Travel Gone Wrong

12/05/2016 Off By Emma Gray

Travel can be wonderful, breathtaking, eye opening and even life changing but it can also be tough, challenging and daunting when things go wrong.

When you’re travelling there is a multitude of things that can happen to make your experience less than perfect. This can be as seemingly trivial as a flight delay all the way to being mugged or having an accident.

I’ve travelled to 35 countries so far in my 24 short years and along the way I’ve experienced plenty of mishaps and setbacks. Here’s a few of my top tales of travel gone wrong…

Being stranded at an airport for TWO DAYS

While on a trip to Cyprus our airline went bust and despite being assured our flight had been rescheduled and would be unaffected we ended up stranded in Larnaca Airport for a grand total of two days.

They checked us in, checked in our bags and put us through security to the departures lounge before delaying our flight for 11 hours, then another 4, then another 5 etc etc. We couldn’t leave the airport and had no other choice than to sit and wait for alternative arrangements to be made for us.


Eventually we were flown to London Gatwick despite having been bound for Glasgow International (more than 400 miles away!) and were told our only way home was on a 10 hour coach journey. Unsurprisingly we declined and booked ourselves another flight to Glasgow and were reimbursed months later.

Having my phone stolen

It was the first night of my holiday with friends and I had my phone tucked away in the zipped back pocket of my handbag thinking it would be perfectly safe there. It wasn’t.

When I returned to my apartment that night my phone was gone although all the other contents of my handbag were there.

iPhone Screen

I attempted to report it to the police but they insisted I needed to pay for a translator to obtain a police report to claim it on my travel insurance despite the fact that they spoke perfect English. I had to cut my losses on that one, remain without my phone for the remainder of my trip and buy a new one out of my own pocket when I got back.

Having my bank card swallowed by an ATM and my credit card cut off

At an ATM in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam I took out some cash but the machine swallowed up my card. Not a huge problem I thought as I phoned my bank to cancel the card and knew I still had my credit card with me which would suffice.

Bank Cards

On the last night of my trip as I went to pay the bill my credit card was declined. The bank had accidently cut off both my cards and I had NO way to obtain money. Disaster!

Luckily I had enough cash from my casino winnings to pay the bill and get home in one piece.

The most important thing to remember is not to let a mishap or change of plans ruin your travel experience! What tales of travel gone wrong do you have to share?!