30 Travel Horror Stories You Have to Read to Believe!

We’ve allma had some truly awful travel horror stories. They’re the ones that you break out at parties to shock and awe those around you. Some might even be so scary you keep them to yourself.

Well, I don’t believe in hiding the not-so-pretty side of travel.

So I asked some of my travel blogging friends to share their travel horror stories with us!

You’ll read about a near-miss with a bear, contracting a mystery disease in Peru, accommodations that don’t exist, and more.

One thing is true for all of these stories: you’ll be glad they didn’t happen to you!

I’ve had my fair share of travel fails and scary travel stories over the years. But some of these are so out of this world that it’s hard to imagine how they kept travelling.

Thankfully these stories have uplifting endings and tips to help you avoid experiencing these vacation horror stories for yourself.

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1. A Travel Horror Story in Morocco

I’ve had many scary travel experiences and travel horror stories throughout my years as a solo traveller.

There was the time I dove into a freezing ocean to swim with wild dolphins, only to come face to face with a dangerous fur seal.

Or the time I spent $400 on taxis in Dunedin due to an invisible bus.

This travel horror story occured when I was spending a month in Morocco during my gap year in Europe.

I’d just enjoyed a few weeks in Marrakech, baking with local women, exploring the city, and experiencing a traditional Moroccan Hammam. But it was time to head off to my next destination: Turkey.

To get to Turkey, I had to go to the Casablanca airport.

Now, I was originally supposed to fly out a week later. I had planned to head to Chefchaouen to visit the Instagram-famous Blue City. But my mom got nervous after experiencing the woes of being a female in Marrakech.

… and I found out it’s especially dangerous to climb the Atlas Mountains in winter, so it wasn’t entirely her fault.

I ended up with three spare days in Casablanca.

They were the longest days of my life.

The city feels post-apocalyptic. Buildings are half built, with crumbling concrete clinging to steel frames. There are streets barren of people and covered in a thick sheen of dust. Even the people look haggard as you pass them on your way to the few attractions in the city.

I was staying in a Best Western by the train station for ease of access to the airport (and because it was all I could get with my credit card points at the time).

There’s a rule in Morocco that everyone tells you: don’t eat uncooked food.

It’s because they wash the produce in tap water, which is known for being very bad for you.

After one extremely trying day, I went to the hotel restaurant for dinner. My tajine came with an unexpected side salad.

Beaten down from the day, fed up with my anxiety, and generally starving, I took a bite without thinking.

I swallowed and realized my mistake.

But it couldn’t be that bad, right? I mean, Best Western is an American chain. Surely their employees use American standards for their food.

Nope!

Within 24 hours, I had the worst case of rocket butt and explosive vomit I’ve ever experienced thanks to what I’d later learn was a parasite from unclean tap water.

And of course that was the day I needed to fly to Turkey.

It was genuinely the second worst flight of my life (after the time I flew with an ear infection).

I puked in the check-in line up after running through my plastic bag supply. There was nowhere to buy a ginger ale or water before boarding the flight at the airport. The poor stewardess couldn’t understand why I wanted puke bags before we’d even taken off. The man next to me was visibly cringing as far away from me as possible.

But it doesn’t end there!

Once I arrived in Turkey, I thought the nightmare would be over.

Until I realized I was a day early for my Visa.

To enter Turkey, you need a visitor’s Visa that you can buy online for $75. I had done this months earlier when I’d initially planned to arrive in Turkey. I’d even booked it a week early just in case!

It hadn’t even occurred to me to check the Visa when I’d rescheduled my trip. I was certain I’d be fine!

Unfortunately, they won’t let you into the country, even if you’re green at the gills and are clearly about to pass out in front of them.

…come to think of it, that may have been why they didn’t want to let me in the country.

Thankfully, they have kiosks at the airport to buy a new visa. They weren’t working, so I had to wait two hours for someone to fix one before I could swipe my credit card, get a new visa, and crawl into a cab to get to the hotel I wouldn’t leave for three days except to go to the hospital.

Moral of the travel horror story: check your Visas and don’t eat salad in Morocco.

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2. The Ultimate Lost Luggage Horror Story

By Kerry Hanson from VeggTravel

Has your luggage ever been lost on holiday? Mine has, several times.

However, the worst time (and the one that still makes me mad!) was at the start of a 6-month solo adventure around south east Asia.
I’d just travelled with Singapore Airlines from Sri Lanka to Singapore for the second stop of my trip. Little did I know that my backpack, which contained EVERYTHING I had, hadn’t been put on my flight.

Frantically searching for help, the best the staff could offer me was to go to my hotel and they would contact me when they traced it.

However, as I was backpacking, I didn’t have any accommodation booked.

I just had my trusty Lonely Planet guide and was going to wing it when I arrived.

No accommodation meant nowhere to send the bag, and this was before the days of easy access to travel resources online.

So, I had to wait. A long time. 5 hours to be exact!

Enough time to lose my mind.
When I finally got the call, I was so elated that it had arrived that I signed the papers without really reading them or checking the bag. It was on a trolly, and it looked fine…

BIG mistake.

When I went to put it on my back, the straps were in tatters and I had no hope of carrying 22kg of belongings for another day, let alone 6 more months. Naturally I complained, but I had unknowingly waived my rights by blindly signing for it.
In tears and with no other options, I found a shop in the airport that sold a sewing kit and super glue and ‘fixed’ it. I could just about put it over my back, but it had no support, and it was crippling.

I chose to lumber this around for 2 months before I finally invested in a new backpack – which cost 3x my daily budget.
The moral of this travel horror story is not to sign something without reading it, check to make sure everything is as it should be and bite the bullet and buy a replacement, even if it does affect your budget.

👉 Find out how much it costs to protect your trip today with Safety Wing travel insurance.

3. The Airbnb Scam

by Katherine of Tara Lets Anywhere

For my first solo international trip, I booked tickets to Maldives. I was very excited and anxious at the same time. I decided that instead of the backpacker’s favorite Maafushi Island, I’d stay on Gulhi Island. It’s smaller, less crowded, and according to reviews it had a nice beach.

I booked my room there via Airbnb. I chatted with the host about the details and even reserved a boat tour with other guests in advance.

When I arrived in the island, the hotel was closed down.

A local approached me and said it had been closed for 2-3 months already and I was not the first guest to find out this way.

I didn’t know what to do.

I could rent a private boat to take me to Maafushi Island, since public transfers were limited. I could stay in Gulhi and find another hotel. Either way would set me back a few hundred dollars and I was already in a tight budget.

The local guy helped me and we approached every hotel and resort in the island. Everywhere was fully booked, except for the last one.

The owner at Silver Shade Guesthouse listened to my story and he was very kind. He invited me to dinner with his staff later that night. Unfortunately, the story does not end here since I had stomach ache from the unfamiliar food the day after.

I skipped going on the boat tour, but my new host took me snorkeling on the best spots in the island and even showed me the breeding area for baby sharks. He was especially careful to check on me since at that time I didn’t know how to swim properly.

I couldn’t emphasize how kind and generous the Maldivians are. Even though the Airbnb scam was traumatizing in itself, the kindness and hospitality of the locals I’d witness during my trip was enough for me to want to visit there again.

Airbnb eventually gave me a refund, but for some reason they did not remove the listing of the hotel that scammed me.

All in all, it was a story worth telling especially as a precaution, but now I can laugh about it.

Moral of the vacation horror story: Accommodations aren’t always reliable.

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4. Peru Pains

by Ilona of Top Travel Sights

The first time I travelled to Peru, I got horrible stomach pains.

It started when we were on our way to Lake Titicaca, and at first, I thought it was just a regular stomach bug. I took some of the medication I had packed for my trip to Peru, but it didn’t seem to help.

By the time I arrived at my hotel in Puno, though, the cramps had gotten so severe that I could not think about anything else but the pain. I tried to stand up to find a doctor, but I could not even walk anymore.

Fortunately, I was travelling with a friend who hurried to the reception to call an ambulance.

She was told that only doctors are allowed to call for ambulances and that we need to go and see a doctor first. The receptionist never managed to call an ambulance, but at least she called for a doctor who came to the hotel.

