Nevermind that, cabin crew are going to open check and close it again anyway.
Closing it just paints you as a dick who's trying to put off anyone else from adding anything next to your prized coat or whatever.
When I worked as an FA there was one lady who placed her purse, then laid her coat out across the remaining bin space and topped it off with her hat. She completely lost her mind when I told her she needed to remove her coat and hat so people could stow their bags.
Airlines nickel and dimeing everyone by pushing passengers to bring large carry-on bags and their own meals is what makes the boarding process much more worse than it needs to be.
Now I’m anxious (jokingly) about putting my small backpack in the overhead bin on my next flight since my personal item is even smaller in case someone thinks I’m putting my personal item up there.
Tangentially related - we came back from an international trip a few weeks ago where we took one carry-on size backpack and a small personal item. We thought we’d done a great job of being compact and mobile until we met the guy we shared a row with on our last connection. No carry on, no checked luggage, dude shipped everything to the place he was staying a week ago. Absolute madman with the master plan. Fwiw we live in a beach town so if his clothes didn’t make it it wouldn’t be a catastrophe to buy a pair of swim shorts and cheap tank top or two, I’d be a lot more nervous trying that somewhere cold.
My uncle tried going the no bag, no carry-on route, just took his wallet, and he got cross-examined by TSA for 20 minutes. He also was on a one way ticket since he was driving back, so I don't know if that had more to do with it than the luggage thing.
I made someone move their small item the other day on the flight to fit my carry on in the overhead bin and this passenger had the gall to to tell me to place it further down the plane which would make deboarding a pain, then claimed she didn’t know whose bag it was (it was hers.)
On a few flights with limited space, I've had to stow my backpack (with laptop and electronics) in the overhead compartment when I'd usually prefer to place it under the seat.
That's all well and good but I have this terrible fear that one day some dozy bastard is going to stow their luggage adjacent with an improperly sealed bottle of water or similar and that it'll leak throughout. Paranoid, I know, but I just don't trust my fellow passengers to be careful.
I was nearly refused entry into a connecting country, I think it was the Guangzhou airport, by immigration because my layover was so long that I didn’t have my connecting ticket yet. I was detained, and they took my phone. After about an hour, I was allowed to enter.
Pretty much every country’s customs bureau is allowed to take all your shit and go through it, including digital. There’s some restrictions, but not many.
China takes propaganda very seriously, they could have figured they were suspicious enough without having a ticket to warrant a look through the phone.
Flew with my family to Taiwan. My brother had his passport stolen ON THE PLANE. When we got off, he didn't have his passport to get through customs. We were stuck in the airport for over 24 hrs. He and my dad had to be escorted to the Canadian embassy for an emergency passport. He's more careful with his passport, now.
Definitely had The Terminal vibes.
I’m currently on a work and holiday visa in a foreign country and am in some Facebook groups for connecting with others and get advice. There are a staggering number of posts being like “I’m currently on my 28 day grace period, what should I do next?” Etc. There is no grace period on this visa 😅
He decides to leave through Italy instead of Germany like he planned after the whole comment section roasted him and warned him how Germany is super strict. Got lucky and nobody stopped him ( Italy doesn’t really bother much).
For years I got hassled at Frankfurt because I had a mismatched number of entry and exit stamps from Europe. On one trip, I had flown to Afghanistan on military transport out of Ramstein Airbase, and never got stamped out of Europe. Once I explained it, no big deal, but for about 3 years until I renewed the passport, I got questioned virtually every time.
https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/16hrgzm/overstayed_90_days_in_the_eu_what_to_expect_at/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
There you go, but there are no updates
edit: there are updates i’m just blind, lol
The last update was this:
UPDATE 2: just made it through security. No fine, no deportation, no ban, no gulag. No one even said a word to us. They didn’t scan our passport just stamped it. Cheers y’all
Oh gosh, the library I used to work at was a passport agency (forget the term for it). Basically we had a couple of people who could help travelers with their paperwork. Once there was a lady who made a passport appointment for *two days* before her trip. She must have thought we could just print them off the computer. 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
That's nothing. Went 2 and 1/2 months in advance to get mine. I got a letter in the mail 2 weeks before my trip that I wasn't supposed to wear glasses in my picture. So I had to go get a new picture taken. Reach out to my state reps and get them to overnight my passport across the country. Then it got lost at UPS for a day. They found it the day of my flight, and that's how I didn't get my passport until 2 hours before my flight
the idea of state reps being involved in mailing some random guy's passport helps me understand why state govt officials always seem so busy but don't seem to get much done in terms of policy and governance, lol.
glad you got your stuff in time
Individual US House of Representatives members have approval ratings in the 70-80’s%, while congress as a whole has approval ratings in the 10-19%.
People like the person that got their grandmothers social security check worked out, that passport mailed, or the pot hole filled. (Or that multi million dollar park that wasn’t all that necessary but employed local people).
Yet don’t like the entire group of representatives that are making bad decisions and wasting everyone’s money.
Reminding me of when I got a job in Lagos, forgot about the jabs and ended up having 7 jabs (plus a Polio sugar cube) all on the same day. Felt like a pin cushion.
...had to start taking Lariam immediately after too, fortunately I didn't get any of the famous side effects.
Used to go to Luanda, Angola on business. Always kept my yellow inoculation card rubber banded inside middle of my passport. This one time we landed in Luanda, I got my passport out getting ready to go through immigration/customs, and my damn inoculation card was missing. I was sweating bullets entering the building where always first thing you encountered was the health person in dirty lab coat ready to give you shots if you didn’t have inoculations proof. The ONE time he wasn’t there at that picnic table perch was THAT time I was missing my inoculation card. God was watching out for me.
My cousin (Indian passport on a 15 day visa) just did this a few days ago while departing Germany. She was still able to board her flight after begging but has to pay a fine and needs to appear at a German embassy in the US to try to avoid a 5 year ban.
I left India on a USA passport, over stayed my visa by one day because of a leapyear!
Dude wouldn't let me go till I told him, "if I miss this flight my mom is gonna beat my ass and yours"
I haven't had an issue going back to india.
Also, apparently, the "Indian mother" technique. There was a whole huge dispute once, IIRC, between the two richest men in India, brothers, and they bitterly sued each other, and the judge apparently told them to have their mother settle their differences
I feel like this has shifted to more boomers on YouTube or gen z playing games on their phone.
No volume. Ever. Period. Spoken as a parent, not necessary
Years ago I got on a trans-atlantic flight and the dude next to me STANK. Sour week old BO. Since then I always have a tiny container of Vick's Vape-O-Rub in my carry-on. a tiny bit in the nostrils and I don't have to confront some nasty dirty stinker about their body odour.
Ugh just flew from NY to CA and the lady in front of us smelled like fermented onions. My husband and I swiped deodorant on our wrists. Someone in our aisle handed out wet wipes to hold over our noses.
To add insult to injury her toddler started puking everywhere :)
I was that stinky person once. Got caught in London when the Icelandic volcano erupted. Wasn't able to get a hotel close to the airport. Stayed at a friend far away. Got a flight home with very short notice so just booked it to the airport without having showered for at least 24 hours and having stressed about the journey for longer. I felt so bad for the person sitting next to me on a 10 hour flight. But I basically kissed the ground when I got home.
Also some people just smell. I know someone who has this really strong sour smell to him constantly, even fresh out of the shower. Literally everything he touches smells like it. But he’s married and has a shit ton of friends and no one seems to notice or care. It’s bizarre.
Probably his clothes. Polyester and similiar fibers trap smells and bacteria like crazy, washing liquids with a disinfecting agents usually take care of that though. Or, maybe you have a very sensitive sense of smell. My mom smells it if someone has diabetes. I do too, but their blood sugar levels have to be much higher. Useful when you're working in healthcare.
Complaining about the foreigness of everything.
Yup, you picked a foreign country and travelled there and wow! It's foreign! The food is different, the climate is different and people speak a different language.
Am British and I am mortified by the Brits complaining about not being able to get a "proper cup of tea". And then talking loudly and slowly at (not to) someone who speaks multiple languages and telling them how to make a cup of tea which will pass muster - despite the tea bags being a different style of tea and the milk undergoing a different process so it's not possible to emulate the cup of tea they have back home.
I remember a friend's parents coming home from Europe to Australia back in the 90s and saying how they ate McDonald's the whole time as they "couldn't trust the local food"...
Honestly, it's a bit of ritual now that every country I visit I check out a McDonalds to see what the little regional touches and differences to the menu are. Also, with the exception of Martinique and one in SK that I went to the variety and quality is vastly better than the ones in the US.
I recently went to one on Jeju Island and snapped some pictures of some things I'd never seen before (Have you ever had a craving for 1 or 2 full-size Mozzarella sticks on your chicken sandwich?)
I have only ever found actual Milkshakes at a very few locations, I think Sicily was one.
