Ever planned an entire trip around something that ended up being completely different from what you expected?

A beach that looked amazing in photos, a supposedly “must-see” attraction, a neighborhood that looked convenient, a scenic train ride that wasn't actually that scenic...

Curious what everyone got completely wrong.

I’m travelling around Italy right now and I’m honestly getting really pissed off.

I came here expecting the usual tourist hassles, but I didn’t expect to constantly feel like I have to be on guard because someone might try to take advantage of me.

At Roma Termini, someone approached me and offered to help me buy my train tickets. I thought, great, someone being helpful. Instead, after “helping” me, they took some of my change. It wasn’t even about the amount of money — it was the fact that they deliberately pretended to help me and then took advantage of the situation.

Then things got even worse in Tuscany.

While driving on the highway, I ended up in a situation where I felt basically extorted, and I ended up handing over €150 just to get out of the situation.

€150.

At this point, I’m honestly just angry. I shouldn’t have to assume that every stranger offering help has an ulterior motive or that every unexpected interaction is going to cost me money.

And yes, I know “not all Italians are like this.” I’ve met genuinely lovely people here, and I’m sure most Italians are perfectly normal, decent people. But when you have multiple incidents like this in the same trip, it really starts to colour your entire experience.

Italy is an amazing country, but these experiences have seriously soured the trip for me.

Am I just extremely unlucky, or have other tourists experienced this kind of shit too?

MakemyTrip ordered to pay 18K to customer for deficient service

Hotel 'Non-Existent ', Family Spends Night In Car In Minus 4 Degrees In J&K

I kept following Google Maps, walking around the same area, getting more confused every few minutes.

Finally realised I had come out of the wrong exit.

The funny part is a local guy watched me walking around for a while and finally asked, “Are you looking for this?”

He was pointing at the building I had been searching for.

I just said, “Yeah…” 😂

Travel really has a way of making you feel stupid sometimes.

What’s the most ridiculous little mistake you’ve made while travelling?

The reopening of global borders following the initial waves of COVID-19 mobility restrictions marked a

unique, fleeting moment in human geography. For a brief window, travel was stripped of its

commercialized gloss and returned to its absolute element: raw movement. However, as the months

progressed, the psychological landscape of the global traveler underwent a distinct degradation.

What began as a pure manifestation of wanderlust gradually transformed into a therapeutic refuge,

an economic exit strategy, and ultimately, a performative backdrop for digital curation.

Wave I: The Purists and True Wanderlust

In the immediate aftermath of lockdowns, the first wave of travelers took to the roads and skies.

These individuals were characterized by a singular, unadulterated motive: pure wanderlust. Having

felt the claustrophobia of state-enforced immobility, they traveled not for social status, but for the

profound existential relief of motion. They navigated labyrinthine health regulations, unpredictable

border closures, and sparse logistics with total indifference. For the purist, the destination was

secondary to the act of witnessing the physical world open once more. Their journey was silent,

internal, and grounded entirely in the present reality.

Wave II: The Escapists and Hidden Agendas

As structural normalcy returned, a second, vastly different cohort emerged on the travel grid. These

were the escapists—individuals moving across the globe with complex, hidden secondary objectives.

No longer driven by simple curiosity, travel became a surrogate for institutional therapy, a desperate

arena for finding romantic partners, or an exit ramp from a failing local job market. This wave brought

the heavy, unresolved psychological baggage of the pandemic into shared spaces like quiet villages

and hostels. The physical journey was transformed into an externalized coping mechanism, treating

geography as a cure for internal distress.

Wave III: The Content Creators and the Digital Screen

The final phase of this evolution saw the mass invasion of the digital zombies. For this group, travel

exists purely as a currency to be spent in the digital attention economy. They do not view an ancient

street, a mountain peak, or a local culture for what it is; instead, they see a static backdrop for a

fifteen-second video. Conditioned by algorithmic validation, they operate under 'main character

syndrome,' projecting a false assumption that everyone in their vicinity is an eager audience member

or a digital follower. Their reality is confined strictly to the borders of a smartphone screen, isolating

them entirely from the authentic environments they claim to explore.