By that time, I was lying on my bed with my knees pulled up to my chest, unable to move at all. I had never been in as much pain. On top of that, the doctor only spoke Spanish, and we could barely communicate with him.

After a while, the doctor opened his bag and emptied a handful of vials on the bed. He started looking at them in the dim light of the night lamp, holding them at only a few centimetres from his eyes. None seemed to be what he was looking for – or he couldn’t read the labels well enough to decide which ones they were.

My friend ended up reading the labels for him until they found the right one. He injected a drug, and not even a minute later, a wave of nausea washed over me. I barely managed to pull the bin close before throwing up.

Whatever it was that he had given me, though, it seemed to help. After another injection, this time against nausea, the pain eased a little. The doctor wrote me one prescription for pills to take for a few days, plus another one for a few bottles of Gatorade for rehydration.

It took around two days for me to recover, but fortunately, I was fine afterwards.

Moral of the story: Don’t ignore pains. Call a doctor when you need one.

👉 Find out how much it costs to protect your trip today with Safety Wing travel insurance.

5. Sick in Cambodia

By Bec and Mark Wyld from Wyld Family Travel

There’s nothing worse than being woken by a noisy husband at 1.30 am…or so you think.
Finding Mark laying on the shower floor, water spraying everywhere in our hotel room using the shampoo bottle as a pillow instantly made me worry.

So, of course, I yelled at him ‘What are you doing?’
He had been feeling unwell since leaving Siem Reap and as we had had some cocktails when we were there he thought maybe he had had some dodgy alcohol. He was guzzling water because it made him feel better but this time it was not working and it was bad.
I managed to get him off the floor, dried and dressed as I tried to work out what the heck to do. I went down to the desk and asked how I could get him to a hospital. They told me they would get me a tuk-tuk and to bring him down.
I hurried back to the room and told him a tuk-tuk was on its way to get him. Being 2.00 am by this stage, in Battambang Cambodia, and in enormous pain, he was not keen on going to the hospital by himself.
But what was I meant to do with our kids?
I woke our 13-year-old daughter up (luckily we travel with teenagers) and told her what was going on, gathered out insurance documents, passports, gave her the unusual instructions about safety and then took Mark downstairs. My heart was racing as Mark wandered in severe pain.

Our tuk-tuk was there waiting and the desk clerk was giving the driver instructions. We jumped in and off we went, Mark, writhing in pain at every bump.
The first hospital (the local hospital) we went to was dark and no one seemed to be there so our driver motioned us to get back in, looking panicked and worried. We headed for the next hospital, the international one but once we arrived we were turned away with the driver looking more worried every second. The security guard at the gate said that the hospital was only open from 9-5.
By this stage Mark was in so much pain he was really struggling and it was getting scary. The driver pulled up at the first hospital again yelling, I think for help.

People jumped up off camp stretchers everywhere and escorted us into the hospital. They took us to a little room and started treating Mark. Things did get better for a little while and he was admitted to a room where he was given pain relief.

Unfortunately, it became clear that it wasn’t working and something wasn’t quite right. We found out he was being treated for food poisoning and we were pretty sure it wasn’t that.
I started contacting a friend who was a nurse, a friend who was a GP and our insurance company who were all over it immediately. A nurse told me by the sounds of it Mark had kidney stones and we needed to get to Phnom Pehn immediately as at this stage we had not been seen anyone in 5 hours. 
But I had to get back to our kids to check on them. The hospital was so close I could actually see our floor from the room they put Mark in and I spent the rest of the night as Mark ended up falling asleep staring at the hotel.
I walked back and took them for breakfast and to see that their Dad was ok. I then took them back to the hotel where the lady who owns the hotel was worried about us.
I left them there again and went back to get Mark who I found wandering down to the front desk. He felt better and still had not seen anyone so he wanted to leave.

We collected his things, told the insurance agency whose agent was frantically looking for us in the hospital but was told there were no foreigners there (we still don’t know what happened there) and took him back to the hotel to rest as he was feeling much better.
The next morning we were driven in a private vehicle to Phnom Pehn and as we sat down for dinner, Mark grimaced in pain and we called the tuk-tuk for it all to start again!

Moral of this scary travel story: It can be challenging to figure out international hospitals.

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6. The Seasick Birthday

by Cristina of My Little World of Travelling

My partner and I were enjoying a late summer holiday in Paphos, Cyprus. It was my partner’s birthday and we wanted to do something a bit different, so we decided to book a last-minute boat trip. 
We were up nice and early, by the front of the hotel, ready to be picked up for our day trip. After waiting for more than half an hour we were told that there had been a mistake and we had been given the wrong time!
But we were in luck. The hotel arranged a local guide to take us to the spot the boat was due to stop next. The guide was very friendly and apologised for what happened. We arrived at our destination and were taken down to the beach where we could see the boat and everyone in the sea enjoying themselves. 
A speedboat then appeared out of nowhere and started heading towards us. This was our ride! We climbed aboard and sat on the front as the speedboat headed towards the boat, weaving around everyone in the sea.

As they looked at us and must have thought “who do these two think they are?!”. We felt like we were in a James Bond movie!
We had lots of fun on the cruise – music, plenty of delicious traditional Cypriot and Turkish food, drinks and sun. The sea views were incredible – we could see the stunning coastline with popular beaches like Coral Bay, out of nowhere rock formations and luxury houses on cliffs. 
One of the best parts of our boat trip was when we made a stop to jump into the sea. I couldn’t resist jumping into the crystal clear water. The water was cold, but I didn’t care much because the feeling of swimming in the middle of nowhere and being able to see fish swim around us was just amazing.
So after hours of enjoyment and relaxation, on our way back I started feeling a bit unwell. I had to run downstairs and skip a full queue to go to the restroom.

I was seasick!

I went upstairs, I had a look at my partner and he didn’t look great either. He told me he was sick too.
It was a very romantic ending to his birthday!

Moral of the story: Pack sea sickness tablets. …and maybe don’t go boating for a birthday?

👉 Find out how much it costs to protect your trip today with Safety Wing travel insurance.

7. Pickpocketed in Lima

by Vicki of Vicki Viaja

One of our most adventurous travel stories happened when we were traveling in Peru’s capital Lima. On the way to the district Miraflores in Lima, we took the metro bus, which is considered the fastest means of transportation in the city.
When we got on, we were suddenly pushed hard, although just a few people got on with us. A few seconds later, my husband Eduardo noticed that his cell phone had disappeared from his pocket. Since we usually speak to each other in English, we must have seemed like easy victims to the pickpocket.

What the pickpocket didn’t count on, however, is that we speak fluent Spanish (my husband is a native Spaniard).
Without thinking, my husband made himself heard loudly that someone around us must have just taken his phone. Immediately, we got lots of attention. A man next to us pointed out that a middle-aged woman behind him had just made a cell phone disappear into her bag. Of course, that could have been a trick to distract from himself…
When asked about this, the lady naturally got angry and left the bus at the next stop. In just a few seconds, we had to decide and jumped out of the bus at the last moment so as not to lose the lady.
After heated discussions with her, we kept following her over several stops. The funny thing was that there were always bystanders who told us that the lady was behaving strangely and that we should continue to follow her. When she got back on a bus, I saw the imprint of a cell phone in her pocket for a moment. So we continued to follow the lady.

At the next bus stop, a security guard noticed us and decided to call the police to search the lady.
Suddenly, the lady leaned over to us and offered to give us back our cell phone if we didn’t report her. As the police turned the corner, she took my husband’s cell phone out of her underwear (yes, that’s where she had hidden it) and handed it to him.

Dumbfounded, he took it.

Since we already had our phone back when the police arrived, we couldn’t press charges because we had no evidence. But at least we had our phone back.

Moral of the travel horror story: Wear pickpocket-proof clothing (like this!).

👉 Find out how much it costs to protect your trip today with Safety Wing travel insurance.

8. Locked Out in Amsterdam

By Sydney of A World in Reach

A few years ago, I spent my spring break exploring Amsterdam with some friends. We spent a week checking things off our Amsterdam bucket list and enjoying a break from school.

