The dumbest travel-related mistake you ever made?
Dec 13, 2017, 3:45 am
#1201
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 1,197
I've got a pretty weak bladder, so I make sure I time using the facilities as well as I can though.
Dec 13, 2017, 3:24 pm
#1202
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: SJC/SFO
Programs: WN A+ CP, UA 1MM/*A Gold, Mar LT Tit, IHG Plat, HH Dia
Posts: 6,285
I have a new dumbest travel mistake for myself. On a trip to an overseas office last year I hung out with my colleagues in the pub attached to the train station on Friday after two weeks of work together. "Don't be late for the train," was at the top of my mind (I have always hated/feared being late for things) so I watched the time carefully during our 90 minutes or so together. My ticket had 7:32pm printed pretty clearly on it. At 7:25 I said my final goodbyes, gathered up my coat and bags, and walked next door to the train station. I stepped onto the platform at 7:30... only to see the train's doors close as I was still 10 strides away and the train accelerate away from the station!
It turns out the train was scheduled to depart at 7:29pm. My ticket did say that, but oddly it was in smaller print than the large "7:32pm", which was the time of day when I bought the ticket earlier in the week. Ridiculous.
It turns out the train was scheduled to depart at 7:29pm. My ticket did say that, but oddly it was in smaller print than the large "7:32pm", which was the time of day when I bought the ticket earlier in the week. Ridiculous.
Dec 14, 2017, 8:17 am
#1203
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: New York suburbs
Posts: 4,211
I often do cross-country roadtrips as a summer vacation. Normally I find cheaper one-way car rentals going west to east, but most recently I found the best deal going east to west. When I did my fuel forecasting, I remembered from the past several years that flat terrain averages ~35 mpg, ~33 mpg for sections at 70-75 mph, plus 10% with a tail wind, and ~26 mpg when driving in the mountains. This time heading west, I started with the baseline 35 mpg, and subtracted 10% from what I expected would be a head wind. So far, so good. I should still have enough gas each day to reach either my hotel for the night or the tour starting spot in the middle of the day.
After leaving Gettysburg on my way to Pittsburgh one evening, I found myself stopping in disbelief at a rest area on I-76 somewhere in central PA. I thought I had enough fuel to make it to my destination, but my forecast was 150 miles wrong. That's when I realized what had happened. I had forgot about the Appalachian Mountains. Since I normally head east on these trips, I had neglected to put the 26 mpg at the beginning of the forecast. Had I done it the right way, I would have allotted the time to make the stop. Luckily I had pro-actively pushed my Pittsburgh tour to the next morning when I saw the traffic zoo around Gettysburg.
After leaving Gettysburg on my way to Pittsburgh one evening, I found myself stopping in disbelief at a rest area on I-76 somewhere in central PA. I thought I had enough fuel to make it to my destination, but my forecast was 150 miles wrong. That's when I realized what had happened. I had forgot about the Appalachian Mountains. Since I normally head east on these trips, I had neglected to put the 26 mpg at the beginning of the forecast. Had I done it the right way, I would have allotted the time to make the stop. Luckily I had pro-actively pushed my Pittsburgh tour to the next morning when I saw the traffic zoo around Gettysburg.
Dec 14, 2017, 9:28 am
#1204
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: SNA
Programs: AA gold, DL Gold, HHonors Diamond, Hyatt Explorist, IHG Plat
Posts: 446
Couple years ago i had a midnight flight on SU from ARN to SVO. In order to maximize efficiency i went online and bought a bus ticket to the airport so i don't have to waste time at the ticket counter. Everything seemed fine except the bus did not show up after 30 mins of waiting. A few locals assured me i was in the right place. After another 15 mins another local informed me that i was in the right place but the bus stopped running over an hour ago. Who would have thought the airport bus would quit running when you need it. So now i am in panic mode ....
i eventually found a train going to the airport. Slightly more expensive than the bus but at this point i just wanted to get to the airport. I barely made it in time despite SU having decided last minute to prepone the flight by 30 mins for no other reason than that they could. The bus company showed Swedish efficiency in refunding the bus fare after an e-mail to them! The story ended fine but not before leaving me with visions of missing the flight.