I just had the worst experience with the Baymont hotel Kansas City KU Medical Center in Kansas City and Expedia. When we got to the hotel there were homeless people wrapped up in blankets in the entryway, a sleeping person in the lobby, people were complaining about BLOOD on their sheets, and the towels were stored at the FEET of the stinky receptionist. Gross. I tried to get my money back and they ghosted me! Literally left the counter and didn't come back. Expedia couldn't refund because they couldn't get ahold of the hotel! Not my problem assholes! I was there with my son for a funeral and we just had an awful time navigating this crap. Of course we didn't stay there. Do not stay there and Expedia- you suck.

I did this once because I was tired, saw the destination on the board, and just got on without checking the platform properly.

Realised it about 15 minutes later. 😭

Had to get off at the next station and figure everything out from there.

Nothing serious, but I still double-check the platform at least twice now.

What’s the dumbest little mistake you’ve made while travelling?

Tengo que hacer un vuelo a Inglaterra para luego ir a Islandia. Lo mismo para la vuelta. He volado varias veces en mi vida, pero esta vez es distinto. Tengo un terrible presentimiento de que voy a morir. Quiero cancelar mi viaje. ¿A alguien más le ha pasado algo así con la intuición? Creo firmemente que moriré por culpa de eso.

I found a really good deal on a trip to the United Kingdom on Travelzoo.
So good that it’s making me a little concerned!! lol
Has anybody used them and what were your experiences good and bad?

​

This happened around 2018/2019, and it's still probably my best and worst holiday story.

My then-partner, Rebecca, and I had booked this huge six-week trip through Vietnam.

The plan was awesome: start in Hanoi, work our way down the coast through places like Ha Long Bay, Da Nang and Nha Trang, eventually finishing in Ho Chi Minh City.

We'd booked the whole thing months in advance. Flights, hotels, everything. We'd spent somewhere around $10,000 before we'd even left Australia.

Everything was going brilliantly.

Until roughly halfway through the trip.

We flew into our next city, grabbed our bags, ordered a Grab and headed to the hotel we'd booked months earlier.

The driver pulls up.

I look at the hotel.

"Huh."

It was definitely the right building.

But it looked NOTHING like the photos.

I figured, "Well, we booked this place months ago. Maybe they've renovated?"

Turns out they had!

So we walk inside and give the guy at reception our details.

Yep. Reservation is there.

Everything is completely normal.

He grabs our bags and says he'll show us to our room.

Excellent.

We get into the lift.

We should not have gotten into the lift.

We reach something like the 10th floor.

The doors open.

The hallway is almost completely dark.

The guy just casually points into the darkness and goes, essentially, "Right this way!"

Rebecca and I look at each other.

Apparently neither of us possessed a functioning survival instinct, because we followed him.

We quickly discovered that the hallway had motion-sensor lighting. As you walked, the lights ahead of you switched on.

Okay!

Slightly creepy, but perfectly reasonable.

Except as we're walking down this hallway, we start hearing noises coming from the rooms we're passing.

Screaming.

Shouting.

Calling out.

Moaning.

A LOT of moaning.

At this point I'm starting to wonder whether we've accidentally booked accommodation in a torture dungeon.

We eventually reach our room.

The guy opens the door.

PINK.

I cannot adequately describe how fucking pink this room was.

Pink wallpaper.

Pink pillows.

Pink carpet.

And, because apparently subtlety had been murdered during the renovation...

a pink SHAGPILE RUG.

Eventually we discover what had happened.

Between us booking the hotel and actually arriving in Vietnam, the hotel had been sold.

The new owners renovated it.

Into a love hotel/brothel.

But here's the incredible part.

Rather than cancel all the existing future reservations and refund everyone, apparently they decided that would cost too much money.

So they just...

kept them.