The night before we were leaving to head back to the US, we spent the evening hanging out in our Airbnb, enjoying a weed brownie while packing our stuff. When the munchies inevitably kicked in, we decided to order pizza.

When the pizza arrived, my boyfriend and I decided to go get it from downstairs while our other friend stayed in the Airbnb. As we left, we heard my friend exit the apartment to come down with us. No big deal, right?

Wrong.

When my friend left the Airbnb, the door closed behind him. And locked.

Guess where the key was? Inside the Airbnb.

We were stuck in the hallway of our apartment building in the middle of winter with no way to get in. To make matters worse, the three of us were wearing pajamas with no coats, and I was the only one wearing shoes (if you can count slippers as shoes!).

I had a SIM in my phone that allowed me to make local calls, but of course my phone was almost dead. We tried frantically to get ahold of our host so we could pick up a spare key.

Thankfully after about 45 minutes of calling (and lots of tears), we finally reached our host and he said we could pick up the spare key from his home located right in the middle of Amsterdam’s Red Light District.

With no other options, we called an Uber to take us to the district. The driver got us as close as he could to the apartment (most of the street was closed for cars). Since I was the only one wearing shoes, I made the trek through the Red Light District to find the host’s apartment and get the key.

It was a bit hard to find in the dark, and running through the Red Light District in my pajamas was a little embarrassing, but we eventually made it back with the key and were able to get back inside.

Although we weren’t in any true danger, this remains as one of my stressful travel experiences to date. Plus, I learned a lesson from this vacation horror story: never leave your accommodation (even for a second) without a key in your hand!

👉 Find out how much it costs to protect your trip today with Safety Wing travel insurance.

9. 1970’s Travel Horror Story

by Anne of Packing Light Travel

Imagine an era when passengers boarded planes without passing through security screening. That was my experience when travelling in the 1970s, but that changed with a flight from Istanbul to Tel Aviv in 1974.

Naively, I had expected to simply walk on the plane much like boarding a bus, similar to what my friend had experienced on his flight to London a few hours earlier.

The first indication that my experience would be different was when an EL AL sign was hung in the baggage check-in area, and a section was roped off for examination of passports and inspection of luggage.

Passport control came first. Each page of my passport was closely examined, with the visas for Iran, Iraq, and Jordan attracting the most attention. These prompted several questions and the involvement of a second officer before a third person was called over to take my passport away for further scrutiny.

Next came screening of luggage. In 1974, this meant physical inspection of each item in my bag and use of a handheld metal detector. While this was underway, the officer returned with my passport and puzzling questions about my visit to Czechoslovakia.

Prior to boarding, men and women were separated for frisking by officers of the same gender as the passengers. It felt thorough, but then, I’d never been frisked before. My camera was removed from my jacket, and I was asked to expose one photograph. This was a costly inconvenience as film and processing were expensive back then and taking photographs required measured constraint.

About 15 metres from the gate, the EL AL plane sat on the tarmac, surrounded by armed officers toting automatic weapons.

A bus pulled up as close as it could get to the gate and passengers boarded in single file. An armed officer guarded the bus and I observed two others on rooftops.

After circling the plane, the bus stopped at the bottom of the steps, and we were quickly herded on to the plane. I imagined one or two undercover commandoes were on board to deal with any threat that could potentially jeopardize our safe arrival in Israel.

Upon reflection, the strict security measures shouldn’t have been surprising. The 1973 Yom Kippur War in the Middle East hadn’t yet concluded, and Israel’s vulnerability to terrorist attacks abroad had been tragically demonstrated by the hijacking of an EL AL plane in Rome and the slaying of eleven Israeli athletes and officials at the Munich Olympics.

Nevertheless, it was such a new experience that a description warranted several pages in my travel journal.    

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10. Confronting Australian Spiders

By Victoria of Guide Your Travel

While being on a work and travel visa in Australia, I decided to buy a campervan to save money on accommodation costs which can quickly add up.

The first week I just followed the road without a plan where to go next.

My only concern during that time was, where to sleep at night. I also kept an eye out on different Facebook groups where job vacancies were posted regularly. Since my savings started to become smaller each day, I have decided to take the next opportunity to make some cash.

I ended up as a waitress in an oceanfront bar and restaurant in a small town called Agnes Water.

The first week I camped in front of the restaurant, which my boss allowed me to do. After my shift ended one night at around 10 pm, my colleague and I decided to have a beer at the beach, just 50 meters away from where I parked. When we said goodnight I headed to my van where I had opened the windows before, so that fresh air came in.

When I tried to turn on the lights in the front, I noticed two shining eyes that stared at me.

I turned on the flashlight on my phone and jumped out of the car in a single leap after seeing what was sitting in front of me.

A giant spider was sitting right above my steering wheel.

I immediately called my colleague to ask for his help, but after I described the spider to him, he just laughed and said it’s probably a huntsman spider.

I, still in shock, standing barefoot in front of my van, having no idea what a huntsman is, was told I could just crush it. However, crushing the spider, as big as the palm of my hand, was out of the question, so I was on my own.

I took out my selfie stick and tried to scare away my uninvited guest with it. After a few attempts, I fortunately succeeded. At almost midnight, the spider decided to climb out of the window and then disappear into the nearby bushes.

Since I had no other option but to sleep in the van, I decided to turn the whole car inside out to see if there were any more spiders. After an unsuccessful search, I probably still had the worst night of my life.

Moral of this scary travel story: Close your van windows or risk a night faced with a giant spider.

👉 Find out how much it costs to protect your trip today with Safety Wing travel insurance.

11. A very wet New Zealand

by Holly from Globeblogging

Twelve years after road tripping the North Island of New Zealand, I went back to do the same on the South Island in December 2019.

Public Service Announcement: don’t visit New Zealand in December. 

While it is apparently common that NZ is pretty wet in December, 2019 was something else and the island had copped huge amounts of rain. 

By the time I hit Queenstown I had already had my seal swim and glowworm caving trip cancelled due to the weather, and I had been lucky to still take a wet drive on the one road to Milford Sound. All the shops along the Queenstown lakefront were sandbagged, ready for Lake Wakatipu to imminently burst its banks. 

My next planned stop was the Franz Josef Glacier, to which there is one road from Queenstown. It had been taken out by a landslide.

For three days I watched anxiously for updates but finally had to make the call and start cancelling everything for the next leg of my trip and working out a new route back to Christchurch to get my flight home. 

I ended up visiting Wanaka next, which was so badly flooded the lakeside tourist centre was out in the lake, the famous Wanaka tree was half submerged and despite walking around the lake I couldn’t even get close to it!

This was the same time as the volcano was erupting on the North Island, and concerned colleagues and friends were messaging me to check that I wasn’t on that island, knowing full well that climbing a volcano was something I absolutely would do. 

When I returned my car in Christchurch the rental company told me that people had been trapped in Franz Josef for days without power, and were abandoning their rental cars to hire helicopters out.

So while I am still disappointed to have missed it, it was a blessing in disguise I never made it up there!

👉 Find out how much it costs to protect your trip today with Safety Wing travel insurance.

12. Lost in the Mountains

By Venaugh

I loved all my hikes in the Caribbean and never regretted a hike until I got lost on a trail.

When I moved to Colombia there were many things to do. I hiked to the Santa Isabel Glacier which is a snow-capped volcano. The hike was the most extreme I have faced due to the 4,965 metres elevation which had me gasping for air.

Also, it was raining and about 1 degree Celsius which added yet another obstacle.

I was determined to get to the glacier, but I could not keep up. The guide told me that he had to go ahead with the rest of the team so just keep going, but at 12pm, start going down.

And that was the last I saw someone.

Eventually the glacier came into view, so I paused to take pictures. Then it was 12pm so as I was told, I turned back to start walking down as he said.

After about 15 minutes, I started to get concerned that I was still not seeing anyone, and I was not sure that I was even on the right track. I thought I saw footprints, so I continued to follow them. However, fog quickly blew across and I could no longer see around.

I was afraid to continue in case I had gone off track, if I hadn’t already strayed.

I began calling out for help, but no one responded. I began to panic, what would happen if everyone had already gone? Was I lost?