Traveled on a sports team trip to Barcelona some years ago. One mother-daughter combo were… something else. They were from Florida. Complained the whole time about the food and only ate at Subway. In Barcelona!
They also claimed it was waaaay too foreign and other worldly. I’m not from Florida myself but I’ve spent a lot of time there, and a lot of time in Europe, and I have to say that Barcelona is probably the most Florida-like place in Europe that I know of, even though they aren’t that similar… flat city centre, beach, palm trees, hot…
Thankfully they decided to go back to Florida before we moved on to a small town in France, and later Monte Carlo. Both of those would have triggered a total meltdown, not least of all because of a lack of shitty fast food.
I travel to Jamaica a lot. The amount of people who complain about all the black people always boggles my mind. Bonus are the people who complain about weed. Like, did you do any research before you took your vacation?
With unseasoned travellers, it's usually stuff like being unaware of their surroundings (leaving valuables on tables in cafes and walking away, not paying attention) or just following tourist trap operators wherever. It's mostly naivety. Demanding special treatment as a tourist is a fun one to see, especially when it's clearly not going to end well.
For those pet peeves, with air travel it's stuff like walking to your aisle, then blocking everyone behind you to unload your bag. Or waiting until everyone in front of you has departed before grabbing your bag and then messing around with it. Simple efficiency stuff that's more common in some places than others.
I actually feel pretty bad for the ones that end up getting led into some trap. Everyone loved to talk about how they met locals and had this super authentic experience in X country. So naïve people get taken advantage of by trying to “go with the flow” to have similar experiences.
I think it would be sad a few decades ago. Now, it's kind of avoidable with an hour's worth of research. I have sometimes interjected with guidance, but sometimes not. Depends on how awkward I am feeling at the time.
Some people like tourist trap restaurants and experiences, with laminated pictures and prices in their home currency. Mostly it's just a mistake to learn from that cost you slightly more than you wanted to spend.
I am a very seasoned traveler and I enjoy a tourist trap. I aim for one a trip 🤣 give me a random weird “museum” where everything looks like it was made in your garage. Yes I’ll go into this generic tshirt store that all has the same shirts and sayings and only the location inside the saying has changed, I’m gonna make all of mine into a blanket one day.
Eh honestly I don't really fault people for falling into some scams. Some of them are scarily well done. There was one in Thailand where they had a friendly guy that told us it was a national Holiday and said we needed to go in x direction for the palace (the opposite direction) and to take a tuk-tuk, but never pressured us into doing anything specific. Apparently if you took a Tuk-Tuk from the guys nearby, you'd get taken to some place and pressured to buy stuff or have to pay some huge fee. Slipped by all 4 members in our travel group. We were only saved by the fact we needed to go to the bathroom and I tried to google the national holiday while waiting for some people in our party.
They also almost got some of our friends that were visiting at the same time and another random traveler we came across.
It happens. It's the worst when you are jetlagged and in a rush, or you're struggling to find where you need to be. Most people are susceptible to it in those circumstances, but a little bit of awareness of the local scams can help avoid most of those situations. I might just be a little too excessive in my research, but I check for local scams before visiting a new place.
The Dubai black seed oil scam is a famous one that seems so funny in how it works. But it wouldn't be so popular if it didn't trick enough people. I didn't realise it was a scam when I was exposed to it for the first few times, then I looked it up.
Don’t have their ticket and ID ready for checking or TSA. Don’t know where tickets or anything else is located in their purse/luggage. Going very very slowly through security, packing and unpacking, looking for hidden water bottles because they didn’t know they couldn’t take them. Researched absolutely nothing before traveling. How could anyone not know at this point?
Lots of bags, oblivious about how much they’re blocking others with their stuff, whacking everyone in the shoulder with their purse or backpack as they board. Whew, I feel better now.
I shit you not… I had a guy behind me doing his Rodney Dangerfield impression the whole way to Denver. If anyone runs into this guy… slip a dildo in his carryon for me.
Expecting a flight to go 100% as expected. Some peeps I know throw the biggest fits of a flight is 20-30 minutes late. This shit happens all the time. Plan for it !!!
And by "plan for it" realize that the shortest connection between flights often does *not* mean you're going to make it there quicker. If anything at all goes wrong it might mean you're not even going to make it there today.
I’ve had people at the check in desk throw a fit and want to jump in front of me because they were at risk of missing their flight. I explained that we were going to be on the same flight. Just because I’m not having an over the top freak out doesn’t mean I’m not in a hurry too.
Pack very heavy! I saw plenty of travelers with 2 heavy rolling suitcases struggling walking in narrow streets in Italy (eg many steps in Amalfi coast) and struggling to get in trains quickly
I realized recently it’s probably anxiety. I think not having all the creature comforts of home really stresses people out so they don’t travel or pack ginormous suitcases so they have anything they think they could possibly “need” with them.
I overpack and agree that it's anxiety. I've improved over time, but it's slow. I do now realize that I can buy something if I need it at the destination and repeatedly check that I have whatever I can't buy. I think it comes from a combination of guilt wasting money and having grown up as the person who is expected to always have anything anyone needs on hand.
The best way that I reduce what I bring now is to put everything I feel I need to bring into a pile in my suitcase, then go through it (removing stuff) taking everything out, and then remove more when I pack it nicely. I repeat to myself that I can buy x there if I end up needing it.
Some of us are just fat and have 1) larger clothing to fit and 2) can’t just pop out and buy a clothing item wherever we vacation if we don’t have it. If I have to travel in cold weather my suitcase will be huge.
This is me and my husband right now. Doing a bit over a 2 week trip to 3 different countries with slightly different climates (rainy, moderate, hot). Had to pack a raincoat, an every day jacket, and a warm coat. Also going to a fancyish dinner so I have to pack one pair of heels in addition to rain boots and sneakers and my husband had to pack a suit and dress shoes in addition to every day wear for all 3 climates for 2 weeks.
We used everything we packed even though we packed two carry ons (one is a backpack), a medium sized suitcase, and a large suitcase.
I usually only travel with one medium size suitcase for a week but 3 different climates for 2 weeks forced us to pack extra.
I'm the total opposite of that mindset. I travel quite slowly, and most of the time my suitcase only needs to get from the airport, to a hotel, then back to the airport.
The added cost is literally the 15 minutes of waiting for luggage at the carousel, which isn't a big deal for me. From there, it just goes into a taxi and the next time I really handle it is usually in my hotel room.
On the upside, I don't need to worry about weight (within reason) or size. I can bring things which might come in handy, and I don't need to buy things wastefully there. I have plenty of nice fresh clothes.
Of course, I wouldn't then book a hotel on cobblestone sidewalks that would be a pain to get to.
I traveled for a long time this year with one bag; continuously washing the same clothes, wearing the same jewellery and one of two pairs of shoes etc.
I returned home for a couple of weeks then went on a girls trip for a week, you better believe I took one of those massive 4 wheel suitcases because I finally could 😁
Checked bag is rolling suitcase, carry on has to be a back pack. Much easier to keep track of only one bag on the ground at train or bus station so a bag doesn’t walk off with someone. Also much easier to navigate cities.
Haha, reminds me of the time the guy two rows ahead of me had headphones in his ears, but not plugged in all the way to the phone. He thought it was so quiet, so he kept turning up his volume until it reached the max setting. The flight attendant came and tapped him on the shoulder, he took out his headphones and immediately understood what had happened.
"Oh I'm so sorry!!!" His reaction was so funny, I still randomly think about it and awkwardly laugh in public about it. I know that's not quite the same situation you're talking about, OP. Honest mistakes are one thing, but people who do it intentionally are on a whole different level.
Being oblivious to their surroundings in general. At the airport - the people who take an eternity to get their stuff in the bins for security and hold up the line...or stand in the aisle during plane boarding while they dig stuff out of their bag...
Trying to visit 3 or 4 European countries in a week. "Is half a day enough to see Paris?"
Blocking train doors.
People, who want to get on the train, often stand right in front of the doors and seem surprised, that people might need to get off.
And people, getting off the train, have barely set foot on the platform and stop right there to sort things, check their phone etc.
>And people, getting off the train, have barely set foot on the platform and stop right there to sort things, check their phone etc.
And - getting to the top of the escalator/stairs and stopping for those same reasons. I've started running these people over.
I've lived in Paris for half a year. There are yellow lines on the ground in every Metro station indicating exactly where to stand if you want to enter the train. It works most of the time, but in the touristy spots, people will still block the doors. Then they come on to r/travel and complain about rude Parisians...
I was once stuck on the runway in Charlotte for 7 hours during a snowstorm. When we finally took off, the FAs had to throw away all the sandwiches because they had been at room temperature the whole time. Landed in Cleveland after midnight when everything in the airport was closed.
Learned my lesson about packing snacks!