Moral of the story: don't assume all airport buses run 24 hours!!
i eventually found a train going to the airport. Slightly more expensive than the bus but at this point i just wanted to get to the airport. I barely made it in time despite SU having decided last minute to prepone the flight by 30 mins for no other reason than that they could. The bus company showed Swedish efficiency in refunding the bus fare after an e-mail to them! The story ended fine but not before leaving me with visions of missing the flight.
Moral of the story: don't assume all airport buses run 24 hours!!
Dec 14, 2017, 12:31 pm
#1205
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Trenton NJ
Programs: UA Gold MM, Honors Diamond, Marriott Gold, Hertz President’s Circle
Posts: 3,668
Arrived at the Hampton Inn in Middletown NY where I've stayed a multitude of times to check in. Agent can't find my reservation and I knew I had made one. I looked on my phone at the reservation details and realized what had happened. I was looking at hotels in NYC for a night over the weekend and realized that I needed to book for my work stay in Middletown so I wound up booking a weekend night in Middletown. Unfortunately, hotel was full and they couldn't force a room so I wound up at the Holiday Inn.
Dec 16, 2017, 4:16 pm
#1206
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: The Indo Jungle
Programs: AA EXP, IHG Spire
Posts: 1,319
I often do cross-country roadtrips as a summer vacation. Normally I find cheaper one-way car rentals going west to east, but most recently I found the best deal going east to west. When I did my fuel forecasting, I remembered from the past several years that flat terrain averages ~35 mpg, ~33 mpg for sections at 70-75 mph, plus 10% with a tail wind, and ~26 mpg when driving in the mountains. This time heading west, I started with the baseline 35 mpg, and subtracted 10% from what I expected would be a head wind. So far, so good. I should still have enough gas each day to reach either my hotel for the night or the tour starting spot in the middle of the day.
After leaving Gettysburg on my way to Pittsburgh one evening, I found myself stopping in disbelief at a rest area on I-76 somewhere in central PA. I thought I had enough fuel to make it to my destination, but my forecast was 150 miles wrong. That's when I realized what had happened. I had forgot about the Appalachian Mountains. Since I normally head east on these trips, I had neglected to put the 26 mpg at the beginning of the forecast. Had I done it the right way, I would have allotted the time to make the stop. Luckily I had pro-actively pushed my Pittsburgh tour to the next morning when I saw the traffic zoo around Gettysburg.
After leaving Gettysburg on my way to Pittsburgh one evening, I found myself stopping in disbelief at a rest area on I-76 somewhere in central PA. I thought I had enough fuel to make it to my destination, but my forecast was 150 miles wrong. That's when I realized what had happened. I had forgot about the Appalachian Mountains. Since I normally head east on these trips, I had neglected to put the 26 mpg at the beginning of the forecast. Had I done it the right way, I would have allotted the time to make the stop. Luckily I had pro-actively pushed my Pittsburgh tour to the next morning when I saw the traffic zoo around Gettysburg.
Your road trips sound great though, I've only down west-east once. Wife has done it by almost every possible interstate route.
Dec 16, 2017, 4:19 pm
#1207
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: SFO/TPA
Programs: DL PM
Posts: 199
The biggest travel mistake I made was renting a car at LHR. The second mistake was insisting on an automatic transmission (because stick and car on "wrong" side). The only automatic they had was a Mercedes. A really big Mercedes. It was huge, and grew bigger the further into the Cotswolds we got. When I returned it, the agent looked at it and asked if I'd taken it off-roading.
Another mistake also involved an ill-advised car rental. Again, another way-too-big-for-Europe car, this one with a UK GPS which I foolishly relied on to guide me to CDG. At one point she guided me straight into a taxi line at Gare du Nord. (Paris cab drivers have no sense of humor, it turns out.)
Earlier in the week, that same evil British GPS lady tried to get me to drive to Versailles from the 6th arrondissement by way of the Arc de Triomphe. Even I'm not that stupid. I attribute her passive aggression to the longstanding feud between England and France.
I know now, of course, many years later, that unlike the U.S., you can easily get out of most European airports by train and rent your car out near the sheep and storks.
Another mistake also involved an ill-advised car rental. Again, another way-too-big-for-Europe car, this one with a UK GPS which I foolishly relied on to guide me to CDG. At one point she guided me straight into a taxi line at Gare du Nord. (Paris cab drivers have no sense of humor, it turns out.)