I sat on a rock and started to cry.

I thought about what food I had and how I would ration it. I thought about what wildlife was out there, pumas being the scariest one mentioned.

I immediately stopped myself and again started screaming at the top of my lungs but still, no response.

It was half an hour later and I still had not moved due to the fog then finally, someone shouted back “hello.”

I could not have been any more relieved! I started to cry again, but this time happy tears that I had been found…by the guide who had left me! Even though his descent was too quick for me, I definitely was not risking losing him again and just followed. Finally, we had made it back to the cars that took us back to our hotels.

My grand advice, which seems obvious in hindsight, is to never lose sight of your guide!

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13. Sometimes, Stay ON The Beaten Path

by Shireen from The Happy Days Travels

We’d arrived in Penang in the North of Malaysia to spend a few days eating delicious street food, experiencing the blurring of Malay, Chinese and Indian cultures and going on day trips around the Island.

One of the most popular day trips is visiting Penang Hill which is a group of 10 peaks with various things to do including several hiking routes. We opted for the main trail which is a 5km circular loop around Penang Hill. 

The walk was so peaceful with things to see along the way like flora, fauna and wildlife even though there were other tourists and cars passing by. We reached the cafe just off the trail and headed back onto the loop when after about half an hour we realised that it was spookily silent with no tourists, cars or wildlife passing us any more. We tried to check for maps when we realised none of our phones had any signal.

And this was the first time my stomach jumped to my heart.

We made the mutual agreement to walk back by ourselves instead of heading further off the beaten path (that we unintentionally found ourselves on) when we saw one person on a motorbike. We flagged him down for directions. Before asking he said to us ‘you cannot be here, this is a military base’ and we all looked at each other in a telling way.

On our way back toward the cafe, we found a pink sign amongst leaves of a military person holding a gun to a trespasser! Obviously this was a true horror travel story moment with the realisation of what could have happened because we were on the wrong path.

My flight mode kicked on and I walked as fast as I could. Continuing the walk, we also noticed many signs saying ‘dilarang masuk’ which, after a later Google translation, meant ‘no entry.’ 

When we finally made it back to the cafe, we hitched a ride back and I‘ve never been so thankful to make it out of that situation.

Sometimes you should just stay on the beaten path.

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14. An Unexpected Bear Encounter

by Rebecca of Whatever Packs Your Bags

You know when someone is talking to you, and you can’t quite make out what they are saying? How about when 30 people are yelling at you and you still can’t quite make it out… and then you do, and the word “BEAR” has never held so much meaning in your whole life.

I should back up though, first things first location, location, location: Glacier National Park. The views are awe-inspiring, seriously breathtaking.

You cannot take a bad picture here, unless your finger is covering the camera, which only happened a couple times.

Everywhere you look are the most beautiful landscapes, mountains, waterfalls, and lakes you have literally ever seen in your entire life. It feels untouched, even though you are in a national park with hundreds, maybe thousands of other people.

You get caught up in the raw beauty of it all.

The Park Ranger told us Many Glacier was the place to go hiking. Seeing a glacier, since we were visiting Glacier National Park, feels like the thing to do, right?

The Ranger reminded us that you will need the bear spray — don’t forget the bear spray!

We got to the trailhead, for the hike up to Grinnell Glacier, and what luck there was a place to park. We were warned parking can be hard to come by, so we were super excited. We filled our water packs, took a potty break, and headed up the trail.

Then we figured out why there is parking, because in 2.6 miles the trail is closed for bear activity. Super sucks, but we are already out there, so we decided it was best to make the most of it. Maybe the bear will move on, and the trail will open back up?

We made it to where the trail was closed, disappointed and trekked down the mountain side, crossed a cute little 1-person bridge, walked about 10 yards, and took a break by Swiftcurrent Lake.

The boat was taking people across the lake, so we sat down and put our hot and sweaty feet in the glacier fed water.

Everything is going just fine: the water is freezing, the snacks are yummy, the people are yelling… THE PEOPLE ARE YELLING… “BEAR”… AT US!!!!

Adrenaline is pumping, you know how you wonder what kind of person you are in a crisis, well we were about to find out…

(Also, side note to future helpful people, if you see a bear going toward a group of people, just yelling BEAR doesn’t help) 

Not knowing which direction, the bear was coming from, and having the yelling people not specify their left or your left?!!! Not great.

I screamed at the top of my lungs “STOP” with the hand signals to match, then pointed “this way” or “that way”. Luckily, that got their attention, and the answer was this way, now we knew the direction the bear was coming from.

We then had to make a split-second decision. Luckily the blood was pumping because I wouldn’t have chosen to wade through a glacier fed lake 5 minutes before.

We waded across, pushing, pulling, and a little carrying involved to make it to where the lake and a significant portion of reeds are between where we were and where the bear was now. 

I will mention that in all this time we never actually saw the bear, which is a little safer and just a little disappointing.

In the meantime, there was a little crying, a little grateful to be alive, and a little regret for the shoes we left behind and the feet that are now more than a little worse for wear. 

The Park Ranger comes sideling up the path, cool as a cucumber and asks if we saw a bear.

We told him there was a bear, and we left our shoes.

He says, “No worries. I’ll go check it out and your shoes will likely be saved.”

Two of our group head back (with the Ranger of course) and get the shoes. They also meet up with a guy who videoed the encounter.

Fun fact the bear wasn’t coming for us. He was using the path and bridge (that was only 10 yards away from where we were moments before). He scratched his butt on the bridge and moved on.

Apparently, bears don’t wanna walk through the cold glacier water, or prickly reeds either. 

We made it back to the trailhead in the fastest 2 miles ever.

Te bear activity sign is revised to 2.1 miles ahead.

Now we know to always trust bear warnings.

👉 Find out how much it costs to protect your trip today with Safety Wing travel insurance.

15. The Bite is Worse than the Bark

by Rosanna of Rosanna Etc

In summer 2005, just before my 21st birthday, I finished my university degree and booked a celebratory holiday to the Greek island of Crete with my then boyfriend.

We landed at around 6pm and got to our hotel in Gouves really quickly, so decided to go for an evening walk to get a drink.

All of the bars and restaurants ran along a road next to the beach, so we decided to walk along the sand rather than the pavement.

That’s when I saw a dog playing in the water about 50 feet away from us.

I remember remarking on the dog to my boyfriend, as I love animals, but the dog sadly did not feel the same way.

It attacked and ran towards us snarling and barking. As it got closer I panicked and ran away back to the road. I had to climb up a small wall and scraped my shins all up the concrete, and that’s the last thing I remember.

I was then hit by a man riding a moped travelling at speed down the road. I do not remember anything from this point until a couple of days later.

I was knocked unconscious briefly, and then was in a semiconscious state whilst an ambulance was called and I was taken to the private hospital nearby, where all tourists go if they are injured.

I was given a CAT scan and it showed I had swelling on my brain and head injuries. I needed to see a neurologist, but theirs was on vacation so I was then taken to the state hospital instead.

I had more X-Rays that showed my left arm was badly broken and my right ankle bone was chipped. My arm needed surgery and was put in a cast up to my armpit as you can’t go under general anaesthetic whilst your brain is swollen, and I therefore had to stay in this hospital for monitoring purposes.

I have false memories of this whole period, which is something that happens to people who get amnesia. Their brain pieces together ‘memories’ made from stories people have told them about what happened, but they aren’t real.

My real memories start again two days later in a strange hospital ward full of Greek people where the only English the nurses spoke was the word “pain?” and if I said “yes” then they would give me drugs.

Eventually after 2 weeks I was able to leave, and my travel insurance company arranged flights home and assistance at the airports.

I went straight from London Heathrow airport to the hospital, and had surgery on my arm the following day where they had to screw metal plates onto my bones to hold them back together. I still have the metal plates in my arm, plus some pretty hefty surgical scars.

My arm and hand were completely frozen and stiff from being in a cast for so long, and I had to have intense physio to be able to move it again.

I couldn’t cut up my own food, or wash my own hair for weeks and also suffered from PTSD. I had flashbacks of the dog attacking me that triggered panic attacks.