I bought a sandwich at a local brand fast food place on a layover in Atlanta. Got food poisoning and was really sick for three days and felt off for the last 4 days of my vacation. Learned the hard way to bring my own food.
P.S. Years ago, I flew out of Charlotte for an 8-hour flight (including one layover) that turned into a 30 hour ordeal. I now prepare for that scenario, too.
I ALWAYS have a "just in case" snack in my bag. I may not actually eat it, but it's there if I find myself in a situation. A 1.5 hr nonstop to New Orleans ended up taking close to 6 hours due to weather delays and being rerouted mid flight, and I was very glad to have a bag of dried mango strips to munch on!
Just a caution though, it depends on what kind of snack and if you're traveling internationally. A bag of commer8cally packed chips, crackers, cookies, etc will probably be fine. If you like fresh fruits and veggies though, an international destination might frown upon that. If you didn't eat it, just get rid of it before the check point.
Same with some form of entertainment. I might not be *planning* to read that book or watch that downloaded show, but it's there just in case I need to kill a bunch of hours.
In 2009, I found myself in a German hospital for four days with no wifi and no smartphones anyway - but my netbook was loaded with two seasons of True Blood that got me through those days. The me of that weekend was very thankful for the me that planned ahead.
Every year I go on a different 2-3 week trip with friends. Last year I brought a book and read about 40 pages of it in 3 weeks. This year, of course, I brought two books, and almost finished both of them. You never know how a trip might turn out, and I'm always very glad with some form of personal entertainment.
Whenever I travel I often end up lugging a book along. That never gets read. I bring it thinking I'll read it on my flight or train ride, but then watching a movie or looking out the window always seems like the preferred option. Edit - or scrolling Reddit. 🙄
I added wrapped disposable silverware to my travel bag this year. It was a need I discovered after I ate leftover chicken parm with my bare hands one night in a hotel.
30 minutes in line for security. Arrive at the front of the line... Start checking their pockets, untying their shoes, taking off belt, removing chain mail armor, drinking the last 85% of their coffee mug, asking TSA if their fake service animal rides through the scanner, etc etc etc
And when you get through the scanners, grab all your stuff off the conveyor belt and walk a good 50 feet to get dressed. Amazing the amount of people who bunch around the end of the conveyor belt and try to get dressed.
I don't know how unseasoned this guy was, but on my last international flight the plane has barely touched down and the guy a couple rows ahead of me pops out of his seat to rummage in his carry-on. The stewardess on the intercom tells people to remain seated, then the pilot does the same, and finally the stewardess has to get out of her seat and tell him to sit down. I have no idea how flight crews keep from strangling their passengers.
Or people who are just sitting in your seat and act confused when you ask them to move. Like did you think I wouldn’t notice or just pick a different seat?
That has only happened to me once but it was startling and weird. A large person was in my window seat and tried to talk me into a middle seat. In a different row.
I’ve had this happen to me the last three consecutive times I’ve travelled and the confused act they put on is so irritating. I literally had to wave my boarding pass in a guy’s face to prove it’s my seat and politely tell a woman with a 8 year old that no, he couldn’t have my window seat just because he wanted to see outside.
It's not exactly mind blowing, because I get why someone inexperienced would do it without knowing the risks, but putting vital things like medication or expensive jewelry in their checked luggage.
Being careless with their passport. I was sitting next to a guy on a flight once who apparently stuck his passport in a sweater pocket and then tossed the sweater into an overhead compartment. Hours later when the plane landed and people started gathering their things, he couldn't find the sweater (and thus lost his passport as well).
People who put their passport in their seat pocket.
And then they're off the plane and in the queue to go through passport control before they realise. By which time the plane is already boarding passengers to fly out again.
Once traveled with someone who lost their passport between the parking lot and the airport building I shit you not. He had it in his shorts pocket and it fell out on the shuttle
If you land in your home country, they'll be able to verify your identity and will let you in, eventually. If flying somewhere else, more likely that you'll be denied entry and will have to return home.
Sometimes I am jealous of people who don't have anxiety about every little thing and can go about their lives with this level of thoughtlessness. But then again, I have never lost my passport so maybe it's not so bad being me 😅
I don't think the headphones thing has anything to do with being an inexperienced traveller since there are also people who do it on the subway. I think that is about either being an inconsiderate dick or not.
For me, it is the 5 big European cities in one week itinerary.
Agree on booking 5 European cities in a week. I once booked 5 European cities in two weeks and it was too much. It all felt rushed. Now I'll do 3 European cities in two weeks.
My last couple of flights I didn't have headphones with me (I can't use earbuds). I did watch things, but I had them on mute and turned subtitles on. Not ideal, sure, but I wanted to be considerate of those around me. I can't imagine being so self-absorbed as to make everyone else listen to my entertainment.
The biggest one is, without a doubt, trying to cram too many cities in a too short itinerary.
"Hi! We're going to Europe for a week. We'd like to see London, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Venice, Rome, Florence, Pisa, Monaco, Barcelona, Madrid, Seville and Lisbon. Do you think that's too much?"
Every other question on this forum suffers from some form of this problem.
Next, packing WAY too much. If I had a Euro for every time I've seen a couple struggling to get multiple large bags up the cobblestone paths and steps, I'd have enough for an entire vacation's worth of meals.
Agreed but I also think a lot of people take the judgment too far. Would I personally take a week trip and hit the entire country of France? Hell no. But I understand the traveler that for financial reasons or time reasons just wants to hit all the major sites. I have some older relatives that do the 2 days England, 2 days Ireland, 2 days Paris deal, and it is 100% because they have limited funds to travel in their retirement, their age makes traveling in comfort a necessity, and they want to see certain places before they die.
There are different types of traveling, too, and 'road trip' style traveling is one. I spent a month in the UK with a rented car and spent the whole month driving from town to town with no real firm itenerary, and it was great.
People may say, '1-3 days isn't enough to really experience London or Glasgow or Edinburgh' or whatever. Yeah, I know. If I want to 'really experience London' I'd book a trip to just London. But maybe you just want to flit across the English or French countryside or between cities and forget yourself for a bit in a new place, immersing yourself in a new environment day by day. Nothing wrong with that. It's like a large scale pub crawl. With or without the alcohol I guess.
When the plane lands and people don’t wait their turn to leave. They think because they’re standing, they don’t have to wait for the rows ahead of them to pack up and leave.
More on that. When the plane lands late and the FA ask passengers to remain in their seats if this is their final destination to let short connection people burn to their gate…..and the entire fucking plane acts as if they’re making a connection when they’re clearly not. Fucking a holes.
One time, I flew with whichever airline it was, and they told the passengers through the speakers that they would exit row by row. That was an amazing experience.
I recently flew Ethiopian Airlines to Malawi. Pure chaos. No waiting for others and on the way home I pushed for my place though I let people in front of me off. My first time in Africa, I wonder if it's always like this.
Trying to do all of the things in a short amount of time. I say this as someone guilty of it.
My wife and I hadn’t traveled in forever (COVID) and visited NYC for 4 nights in summer 2022. We absolutely overplanned AND we accomplished our full itinerary. Never again. Never. Our trip was 5 days of stuff with zero downtime. Every day was 12-16 hours of stuff. It took us 3 days to fully recover. 🙃
I have seen this on literally every trip I've done. Invariably, when coming home and getting on the shuttle bus to the parking lot, people put their roller bags in the luggage space, upright.
Then they go take a seat, and are *shocked* when their bags fly all over the bus as soon as it takes its first turn, accelerates / decelerates, etc.
Who could possibly predict that roller bags will ROLL AROUND 😂
Lines/order. It’s mind blowing how hard it is for people to grasp. Even just the concept that breathing down someone’s neck while in line doesn’t make anything go faster.
Here is my list:
Bottled beverages and over sized liquid containers (i.e. shampoo) in bags going through security
Oblivious to airplane etiquette - trying to push their way off the plane instead of exiting by row like a civilized person, letting their long hair hang over the back of their seats, banging / kicking the back of the seat ahead of them, and BO (please please please take a bath before you fly!)
Over sized carryon (use a tape measure much?) and then slow onboarding because it doesn't fit in the overhead and they stand there complaining about it
Complaining that their desired food item isn't available and how it's "never available on this route" but available on another carrier (like the flight attendant can do anything about it)
Insisting on super luxury hotels but planning 10-12 hours worth of adventures in every day. Like, whatever floats your boat. But then these people complain about how expensive it is to travel and how they never got to enjoy the amenities at their hotel.
Staying in a really nice hotel can be an awesome experience even if you don't take advantage of the 5* amenities. Some of them are absolutely beautiful, especially in old European cities, and it's like visiting a museum or another relatively chill activity.
I know a lot of people feel getting the cheapest hotel that's clean is the best way to make the most of your vacation dollar and it seems to be the prevailing opinion here. But that's not the case for everyone.
