Whether you travel solo or not, travel mishaps are going to occur. There are advantages and disadvantages to dealing with travel mishaps in either situation. As a regular solo traveler, I have had my share of travel mishaps while traveling alone.
Most of these mishaps end up making the best stories when I return home. These stories may be incredulous, funny, or sometimes both.
Nonetheless, no one really wants travel mishaps to occur. So, here are my recommendations for how to prevent them when you can and embrace them when you can’t.
At a Glance
When travel mishaps occur
I generally encounter some kind of travel mishap every time I travel. Sometimes it’s my error or oversight and sometimes they occur to no fault of my own. Of course, the best way to handle the inevitable travel mishaps is to remain calm and lean into the help that others are so often happy to provide.
Some of my travel mishaps include accidentally booking a party oriented hostel when I was in climbing, hiking, and adventure mode, missing flights, almost missing flights, booking the wrong flight, getting a flat tire in a remote area, and panic booking an earlier return flight due to the threat of a nearby volcano erupting and potentially disputing my timely return to work… among many others.
Some of these travel mishaps occurred while traveling with someone else but most occurred when I was traveling alone.
Pros and cons of travel mishaps as a solo traveler
One of the things I love about solo traveling is that when travel mishaps occur, I don’t have to worry about how it impacts those I am traveling with. When I am the one who made an error in my planning and logistics and it impacts others with whom I am traveling, I worry incessantly about how my error will make someone else feel or the imposition I have caused.
Having to be the only one dealing with the consequences of my own mistakes is definitely a pro. I can generally pivot quickly and come up with an alternative solution that may not be great for others but for me will suffice.
There are disadvantages to encountering mishaps as solo traveler as well. When you are traveling alone, you can’t problem solve with someone else. You also can’t divide and conquer on solving an issue. So you must stay calm, think quickly, and think strategically.
How to prevent travel mishaps
There are some travel mishaps that can be prevented with good planning.
Some strategies that can prevent certain travel mishaps include good planning. Use excel, a calendar template in a word document, or other free travel planning tools such as the one the Retirement Travelers use. Thorough, detailed planning can help prevent many travel mishaps.
Additionally, don’t book flights and accommodations in a rush. When planning one trip, I spent the entire Black Friday holiday booking flights, accommodations, and other travel logistics. I was making good use of a day off, however, I tried to make too many plans in too little time. The result? The incorrectly book flight I have detailed below.
When making your travel plans, take time to research, make notes, and review your plans again after you have had a break from the researching.
Lastly, before you finish your booking, be sure to review the dates and times as compared to your itinerary, taking into consideration any time zone differences or use of military time in the location you are going.
Embracing travel mishaps
Sometimes travel mishaps genuinely make the best, most entertaining stories upon your return home. That certainly has been the case for me. I love reflecting back and laughing at what happened when everything ended well. Sometimes, the outcome of these mishaps lead to some really wonderful experiences.
Two of my travel mishap stories
While the story I told in my article about Mt. Kilimanjaro may not exactly be a travel mistake, I count it as mishap or misadventure. Perhaps that one is more entertaining to me but I have enjoyed telling and retelling that story and laughing about it every time.
Two other good travel mishap stories include the flat tire in Iceland and the incorrectly booked flight in Buenos Aires.
Flat tire in Iceland
Iceland is generally pretty remote. So, when you get a flat tire, you are likely in a remote location which is exactly what happened. While the actual experience of realizing we had a leak with a 3 minute drive to get our airbnb was tense, we made it after all. By the next morning, however, the tire was completely flat.
As it turns out, our airbnb, which was located in a community of 7 houses, shared a driveway with a longtime retired mechanic who has a fully built out garage. I had accidentally parked in front of his garage the evening I arrived.
Our airbnb host communicated with the neighbor and he said he would try to repair the tire so we could be on our way. Not only did he repair the tire, but I had the chance to spend a couple of hours with a local Icelandic gentleman and his neighbor. He played classic Icelandic music and explained what he was doing as he worked.
As an added bonus, another neighbor, who had been painting his garage door, came by to check in and chat. He proceeded to show me the incredible classic cars in his garage.
The flat tire directly led to the only real opportunity I had to spend with locals for the entire trip. The travel mishap led directly to a trip highlight.
Booking the wrong flight in Buenos Aires
I had just traveled with my mom to Brazil. As my mom and I parted ways and she made her journey back to the U.S., I departed for my trip to Antarctica, by way of Argentina. There are many clues that should have made me realize I had made a booking error. I thought I had found the perfect flight arrangement to layover in Buenos Aires en route to El Calafate.
Arriving in Buenos Aires, I walk out of the baggage claim and amazingly… there is the check in! Wow, this is so perfect and easy I thought. My baggage arrived quickly, there is no navigating around a large airport, everything is right here.
In my incredulous delight, I walk to the check in. No line! Wow, this never happens I thought. Traveling can be a pain in all honesty so I was so pleased that I had such wonderful luck and ease.
I walk up to the counter, present my passport, and luggage. I ask in my Spanish to be checked in for my afternoon flight. She responds, in English, your flight left already. No, no, I corrected her, it leaves in a few hours. No, she insisted, it left almost 12 hours ago. As I then realize my error, I responded with little to no reaction but asked, well is there another one? Tomorrow morning at 4.
I had booked a 4 a.m. flight when Argentina, as well as many parts of the world, use military time. I knew better. I had just visited Argentina a year prior. It was a memory lapse in during my planning.
I walk over to the counter, also merely steps away and with ease, booked a flight for the next day. I sat down in one of the many available chairs, again steps away, and sat down to look for a place to stay for the evening.
Within 30 minutes, I booked and communicated with an airbnb host who was happy to accommodate my last minute request. Within the hour I’m checked into the airbnb with a beautiful city view and a wonderful part of town. I had the chance to reorganize my luggage, catch up on work emails, have a long conversation with a colleague about a project we were both working on, and look for a dinner spot.
I settled upon a casual restaurant that had excellent reviews, indoor/outdoor seating, and was a close walk from the airbnb. The weather could not have been better.
As I began to eat alone at my table, taking in the surroundings, a girl from Germany sits down and asks if she could have dinner with me. We had a wonderful conversation and I enjoyed hearing her travel stories and her tentative plans for the future.
After enjoying a delicious dinner with pleasant company, I managed to sleep for a brief time before catching an uber at 1:30 a.m. to return to the airport.
It was the loveliest of mishaps as it turns out. I had time to rest, repack, meet someone new and interesting, hear her life story, and enjoy perfect weather while trying a new and delicious restaurant in a part of town I hadn’t visited the year before.
TLDR
I booked the wrong flight and had a wonderful afternoon and evening in Buenos Aires.
Conclusion
Sometimes people act a bit in awe when I talk about traveling abroad alone. When I encountered this recently I responded with the fact that it is actually freeing to be the only one who has to deal with my planning or logistics mistakes.
I have had many travel mishaps over the years and I enjoy reflecting back and appreciating the good that came out of the situation.
Additionally, travel mishaps oftentimes make some of the best stories, especially when everything turns out ok. They can be a tale of a comedy of errors sometimes.
While I recommend you do all you can to prevent the common mishaps, I encourage you to try and embrace them to the extent you can when they occur. You never know who you will meet or what unique experience might occur as a result.
What travel mishaps have you had?
I would love to know! Tell me in the comments.
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