The whole experience really set me back and for a long time it felt as though it really defined me, seeing as it had occurred at a point where I had been about to embark on the next chapter of my life as an adult and suddenly I was stuck, waiting to heal.

Thankfully, after time and therapy I was able to move on from this bump in the road (please excuse the pun) and now I barely think of it, except to win conversations about “what’s the worse thing that can happen to you on holiday”. 

Moral of the story: not all street dogs are friendly.

👉 Find out how much it costs to protect your trip today with Safety Wing travel insurance.

16. Getting Mugged at Knifepoint

by Julia from The Cure for Curiosity

We’ve all heard those travel horror stories about how “unsafe” some cities are. Rio de Janeiro,

Brazil is definitely one of those cities.

Surrounded by favelas and infamous for its high crime, beach goers are told to beware of mass lootings and robberies, and taxis run red traffic lights at night as a safety measure.

Unfortunately, no amount of warning or safety precautions could have kept me from falling victim to the crimes of Rio.  

One evening around dusk as I was walking down the main road of Ipanema, one of the wealthier and safer areas of Rio, with a friend, there was plenty of life buzzing around us. Then, as we continued our leisurely stroll down the populated road, you could feel the atmosphere change as a group of young men came racing down the sidewalk single file.

This separated me from my friend who ended up positioned behind me, and the last youth stopped in front of me, shoved a knife in my throat, and started yelling at me in Portuguese. 

Now, my Portuguese is non-existent, but I do understand knives, so I stayed still as his friend grabbed my cross-body purse and ripped the leather straight down the side and off my body.

Happy with their accomplishment, the guy with the knife took off running and his friend with my purse went to follow.

As it turns out, Brazilians must not play much American football, because the guy with my purse had it held in his hands rather than protected against his body, so I reached out, grabbed it straight from his hands, and took off sprinting down the road.  

Feet pounding on the pavement and heart pounding in my chest, I ran past crowds of people yelling after these same young men who had hit multiple victims on the same road.

Fortunately, I was training for a 70.3 mile Ironman and knew my running was decent, but it didn’t keep me from worrying about getting stabbed and bleeding to death on the roads of beautiful Ipanema.

Once I could tell no one was following me, I ducked into a store and waited for my friend to catch up before calmly crossing the road and continuing on our way to our hostel.

I was lucky in that I was able to steal back my purse and nothing was truly lost besides my sense of safety and the physical purse, but not everyone is so lucky. Follow all safety precautions you can and know what to do in case of an emergency, like what to do if your purse is stolen abroad. 

👉 Find out how much it costs to protect your trip today with Safety Wing travel insurance.

17. Terrorist Attack in Barcelona

by Emma of The Checklist Chick

My craziest travel horror story took place on my first solo trip in 2017 to Barcelona. What started out as a day of exploring the sights, turned into the sinister scene of a terrorist attack.

I was staying in a hotel along La Rambla, the 1.2km pedestrian street in central Barcelona, where one afternoon soon a terror group would drive a van down the street mowing people down, killing 13 and injuring at least 130 others.  

Earlier that morning I started my day wandering around La Rambla before deciding to book an afternoon sightseeing tour to see La Sagrada Familia and Parc Güell, which I secured the last spot on.

Had I not gone on that tour, I probably would’ve been there when it happened.  

On the way to the last stop, our tour was cut short. We were told we could no longer continue the tour due to an incident and we were to disembark, and not go back to La Rambla.

This made me very nervous, as I was alone, lost in a foreign country, not being able to speak the local language and was told I couldn’t go back to my hotel.

Thankfully, a lovely family on my tour let me accompany them until we could get back to our hotels.  

We spent the afternoon trying to find a café or restaurant still open. We wandered with food and waited at the police barricades until we could get back.

We finally found a Chinese restaurant open with food and Wi-Fi, where we heard the news and that some of the attackers were still at large.

After trying to contact home, unsuccessfully (it was the middle of the night in Australia), we walked around to the other end of La Rambla to see if we could reach the safety of our hotels from there.

After hours of waiting, the police started escorting people back to the hotels deemed safe. I was escorted back around 10pm, when by then, the embassy and my family were trying to contact me.

I mostly stayed in my hotel for the last two days of my trip, aside from getting food and water and paying my respects at some of the many memorials that popped up along the street.

I flew home safely with a crazy story to tell my friends and family.

After this trip, I am much more careful when travelling, and actively share travel safety tips with fellow solo travellers.

👉 Find out how much it costs to protect your trip today with Safety Wing travel insurance.

18. The Strike that Cancelled Millions

By Gabby of the Office Escape Artist

I got laid off in 2015 and decided to use this new free time (which I fondly called “Funemployment”) to backpack through Europe.  My last destination was Budapest, Hungary, where I was going to spend a few days before flying back to the United States.
I was on a nighttime river cruise when I overheard some Americans talking about the “really bad Lufthansa strike.”  Since my flight was going to be in a few days, I didn’t think it was going to impact me. 

Surely a strike wouldn’t last days, right?
Unfortunately, I was wrong.  That conversation happened on the first day of the strike, a strike that ended up lasting 7 days, impacting over half a million passengers and canceling over a million airline tickets.
During this strike, any Lufthansa flight connecting through Germany (which is basically all of them) was canceled. 

I kept getting re-booked only to be re-canceled. 

Thankfully my hostel was super accommodating and let me continue to extend my time there on very short notice – but that was just one more thing to stress about.
When I finally had enough, I tried to log into United – who I had low-level status with – to try and negotiate a return trip.  I was using the hostel computer, which meant it had a Hungarian keyboard. 

Did you know that keyboards were different for each country?

I had no idea. Trying to just log in was a struggle. 

After getting the Premier Help Desk, I tearfully told the agent that I was a solo female traveler and just needed to get home.  She ended up rebooking me to go from Hungary to Brussels to Chicago to Denver.
… Unfortunately, my layover in Chicago was only 40 minutes, so I missed that connection.
But after 28 hours of travel time and a 4-day delay due to the strike, I finally made it home!

Moral of this scary vacation story: Don’t underestimate strikes!

👉 Find out how much it costs to protect your trip today with Safety Wing travel insurance.

19. The Booking Nightmare

by The Fearless Foreigner

My year teaching and living in Russia was full of memorable moments. One of the most memorable actually took place when I was trying to get back to Russia from NYC during holiday break. 

I was making the most of my last day in the Big Apple and wasn’t too concerned about the forecasted snowstorm. I headed to the airport as usual, taking public transportation.

The subway line had a detour and wasn’t running on its regular route. As a result I had to exit on a fairly deserted and snowy Brooklyn street hoping that a taxi would drive by.

I didn’t have a US phone plan and had no way of calling a taxi.

Just as I was going to give up, a taxi arrived and the driver seemed very surprised that my flight wasn’t canceled. I assured him it wasn’t. 

We arrived at the airport late, but I was happily surprised to see no lines for security. I waited in the check in line for quite awhile before I realized we were waiting for hotel vouchers and not boarding passes.

Of course they ran out of vouchers and claimed every hotel in NYC was full. Unlikely story, but this was the real start of problems with Aeroflot Airlines.

As wifi wasn’t picking up in the airport for some reason and I had no cell data I was in quite a pickle. I hemmed and hawed about sleeping at the airport. I tried to buy a sim card from a vending machine. Luckily I knew the city well and eventually asked a taxi driver to drive me to one of the nearby airport hotels. 

Upon arrival the hotel was booked, but they were kind enough to let me use their wifi to book another hotel.

The real problem came with getting a taxi, everyone that the hotel called wouldn’t come. Each one I would reserve on Lyft would cancel after 10 minutes. By the time a taxi finally agreed to pick me up it was almost 2am. 

Once at the hotel, my booked room wasn’t available anymore. Remember that card I used to try to buy a sim card? It was flagged as fraud and because I used it to book my hotel room they had canceled my booking.

It took an hour, but they finally got me a room. 

As Aeroflot wouldn’t reschedule bookings online I had to be up bright and early the next morning to return to the airport. For the next two days I was in lines to reschedule my flight. It was the most disorganized mess you could ever imagine.