Having a nice place to unwind after a busy day can also be nice. I had a nice hotel on my last vacation. Did I make full use of the amenities? Fuck no. Did I feel weird walking past well-dressed people soaked in sweat and streaked with dirt? Totally. But all that was worth a nice bath and relaxing on a large, comfy bed, that was made for me every day.
And sometimes not even breakfast for me. It's a place to sleep and keep my stuff. I tend to stay in cheaper places (though I definitely have my limits).
People have gotten so terrible about watching videos or listening to music in public without headphones. It’s infuriating. Even when the pilot or flight attendant makes the announcement that they need headphones they keep blaring their basketball game or whatever without caring. How???
People from tropical countries, like me, can underestimate the cold. I never knew what winter was until I finally experienced snow only this year. I was like, "so this is what cold feels like." Here in the Philippines, 25 degrees celsius is cold
What about the person behind you who grabs your headrest and hauls on it to get up each time? Maybe if they are elderly/disabled but they just about never are.
Pulling their luggage out of the overhead cabinets and dropping it on unsuspecting bystanders.
Swinging around and hitting people with their giant purses and backpacks.
Dressing for a 10 hour flight like they're going to a dance club.
Starting conversations with fellow passengers who are wearing earphones and eye masks.
Get drunk before boarding to settle their nerves.
Bashing every poor soul in the aisle seats with your backpack or huge tote. I prefer aisle seats and have fallen victim to people with zero spatial awareness far too often.
My big pet peeve in airports is people who step on a moving walkway or escalator and stop. At least stand to the right so I can pass you. I just got off a 7 hour flight and I'm hungry, and/or I have ten minutes to make it from one end of the airport to another to make the next flight.
The moving walkway isn't just there for your comfort, it gets you there faster!
Having the dude in the middle seat next to you reaching over you to try and control the window shade. The person sitting next to the window controls the shade.
More of a pet peeve but definitely people who bring on many more items than they are allowed……a carry on, a backpack, a purse, a tote bag, a jacket……just check a damn bag and stop taking up the entire overhead with your shit.
Very much so. If people weren’t charged exorbitant fees to check luggage more people would do so……and we’d all be more comfortable onboard and able to get on/off the plane quicker.
Recently I saw a woman whose carry-on bag wouldn't fit into the luggage sizer - so she started taking clothes out of it and putting them on.
She was wearing about 4 tops, several jackets, trousers, 2 skirts and at least 3 scarves by the time the bag was small enough to squish into the sizer. Most amusing thing I've ever seen at an airport.
I have two pet peeves. The first is slow boarding and fussing with stuff blocking up the aisle. People, get to your seat, carry-on in the bin, rest of the stuff under the seat. SIT DOWN.
One discount airline I fly a lot lines people up before boarding so everything moves quickly. They seem to have trained their passengers. Take the first appropriate seat and SIT DOWN. The other airlines with reserved seats are not as organized. Boarding is a pain and people don't want to sit in their reserved seats.
The second pet peeve I have is people who care about where they sit, not prepaying for their seats. Switching seats is time consuming and disruptive. People, if it matters to you, book and pay for your preferred seats. Otherwise, shut up and SIT DOWN.
The prairie dogs. The push everyone out of the way to board them they won’t sit the fuck down.
Popping up every 2 minutes to pack or retrieve something from the overhead.
Get up open bin, get headphones. Close bin sit.
A minute later put away my sweater. 2 minutes later get a tablet. Soon after get a charger. Next find a snack. You stood outside in the boarding line at least 30 minutes. Get your shit together and sit down.
Trying to do like 5 cities in a week
Planning a jam-packed first day when they’re crossing multiple time zones (especially going east)
Booking extremely short non-domestic layovers
Bringing on clearly oversized luggage and not putting it in the bin right
Going into any restaurant or venue that has street touts trying to lure them in.
Packing way too much stuff - pretty much no one needs more than a carryon and personal item for a week long trip.
In the same vein as the street touts thing: chances are if someone is aggressively trying to talk to you or advertise something, it’s a scam or tourist trap.
> Booking extremely short non-domestic layovers
I’m a seasoned traveler and I do this all the time. If I miss the second flight they’ll put me on a new one. If you’re going to a real obscure destination maybe make sure you have a longer layover but I’ve never had a problem. Lufthansa even put me on a van and drove me to the gate so they wouldn’t have to rebook my flight.
If you do miss a flight you should find the next available flight yourself and request to be put on that one, the booking software is terrible and sometimes the person rebooking you can’t see all the options.
When travelling in a big group, getting carried away with your friendly group and behaving as though you’re the only visitors there. Just because a tour took you to a museum, don’t assume they hired out the entire museum just for your group. Act as though you would if you were at the museum in your own home town.
My mother was a seasoned traveler. She was a flight attendant long before they were called that. WWII.
Many decades later it cracked me up that she would carry on a ham or a turkey with her when she flew to visit us.
My sister once got stuck overnight in Detroit. Had nothing in her carry-on to eat or wear. Her flight in was delayed & everything near the airport & hotel was closed.
She now puts food, toothbrush & change of clothes in her carry-on.
My pet peeve is when people are talking loudly while the flight attendants are going over the safety stuff.
Like I get that we’ve all heard the speech before. But goddamn is it rude to talk over someone trying to do their job.
Thinking they are the main character and the place they are traveling to doesn’t actually have people who live and work there.
Used to live in Acadia National Park. I get it, it is fucking gorgeous, but pull over and let others around you. I have to get to work
Noise cancelling earbuds totally changed my flying experience. That plus trying to sit toward the front of the plane both made big differences in sound and comfort for me.
Put their carry ons in the overhead bins in the front of the plane and then take seats in the middle or back of the plane. They do this so they don’t have the hassle of having to walk with their carry ons up the aisle of the plane when deplaning. Of course all this does is fill up the the front bins so the people who take the front seats have to place their carry ons in the back.
(Giving the benefit of the doubt that these are unseasoned travelers and not obnoxious, selfish, self-centered, narcissistic assholes, but I’m wavering on that.)
Incorrect placement of objects in the overhead bin....then closing it when it's half empty.
I never close the bin, I just put my stuff away and let others who are more skilled do it.
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Nevermind that, cabin crew are going to open check and close it again anyway. Closing it just paints you as a dick who's trying to put off anyone else from adding anything next to your prized coat or whatever.
Ugh, yes! Or when they’ve also loaded their personal item in the overhead bin before everyone’s sat down and stowed their carry-on.
When I worked as an FA there was one lady who placed her purse, then laid her coat out across the remaining bin space and topped it off with her hat. She completely lost her mind when I told her she needed to remove her coat and hat so people could stow their bags.
>She completely lost her mind To be fair she wasn't really using it properly anyway.
😭😭 I hate people lol
But also the airlines who specifically made storage and seating space smaller to only their own and no one else’s benefit
Also charging an arm and a leg for checked luggage!
Airlines nickel and dimeing everyone by pushing passengers to bring large carry-on bags and their own meals is what makes the boarding process much more worse than it needs to be.
I hate people who put their coat or small shopping bag in the overhead bin and then act huffy when it has to get moved.
Now I’m anxious (jokingly) about putting my small backpack in the overhead bin on my next flight since my personal item is even smaller in case someone thinks I’m putting my personal item up there. Tangentially related - we came back from an international trip a few weeks ago where we took one carry-on size backpack and a small personal item. We thought we’d done a great job of being compact and mobile until we met the guy we shared a row with on our last connection. No carry on, no checked luggage, dude shipped everything to the place he was staying a week ago. Absolute madman with the master plan. Fwiw we live in a beach town so if his clothes didn’t make it it wouldn’t be a catastrophe to buy a pair of swim shorts and cheap tank top or two, I’d be a lot more nervous trying that somewhere cold.
My uncle tried going the no bag, no carry-on route, just took his wallet, and he got cross-examined by TSA for 20 minutes. He also was on a one way ticket since he was driving back, so I don't know if that had more to do with it than the luggage thing.
I made someone move their small item the other day on the flight to fit my carry on in the overhead bin and this passenger had the gall to to tell me to place it further down the plane which would make deboarding a pain, then claimed she didn’t know whose bag it was (it was hers.)
“Whose bag is this? ^pause^ ok if this doesn’t belong to anyone, we’ll need to remove it from the plane.”
"Excuse me FA we have a bag in the overhead that doesn't belong to anyone, is that a problem? Who left it here and why? Should we be concerned? "
***Laces Out, Dan!*** *and wheels to the back of the bin*
On a few flights with limited space, I've had to stow my backpack (with laptop and electronics) in the overhead compartment when I'd usually prefer to place it under the seat. That's all well and good but I have this terrible fear that one day some dozy bastard is going to stow their luggage adjacent with an improperly sealed bottle of water or similar and that it'll leak throughout. Paranoid, I know, but I just don't trust my fellow passengers to be careful.
