gets all over my wallet, which my kids drag out of my bag and play with. However, travelling is a different story. Sometimes you cannot find an ATM, especially in a location you are unfamiliar with. Some countries do not accept certain cards and some stores don’t accept certain cards. My debit card from my bank is a MasterCard and I cannot tell you how many times I have been turned down using it while out of town because they only accept Visa or AmEx.

Not Checking Discount Airlines

It isn’t enough to simply check discount sites, you have to check discount airlines as most discount travel sites don’t include these companies. The first time my husband and I realized that we’d paid more than $300 a ticket for our family of four to fly to a certain location when we could have taken an alternate airline and paid a grand total of $14.99 one way and $59.99 the other way, we wanted to cry. Airlines such as Southwest and Allegiant Air are great for specific destinations. If you want to book your seats in advance, you will have to pay a fee and you will pay for your carry-on and your checked luggage but you don’t have to choose any of these options, and the price even with them is significantly lower.