Do You Make these Mistakes When You Travel?

I once spent a month in Bali with my partner. It was the middle of summer and tickets from Japan were going to cost us close to $800 apiece. I started budgeting and stuck to the budget once we got to Bali. NO MATTER WHAT I was going to stick to that budget. That meant, of course, that some of the more pleasant moments were spoiled by my trying to figure out how much the meal would cost and whether that left us enough for the hotel that night.

I bet you can guess what happened. At the end of our trip we had a surplus of money. And, worse, it was already converted to Balinese Rupiah. Which meant, of course, turning it back into Yen would mean we suffered a major loss.

The last week of the trip, we went on a spending spree. Staying at the finest hotels, eating at the top restaurants and buying cheap clothes. We blew through the last of our money, but with so much sadness. My spendthrift habits kept us from enjoying the whole country, the whole trip and one real joy of travel: connection.

Here are seven other common mistakes that can create stress, damage relationships and ultimately wreck your chances of having a great time abroad.

1. Over packing

We’ve heard it from the airports, from frequent fliers and friends, yet we still over pack. The old maxim, pack everything and then leave half at home, still holds true, although I think that it’s easier to eliminate before you start packing. Buy a 45″ case and a mobile office bag (the best on the market, I think, is Eagle Creek’s new line: Velocity. Sexy, smart, superb design. Stick with carry-on.

2. Traveling with The Wrong Person

I met a woman in England once. She was traveling with her boyfriend even though she knew before they left that she didn’t love him anymore. History buff that he was, he already had 46 rolls of film spent on photographing the insides of cathedrals. He had another 54 to take. And girlfriend was maaaad.

3. Packing Too Many Places into a Trip

Timothy Ferriss calls this a “too-weak” (and two weeks for four countries is NOT enough, no). I call it too stupid. Don’t push yourself. You’ll get sick. Or something.

4. Visiting a Place “Just Because”

There are too many places in the world to see that have things in them that will resonate with you. Don’t just visit Paraguay because it’s there. Visit Argentina to see tango. Or China to ride around on a motorcycle. Or India to do yoga. Whatever. Intentional travel is the only way.

5. Thinking You Have a Place Figured Out

“Oh, Paris is gonna be sooooo chic!” Well, it might be. But if you plan to get there and the French will be just so and you’ll look at the Tower and, and, and…

To the degree that you can, study up and then forget everything you learned. Zen-style, baby.

6. Eating the Same Food You Do at Home

I won’t mention her name. But she’s related to me. And we were in Germany. And she only wanted to eat at Subway™. Don’t.

Just don’t.

7. Going Home with Boys on the First Night

Would you do it at home? Okay, then. I did it once. Too many mojitos? Or just bad behavior? I’ll let you be the judge. (Nothing happened, okay?!)

Those are seven travel sins to avoid. Got your own? Leave a comment. Travel faux pas are so fun, right?! Fun to watch, not so fun to do yourself. Avoid them like you would the toilet seats in Korea.

(Just kidding, Korean toilet seats are really cute! They have rotating plastic baggie coverings. When you stand up they shift around so that you get an ostensibly clean sheet of plastic under your bum. Yum!)