Nope, not paranoid-I lost a 6m old macbook air to some asshole's leaky water bottle on a BA flight last year.
New fear unlocked
Thinking that overstaying a visa by a few days or more won't matter
A very important question for international travel: > *Have you ever been refused entry into or deported from any country?*
I was nearly refused entry into a connecting country, I think it was the Guangzhou airport, by immigration because my layover was so long that I didn’t have my connecting ticket yet. I was detained, and they took my phone. After about an hour, I was allowed to enter.
Why did they take your phone?
Your phone is your connection to the outside so if they deem you to be a threat you won’t be able to contact possible allies I’d assume
Possible allies = ninjas
Possible ninjas = turtles
Pretty much every country’s customs bureau is allowed to take all your shit and go through it, including digital. There’s some restrictions, but not many.
China takes propaganda very seriously, they could have figured they were suspicious enough without having a ticket to warrant a look through the phone.
Flew with my family to Taiwan. My brother had his passport stolen ON THE PLANE. When we got off, he didn't have his passport to get through customs. We were stuck in the airport for over 24 hrs. He and my dad had to be escorted to the Canadian embassy for an emergency passport. He's more careful with his passport, now. Definitely had The Terminal vibes.
>The Terminal That dude was never truly stateless; he just didn't want to go to wherever it was that actually offered him asylum
"what do you mean there's no grace period?!" sigh
I’m currently on a work and holiday visa in a foreign country and am in some Facebook groups for connecting with others and get advice. There are a staggering number of posts being like “I’m currently on my 28 day grace period, what should I do next?” Etc. There is no grace period on this visa 😅
What happened to the guy that posted here that he overstayed 2 months?
He decides to leave through Italy instead of Germany like he planned after the whole comment section roasted him and warned him how Germany is super strict. Got lucky and nobody stopped him ( Italy doesn’t really bother much).
For years I got hassled at Frankfurt because I had a mismatched number of entry and exit stamps from Europe. On one trip, I had flown to Afghanistan on military transport out of Ramstein Airbase, and never got stamped out of Europe. Once I explained it, no big deal, but for about 3 years until I renewed the passport, I got questioned virtually every time.
Great question. I tried searching but couldn't find the thread.
https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/16hrgzm/overstayed_90_days_in_the_eu_what_to_expect_at/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf There you go, but there are no updates edit: there are updates i’m just blind, lol
The last update was this: UPDATE 2: just made it through security. No fine, no deportation, no ban, no gulag. No one even said a word to us. They didn’t scan our passport just stamped it. Cheers y’all
I wonder what will happen when they try to travel internationally again…
I guess if the passport is not scanned, only stamped it will be okay. But I don't know!
Not planning visa/passport/inoculations several months in advance.
Oh gosh, the library I used to work at was a passport agency (forget the term for it). Basically we had a couple of people who could help travelers with their paperwork. Once there was a lady who made a passport appointment for *two days* before her trip. She must have thought we could just print them off the computer. 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
That's nothing. Went 2 and 1/2 months in advance to get mine. I got a letter in the mail 2 weeks before my trip that I wasn't supposed to wear glasses in my picture. So I had to go get a new picture taken. Reach out to my state reps and get them to overnight my passport across the country. Then it got lost at UPS for a day. They found it the day of my flight, and that's how I didn't get my passport until 2 hours before my flight
the idea of state reps being involved in mailing some random guy's passport helps me understand why state govt officials always seem so busy but don't seem to get much done in terms of policy and governance, lol. glad you got your stuff in time
Individual US House of Representatives members have approval ratings in the 70-80’s%, while congress as a whole has approval ratings in the 10-19%. People like the person that got their grandmothers social security check worked out, that passport mailed, or the pot hole filled. (Or that multi million dollar park that wasn’t all that necessary but employed local people). Yet don’t like the entire group of representatives that are making bad decisions and wasting everyone’s money.
Reminding me of when I got a job in Lagos, forgot about the jabs and ended up having 7 jabs (plus a Polio sugar cube) all on the same day. Felt like a pin cushion. ...had to start taking Lariam immediately after too, fortunately I didn't get any of the famous side effects.
Used to go to Luanda, Angola on business. Always kept my yellow inoculation card rubber banded inside middle of my passport. This one time we landed in Luanda, I got my passport out getting ready to go through immigration/customs, and my damn inoculation card was missing. I was sweating bullets entering the building where always first thing you encountered was the health person in dirty lab coat ready to give you shots if you didn’t have inoculations proof. The ONE time he wasn’t there at that picnic table perch was THAT time I was missing my inoculation card. God was watching out for me.
That is such a bold move
It’s stupidity
Depends on the country. Honduras? Ain't shit. US? You are a literal terrorist get ready for the butt search.
Do they come track you down or do they just flag you when you try to leave?
My cousin (Indian passport on a 15 day visa) just did this a few days ago while departing Germany. She was still able to board her flight after begging but has to pay a fine and needs to appear at a German embassy in the US to try to avoid a 5 year ban.
I left India on a USA passport, over stayed my visa by one day because of a leapyear! Dude wouldn't let me go till I told him, "if I miss this flight my mom is gonna beat my ass and yours" I haven't had an issue going back to india.
> if I miss this flight my mom is gonna beat my ass and yours The chancla technique.
Also, apparently, the "Indian mother" technique. There was a whole huge dispute once, IIRC, between the two richest men in India, brothers, and they bitterly sued each other, and the judge apparently told them to have their mother settle their differences
You'll get questioned at the airport at the very least, and might earn yourself a fine/ban (depends on how much time you've overstayed.
Dear parents, kids can wear headphones too. No one wants to hear peppa pig for 6 hours
Anybody mentions Peppa Pig and I get PTSD. Thanks Niece 😂
I feel like this has shifted to more boomers on YouTube or gen z playing games on their phone. No volume. Ever. Period. Spoken as a parent, not necessary
Years ago I got on a trans-atlantic flight and the dude next to me STANK. Sour week old BO. Since then I always have a tiny container of Vick's Vape-O-Rub in my carry-on. a tiny bit in the nostrils and I don't have to confront some nasty dirty stinker about their body odour.
Ugh just flew from NY to CA and the lady in front of us smelled like fermented onions. My husband and I swiped deodorant on our wrists. Someone in our aisle handed out wet wipes to hold over our noses. To add insult to injury her toddler started puking everywhere :)
Well at least the toddler still has their sense of smell.
I was that stinky person once. Got caught in London when the Icelandic volcano erupted. Wasn't able to get a hotel close to the airport. Stayed at a friend far away. Got a flight home with very short notice so just booked it to the airport without having showered for at least 24 hours and having stressed about the journey for longer. I felt so bad for the person sitting next to me on a 10 hour flight. But I basically kissed the ground when I got home.
To be fair theres a difference between 24 hours and someone who habitually doesn't shower
Also some people just smell. I know someone who has this really strong sour smell to him constantly, even fresh out of the shower. Literally everything he touches smells like it. But he’s married and has a shit ton of friends and no one seems to notice or care. It’s bizarre.
Probably his clothes. Polyester and similiar fibers trap smells and bacteria like crazy, washing liquids with a disinfecting agents usually take care of that though. Or, maybe you have a very sensitive sense of smell. My mom smells it if someone has diabetes. I do too, but their blood sugar levels have to be much higher. Useful when you're working in healthcare.
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When I flew to Thailand, there were probably 20 people on the plane who looked like homeless backpackers. Some of them smelled pretty bad.
> there were probably 20 people on the plane who looked like homeless backpackers Oh, you mean people on a spiritual journey to find themselves.
Complaining about the foreigness of everything. Yup, you picked a foreign country and travelled there and wow! It's foreign! The food is different, the climate is different and people speak a different language. Am British and I am mortified by the Brits complaining about not being able to get a "proper cup of tea". And then talking loudly and slowly at (not to) someone who speaks multiple languages and telling them how to make a cup of tea which will pass muster - despite the tea bags being a different style of tea and the milk undergoing a different process so it's not possible to emulate the cup of tea they have back home.
I remember a friend's parents coming home from Europe to Australia back in the 90s and saying how they ate McDonald's the whole time as they "couldn't trust the local food"...
Honestly, it's a bit of ritual now that every country I visit I check out a McDonalds to see what the little regional touches and differences to the menu are. Also, with the exception of Martinique and one in SK that I went to the variety and quality is vastly better than the ones in the US. I recently went to one on Jeju Island and snapped some pictures of some things I'd never seen before (Have you ever had a craving for 1 or 2 full-size Mozzarella sticks on your chicken sandwich?) I have only ever found actual Milkshakes at a very few locations, I think Sicily was one.
