5 Reasons Holidays Go Wrong (And How To Avoid Them)

Going on holiday can be a nerve-wracking experience, and so many unknowns and things could go wrong. Expired passports, vaccination issues, or lack of phone coverage – there’s usually something you didn’t think of.  This post looks at the biggest problems when holidays go wrong and what you can do to avoid them. 

Lady wearing pink sunglasses looking up at the sky enjoying music.
You don’t want to spend your holiday watching TV in your hotel bedroom. 

Photo by Kinga Cichewicz on Unsplash

Not Planning Your Time Properly

Telling yourself that you’re going on holiday for two weeks is good. But if you fail to schedule your itinerary, you’ll soon run into trouble. You don’t want your only break of the year to turn into hour after hour waiting in queues or watching TV in your hotel bedroom. 

These days, though, organising your time is much simpler than you might imagine, thanks to the invention of the holiday planning app. These helpful pieces of software let you quickly map out how you will spend your time and where you will go. Moreover, you can also tell your friends what you’re doing and update them. 

Losing Your Passport Or Purse

Losing your passport or purse is one of the travellers’ biggest disasters. Suddenly, you’re completely stranded because you can’t get through security. 

Moreover, losing these items when you travel is much more common than just going about your daily life. You must remember to do so many other things on holiday that passports and purses are sometimes an afterthought. 

To prevent disaster, take a printed copy of your passport with you. If you are travelling with another person, put your money in separate hand luggage. 

You’re Travelling With A Health Issue

Regular travel insurance will cover medical conditions you get on your trip (such as malaria), but they won’t insure you for any pre-existing conditions. So, if you go to another country with heart disease and experience a medical emergency, you’ll have to pay out-of-pocket for any care you receive. And while that might sound okay to you, know that medical bills in foreign countries can easily top £100,000 if something should go seriously wrong. 

Lady in black long sleeve t-shirt holding her arm up across her face.
Regular travel insurance will cover you for medical conditions you get on your trip (such as malaria), but they won’t insure you for any pre-existing conditions.

Photo by Hannah Xu on Unsplash

If there’s an issue and you still want to travel, consult with a medical professional and seek the guidance of a travel insurance provider who covers pre-existing medical problems. Make sure you have adequate cover should you need to seek medical treatment. We consider policies that pay up to £10 million for our son with epilepsy.

We can also still use a UK European Health Insurance Card (UK EHIC); when travelling within Europe, this has been replaced with a UK Global Health Insurance Card (UK GHIC), which you can apply for if your EHIC card is due to expire. It gives us peace of mind that should we need to access medical professionals or seek treatment, we can. This isn’t a replacement for travel insurance! You need both.

Your Credit Cards Don’t Work.

Ideally, you’d like it if your credit cards worked all over the world. Unfortunately, that’s not the reality. Merchants and even major retailers won’t accept certain cards in many countries. American Express can often be rejected due to the fees or less secure cards, as there’s not enough security for them. We use FairFx and have never had any problems, and they are accepted internationally.

Before you go, take a mixture of ways to pay. Always carry a small amount of cash around with you just in case of an emergency, and always remember to tell your bank your will be travelling and where so they don’t freeze your cards by mistake.

Your Phone Doesn’t Work

Lastly, you can run into trouble if your cell phone doesn’t work. You must consider your options if you can’t communicate with friends or family or keep up with Instagram. Check with your phone provider if they cover the area you are visiting or if there will be rooming charges (yes, some still do).

Black iphone with apps on dark wood table
You may need to contact your airline or travel insurance company

Don’t take this lightly, as you may need to contact your airline or travel insurance company. To avoid this, pick up a local pay-as-you-go SIM when you arrive. 

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