It was more than 3 days later when I arrived in Russia.

Moral of the story: Check if your flight is cancelled before you go to the airport.

👉 Find out how much it costs to protect your trip today with Safety Wing travel insurance.

20. The Horrible Hotel Cancellation

By Jess of Tourist to Travellers

Every year my husband and I look forward to spending some time away in a foreign land, exploring a different culture, basking in the history of the place, trying new cuisines, and meeting new people along the road.

One thing we have learned from our travels thus far is that no amount of planning can prepare you for what’s in store when you step out.

Back in 2016 when we planned our very first big budget trip to Turkey, we were all gung-ho and super excited. We were in for surprises from the very first day we landed in Istanbul.

Somewhere in the middle of the trip when we were in a beautiful place called Kas, a night before we were to arrive in Oludeniz, Fethiye we received a call that shocked us. The hotel manager of the hotel in Oludeniz called to inform us that our reservation was cancelled as the hotel management had changed and the new management plans to shut the hotel temporarily. 

Having paid for the stay beforehand we were scared whether we would receive any refund. Where would we stay?

This incident alone would not have scared us but having my wallet stolen on the very first day in Istanbul followed by this made me burst into tears.

The manager informed us that he would meet us at the bus stop the next day in Fethiye. Luckily for us he was true to his word. He not only came to pick us up in his own car but he also put us up in a 5 star hotel right on the Oludeniz beach at no extra charge to us.

We were so happy that something that upset me a lot the night before turned into a boon the next day thanks to the kindness of a stranger.

Moral of the story: Sometimes you need to cry out the frustration to find a solution.

👉 Find out how much it costs to protect your trip today with Safety Wing travel insurance.

21. The Train to Nowhere

By Ellie of Soul Travel India

Towards the end of my 6 week solo travels around Rajasthan – the largest state in India – I was leaving Jaisalmer in the far north west.

Famous for its camel desert safaris and crumbling sandcastle-style fort, I’d been disappointed by Jaisalmer, which had turned out to be full of the more than usual number of hard-core tourist touts and fervent would be local Romeos who would not take no for an answer.

My initial plan to stay for a week got cut to a couple of days, and I happily booked my train out to leave and head back to Delhi. 
Trains in India take hours, and often depart and arrive in the middle of the night. So the usual advice of travelling during daylight hours for solo female travellers sounded good in theory, but was impossible to follow in practice.

Arriving at Jaisalmer station at 11pm for my midnight train, my rickshaw driver asked to see my ticket and what train I was getting. I ignored his request, but told him my train, before he proceeded to tell me how bad that train was and that it was very unreliable.

I rolled my eyes and strolled off – suspecting yet another “come and book another train from my friend’s travel agency” story. I happily sat down on the station platform, surrounded by other travellers. 
30 minutes passed when an announcement came on. “we are sorry to announce that train to Delhi is delayed by 11 hours.”

Bugger. That was my train.

11 hours late?! That meant it would be due to roll in the following morning at 11am, and I had a whole night ahead of me.

I counted my options. I couldn’t go outside and get a rickshaw by myself back into town, as it was pitch black and completely unsafe to do so alone at that time of night. I browsed hotels on my Booking app, frantically looking for ones that looked good and trying to call them to make a booking and get a pickup. No-one was answering. 
As the clock ticked closer to midnight, I eventually went into the station to ask about “retiring rooms” (basic hotel style rooms which are rented out at stations in India). They were all full.

At the ticket office, when I asked about other friends, the clerk shouted “general” to me for another train to Delhi. At the time I had no idea what General class was, but I didn’t want to find out.

Eventually, seeking help from the station master, I was told to stay inside the station, where there were people sleeping on the floor and around, and that I’d be fine. 
I wasn’t so sure. In one corner, a group of drunk soldiers returning home sporadically burst into song and started punching each other. In another corner a large family lay out their sleeping bags on the floor.

I got as close to the women as I could. 
It’s fair to say I didn’t sleep a wink. As soon as the morning light came, I booked myself into the nicest hotel I could find to sleep for a few hours, and try again on another train. 
My train never did show up at all. I left Jaisalmer the following day via another route, and met the most amazing group of travel companions that I am still in touch with today. 

Moral of the story: Double check the type of transportation you book.

👉 Find out how much it costs to protect your trip today with Safety Wing travel insurance.

22. Road Trip from Hell

by Alanna from Periodic Adventures

My boyfriend and I have been together for 10 years, but during our first year together, we took our first vacation…which did not go as planned.

Since we’re both from Los Angeles, we took a road trip through California and planned to hit Yosemite National Park and Lassen National Park. It was a 5 day trip in August to see the highlights then return home.

We took my trusty steed – my 2000 Toyota Camry – and started off without a hitch. We spent a day in Yosemite where we saw redwoods and the epic Tunnel View with Bridalveil Falls, El Capitan, and Half Dome in the distance.

Next, to explore Lassen National Park, we decided to set up base in Corning, California, a very small town that’s typically just for passersby.

At the time, there was a forest fire within Lassen National Park, but prior to our trip, you could still go to some parts so we carried on. However, when we drove to the park from Corning, we were passed by waves of firetrucks.

It felt like a bad omen.

Soon, my oh so trusty steed started smoking, perhaps in solidarity with Lassen National Park.

Luckily, there was a mechanic nearby.

He said it was likely the transmission but if we just refilled the transmission fluid frequently, we’d be okay.

We turned back to Corning to be safe, filling up with transmission fluid twice along the way. As we took the highway exit for Corning, my car died.

We had to have it towed to a local mechanic in Corning, who said the transmission was shot.

So here we were in the middle of summer, stranded 7.5 hours from home.

In the end, we spent 4 days in Corning, walking to the bowling alley and swimming at the hotel waiting for rescue. My mom drove up to take us back home and after my car got fixed, it was shipped back to us at home.

What an adventure!

Moral of the story: Get a second opinion on your car’s engine issues.

👉 Find out how much it costs to protect your trip today with Safety Wing travel insurance.

23. A Series of Unfortunate Events

by Tiffany of Pennies, Places, and Paws

I love traveling in the spring because it is not as hot (we do a lot of camping and hiking), it’s more budget-friendly, and there tend to be fewer people.

Unfortunately, spring also brings rain and occasionally floods. 

Last spring, I had planned a trip traveling all around Kentucky and had pre-booked all of our cave tours and campsites. My husband and I were super excited about our 7-day adventure.

Of course, it ended up raining every day of our trip.

By the 4^th day, we began hearing about floods throughout the state. Multiple attractions including some cave tours were being shut down in the area due to flooding. 

Our cave tour for the next day was scheduled at Lost River Cave right when they opened. We drove the 2 hours just to arrive as they called my cell phone to tell me all tours were going to be canceled that day.

We were a little bummed out but I was prepared with several backup plans to our itinerary.

We also learned that one of our campsites for later in the week was also going to be closed and our reservations were canceled. We quickly reviewed our other options and booked a different campsite for that night.

Battling some minor frustrations over the inconveniences of the morning, we decided to replace our canceled cave tour with the Stateline Whiskey Tour which had 2 of the 3 stops en route to our campsite for that evening.

We were going to save the third and final distillery stop for a future vacation because it was just across the border in Tennessee. 

When we arrived at the 2nd distillery, we discovered that we had gotten a flat tire. This distillery was in Amish country and the closest tire place was at least 30 min away. 

We were able to put our spare tire on just in time for the distillery tour and tasting to begin. After the tour, we called several places in order to find a shop that had the right size tire in store. (Most stores were telling us that it would take at least a day to get the correct size tire in.)

We found a Discount Tire 40 minutes away in Tennessee that had one in stock. 

As luck would have it, this was near the 3^rd and last distillery of the Stateline Whiskey Tour. We were able to get a new tire and finish the whiskey tour which made having to change our plans yet again at least mostly worth it.

When going on a road trip I highly recommend going over this Road Trip Car Checklist. Because we were properly prepared, we were able to quickly make the needed adjustments to our itinerary and not be forced to wait for someone to help us with our flat tire.

