These Travel Disasters Taught 15 Travelers Unforgettable Lessons

Travel rarely goes exactly as planned.

Flights get delayed, luggage disappears, phones go missing and, sometimes, a single overlooked detail can throw an entire vacation off course.

We’re not immune to mishaps. USA TODAY staffers shared our worst travel mistakes and the lessons we learned. Then, we asked you to share the worst travel mishaps you’ve experienced – and, more importantly, what you learned from them.

The 15 stories below range from frustrating to funny to downright unbelievable, but each comes with a practical takeaway that could help another traveler avoid the same fate. Consider them hard-earned lessons from people who’ve already made the mistakes, so you don’t have to.

They have been edited for length and clarity.

1. The 10 Minutes That Impacted an Entire Trip

I am 83 and planned a European cruise with one of my granddaughters for her 30th birthday. A delayed flight and missing wheelchair assistance caused me to miss my connection by 10 minutes. I was rebooked without Business Class and arrived in London without sleep. My luggage was also missing until an hour before the ship departed. I had been without sleep for 38 hours and never truly recovered, so I missed most of the cruise sites. Travelocity and British Airways say they owe me no refund for the Business Class portion.

Lesson learned: Never book through a third-party site again. Always use the airline itself. Pack more things in your carry-on, just in case.

— Sherry Cook

2. The ‘Cruise From Hell’

My friend and I had a goal of seeing all 63 National Parks, with only the U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa left. We booked a Royal Caribbean cruise with St. Thomas on the itinerary so we could visit the Virgin Islands National Park. After canceled flights, we flew to Orlando and drove four hours to the port. At check-in, we learned high winds had caused St. Thomas to be dropped. Four days into the seven-day cruise, my wife came down with Type A flu and was quarantined in our small, windowless cabin. We call it the cruise from hell.

Lesson learned: When things go wrong, just accept it and roll with the punches.

— Larry Routt

3. Secure the Bags

My family of four used the ride storage boxes at Six Flags Magic Mountain for our two belt bags. When we got off the ride, they were gone. The bags contained three new iPhones, our rental car key, medication, jewelry, licenses, credit cards and other valuables. We had to unlock and tow our rental car, get new credit cards, address a fraudulent purchase and fly home without IDs. The stolen bags and resulting travel trouble cost us more than $5,000. Six Flags later gave us four annual passes with meal plans, and we returned for a great trip.

Lesson learned: Purchase AppleCare and travel insurance, wear shorts with deep pockets and never use theme-park ride storage boxes.

— Alicia Wiechert

4. Pack a Snack

Get coffee and eat before you fly on Austrian Airlines. We had an early flight from Vienna to Heathrow, and my husband expected coffee on the plane. Nope, only bottled water and chocolate. At Heathrow, we did not stop to eat before getting stuck on a huge Tube line due to a rail outage. Our phones were not working because Verizon had a major U.K. and European outage. My diabetic husband then tripped over our suitcases and was injured. We eventually reached a coffee shop and our bed-and-breakfast, and a local massage helped his injury.

Lesson learned: Don’t push yourself. Stop to eat or carry snacks. Don’t count on foreign airlines to serve coffee.

— Susan Livingood

5. Back Up Your Phone While Traveling

I left my phone on a plane while transferring in Singapore. Although I realized almost immediately, we were past the point of no return. Security was supposed to go to the plane, but it was gone by then. We contacted family in the United States using another phone and had my account locked and disabled, so there was no security issue. We lost our planned day in Singapore dealing with the phone, which was not worth it. I also lost photos from our last morning in the Maldives because they had not backed up.

Lesson learned: Take a moment to collect yourself when traveling. Don’t rush; secure your devices and make sure your photos are backing up.

— Erin F. Chapman

6. Airline Pet Peeves

When traveling home from Europe with my cat, Tugs, I put her in the pet area under the plane. Lufthansa handled everything well. In Washington, however, United Airlines directed me across a busy highway to a separate, strangely unmarked building. A taxi driver circled repeatedly while we searched. Once there, I was told the crate I bought for air travel was substandard. For an extra charge, an employee drilled and modified it. After paying several hundred dollars, the taxi driver rushed me back to the terminal. I barely made the flight, praying Tugs was safely aboard. She was.

Lesson learned: Never assume partner airlines have the same pet-travel policies. Check both websites and maybe even call.

— Susan Palmer

7. Did You Bring an Extra Phone?

During a recent hiking trip in Germany, my iPhone completed a routine operating-system update. Because it happened in a foreign country, Apple required me to reactivate the phone using my Apple ID and password. I had moved all my passwords to a password manager, so the password was impossible to remember. Because my phone was locked, I could not access the password manager either. My phone remained locked for the trip, leaving me without internet or email for about two weeks. Fortunately, my travel companions could navigate and communicate with their phones.