Earlier in the week, that same evil British GPS lady tried to get me to drive to Versailles from the 6th arrondissement by way of the Arc de Triomphe. Even I'm not that stupid. I attribute her passive aggression to the longstanding feud between England and France.
I know now, of course, many years later, that unlike the U.S., you can easily get out of most European airports by train and rent your car out near the sheep and storks.
Dec 17, 2017, 2:57 pm
#1208
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: GIG - YYC - SVO
Programs: Lost it all and don't care
Posts: 945
It's not a mistake unless you do it a second time. That's how I look at it.
Here's mine...........
Air Canada has/had what I call the "Tombstone Seat"............on their A321's in row 12,13 or 14D (I can't remember) the seat in front of you is a actually crew seat with a 4' high wall about 2' wide, that looks like an exaggerated grave marker. You cannot stretch your feet out due to it's placement, and you stare at a grey plastic wall for your entire journey. Worse than a bulkhead could ever be. I booked it a second time on an oversold 4 hour flight without realizing it. As it was the last flight of the day I would have voluntarily deplaned myself if there were options at the time.
Seat Guru now shows a blank space in that area, so they may have removed it the seat I am referring to.
Here's mine...........
Air Canada has/had what I call the "Tombstone Seat"............on their A321's in row 12,13 or 14D (I can't remember) the seat in front of you is a actually crew seat with a 4' high wall about 2' wide, that looks like an exaggerated grave marker. You cannot stretch your feet out due to it's placement, and you stare at a grey plastic wall for your entire journey. Worse than a bulkhead could ever be. I booked it a second time on an oversold 4 hour flight without realizing it. As it was the last flight of the day I would have voluntarily deplaned myself if there were options at the time.
Seat Guru now shows a blank space in that area, so they may have removed it the seat I am referring to.
Last edited by KDS777; Dec 17, 2017 at 3:09 pm
Dec 21, 2017, 9:42 pm
#1209
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Sydney Australia
Programs: No programs & No Points!!!
Posts: 14,222
Was discussing booking a 3 day staycation in Sydney and husband and I were both searching online for where to stay. My husband said we could stay at Sydney Park Hyatt for $1400 total and said we should book it. I told him I thought he was wrong and it would be $1400 a night. He said nope, it is definitely 3 nights for $1400. I got sort of excited and asked him to check again before booking this mistake and he said... oh, you're right, that's per night. Rookie error.
Dec 22, 2017, 4:14 am
#1210
Join Date: Dec 2008
Programs: DL Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 325
Air Canada has/had what I call the "Tombstone Seat"............on their A321's in row 12,13 or 14D (I can't remember) the seat in front of you is a actually crew seat with a 4' high wall about 2' wide, that looks like an exaggerated grave marker. You cannot stretch your feet out due to it's placement, and you stare at a grey plastic wall for your entire journey. Worse than a bulkhead could ever be.
Dec 22, 2017, 5:05 am
#1211
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: USA, Massachusetts
Posts: 3
my story is not so funny, but instructive.
Last year I flew to visit my friend in Ukraine through the airport Borispol. He warned me that it was necessary to pack a suitcase, or else they were stealing things ... I did not have anything valuable, only souvenirs. They were in small boxes. So I hung the lock on the bag and flew.
When I took my suitcase - everything was fine with it, the lock is on its place. Already at home, I open my suitcase, and get presents, but the boxes were empty! yes, the souverirs were stolen! They took souvenirs and left boxes from them! and it turns out that thieves at the airport know how to open a suitcase without damaging the lock!
Last year I flew to visit my friend in Ukraine through the airport Borispol. He warned me that it was necessary to pack a suitcase, or else they were stealing things ... I did not have anything valuable, only souvenirs. They were in small boxes. So I hung the lock on the bag and flew.
When I took my suitcase - everything was fine with it, the lock is on its place. Already at home, I open my suitcase, and get presents, but the boxes were empty! yes, the souverirs were stolen! They took souvenirs and left boxes from them! and it turns out that thieves at the airport know how to open a suitcase without damaging the lock!
Dec 22, 2017, 3:13 pm
#1212
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 38,417
my story is not so funny, but instructive.
Last year I flew to visit my friend in Ukraine through the airport Borispol. He warned me that it was necessary to pack a suitcase, or else they were stealing things ... I did not have anything valuable, only souvenirs. They were in small boxes. So I hung the lock on the bag and flew.