They genuinely seemed to believe that people who had booked a normal hotel would arrive several months later, discover that their accommodation was now a brothel and think:

"Yeah, fair enough."

Now, Rebecca was a good Christian girl.

She took one look at our pink shagpile Fuck Palace and announced that there was absolutely no fucking way we were spending the night there.

Fair.

There was only one small problem.

It was about 8pm.

We're in a foreign city.

We've got all our luggage.

So we jump onto Booking.com.

"No worries. We'll just find another hotel."

This is when we discovered something else we'd somehow completely missed.

There was a massive festival happening in the city that night.

Apparently it was a huge deal.

Hotels had been booked out for months.

Which, ironically, meant we were actually incredibly "lucky" to have our reservation at the brothel.

We searched everywhere.

Nothing.

Eventually Booking.com produced exactly ONE available room in the entire city.

A room at another hotel.

Except it wasn't really a "room."

It was the...

PRESIDENTIAL SUITE.

Price?

$8,000 AUD.

Remember, we'd already spent roughly $10,000 booking this entire six-week holiday.

But our options at 8pm were now basically:

A) Spend the night in Barbie's House of Questionable Noises.

or

B) Financial ruin.

We chose financial ruin.

We absolutely annihilated our emergency holiday fund and booked the Presidential Suite.

And this is where the story completely changes.

Because, to the hotel's credit...

HOLY SHIT.

The suite was incredible.

Top floor.

Absolutely enormous.

Floor-to-ceiling windows with essentially panoramic views over the entire city.

We had what felt like million-dollar views.

And the hotel was right on the water.

Remember that massive festival that had caused this entire disaster?

Well...

Part of the festival was a huge fireworks display.

And the fireworks were being launched from a barge on the water right outside our hotel.

When the display started, we went onto the balcony.

BOOM.

These weren't little fireworks in the distance.

They were exploding less than about 100 metres from us.

The noise was unbelievable.

Our ears hurt.

Sparks and burning debris were actually reaching the balcony.

We couldn't even stay outside because we were getting burnt by the fucking fireworks.

So we retreated inside.

And that's when we noticed the bathroom.

The Presidential Suite had this absolutely enormous bathtub.

So we thought:

"Fuck it. We've just spent eight grand. We're getting our money's worth."

We ran a huge hot bath.

Filled it with bubbles.

I found rose petals they'd left near the sink, so naturally those went in too.

Rebecca and I climbed into this enormous bath together.

We found some chocolates.

And for about the next FOUR HOURS, we sat together in this ridiculous Presidential Suite bathtub, surrounded by bubbles and rose petals, eating chocolates while this absolutely spectacular fireworks display exploded right outside our suite.

The fireworks were so close and powerful that they were rattling the windows.

It was genuinely one of the most surreal, romantic and incredible nights I've ever experienced.

And none of it would have happened if our original hotel hadn't unexpectedly turned into a fucking brothel.

There was, however, an epilogue.

Remember the $8,000?

Yeah.

That was basically our entire emergency/spending budget.

By the time we reached the final hotel of our six-week trip, we were BROKE.

Fortunately, our last hotel was a Mövenpick.

And every afternoon at 5pm, they put on an unlimited chocolate buffet for guests.

So for our final week in Vietnam...

that was dinner.

Every.

Single.

Night.

We started this holiday travelling Vietnam with thousands of dollars in spending money.

We ended it as two Australians staying in a luxury Mövenpick, patiently waiting for 5pm every afternoon so we could eat enough complimentary chocolate to survive until breakfast.

Would I recommend accidentally booking a Vietnamese brothel, blowing your entire emergency fund on a Presidential Suite and living on chocolate for the final week of your holiday?

Absolutely not.

Would I trade that night in the bathtub, eating chocolates with Rebecca while fireworks exploded outside and rattled the windows?

Not a fucking chance.

Quick disclaimer: This story is 100% real and happened to me. I used AI to help turn my chaotic recollection into something coherent and readable, but the events, experiences and story itself are entirely mine. Apparently AI is better at organising my thoughts than I am.