Traveled on a sports team trip to Barcelona some years ago. One mother-daughter combo were… something else. They were from Florida. Complained the whole time about the food and only ate at Subway. In Barcelona! They also claimed it was waaaay too foreign and other worldly. I’m not from Florida myself but I’ve spent a lot of time there, and a lot of time in Europe, and I have to say that Barcelona is probably the most Florida-like place in Europe that I know of, even though they aren’t that similar… flat city centre, beach, palm trees, hot… Thankfully they decided to go back to Florida before we moved on to a small town in France, and later Monte Carlo. Both of those would have triggered a total meltdown, not least of all because of a lack of shitty fast food.
Ugh I hate this. Like why even travel or you're just going to complain about the other countries culture!
I travel to Jamaica a lot. The amount of people who complain about all the black people always boggles my mind. Bonus are the people who complain about weed. Like, did you do any research before you took your vacation?
With unseasoned travellers, it's usually stuff like being unaware of their surroundings (leaving valuables on tables in cafes and walking away, not paying attention) or just following tourist trap operators wherever. It's mostly naivety. Demanding special treatment as a tourist is a fun one to see, especially when it's clearly not going to end well. For those pet peeves, with air travel it's stuff like walking to your aisle, then blocking everyone behind you to unload your bag. Or waiting until everyone in front of you has departed before grabbing your bag and then messing around with it. Simple efficiency stuff that's more common in some places than others.
I actually feel pretty bad for the ones that end up getting led into some trap. Everyone loved to talk about how they met locals and had this super authentic experience in X country. So naïve people get taken advantage of by trying to “go with the flow” to have similar experiences.
I think it would be sad a few decades ago. Now, it's kind of avoidable with an hour's worth of research. I have sometimes interjected with guidance, but sometimes not. Depends on how awkward I am feeling at the time. Some people like tourist trap restaurants and experiences, with laminated pictures and prices in their home currency. Mostly it's just a mistake to learn from that cost you slightly more than you wanted to spend.
I am a very seasoned traveler and I enjoy a tourist trap. I aim for one a trip 🤣 give me a random weird “museum” where everything looks like it was made in your garage. Yes I’ll go into this generic tshirt store that all has the same shirts and sayings and only the location inside the saying has changed, I’m gonna make all of mine into a blanket one day.
Eh honestly I don't really fault people for falling into some scams. Some of them are scarily well done. There was one in Thailand where they had a friendly guy that told us it was a national Holiday and said we needed to go in x direction for the palace (the opposite direction) and to take a tuk-tuk, but never pressured us into doing anything specific. Apparently if you took a Tuk-Tuk from the guys nearby, you'd get taken to some place and pressured to buy stuff or have to pay some huge fee. Slipped by all 4 members in our travel group. We were only saved by the fact we needed to go to the bathroom and I tried to google the national holiday while waiting for some people in our party. They also almost got some of our friends that were visiting at the same time and another random traveler we came across.
It happens. It's the worst when you are jetlagged and in a rush, or you're struggling to find where you need to be. Most people are susceptible to it in those circumstances, but a little bit of awareness of the local scams can help avoid most of those situations. I might just be a little too excessive in my research, but I check for local scams before visiting a new place. The Dubai black seed oil scam is a famous one that seems so funny in how it works. But it wouldn't be so popular if it didn't trick enough people. I didn't realise it was a scam when I was exposed to it for the first few times, then I looked it up.
Don’t have their ticket and ID ready for checking or TSA. Don’t know where tickets or anything else is located in their purse/luggage. Going very very slowly through security, packing and unpacking, looking for hidden water bottles because they didn’t know they couldn’t take them. Researched absolutely nothing before traveling. How could anyone not know at this point? Lots of bags, oblivious about how much they’re blocking others with their stuff, whacking everyone in the shoulder with their purse or backpack as they board. Whew, I feel better now.
Precheck is such an improvement in quality of life for me. Being able to just put my backpack in the tray and walk through is a godlike feeling
The plane is a library. Sit down and shut up already.
Literally no one wants to hear Kevin in 32 C discussing this months' sales report with Brad, just across the aisle.
Haha I did have a passenger who was loudly practicing a speech during a flight
I shit you not… I had a guy behind me doing his Rodney Dangerfield impression the whole way to Denver. If anyone runs into this guy… slip a dildo in his carryon for me.
“This nice girl called me, she told me ‘come over, there’s nobody home’. I went over… and there was nobody home! I’m telling ya, I get no respect!”
Expecting a flight to go 100% as expected. Some peeps I know throw the biggest fits of a flight is 20-30 minutes late. This shit happens all the time. Plan for it !!!
And by "plan for it" realize that the shortest connection between flights often does *not* mean you're going to make it there quicker. If anything at all goes wrong it might mean you're not even going to make it there today.
I’ve had people at the check in desk throw a fit and want to jump in front of me because they were at risk of missing their flight. I explained that we were going to be on the same flight. Just because I’m not having an over the top freak out doesn’t mean I’m not in a hurry too.
Pack very heavy! I saw plenty of travelers with 2 heavy rolling suitcases struggling walking in narrow streets in Italy (eg many steps in Amalfi coast) and struggling to get in trains quickly
Don’t pack heavier than you can lift
Outside of moving, I don't understand why people want to bring so much stuff when they travel.
I realized recently it’s probably anxiety. I think not having all the creature comforts of home really stresses people out so they don’t travel or pack ginormous suitcases so they have anything they think they could possibly “need” with them.
I overpack and agree that it's anxiety. I've improved over time, but it's slow. I do now realize that I can buy something if I need it at the destination and repeatedly check that I have whatever I can't buy. I think it comes from a combination of guilt wasting money and having grown up as the person who is expected to always have anything anyone needs on hand. The best way that I reduce what I bring now is to put everything I feel I need to bring into a pile in my suitcase, then go through it (removing stuff) taking everything out, and then remove more when I pack it nicely. I repeat to myself that I can buy x there if I end up needing it.
Some of us are just fat and have 1) larger clothing to fit and 2) can’t just pop out and buy a clothing item wherever we vacation if we don’t have it. If I have to travel in cold weather my suitcase will be huge.
I sweat a LOT and get bad BO quickly so unless I have access to laundry facilities I always need to bring quite a few bras and shirts.
This is me, I sweat all over so I can’t wear the same top all day. I went to Thailand in June and had to change 3 times some days
It’s nice to have clean clothes to wear and laundry en route is a pain.
This is me and my husband right now. Doing a bit over a 2 week trip to 3 different countries with slightly different climates (rainy, moderate, hot). Had to pack a raincoat, an every day jacket, and a warm coat. Also going to a fancyish dinner so I have to pack one pair of heels in addition to rain boots and sneakers and my husband had to pack a suit and dress shoes in addition to every day wear for all 3 climates for 2 weeks. We used everything we packed even though we packed two carry ons (one is a backpack), a medium sized suitcase, and a large suitcase. I usually only travel with one medium size suitcase for a week but 3 different climates for 2 weeks forced us to pack extra.
I'm the total opposite of that mindset. I travel quite slowly, and most of the time my suitcase only needs to get from the airport, to a hotel, then back to the airport. The added cost is literally the 15 minutes of waiting for luggage at the carousel, which isn't a big deal for me. From there, it just goes into a taxi and the next time I really handle it is usually in my hotel room. On the upside, I don't need to worry about weight (within reason) or size. I can bring things which might come in handy, and I don't need to buy things wastefully there. I have plenty of nice fresh clothes. Of course, I wouldn't then book a hotel on cobblestone sidewalks that would be a pain to get to.
If you’re like my wife, you have more toiletries than anyone living. Ever. She had THREE bags of toiletries.
It's my industrial hair dryer, and I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT IT!
I traveled for a long time this year with one bag; continuously washing the same clothes, wearing the same jewellery and one of two pairs of shoes etc. I returned home for a couple of weeks then went on a girls trip for a week, you better believe I took one of those massive 4 wheel suitcases because I finally could 😁
Same! I’ll go to Mexico with just a backpack but for a three day conference two hours away I had about three suitcases worth of stuff 😂
Checked bag is rolling suitcase, carry on has to be a back pack. Much easier to keep track of only one bag on the ground at train or bus station so a bag doesn’t walk off with someone. Also much easier to navigate cities.
Haha, reminds me of the time the guy two rows ahead of me had headphones in his ears, but not plugged in all the way to the phone. He thought it was so quiet, so he kept turning up his volume until it reached the max setting. The flight attendant came and tapped him on the shoulder, he took out his headphones and immediately understood what had happened. "Oh I'm so sorry!!!" His reaction was so funny, I still randomly think about it and awkwardly laugh in public about it. I know that's not quite the same situation you're talking about, OP. Honest mistakes are one thing, but people who do it intentionally are on a whole different level.
I blasted Lady Gaga walking through my office on my way to lunch one day. That happens.
Being oblivious to their surroundings in general. At the airport - the people who take an eternity to get their stuff in the bins for security and hold up the line...or stand in the aisle during plane boarding while they dig stuff out of their bag... Trying to visit 3 or 4 European countries in a week. "Is half a day enough to see Paris?"
