People Share Their Worst Travel Experiences, And There Are Some Bad Ones
When preparing for your upcoming trip, it's natural to want to be as prepared as possible. You do your research, double-check your packing list, and plan out your activities so that there's no room for error.
No matter how much you plan, though, there's always a chance that something is going to go wrong. Finding out your parents are getting divorced on your trip to Disney World isn't something you were expecting, but it's definitely something you'll remember!
All Rihanna, All The Time
"Taking a 12-hour bus ride in Serbia while the bus driver played a CD on repeat with Rhianna's Disturbia playing. Every time the chorus came around all I could think of was Seeeerrrbiiiaaa." —Reddit / JfArcher
Not Exactly The Happiest Week On Earth
"My parents got into a huge fight and decided they wanted a divorce on the second day of a week-long vacation at Disney World. It was the most awful week of my life." —Reddit / Capitals21
Bitten In Borneo
"Bitten by a (they say) black widow on my first day in Borneo. The paralysis started on my hand, where I was bitten, and just traveled up and got really scary when it started affecting my breathing. The clinic, and then the ER, gave me paracetamol, which didn't quite deal with the problem at hand.
"At some point, it stopped getting worse. Labored breathing for a day or two, could use my arm within two days, sensation returned in a few months. My face is still a little numb, 1.5 years later." —Reddit / onthebalcony
Who Needs Sleep, Anyway?
"So far it's flying from Vancouver to Melbourne express with a pulled muscle in my back, a toddler with an ear infection, and a husband that can sleep anywhere. Twenty hours travel all up and I got about 45 minutes sleep.
"I was so grumpy when we landed I put our son in my husband's care. I dealt with the luggage and paperwork. Told hubby to not talk to me until I got a shower, food, and a nap." —Reddit / unequivocallyvegan
That's Quite The Wedding Present
"The trip was great for me and everyone else involved until the end. Went to Jamaica with a 40+ person wedding party. When we got back to the States, people started texting in circles that everyone had HOOKWORMS in their feet and legs. Only about 5 people didn't get them and I was one of the lucky few. Some people had the hookworms travel all the way to their knees." —Reddit / EIemenop
The Suitcase Was Still Intact
"France: Drove 2 hours, realized my bag was missing, went back to the airport and it wasn't there, after days of horribly translated and fractured English phone calls, they tell us it's lost. Insurance pays out but we're on an extremely remote island so replacing clothes was very difficult. Bag eventually shows up, I'm ecstatic, open it up and everything is torn to shreds." —Reddit / hiiammaddie
Always Remember To Pack Ear Plugs
"I was sat in the crying kids section one time on an 8-hour flight.
"Within 1 seat of me (forward, back, side, diagonal) there were 5 toddlers and infants. Within 2 seats of me, there were an additional 6. Within 3 seats of me, there were 19 total crying infants and toddlers and none had anything to do with me. They weren't all crying all the time. They took turns. Only about 4–5 or so at any given time so they got better coverage over the 8 hours." —Reddit / noneerror
I Guess It Wasn't A Festival
"Got stuck in a soccer riot in Greece. Walking about when out of nowhere we see a police motorcade full of motorcycles and horses. We thought it must be some sort of festival or parade.
"Eventually we heard singing coming down the block and hundreds of hooligans were marching toward the police. Once we realized what was going on, we tried to leave but it had already started. In trying to escape we got hit with tear gas from the police and found shelter in a random apt building." —Reddit
Dying To Become A Woman
"Was on vacation with my dad in San Diego when I was in 6th grade. Got my period for the first time and freaked out since I didn't think of it being my period and I thought I was dying. I didn't tell my dad and waited until I got home and sobbed to my mom about how I was dying. She had a great laugh." —Reddit / xXBekachuXx
Paralysis In Paris
"Went to Paris with my family while I was still a kid. Got sick, but parents didn't believe me, so I got dragged around the city for half a day until they decided to actually feel my forehead. Turned out I was running a crazy high fever. They took me back to the hotel, I fell asleep, and when I woke up I had full-on sleep paralysis going on, couldn't move a muscle, pretty terrifying experience for a small child, especially because I was alone in a strange city." —Reddit / silencesgolden
Probably Won't Be Returning To Thailand Anytime Soon
"Went to an island off the coast of Thailand, got lost on a motorbike, got drunk, drove motorbike into sewage swamp, limped to hotel, hotel was robbed, banged on lobby door, little Asian man tried to chase with machete, passed out in underwear on a beach chair, feasted on by mosquitos, woke up, got off the island." —Reddit / Cmdr-Keen
A Good Way To See The Countryside
"Bank card stopped working in Vietnam while in Na Trang. Had to get to Hanoi to sort it out, missing everything in between. Only had enough for a third-class train ticket. 36-hour journey." —Reddit / GavinZac
At Least It Makes For A Memorable Story...
"An elderly woman died three seats over from me after 1 hour into a 7-hour flight. Also, I was 12–13 on my first trip back from Europe by myself." —Reddit / Cracker68
Well, Where's The Fun In That?
"About 8 years old, didn't know I had an ear infection starting, became very painful on the plane, managed to see a doctor next day, but couldn't get my head underwater/swim properly all holiday down in Majorca." —Reddit / BottleGoblin
You Could've Swum Your Way Across
"I was in Morocco with my parents and they started fighting. People were looking, it was weird.
"Then my mom stormed off 5 minutes before the boat left to Spain, where our hotel was. We couldn't just leave her, so we had to wait at the dock for multiple hours waiting for her to come back. Then we had to sit there all night because boats didn't go during the night.
"It sucked." —Reddit
Escargot To The Bathroom
"My family and I all took a trip down to South Padre to spend Thanksgiving break in a beach house. The first night of the trip, I decided to be adventurous and try the snails. Around midnight my stomach decided that it was having none of that escargot and spent the next few hours trying to remove all traces of snail from my body. Thanksgiving day was spent alone in a beach house dry-heaving while the rest of my family went out for a pleasant feast." —Reddit / iamintothat
Should've Listened To Their Daughter
"In-laws went to Mexico for their 25th anniversary, I specifically told them not to leave the resort or drink the water...they did both.
"Practically got kidnapped getting onto a boat [by] some locals who said they wanted to show them another resort, they ended up far away from their hotel and had to run miles to their resort after these people demanded money. Then when they got home, they had diarrhea for two weeks from drinking the water." —Reddit / AmandaJoye
A Quick Detour
"Was in Germany a few years back when that volcano in Iceland erupted, and European countries closed their airports. Had to go through Poland and Baltic countries with Polish bus drivers who couldn't speak English, while watching Polish-dubbed Forrest Gump on a loop for 24 hours." —Reddit / kortevakio
They Aren't Kidding When They Say "Don't Drink The Water"
"I was backpacking through South Asia when one night I ran out of bottled water. I had been severely warned not to drink ANY tap water. So the place I was staying at had a watercooler thing and I thought, 'Hey, one glass won't hurt, right?' WRONG. Ended up going to the bathroom thirty times in one night, almost died of dehydration." —Reddit / BaconWrappedEnigma
Not The Romantic Hawaiian Getaway You Planned On
"My ex-boyfriend and I had booked a trip to Hawaii about 4 months in advance. We broke up two months before the vacation. We tried to be amicable and just go and try to have fun even though things were difficult between us.
"The hotel messed up and booked us in a hotel with one bed rather than singles. So I was stuck with my super emotional ex every night bickering about why things will never go right between us/why we're meant for each other. Needless to say, we kind of ruined the trip for our friends." —Reddit