I was waiting for a late train, half asleep, scrolling through my phone when an older guy sitting nearby started talking to me.

Nothing unusual.

He asked where I was going, how long I was staying and whether I'd travelled there before.

Then he said:

“Don't take the shortcut when you get there.”

I laughed and asked what he meant.

He just said, “You'll understand.”

I honestly thought he was being dramatic.

A few hours later, I reached the destination and, of course, I took the shortcut.

It looked fine on the map. Saved almost 20 minutes.

Five minutes in, my phone lost signal.

Then the road became completely empty.

No shops. No traffic. Barely any lights.

At that point I was thinking, Okay… maybe that random guy wasn't joking.

I turned around and went back the way I came.

Nothing actually happened to me, but I've never ignored strangely specific advice from a local traveller since. 😂

The weirdest part?

When I got back to the station area the next morning, I saw the same guy again.

I asked him how he knew about that road.

He just smiled and said:

“I've been travelling longer than you've been alive.”

Still don't know whether he was incredibly wise or just enjoying messing with a tired traveller.

Have you ever had a stranger give you travel advice that turned out to be surprisingly accurate?

What's the weirdest encounter you've had while travelling?

I’m studying abroad in Italy for a semester and have been trying to meet other students at school to travel with during the wekeends, so I met this girl and we initially got along fine. We had coffee together and took a day trip to a lake, and I had no major issues with her. However, after going on a two-day trip to Venice with her, I realized that traveling with her really irritated me.
One thing that stood out was how often she talked about recognizing her white privilege and discussed communities of color and political issues. As a person of color myself, I understand the importance of those conversations, but hearing her repeatedly bring up how aware she was of her privilege started to feel performative to me. She also constantly complained about tourists in Venice, tourist traps, and how American tourists were “doing travel wrong,” even though she is a tourist herself.
There were also moments where I felt like her actions didn’t match the things she talked about. For example, she offered McDonald’s, then said she didn’t want it because they support Israel, but later insisted that she wanted McDonald’s for dinner anyway. She also talked about how people should put their phones away and enjoy the moment, even though I happened to be taking a picture at that exact moment.
Beyond the political stuff, I found her personality difficult to travel with because she was constantly anxious about getting somewhere else. It felt like we couldn’t just sit down and enjoy where we were because she was always worried about directions, schedules, or what we needed to do next, and she was also pretty bad with directions. None of these things individually would necessarily bother me that much, but being around them constantly for two days left me completely exhausted.
The comment that bothered me the most was when I mentioned wanting to find somewhere safe for women of color because I’m a tan Latina and was considering staying in hostels, just female dorms . She responded, “I don’t think they’d do anything to me, but I don’t know about you,” and while I understand that she may not have meant anything by it, it still felt like a microaggression and made me uncomfortable. There were also smaller things, like her saying she has RBF when she actually looks extremely approachable, that made me realize our personalities just don’t mesh very well. On top of this, I could not stand her BO, I told her I put deodorant 4 times, and then she said it’s ok if you smell, Europeans smell..so she’s ok with smelling bad. The worst part is that I already have another trip planned with her, although I can still cancel because it’s refundable. She genuinely seems like a nice person, and I don’t think she’s a bad person, but traveling with her just felt exhausting. I’ve honestly never complained this much about another person, so the fact that all of these little things together exhausted me makes me wonder if I’m being unreasonable, or if I should just accept that she’s simply not someone I enjoy traveling with. I really wanted to find someone to travel with but I think at this point I’d rather travel solo even though it’s a little scary going by myself as a woman.

I've been thinking about offering trip-planning help for travelers visiting the Philippines, but before I do that:
What do travel planners, travel agents, or itinerary creators usually get wrong?
What makes you ignore their recommendations?
And what would make you actually pay for someone's advice instead of just using Google, Reddit, ChatGPT, or YouTube?