Seven Small Travel Mistakes That Can Cost You Dearly
Many of us try to manage travel stress through careful planning: we pack scientifically , use technology , and research every step of our trip. But if you think you have low stress levels when you’re planning a trip, just wait until a small, seemingly insignificant mistake ruins your trip and costs you a lot of money. These tiny travel mistakes are easy to make and go unnoticed—until they come back to haunt you in the form of missed connections, lost money, or something worse.
Damaged passports
You may not think too much about the condition of your passport when you throw it in your bag and head to the airport, but a “damaged” passport can (and often will) be refused at various stops along your route. What is considered “damaged”? According to the US State Department, these include :
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Stains from any liquid
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“Significant” tear
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Missing Pages
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Unofficial marking (such as a comic souvenir stamp )
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Hole puncher
You might think that a small stain on your passport wouldn’t be a problem, but think again: recently, a couple traveling to Bali were denied boarding due to a coffee stain on one of their passports. While “normal wear and tear” does not count as a “damaged” passport, if you notice any defects in your passport, it’s best to replace it as soon as possible—and before your next trip.
Expiring IDs
Another small mistake you can make when completing your paperwork is trying to travel with a passport that is too close to expiring, or with an expired passport or driver’s license.
Surprisingly, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will accept an expired driver’s license as identification if it has expired in less than a year. But if you get used to using an expired license and spend too much time, you’ll be out of luck if it’s more than a year old. And it may seem unfair, but if your passport is still technically valid but there are no more than six months left before it expires, you could be denied entry to a long list of countries.
Mismatched names
Recently married? Allow auto-filling of some forms on the airline website? If the name on your plane tickets doesn’t match the name on your ID, you decide whether you arrive at your destination or not. Security checkpoints and airlines require that the name on your ID match the name on your ticket , so if you were in a rush and misspelled your name or let autocomplete insert your last name into the middle name field, you could be in trouble. .
Another easy mistake to make involves dates: some overseas airlines use a day/month/year format on their websites, so it’s easy to enter the wrong birthday , which can lead to delays or, worse, when someone will notice that you have paid for the ticket. the information does not match your passport.
How big of a problem these are probably depends on who you’re dealing with. Minor mistakes can often be corrected fairly easily, but if you’re traveling overseas, you may have a steeper hill to climb if your paperwork doesn’t match. For example, a woman named Jacqueline was denied boarding on a flight to Greece because the ticket was booked under the name “Jackie.”
Wrong destination
You might think it’s impossible to book a flight to the wrong country. Unfortunately, you’d be wrong: it’s surprisingly easy to find stories of misfortunes involving people who didn’t fly where they were supposed to. For example, a British couple accidentally booked a trip to Grenada , which is in the Caribbean, instead of the Spanish town of Granada, which, as you understand, is in Spain. They didn’t realize what had happened until the plane took off. Or take the couple who booked their dream vacation to Las Vegas, but booked a flight departing from Birmingham, Alabama , rather than Birmingham, England, where they actually lived.
Booking online is easy to do in a hurry, and if the drop-down menu moves at the last minute without you noticing, you may be flying somewhere very far from where you booked the hotel, or you may have to make some arrangements. costly changes to your plans.
No visa
It’s easy to overlook the fact that you need a visa to enter or transit through one of the countries on your route – many countries do not require a visa for people traveling from the US. But assuming it can cause you a lot of trouble, so it’s betterto check if you need it and get your hands on it before you leave. And don’t think that just because you’re transiting – passing through the country on your way somewhere else – that you don’t need a visa – often you absolutely will , especially if your layover will last more than 24 hours.
Another visa error? Assuming you can just get it at the airport. This is often true, but sometimes you’ll have to pay in local currency that you may not have, and if your credit or debit cards don’t work for some reason , you could be stuck at the airport. Deal with this in advance to save yourself from these problems.
Biosafety violations
Many countries have strict regulations on importing foreign food, plant or animal products from abroad. You might be thinking, well I don’t have any prohibited fruit in my bags, I’m fine. But these biosecurity rules don’t just apply to exotic seeds—for example, a passenger traveling from Bali to Australia was fined nearly $2,000 for bringing McDonald’s breakfast sandwiches into the country. The passenger did not disclose the fast food and paid the price. Don’t make the same seemingly tiny mistake.
Violation of driving rules
If your travel plans include renting a car, make sure you know how things work in your destination country. Even if there are no signs posted (that you notice) and you’re not doing anything too dangerous, you could end up with dozens of tickets in the mail long after your trip. This happened to writer Ryan Krogh in 2019 – he and his wife rented a car and drove around Italy a little. They ended up receiving hundreds of euros in fines for a laundry list of parking and speeding violations they weren’t even aware of. A series of small mistakes in a foreign country can cost you dearly.