10 things to avoid when traveling

6 min readOct 17, 2023

Traveling the right way will save you a lot of embarrassment. But, unfortunately, many novice travelers often end up making mistakes when visiting a new place. From throwing garbage on the street, forgetting to carry a passport at all times, feeding wildlife, to disrespecting local culture, the list of travel mistakes is endless.

With the advent of digital technology, the world is interconnected. Since every resource is available on the internet, it will be a grave mistake not to research your trip destination.

GloboTreks.com reports that,

It is common to make a few careless mistakes when traveling and exploring the unknown. But sometimes, these mistakes can turn your trip into a disappointing and money-wasting experience.

So, are you ready to go for that highly anticipated trip? Here are the basic things not to do when traveling.

Ten Things to Avoid When Traveling

Here is the list of the ten most common mistakes made by travelers.

Overpacking

Over-packing is a problem faced by almost every non-seasoned traveler.

Pack only what you need and know you’ll use, but not many travelers know what they would need. To solve this, you’d need to research the place, length of stay, local culture, and weather conditions.

There’s no point in paying extra for accommodating your heavy luggage on the flight. Moreover, ending up using only 2 out of 10 clothes you’ve packed throughout the trip.

You can travel light and easy with these tips.

Pack anti-stink clothes like merino wool, polygene that you can re-wear multiple times.
Plan an outfit for every day.
Pack multipurpose shoes like snickers or travel boots.
Don’t pack lavish clothing if you aren’t planning to party at any point.
Pack clothes that go together to minimize mismatches.
Do laundry whenever possible.
Once fully packed, review everything you have and try to reduce the load a little bit more.

Exchanging cash at the airport

Exchanging cash at the airport is ideally a bad idea because you end up paying a hefty charge or exchange fee anywhere from $5 to $15, and the exchange rate your get can be 7 to 15 percent worse than the standard bank rate.

Exchange rates are incredibly higher at the airport since they assume you will need money as soon as you land in a new country.

The best way to avoid this is by carrying your international debit card so you can retrieve local currency after stepping out of the airport or contact a reliable exchange through your local guide or friend to get the best rates.

However, many non-seasoned travelers do not know this fact, and they end up paying the hefty fee at the airport!

Skipping travel insurance

Travel insurance is a lifesaver, but not many young travelers consider buying insurance before visiting a new place.

It not only acts as a safety net against the risk of incurring unforeseen medical expenses but also safeguards against other travel-related emergencies. From rescue and emergency medical needs, injuries, flight cancellation, luggage theft, to even personal liability (damage inflicted by you to the third party -person or property), travel insurance will cover you for almost everything.

If it makes you secure, what is wrong with spending extra few dollars on travel insurance.

Taking Taxi to everywhere

It’s a known fact that most taxis rip off tourists. So then why do you take taxis everywhere?

Not only do you end paying a significant amount to taxis but also become victims of taxi scams.

Unmarked taxis often take advantage of tourists by taking an unusually longer route, rigging taxi meters to display unfair prices, or in rare cases, kidnap or steal your valuables.

The safest way to get a taxi is to call a taxi company directly or hire a hotel taxi. As the best option, you can book Uber. Most countries have their version of Uber. For instance, Nepal has Uber-like services. You can download the apps like Pathao and Tootle to find cheap rides inside the city.

Ignoring responsible travel

Responsible traveling or ethical traveling should be the top on the list of every traveler.

Wherever you go, be respectful to local customs, culture, nature, and law. Among many things, being mindful of local culture and norms is the most.

Ethical tourism and responsible tourism mean thinking about the consequences of your actions as a tourist on the environment, local people, and local economy.

Throwing litter, defecating on the open space, harassing endangered plants and animals, stealing local landmarks such as stones, shells, etc., are a few of the common mistakes made by novice tourists.

Eating at Touristic Sites

If you don’t mind splurging on delicacies, you can very well eat at expensive places such as tourist sites but if you don’t want to spend a significant budget on food, then eating at lesser-known places is a good idea.

The meal near any major tourist attraction is going to be double the price and half the flavor of what you’ll find elsewhere. So most intelligent travelers find ways to eat locally to savor the most authentic taste while paying only a few dollars.

In places like Bangkok, Thailand, it’s better to eat street food because they’re cheaper and far more tasteful than restaurant meals. The same goes with places like India and Nepal, where the local foods cost almost three times lesser than restaurant foods and taste much better!

Most expensive restaurants rip off tourists because what do tourists know about local food, right?

Check TripAdvisor and other valuable online resources to separate expensive places from quality meal restaurants.

Taking photos without permission

Taking photos of people and places without permission is one of the most common mistakes made by novice travelers.

While there aren’t many restrictions on taking photos of people or places in most countries, certain places put strict restrictions on photographers. For example, Islamic countries do not allow photographs of women, religious artifacts, or preserved sites. In addition, you must take permission before taking photos of temples and Hindu religious sites in most places around India and Nepal.

Taking photos of people inside their homes is a complete No-No. Take proper permission before taking photos to avoid any unforeseen problems.

Overambitious Itinerary

You can’t manage to visit each place inside the city or country in a single trip unless you’re planning to stay for a longer duration, such as 6-months or a year. Unfortunately, most tourists mark their map for potential places to visit, but they forget to consider their itinerary.

Tourists visiting Australia only for a week cannot expect to visit Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide and expect to see many tourist places. Even if they, they’d spend 80% of their time only traveling.

Feeding the wildlife

Feeding wildlife or someone’s pet is a complete No-No, even inside your own country. Many governments put restrictions on carrying food items inside the national park, zoos, and preserved sites to avoid feeding junk and chemical-induced food to wild animals.

For one thing, feeding animals encourages them to get used to humans and depend on us for food, but animals are still animals. If they act erratically or violently, they could be lethally terminated. Another critical factor is that human food isn’t always suitable for consumption by animals.

Don’t litter

This is the most crucial factor of traveling, don’t litter the place! Being a responsible traveler will not only save you from embarrassment but also ensure your fellow countrymen aren’t frowned upon.

Most tourists from third-world countries are frowned upon by popular tourist destinations because they tend to litter places. Unfortunately, this has earned them a bad name.

Try minimizing the amount of waste.
Carry a reusable water bottle.
Carry our garbage with you at all times and dispose of it in a proper place.
Carry a cloth tote bag to carry items instead of plastic bags
Don’t litter water sources such as rivers and seas.
Don’t defecate in open areas such as forests.

Immersing yourself in a new culture and learning how people live in an exciting and essential part of travel. However, be respectful to a foreign culture, place, and people to ensure your travel remains a happy experience.

Check this infographic out for more information.