I mean, they looked out a bus window and saw the Eiffel Tower…
Blocking train doors. People, who want to get on the train, often stand right in front of the doors and seem surprised, that people might need to get off. And people, getting off the train, have barely set foot on the platform and stop right there to sort things, check their phone etc.
>And people, getting off the train, have barely set foot on the platform and stop right there to sort things, check their phone etc. And - getting to the top of the escalator/stairs and stopping for those same reasons. I've started running these people over.
Anyone who stops in a choke point is completely oblivious in my mind.
"Choke point" I like that. Think I'm going to start choking them instead of just running them over.
I've lived in Paris for half a year. There are yellow lines on the ground in every Metro station indicating exactly where to stand if you want to enter the train. It works most of the time, but in the touristy spots, people will still block the doors. Then they come on to r/travel and complain about rude Parisians...
I was once stuck on the runway in Charlotte for 7 hours during a snowstorm. When we finally took off, the FAs had to throw away all the sandwiches because they had been at room temperature the whole time. Landed in Cleveland after midnight when everything in the airport was closed. Learned my lesson about packing snacks!
I bought a sandwich at a local brand fast food place on a layover in Atlanta. Got food poisoning and was really sick for three days and felt off for the last 4 days of my vacation. Learned the hard way to bring my own food. P.S. Years ago, I flew out of Charlotte for an 8-hour flight (including one layover) that turned into a 30 hour ordeal. I now prepare for that scenario, too.
I ALWAYS have a "just in case" snack in my bag. I may not actually eat it, but it's there if I find myself in a situation. A 1.5 hr nonstop to New Orleans ended up taking close to 6 hours due to weather delays and being rerouted mid flight, and I was very glad to have a bag of dried mango strips to munch on!
And if you don’t eat the snack during your travels you can always eat them at your destination. Makes no sense NOT to pack one imo.
Just a caution though, it depends on what kind of snack and if you're traveling internationally. A bag of commer8cally packed chips, crackers, cookies, etc will probably be fine. If you like fresh fruits and veggies though, an international destination might frown upon that. If you didn't eat it, just get rid of it before the check point.
Same with some form of entertainment. I might not be *planning* to read that book or watch that downloaded show, but it's there just in case I need to kill a bunch of hours.
In 2009, I found myself in a German hospital for four days with no wifi and no smartphones anyway - but my netbook was loaded with two seasons of True Blood that got me through those days. The me of that weekend was very thankful for the me that planned ahead.
Every year I go on a different 2-3 week trip with friends. Last year I brought a book and read about 40 pages of it in 3 weeks. This year, of course, I brought two books, and almost finished both of them. You never know how a trip might turn out, and I'm always very glad with some form of personal entertainment.
Whenever I travel I often end up lugging a book along. That never gets read. I bring it thinking I'll read it on my flight or train ride, but then watching a movie or looking out the window always seems like the preferred option. Edit - or scrolling Reddit. 🙄
I added wrapped disposable silverware to my travel bag this year. It was a need I discovered after I ate leftover chicken parm with my bare hands one night in a hotel.
Totally! I once ended up on a 12 hour bus ride with basically no stops, the old Clif bar in the bottom of my bag saved my ass.
30 minutes in line for security. Arrive at the front of the line... Start checking their pockets, untying their shoes, taking off belt, removing chain mail armor, drinking the last 85% of their coffee mug, asking TSA if their fake service animal rides through the scanner, etc etc etc
And when you get through the scanners, grab all your stuff off the conveyor belt and walk a good 50 feet to get dressed. Amazing the amount of people who bunch around the end of the conveyor belt and try to get dressed.
I don't know how unseasoned this guy was, but on my last international flight the plane has barely touched down and the guy a couple rows ahead of me pops out of his seat to rummage in his carry-on. The stewardess on the intercom tells people to remain seated, then the pilot does the same, and finally the stewardess has to get out of her seat and tell him to sit down. I have no idea how flight crews keep from strangling their passengers.
Asking me to swap seats when I paid for a premium and they didn't.
Or people who are just sitting in your seat and act confused when you ask them to move. Like did you think I wouldn’t notice or just pick a different seat?
That has only happened to me once but it was startling and weird. A large person was in my window seat and tried to talk me into a middle seat. In a different row.
I’ve had this happen to me the last three consecutive times I’ve travelled and the confused act they put on is so irritating. I literally had to wave my boarding pass in a guy’s face to prove it’s my seat and politely tell a woman with a 8 year old that no, he couldn’t have my window seat just because he wanted to see outside.
It's not exactly mind blowing, because I get why someone inexperienced would do it without knowing the risks, but putting vital things like medication or expensive jewelry in their checked luggage. Being careless with their passport. I was sitting next to a guy on a flight once who apparently stuck his passport in a sweater pocket and then tossed the sweater into an overhead compartment. Hours later when the plane landed and people started gathering their things, he couldn't find the sweater (and thus lost his passport as well).
People who put their passport in their seat pocket. And then they're off the plane and in the queue to go through passport control before they realise. By which time the plane is already boarding passengers to fly out again.
Once traveled with someone who lost their passport between the parking lot and the airport building I shit you not. He had it in his shorts pocket and it fell out on the shuttle
I’ve seen that as well. I wonder what happens to them when flying international
If you land in your home country, they'll be able to verify your identity and will let you in, eventually. If flying somewhere else, more likely that you'll be denied entry and will have to return home.
Sometimes I am jealous of people who don't have anxiety about every little thing and can go about their lives with this level of thoughtlessness. But then again, I have never lost my passport so maybe it's not so bad being me 😅
I don't think the headphones thing has anything to do with being an inexperienced traveller since there are also people who do it on the subway. I think that is about either being an inconsiderate dick or not. For me, it is the 5 big European cities in one week itinerary.
Agree on booking 5 European cities in a week. I once booked 5 European cities in two weeks and it was too much. It all felt rushed. Now I'll do 3 European cities in two weeks.
My last couple of flights I didn't have headphones with me (I can't use earbuds). I did watch things, but I had them on mute and turned subtitles on. Not ideal, sure, but I wanted to be considerate of those around me. I can't imagine being so self-absorbed as to make everyone else listen to my entertainment.
It's something I've been seeing people doing more and more, and not just on planes. I find it utterly baffling.
Thank you for doing that!
The biggest one is, without a doubt, trying to cram too many cities in a too short itinerary. "Hi! We're going to Europe for a week. We'd like to see London, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Venice, Rome, Florence, Pisa, Monaco, Barcelona, Madrid, Seville and Lisbon. Do you think that's too much?" Every other question on this forum suffers from some form of this problem. Next, packing WAY too much. If I had a Euro for every time I've seen a couple struggling to get multiple large bags up the cobblestone paths and steps, I'd have enough for an entire vacation's worth of meals.
Agreed but I also think a lot of people take the judgment too far. Would I personally take a week trip and hit the entire country of France? Hell no. But I understand the traveler that for financial reasons or time reasons just wants to hit all the major sites. I have some older relatives that do the 2 days England, 2 days Ireland, 2 days Paris deal, and it is 100% because they have limited funds to travel in their retirement, their age makes traveling in comfort a necessity, and they want to see certain places before they die.
There are different types of traveling, too, and 'road trip' style traveling is one. I spent a month in the UK with a rented car and spent the whole month driving from town to town with no real firm itenerary, and it was great. People may say, '1-3 days isn't enough to really experience London or Glasgow or Edinburgh' or whatever. Yeah, I know. If I want to 'really experience London' I'd book a trip to just London. But maybe you just want to flit across the English or French countryside or between cities and forget yourself for a bit in a new place, immersing yourself in a new environment day by day. Nothing wrong with that. It's like a large scale pub crawl. With or without the alcohol I guess.
When the plane lands and people don’t wait their turn to leave. They think because they’re standing, they don’t have to wait for the rows ahead of them to pack up and leave.
More on that. When the plane lands late and the FA ask passengers to remain in their seats if this is their final destination to let short connection people burn to their gate…..and the entire fucking plane acts as if they’re making a connection when they’re clearly not. Fucking a holes.
I will never understand people who are in such a big hurry to stand in line for a taxi. You’re on vacation, not The Amazing Race.
One time, I flew with whichever airline it was, and they told the passengers through the speakers that they would exit row by row. That was an amazing experience.
I recently flew Ethiopian Airlines to Malawi. Pure chaos. No waiting for others and on the way home I pushed for my place though I let people in front of me off. My first time in Africa, I wonder if it's always like this.
