7 travel mistakes we made along the way

7 travel mistakes we made along the way

Experienced travelers are a special breed. You can pack a backpack in 60 seconds, sleep well on an airport floor and use nasty toilets with all the nonchalance of a Tory politician cutting public money. They can also turn into endless bores (“When I was in Kenya…” ad infinitum), rush around countries just to tick boxes, and fall prey to lazy complacency. At Atlas & Boots we share stories and advice that are read by over 50,000 people every month, but that doesn't mean we don't make travel mistakes from time to time. Here's what we've done wrong on our trip so far.

1. Be carefree with our initial budget

The most expensive meal of our entire trip was in our first week of travel. Sure, we were excited and had reason to celebrate, and yes, the gorgeous weather and utter beauty of Vanuatu lulled us into a honeymoon frenzy, but spending £60 ($80) on a decidedly mediocre meal at Breakas Beach Resort was completely unnecessary.

We always knew our budget would get tighter as the trip progressed (an assumption that was indeed correct), but we shouldn't have taken that as license to spend so freely in the beginning. It's important to keep costs low from the start.

2. Offering papaya in Colombia

We learned the hard way that there are two rules to live by on the streets of Colombia. At first, do not offer papaya. Secondly, if papaya is offered, someone must accept it. As explained in 26 Dos and Don'ts of Cartagena, in this case papaya is synonymous with your valuables. Do not sling a camera or tote bag over your shoulder, do not have a wallet sticking out of the top of your bag, or leave your bags unattended. This is all standard stuff, but we didn't realize how much we needed to subscribe to it.

We stayed in a seedy part of Cartagena and, as this article suggests, my bag was taken from me on our third night in Colombia. It was slung over my body, but the guy yanked hard on it twice, ripped the strap, and ran to the waiting motorcycle. Peter ran after him and managed to retrieve the bag (we'll leave that story for another post), so overall no damage was done.

In fact, it was a timely reminder for us to be careful for the rest of our trip. From then on, I used zipper bags instead of a tote, took a taxi after dark when the area seemed unsafe, and wore jeans and t-shirts instead of sundresses or anything that might suggest we were wealthier than we actually were. The lesson here is not to become complacent, even if you have walked dark city streets all over the world.

3. Not getting a travel credit card

Applying for a travel credit card can be a hassle, but it's really worth it. Before we left, I applied for the Halifax Clarity Card. Unfortunately, my application was rejected because I had never had a credit card before (well, excuse me for being in debt). Peter didn't have enough time to apply, so we went with a credit card that only had no fees for purchases, as opposed to cash withdrawals. A 3% fee on the £20,000 ($31,000) we saved for a year of travel is £600 ($950), so that was a steep price. My advice would be to start researching and applying well before you leave. It would be wise to start collecting your airline miles too. Learn more about travel credit cards and airline credit cards at Money Saving Expert.

4. Visiting Patagonia at the wrong time of year

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In May of this year we raced through Chile trying to reach Patagonia before it closed for the winter. Traditional wisdom (guidebooks, forums) told us that while it wouldn't be ideal to visit the area in May, it would be possible. Unfortunately, due to the pervasive and relentless fog, we didn't see any of Torres del Paine, Cerro Torre or Fitz Roy, some of the most dramatic mountains in Patagonia.

Perhaps this was just bad luck as other visitors in the area saw some sights, but in hindsight we shouldn't have visited out of season. Shoulder season has always worked well for us (lower prices, fewer tourists), but off season was a step too far. From now on we'll stick to better months, especially when seeing weather-dependent sights.

5. Not being more confident about my vegetarianism

I haven't eaten meat since I was 13 (after seeing cows killed in Bangladesh...it was the degreasing of the cows that did that), so you can imagine my predicament when I visit some of the most carnivorous countries in the world. Maybe it's my I-don't-want-any-riot Britishness or maybe it's the you-don't-understand Muslim vegetarians!!! Reaction I received from Muslim relatives when I was young, but I was always a bit embarrassed that I didn't eat meat.

In South America, this manifested itself in choosing vegetarian dishes at restaurants rather than asking for recommendations or requesting customized dishes. This meant I often ended up with a bland, overly cheesy pizza instead of the many delicious dishes on offer, many of which could have been adapted for vegetarians.

6. Become complacent about logistics

We knocked on the door as loudly as our British reserve would allow. A smartly dressed waitress opened the door and told us they were still preparing the tables. I glanced at the time. It was 8:05 p.m. I explained that we had a reservation for 8 p.m. She apologized and pointed to a table on the patio. Confused we sat and waited, grumbling under our breath about how we weren't even offered a drink.

At 8:20 p.m. Peter asked when the table would be ready. The waitress smiled and said, “Just a few minutes.” At that moment, amidst our utter bewilderment, a single thought emerged: in the three days since our arrival in Asuncion from Montevideo, Uruguay, we had had no organized tours or meetings. Could it be that we were in the wrong time zone?

When they finally let us into the restaurant, I took a look at their checkout computer. In fact it was 7:25 p.m. We showed up 25 minutes before their opening time and 55 minutes before our reservation! Since we were a relatively short distance from Montevideo and traveling by bus, we hadn't thought to check the time zone. We were operating an hour ahead the entire time. In broken Spanish, we apologized profusely to the waitress and vowed never to make the same mistake again.

7. Don't ask nicely

The worst thing about that night was that we had changed hostels. Our first was perfectly fine – clean, warm showers, helpful staff – but it was a 10-minute walk into the center of Baños, Ecuador and we wanted to be closer. The Santa Cruz Hostel appeared to be a well-equipped place to stay. We were given a room right next to the communal fireplace, but they said it would close at 11pm "exclusively and without exceptions".

Add the obnoxiously loudest American we've ever met, three shrill Valley girls, and a fire pit that certainly didn't close at 11 p.m., and you have a recipe for the worst night's sleep of our lives. In the early hours of the morning, Peter's patience broke and he stormed out to tell them to calm down as there were other people in the hostel.

As a former teacher, Peter immediately realized his mistake. Instead of calming down, they started imitating him like children, which I'm sure they thought were incredibly funny comments ("Hey guys, can you be quiet? I'm fucking my girlfriend.") Why they thought it was offensive he sounds like a stud I'll never know...

The moral is of course nice to ask first.

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