👉 Find out how much it costs to protect your trip today with Safety Wing travel insurance.

24. Cruising During Covid-19

Recommended by Peta and Jonas of Exit45 Travels

What was it like cruising during coronavirus? We have been asked this question by many people so here is our experience:

We boarded Costa Victoria late in February 2020 in Mumbai, India for a month long repositioning cruise ending in Venice. A couple of weeks prior to flying out to Mumbai, we heard concerning reports of Covid cases confirmed in Italy and other parts of Europe. 

We contacted our travel agent and Costa on several occasions to ask for an update on whether our cruise would be going ahead as scheduled and what safety precautions would be taken at embarkation. All news was positive and we were confident the cruise would not sail if there were concerns over safety.

Upon boarding Costa Victoria on Day 1, we were really looking forward to our month-long cruise including 3 full days in the Maldives, Petra in Jordan, and Dubrovnik and Split in Croatia.

Ship life on the day and evening of embarkation was cheerful and festive. 

Unfortunately, it was on Day 2 that we heard our first lot of bad news and alarm bells started ringing.

The Maldives Authorities had contacted Costa and said they would not allow the ship to port if there were any Italians on board, as Italy was now quickly becoming Covid-19 hotspot No.1.

All Italian passengers were forced to disembark.

Of course, we felt for all the Italian passengers, but at the same time those of us still on board were thankful to Costa for making such a tough decision so the rest of the passengers could enjoy The Maldives.  

This feeling was short lived as we received a notification on Day 3 that The Maldives had refused the ship entry. From this day on, each evening we would arrive back to our room with letters from Costa advising ports were being cancelled, and alternative ports taking their place.

The cruise itinerary was not at all the cruise we had booked, but we made the best of it and still enjoyed the ports we did get to see. 

Our last day on land was Day 13 in Salalah, Oman and this was also when all on-board entertainment ceased. We were not allowed into any ports from this time forward and spent many days floating at sea while arrangements were made for our disembarkation.

On Day 24, the order came from the Captain that we were in lockdown in our cabins and were under no circumstances allowed to leave our rooms. We remained locked in our cabins for a further 7 days until finally disembarking in Rome and then being escorted by armed guards to the airport. 

The experience was very memorable, but not one we would like to repeat any time in the near future.

Moral of the story: Pandemics are no joke.

👉 Find out how much it costs to protect your trip today with Safety Wing travel insurance.

25. The Language Confusion

by MacKenzie of Rainbow Travel Life

I was coming down off a glorious trip to Barcelona and Madrid, cruising down the streets of El Centro, Madrid with my rolling Ikea luggage (yes, I looked as ridiculous as I sound).

I was on my way to the next glamorous destination – Lisbon – and my hostel was less than five minutes from the metro. From there, it would be an easy hour train ride to the airport.

Except it wasn’t.

I arrived at the station and immediately beelined for the train Google Maps told me to take. Except when I got to the platform, it was closed. T

here was a sign with directions on how to take a different train/route.

Unfortunately, my Spanish was basic, and I couldn’t understand where I was supposed to go. I spent ten minutes trying to reroute, scouring the internet – anything I could think of. Google was now saying I’d miss my flight.

It wasn’t updating the closed train, but it could tell me I wouldn’t make my flight? Thanks a lot, Google.

At this point, I had to forcibly breathe and remind myself panicking in a foreign country, alone, with a dying phone and a plane to catch, would get me nowhere. Once I calmed down, I turned and – “AHA!” – a help desk! With no one in it… I wandered to another help desk. Also empty.

I walked back and forth between the two desks, but no one ever came.

At this point, I was desperate. I needed to get to the airport. I don’t know what possessed me, but I went up to the next person who read the sign – and they could read it!

They were also going to the airport, and suddenly we were off! But I watched the clock tick down and I just knew – I wouldn’t be making my flight. 
I walked away from the check in desk in a daze. I found myself bawling in the bathroom, utterly ashamed. Dozens of thoughts swirled in my head, and I did the only thing I could think of – called my mom. 

It was 3am in the US, but her phone was on for me – just in case. She answered in a panic, and my crying didn’t help.

Aftering calming me down, my wonderful parents bought me a new ticket to Lisbon. And after a few minutes, I was off to the check in desk, not quite recovered but moving forward anyway.

There are so many mistakes and ways many of these things could have been prevented – travel insurance is a big one, but so is relying less on technology, being more open to asking questions, and recognizing that mistakes will happen no matter how well seasoned you are. No one is exempt from screw ups, mistakes, or hiccups in life.

👉 Find out how much it costs to protect your trip today with Safety Wing travel insurance.

26. Learning to Plan Contingencies

by Martha of May Cause Wanderlust

My vacation story is like one of those horror movies when you know what’s going to happen; you can see the bad stuff coming, but can’t stop it from happening!

I had been meticulously planning a trip to a dream destination (to Peru, where I was going to hike the Inca Trail). But what I didn’t plan well was the flights.

I was flying from London to Lima via Amsterdam with a connection time of only 55 minutes.  It crossed my mind that this might not be enough time.

But I told myself the airline wouldn’t sell a flight with a high chance of missing the connection. Right?

Wrong.

When take-off from London was delayed, the sense of dread set in. 

Other passengers spoke to flight staff, who made calls to find out their connecting gate numbers, so they could head straight there when we landed.

Great, I thought: that will help me too!

But I couldn’t get the attendants’ attention to ask if they could do the same for me.

When I eventually did, they said it was too late, they could no longer make any calls.  Argh!

We landed 30 minutes late, so I got off the plane as quickly as I could, rushing past other passengers. I found out where my gate was and I realised it was the other side of the airport.

So I’m running through Schiphol, which happens to be the 3^rd busiest airport in Europe – and huge!  I have to pause to use my asthma inhaler, but I keep running!

Finally, I get to the gate with 5 minutes to spare, so I think I’ve made it!  BUT the gate staff tell me that they can’t let me onboard.  I can see the plane, but I’m too late to board it. 

I had one of those The Graduate moments, hands on the glass, screaming ‘noooo!’.

I realised that instead of spending the first 24 hours of my dream trip in Lima, I’d be spending it at an airport hotel (some soulless place off the motorway; not even in Amsterdam!). And not only that, but I would be without my belongings, because it was too complicated to retrieve my bag from the system.  

So the lesson is, allow more time for connecting flights than you think you need – and always pack some essentials and a change of clothes in your carry-on, just in case! 

👉 Find out how much it costs to protect your trip today with Safety Wing travel insurance.

27. Why You Need the right proof of vaccination

By Adam McConnaughhay of CartagenaExplorer.com

My wife and I had planned our honeymoon in Jamaica, a place we had both never been and wanted to see.  

We knew one of the requirements to enter Jamaica and board the flight from Colombia was having proof of having the Yellow Fever vaccine, which we both had.

Or so we thought.  

Turns out my wife’s vaccine record was only acceptable for domestic use, not international travel.  The airline would not let us board our flight from Cartagena to Montego Bay.  Our flight happened to be very early in the morning as well.

Our only option was to wait several hours and go to the health office after they opened to have her vaccine documentation transcribed from the little white piece of paper to the little yellow WHO book that was required.  

Fortunately, we were able to get a flight to Kingston later in the day and still reach our destination in Port Antonio, although we did have to pay quite a hefty difference in cost.

We ended up still having a terrific time in Jamaica, but definitely learned the lesson to make sure you always have your travel documents, whatever they may be in order.  

Not to mention, be sure to keep those little yellow vaccine booklets safely guarded!

👉 Find out how much it costs to protect your trip today with Safety Wing travel insurance.

28. Getting Dengue Fever in Indonesia

by Sanne of Spend Life Traveling

I finally made it to Bali.

The island had been on my bucket list for a while so I was excited to get there and explore as much as I could.

Ubud was our last stop, where we stayed in a cute but very basic hotel. No air conditioning, simple rooms, an open-air lounge / breakfast area, and a lot of mosquitoes.

I love trying local street food, which we did wherever we could find it, and we walked a lot, in the heat. So when I started feeling a bit sick I wasn’t surprised.

Probably a minor heat stroke or maybe a mild case of food poisoning.