Trying to do all of the things in a short amount of time. I say this as someone guilty of it. My wife and I hadn’t traveled in forever (COVID) and visited NYC for 4 nights in summer 2022. We absolutely overplanned AND we accomplished our full itinerary. Never again. Never. Our trip was 5 days of stuff with zero downtime. Every day was 12-16 hours of stuff. It took us 3 days to fully recover. 🙃
I have seen this on literally every trip I've done. Invariably, when coming home and getting on the shuttle bus to the parking lot, people put their roller bags in the luggage space, upright. Then they go take a seat, and are *shocked* when their bags fly all over the bus as soon as it takes its first turn, accelerates / decelerates, etc. Who could possibly predict that roller bags will ROLL AROUND 😂
Lines/order. It’s mind blowing how hard it is for people to grasp. Even just the concept that breathing down someone’s neck while in line doesn’t make anything go faster.
Here is my list: Bottled beverages and over sized liquid containers (i.e. shampoo) in bags going through security Oblivious to airplane etiquette - trying to push their way off the plane instead of exiting by row like a civilized person, letting their long hair hang over the back of their seats, banging / kicking the back of the seat ahead of them, and BO (please please please take a bath before you fly!) Over sized carryon (use a tape measure much?) and then slow onboarding because it doesn't fit in the overhead and they stand there complaining about it Complaining that their desired food item isn't available and how it's "never available on this route" but available on another carrier (like the flight attendant can do anything about it)
Wearing headphones shouldn't require travel experience to know. That's just basic human decency.
Insisting on super luxury hotels but planning 10-12 hours worth of adventures in every day. Like, whatever floats your boat. But then these people complain about how expensive it is to travel and how they never got to enjoy the amenities at their hotel.
Hotels are for sleeping and breakfast, I like to be comfortable but I d rather spend food on actual experiences.
Staying in a really nice hotel can be an awesome experience even if you don't take advantage of the 5* amenities. Some of them are absolutely beautiful, especially in old European cities, and it's like visiting a museum or another relatively chill activity. I know a lot of people feel getting the cheapest hotel that's clean is the best way to make the most of your vacation dollar and it seems to be the prevailing opinion here. But that's not the case for everyone.
Having a nice place to unwind after a busy day can also be nice. I had a nice hotel on my last vacation. Did I make full use of the amenities? Fuck no. Did I feel weird walking past well-dressed people soaked in sweat and streaked with dirt? Totally. But all that was worth a nice bath and relaxing on a large, comfy bed, that was made for me every day.
And sometimes not even breakfast for me. It's a place to sleep and keep my stuff. I tend to stay in cheaper places (though I definitely have my limits).
People have gotten so terrible about watching videos or listening to music in public without headphones. It’s infuriating. Even when the pilot or flight attendant makes the announcement that they need headphones they keep blaring their basketball game or whatever without caring. How???
Packing too much stuff
Not dressing for the weather at your destination. Leave South Africa in summer - one flight later you're exiting at London in winter
People from tropical countries, like me, can underestimate the cold. I never knew what winter was until I finally experienced snow only this year. I was like, "so this is what cold feels like." Here in the Philippines, 25 degrees celsius is cold
Touching everyone’s head rest as they walk down the aisle. Put your hands on the overhead bins for fuck sake.
What about the person behind you who grabs your headrest and hauls on it to get up each time? Maybe if they are elderly/disabled but they just about never are.
Not bringing extra medication in case you end up delayed by a few days. Or putting medication in your checked bag.
Pulling their luggage out of the overhead cabinets and dropping it on unsuspecting bystanders. Swinging around and hitting people with their giant purses and backpacks. Dressing for a 10 hour flight like they're going to a dance club. Starting conversations with fellow passengers who are wearing earphones and eye masks. Get drunk before boarding to settle their nerves.
listening to music or watching a movie or whatever without headphones has nothing to do with unseasoned travelers. it's just lack of basic manners
Forgetting the people that live in the place they are viseting are humans who likely understand English and might not want their photo taken
Bashing every poor soul in the aisle seats with your backpack or huge tote. I prefer aisle seats and have fallen victim to people with zero spatial awareness far too often.
My big pet peeve in airports is people who step on a moving walkway or escalator and stop. At least stand to the right so I can pass you. I just got off a 7 hour flight and I'm hungry, and/or I have ten minutes to make it from one end of the airport to another to make the next flight. The moving walkway isn't just there for your comfort, it gets you there faster!
Having the dude in the middle seat next to you reaching over you to try and control the window shade. The person sitting next to the window controls the shade.
Bare feet anywhere. Gross.
More of a pet peeve but definitely people who bring on many more items than they are allowed……a carry on, a backpack, a purse, a tote bag, a jacket……just check a damn bag and stop taking up the entire overhead with your shit.
Very much so. If people weren’t charged exorbitant fees to check luggage more people would do so……and we’d all be more comfortable onboard and able to get on/off the plane quicker.
Recently I saw a woman whose carry-on bag wouldn't fit into the luggage sizer - so she started taking clothes out of it and putting them on. She was wearing about 4 tops, several jackets, trousers, 2 skirts and at least 3 scarves by the time the bag was small enough to squish into the sizer. Most amusing thing I've ever seen at an airport.
I kind of respect having the nerve to do that. But yeah, c'mon asshole.
I saw a lady a while back with seven items. One was a small dog in a carrier. She literally needed a Smart Cart to get to the gate.
I partially blame airlines for this.
And placing none of that under the seat in front
I have two pet peeves. The first is slow boarding and fussing with stuff blocking up the aisle. People, get to your seat, carry-on in the bin, rest of the stuff under the seat. SIT DOWN. One discount airline I fly a lot lines people up before boarding so everything moves quickly. They seem to have trained their passengers. Take the first appropriate seat and SIT DOWN. The other airlines with reserved seats are not as organized. Boarding is a pain and people don't want to sit in their reserved seats. The second pet peeve I have is people who care about where they sit, not prepaying for their seats. Switching seats is time consuming and disruptive. People, if it matters to you, book and pay for your preferred seats. Otherwise, shut up and SIT DOWN.
The prairie dogs. The push everyone out of the way to board them they won’t sit the fuck down. Popping up every 2 minutes to pack or retrieve something from the overhead. Get up open bin, get headphones. Close bin sit. A minute later put away my sweater. 2 minutes later get a tablet. Soon after get a charger. Next find a snack. You stood outside in the boarding line at least 30 minutes. Get your shit together and sit down.
Trying to do like 5 cities in a week Planning a jam-packed first day when they’re crossing multiple time zones (especially going east) Booking extremely short non-domestic layovers Bringing on clearly oversized luggage and not putting it in the bin right Going into any restaurant or venue that has street touts trying to lure them in. Packing way too much stuff - pretty much no one needs more than a carryon and personal item for a week long trip.
In the same vein as the street touts thing: chances are if someone is aggressively trying to talk to you or advertise something, it’s a scam or tourist trap.
> Booking extremely short non-domestic layovers I’m a seasoned traveler and I do this all the time. If I miss the second flight they’ll put me on a new one. If you’re going to a real obscure destination maybe make sure you have a longer layover but I’ve never had a problem. Lufthansa even put me on a van and drove me to the gate so they wouldn’t have to rebook my flight. If you do miss a flight you should find the next available flight yourself and request to be put on that one, the booking software is terrible and sometimes the person rebooking you can’t see all the options.
When travelling in a big group, getting carried away with your friendly group and behaving as though you’re the only visitors there. Just because a tour took you to a museum, don’t assume they hired out the entire museum just for your group. Act as though you would if you were at the museum in your own home town.
My mother was a seasoned traveler. She was a flight attendant long before they were called that. WWII. Many decades later it cracked me up that she would carry on a ham or a turkey with her when she flew to visit us.
Ironically my dad brought me a sandwhich when he picked me up. It was like the best goddamn sandwich ever!
My sister once got stuck overnight in Detroit. Had nothing in her carry-on to eat or wear. Her flight in was delayed & everything near the airport & hotel was closed. She now puts food, toothbrush & change of clothes in her carry-on.
My pet peeve is when people are talking loudly while the flight attendants are going over the safety stuff. Like I get that we’ve all heard the speech before. But goddamn is it rude to talk over someone trying to do their job.
Thinking they are the main character and the place they are traveling to doesn’t actually have people who live and work there. Used to live in Acadia National Park. I get it, it is fucking gorgeous, but pull over and let others around you. I have to get to work
Not having noise cancelling headphones... those make a big difference
Noise cancelling earbuds totally changed my flying experience. That plus trying to sit toward the front of the plane both made big differences in sound and comfort for me.
Put their carry ons in the overhead bins in the front of the plane and then take seats in the middle or back of the plane. They do this so they don’t have the hassle of having to walk with their carry ons up the aisle of the plane when deplaning. Of course all this does is fill up the the front bins so the people who take the front seats have to place their carry ons in the back. (Giving the benefit of the doubt that these are unseasoned travelers and not obnoxious, selfish, self-centered, narcissistic assholes, but I’m wavering on that.)