When I took my suitcase - everything was fine with it, the lock is on its place. Already at home, I open my suitcase, and get presents, but the boxes were empty! yes, the souverirs were stolen! They took souvenirs and left boxes from them! and it turns out that thieves at the airport know how to open a suitcase without damaging the lock!
Last year I flew to visit my friend in Ukraine through the airport Borispol. He warned me that it was necessary to pack a suitcase, or else they were stealing things ... I did not have anything valuable, only souvenirs. They were in small boxes. So I hung the lock on the bag and flew.
When I took my suitcase - everything was fine with it, the lock is on its place. Already at home, I open my suitcase, and get presents, but the boxes were empty! yes, the souverirs were stolen! They took souvenirs and left boxes from them! and it turns out that thieves at the airport know how to open a suitcase without damaging the lock!
Dec 22, 2017, 4:43 pm
#1213
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: SJC/SFO
Programs: WN A+ CP, UA 1MM/*A Gold, Mar LT Tit, IHG Plat, HH Dia
Posts: 6,285
Was discussing booking a 3 day staycation in Sydney and husband and I were both searching online for where to stay. My husband said we could stay at Sydney Park Hyatt for $1400 total and said we should book it. I told him I thought he was wrong and it would be $1400 a night. He said nope, it is definitely 3 nights for $1400. I got sort of excited and asked him to check again before booking this mistake and he said... oh, you're right, that's per night. Rookie error.
For example, a colleague of mine was offered use of a hotel driver for "$250 US". He understood that as being for the whole week, as it was in a country where that would have been a reasonable rate for 5 days of trips to & from the client site in town, but it was actually per day. He didn't discover that until seeing the hotel bill at the end of the week.
Dec 22, 2017, 5:39 pm
#1214
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: body: A stone's throw from SFO, mind: SE Asia
Programs: Some of this 'n some of that
Posts: 17,263
Traveling with the parents recently: In KL and had a morning flight so after breakfast I booked an Uber and out we went. As we were at LM KL above Sentral it would have been more convenient but double the cost to take the train and we had sufficient time - and I've done this exact plan at this exact hotel many times. Departing the area is full of twists and turns but the direction was wrong and less than 5 minutes after departing, and confirming with google maps that we going northwest, I said: "You know we're going to the airport?!!?"
It was quite a good question as we were in the wrong Uber; neither the driver nor I confirmed the destination prior to setting out. The car's plate had the same 3 letters (WSP) and 2 of 4 numbers were also the same so a cursory glance had me convinced this was my guy. Not being familiar with make/models of cars in Malaysia that part never crossed my mind to double check.
We made our plane after all, but that day's trip to KLIA required taking an Uber AND KLIA Ekpress. - at double the cost plus the charge for booking an Uber and no-showing the assigned driver.
It was quite a good question as we were in the wrong Uber; neither the driver nor I confirmed the destination prior to setting out. The car's plate had the same 3 letters (WSP) and 2 of 4 numbers were also the same so a cursory glance had me convinced this was my guy. Not being familiar with make/models of cars in Malaysia that part never crossed my mind to double check.
We made our plane after all, but that day's trip to KLIA required taking an Uber AND KLIA Ekpress. - at double the cost plus the charge for booking an Uber and no-showing the assigned driver.
Dec 23, 2017, 2:24 pm
#1215
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: New York suburbs
Posts: 4,211
I'm confused about this one? You schedule your trip so tight that stopping 10 minutes to refuel throws everything off?
Your road trips sound great though, I've only down west-east once. Wife has done it by almost every possible interstate route.
It depends on multiple factors. I might start off with a bigger cushion, but things tend to happen randomly at different points in the trip each day that close or even eliminate the gap. Ex tour bus has a group of wheelchair-bound passengers that it takes 5 min each to load and unload at each battlefield monument stop in Gettysburg.
Your road trips sound great though, I've only down west-east once. Wife has done it by almost every possible interstate route.
It depends on multiple factors. I might start off with a bigger cushion, but things tend to happen randomly at different points in the trip each day that close or even eliminate the gap. Ex tour bus has a group of wheelchair-bound passengers that it takes 5 min each to load and unload at each battlefield monument stop in Gettysburg.