Terrible Travel Mistakes To Avoid

Travel mishaps can happen to even the most seasoned travelers. Here are some of the most frequent errors travelers can make:

 1.  Failing to buy travel insurance: We have heard nitemare type stories from travelers after the Chilean earthquake where they shut down airports and other stories with regard to the Icelandic volcano that fouled the skies.  Those who had insurance generally came out ahead. Those who didn't and missed cruises (in the case of Chile) or were stranded in airports or hotels - paid a dear price.

 2.  Buying domestic rental car insurance: You generally don't need to buy the insurance that's offered with rental cars in the U.S. (Foreign insurance is another matter.) Check your own auto insurance policy or with your credit card company to see whether you have rental coverage. If you don't need it, don't buy it.

 3.  Failing to inspect your rental car, inside and out: Make sure you and the rental company note the same damage. If it's night and dimly illuminated, insist on going somewhere you can see, or use that iPhone flashlight app (or a real flashlight, which is also helpful in unfamiliar hotel rooms). Otherwise, it will be almost impossible to prove that you didn't burn that cigarette hole in the passenger seat.

 4.  Failing to take pictures of your rental car: We've heard of travelers who received big bills for "damage" to the car they've returned, unscathed, to a European destination. You probably have a camera with you. If it has a time stamp, so much the better. Take pictures before you leave and when you return.

 5.  Forgetting that nonrefundable really means nonrefundable: Travelers are often irritated when they buy a ticket and then find they can't get their money back.  Usually, the least expensive ticket comes with the biggest penalties, and that means your money has said goodbye even if you haven't. You may get a credit, but you also may need to pay a huge change fee.

 6.  Thinking that cruise lines will be sympathetic to your plight: Cruise lines tend to be pretty inflexible. If you miss your cruise because your airline screwed up, that's not the cruise line's problem. Ditto if your dog dies, your house burns down or any other combination of factors. If it's a big, expensive cruise, buy insurance because Murphy 's Law never takes a holiday.

 7.  Discovering that your passport is expiring the day you are leaving for any foreign destination, including Mexico and Canada. Please take a moment now to check the expiration date on your passport.  Furthermore, check to see if the country you're traveling to requires at least six months remaining on your passport. And some countries require that you have a certain number of pages remaining in your passport for stamps. Check all this stuff, and make sure you cover this with your travel planner or go to: the State Department's website at:  http://www.travel.state.gov.

 8.  Not making a copy of your passport. This takes only a minute, and usually isn’t an issue. But it only takes misplacing or losing it once to change all that.

 9.  Booking your airline ticket under the wrong name: One reader wrote to say that her sister's ticket was booked under her nun/sister's religious name, not her birth name on her passport. Under the Transportation Security Administration's Secure Flight Program, the names must match. Presumably you know your own name, but if you're booking for someone else, ask that person to look at his or her government-issued ID. Guessing is not advised.

10.  Failing to figure in the sometimes hidden costs of airline fees: They can add up.

11.  Even if a travel provider offers a discount for cash, don't do it. Credit card companies are good at watching out for their customers; rely on them.

12.  Packing essentials in checked luggage. This means medicine, cash, laptop chargers (and laptops), valuable jewelry, anything you really can’t afford to lose or be without.

13.  If you’re in a country that doesn’t use a Western alphabet, not having your hotel name written on a card or a piece of paper. English may be one of the most common languages in the world, but that won’t help if you find a taxi driver who doesn’t speak it, or if you just get lost and need directions back to your hotel.

There's many more and we will keep adding and changing this list - so check back, for a refresher, before you travel. Contact Us for help with all of your travel needs.

Westmont, IL:  800-233-3963
Naperville, IL:  800-523-0911
Katy, TX:  800-459-3996