My time in Ubud was unfortunately up, my friend flew home and I flew to Bandung, the capital of West Java.

I remember feeling exhausted. But hey, it was hot in Bali, and traveling can wear you out.

In Bandung I was meeting my family, who flew to Indonesia to attend my uncle’s wedding. And, since my family isn’t into roughing it when traveling, I met them in a comfortable 4-star hotel.

And that is when I collapsed. I literally, and I’m in my 30s so this is a little embarrassing, fell into my mother’s arms. I just felt so tired!

So, in the comfortable air conditioned hotel room I fell asleep, looking forward to feeling like myself again the next morning.

But that didn’t happen. The next morning I couldn’t get out of bed. Walking felt like someone was sticking needles into my feet.

The hotel staff was incredible and got a doctor to come to my room, to run some tests. 

Dengue fever was the diagnosis.

Well ok. I’ve lived in the Caribbean and know quite a few stories of people who had dengue fever. A few days in bed, feeling extremely tired and unable to do anything.

I can deal with that, especially in a comfortable hotel, surrounded by family!

Well, no. Apparently there is a type of dengue fever called dengue hemorrhagic fever, which is a lot more serious and potentially lethal.

And unfortunately that’s what I had.

Although I didn’t know that yet. I insisted on just staying in bed, because I was convinced I’d feel better soon.

The next day I definitely didn’t feel better and the hotel staff, thankfully, convinced me to take another blood test. The results weren’t good and I was taken to the hospital.

I remember getting out of bed, determined to walk out of the hotel myself. But I literally couldn’t walk. It hurt too much. So, I was put into a wheelchair and taken to the hospital.

I spent 5 days in the hospital initially getting worse, with the doctor’s faces looking more and more serious.

But then all of a sudden things got better. The blood tests I had to do twice a day finally showed improvement and I started to feel a little stronger again.

My Visa was about to expire and I had no idea if a hospital stay was a valid reason to overstay a Visa. So, with some convincing I got my doctor to discharge me and I flew home the next day. 

But it took several months before I felt completely back to normal! 

And yes, I now know that dengue fever really isn’t something to take lightly.

If you go to Bali or anywhere else where there is dengue fever, be careful, use plenty of mosquito repellant and cover up when you can!

👉 Find out how much it costs to protect your trip today with Safety Wing travel insurance.

29. Malaria on Mount Bintumani

By Alissa of Exploringwild.com 

The nausea started a few minutes after summiting the tallest mountain in Sierra Leone. Then the fever kicked in.

As I slipped and slid down the steep path behind the local guide, all I could think about was reaching the village where my luggage – and an emergency malaria test kit and treatment – would be waiting.

In the village I pitched my little tent and collapsed inside, zipping the door closed against the ring of staring children. I squeezed a few drops of bright red blood from my pricked finger onto the test strip and waited.

A solid pink line gradually appeared and confirmed I had malaria, the West African variety, known to kill within 24 hours.

I was at least a day away from medical care. I popped the first of the three treatment pills I’d been carrying since Uganda and passed out in a feverish haze.

The next morning, a lovely group of American NGO workers offered me a seat in their Land Cruiser on the way back to civilization. I gladly accepted, avoiding a long and bumpy ride on the back of a motorbike.

The journey still took all day and included a flat tire, but at least there was air conditioning and good company.

Back in Makeni they took me into their house and invited me to stay until I felt better. After months of traveling solo amidst the unfamiliar cultures of Africa, the social and cultural connection was medicine for my soul as well as my health. The malaria treatment worked, and in three days I was ready to continue my journey toward Liberia. 

Though I had felt awful, my new friends agreed my malaria case was relatively mild.

This is probably because I was already taking prophylactics (which are not 100% effective) and started treatment right away.

Test kits and treatment are available at any local pharmacy in sub-Saharan Africa, and I’m so glad I thought to buy them before traveling to a remote area.

For the millions who die from malaria each year, the story doesn’t end nearly so well. As a traveler it can be uncomfortable to have privileges and access that local people don’t. I was fortunate to recover fully, make new friends in the process, and gain new awareness of a preventable disease that affects so many people around the world.

👉 Find out how much it costs to protect your trip today with Safety Wing travel insurance.

30. When Water Sports Go Wrong

by Lara of The Best Travel Gifts

It was a beautiful sunny morning. I had just finished my free (and delicious) breakfast at the hostel at San Pedro La Laguna (Guatemala), and I was loving my solo trip through Central America.

Not quite the beginning of a typical horror story right? (Unless you’ve already checked the photo then you might have an idea of where this story is going).

On this beautiful morning, me and two guys decided we were going to jump on the Blob that was on the lake in front of the hostel.  It’s this thing where one person jumps on one end of the Blob and then launches the other person into the water.

Except, they never had a chance to jump.

Because as soon as I landed I noticed something was wrong with my back.

Luckily, I could still feel and move my toes, which I took as a sign that I wasn’t paralyzed yet. But I was still laying on a big air bag, on a lake, and with something not feeling alright with my back.

Miraculously, a group of men was able to get me on this wooden shelf and on the shore safely. I say miraculously because they were in boats, canoes, and on this air thingy that moved around. If I had fallen in the water or if I had accidentally made a wrong move…

Well, I don’t even want to think of what might have happened.

I was taken to a hospital about two and a half hours away, through mountains and hairpin turns.

After an MRI scan, they told me I had a compression fracture in my T12 vertebra and that I needed surgery, immediately.

Long story short, I had the surgery there. They placed some rods and screws to stabilize the fracture.

And again, luckily, everything went well.

Obviously, I was still in a lot of pain. I had also lost a lot of blood and needed a blood transfusion after the surgery. But the surgery had been successful.

I consider myself blessed for the people who were around me that day and for the fact that at the time of writing this (about two and a half years after my jump), I am actually training to run a marathon!

Moral of the story: Avoid blobs. Or at least find out if there’s proper jumping procedure.

👉 Find out how much it costs to protect your trip today with Safety Wing travel insurance.

Tripping Up Podcast

Want more travel horror stories?

Check out my podcast: Tripping Up!

Tripping Up is a comedy travel podcast that celebrates the times when travel goes off the rails.

I’ve chatted with travel writers, podcasters, and bloggers about their vacation horror stories. Together, we’ve laughed our way through hippo attacks, losing contacts in the middle of a mountain climb, getting caught at Everest during an earthquake, and much more!

Join me on Tripping Up, where you’ll also find out what weird souvenirs people have collected in their travels.

Find Tripping Up wherever fine podcasts are given away for free!

Travel Insurance

No one wants things to go wrong on their trip, but sometimes accidents happen – as you can tell from these scary vacation stories.

When things don’t go to plan, have Safety Wing on your side. You don’t need the added stress of dealing with medical bills, lost luggage, or delayed flights when things are going awry. You need a travel insurance provider you can trust to get you through the stress and be accessible 24/7.

Whether you need short-term, long-term or budget-friendly coverage, Safety Wing has your back.

I’ve always been able to rely on them when I’m sick abroad, have had flight cancellations, or had something lost/stolen (these things do happen!). I even used them to help me out when I have my travel horror story experience of getting a parasite in Morocco.

Find out how much it costs to protect your trip today with Safety Wing travel insurance.

Wrap Up of Travel Horror Stories

Whew! I’m glad not all of those scary travel stories came from me.

Sometimes travel really can go horribly wrong. But that’s not a reason to stop travelling.

For every travel horror story and lost piece of luggage, there are 10 amazing stories of seeing wild penguins, skydiving, or visiting a miraculous place.

I sort of love the messy moments of travel. Those are the times that help test your resilience and prove that you’re stronger than you think you are.

Plus, they make amazing cocktail party anecdotes!

Do you have a travel horror story? Share it with me in the comments!

👉 Find out how much it costs to protect your trip today with Safety Wing travel insurance.

Related Posts:

• How to Find a Doctor While Travelling
• The Time I Spent $400 on Taxis in Dunedin
• 10 Mistakes First-Time Solo Travelers Make
• Benefits of Travelling Alone: 20 Pros and Cons of Solo Travel

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