Lesson learned: Make sure you have another way to access key passwords when traveling, especially internationally.

— Larry Castner

8. Allot More Time Than You Need

On the way to Athens for a cruise, delayed wheelchair assistance caused us to miss our Frankfurt connection. Further weather and computer-system delays followed. We boarded another plane by bus and stairs, only to have the flight canceled. Wheelchair assistance then forgot about us, and an employee accused me of trying to steal an idle wheelchair. After 15 hours in the airport, we received hotel vouchers and caught a flight the next morning. Our checked walker did not arrive, but the airline sent it to the cruise’s first island stop, where ship personnel retrieved it for $93.

Lesson learned: A two-hour Frankfurt connection with a mobility-challenged traveler is a no-go. Even 24 hours may not be enough before an overseas cruise.

— John Isakson

9. Bring Backup Documentation

During the middle of the COVID crisis, I arrived at Heathrow from Dulles and was told I could not continue to Abu Dhabi because I did not have the correct COVID card. American Airlines had checked my card in Dulles before I left. Nearby airport hotels were full, so I spent the night in the basement of Heathrow Terminal 3 and returned to Dulles the next day. I had planned to fly to Socotra from the UAE, but the flight only departs once a week, so I have yet to go.

Lesson learned: Don’t fly through Heathrow.

— Harriet Davis

10. Remember Those Time Zones

On a trip to Australia 30 years ago, I forgot about the International Date Line. When we arrived, we made our way to the carrier for a flight to Cairns and presented our travel vouchers. The lovely lady told us she would love to assist, but the plane had left yesterday. It was a rookie mistake, but they took pity on us and rebooked us for a slight charge.

Lesson learned: If you’re doing your own travel planning, read and research enough to make a workable plan.

— Janet Caldwell

11. Stay Near the Airport

In May 1980, we flew from Cozumel to Cancun to catch a United rewards flight home. Our early flight was consolidated, then delayed by a storm. When we landed, we saw our United plane pulling away. It was Memorial Day weekend, and flights were full. After three days, I saw someone hand an Aeromexico agent cash and receive tickets. I pulled out cash, asked again and got seats to Miami. In Miami, United took pity on us and booked us home on our reward tickets through Las Vegas and Honolulu.

Lesson learned: Spend the night near the departure airport before a morning flight, and realize that in some places extra cash may grease the wheels.

— David Cleveland

12. Passport Control Can Be Strenuous

We recently flew into Brussels from Newark. The passport-control line was easily two hours long. I almost passed out from the heat and lack of air conditioning, so I was wheeled to a crew desk. It was ridiculous.

Lesson learned: Do not fly into Brussels from anywhere in the U.S.

— Robert Joyce

13. Be Proactive

We planned to fly to Las Vegas on Christmas morning to surprise our mother for her 92nd birthday. That was the day the entire Southwest system crashed. We waited all day as the departure time changed repeatedly, but the flight never left. She died six weeks later. My wife later flew down and was thankfully at her side when she passed. We will never forget spending Christmas Day on the airport floor waiting for a flight that never happened. We should have switched airlines, but the gate agent kept telling us the flight would leave later.

Lesson learned: Never trust only what the gate agent tells you. Be proactive, not reactive.

— Richard Smylie

14. Stay With the Group

I was separated from our tour group in Venice, Italy. Because of several mistakes on my part, I spent about seven hours unable to regroup.

Lesson learned: Use video on your phone to capture directions given orally about meeting places and times. Use pictures to remember turns on a walk. Keep a dedicated pocket for euros for bathroom entry. On a group trip, have a buddy who will report if you aren’t present before the tour proceeds. Always save the tour leader’s phone number in your phone, not just on cards you might leave behind. Don’t get a new, unfamiliar phone right before a trip.

— Karen Burrell

15. Have a Designated ‘Checker’

Our family had a “trip of a lifetime” planned – 19 of us on an Alaska cruise. We arrived early in Seattle because my father-in-law needed boarding assistance. When I reminded him to have his passport ready, we discovered he had left it at home. We raced after the porter to search his luggage, but it wasn’t there. Fortunately, a helpful check-in agent said a photo of his birth certificate and a government-issued ID would work. A neighbor back home found the birth certificate and sent us a photo, allowing my father-in-law to complete a special document process and board before the ship departed.

Lesson learned: Always read the “know before you go” packet. Before leaving home, make sure everyone has the necessary passports, IDs and paperwork. Keep travel documents together in one place, and if you’re traveling with an elderly family member, designate someone to double-check their documents, medications and important medical information.

— Lori Ott

Reporting by Josh Rivera, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect