Traveling is a thrilling experience for us at every age, but it comes with extensive anxiety and overwhelm due to confusion of planning a trip. Travelers have to deal with myriad problems that occur from external or internal causes. But is it our destiny that we can not overcome? Of course not! Travel planning does not have to be part of your tiredness. You should be tired of things worth it, like walking around on vacation or swimming enormously. Planning travel routes and the overall vacation requires some basic elements to prevent all the chaos and unstructured time-wasting plans.
Here are common travel planning problems and the solutions!
1-Missing Flights
Missing a flight is one of the most common and off-putting problems you have to deal with in a travel planning process. The basic solution is to give yourself enough time to reach the airport or layovers to prevent this problem. But how should we determine enough time? The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recommends that travelers should arrive at the airport 2 hours before domestic flights and 3 hours before international flights. But there is another hint worth considering. If you think you need 2 hours to arrive at the airport, you should definitely leave the house 2.5 hours before to prevent unforeseen and unwanted events.
2-Delay
There is another off-putting problem with missing a flight. The problem is that you definitely can not prevent that from happening… It is the DELAY! If your flight gets delayed on the last day, there are very few things to do. Of course, it is better than missing a flight for personal reasons because there are more solutions. Overall, the first thing you should do to avoid a delayed flight is preferring airlines with a low percentage of delays.
Nevertheless, your flight can still be delayed, so you should visit the TSA personnel at the airport in a situation like this. The agents at the desk will do everything they can to assist you, whether it’s providing information on the delayed status or rebooking you on another flight. Another important reminder here is to never forget to be nice to this TSA personnel because you will never believe how your attitude can change the process. Being aggressive or angry about a situation that nobody can change will only make problems worse.
3-Planning Too Much
Planning a trip and where to visit can seem fun until you realize you have endless options and definitely limited days to stay. We all try to fill up our days unrealistically and expect to see every worth-seeing place in the location. For example, you are planning a travel to Istanbul. The city has myriad spots, and you can not visit all of them in a week. The first thing you should do is define the spots you want most to see and suit your personal preferences so the interest you. Also, every city has hidden gems that you can not find on the Internet, so you must be a very searcher.
That detailed planning can be tedious due to other important things that have to be done in planning a travel process, so you can consider getting help from a local. A local also knows how much time takes to get from one spot to another and can create the most realistic travel plan for you. I do not even mention how they can be an expert on hidden gems. As Citory, we are trying to bring a solution to this problem, so we bring you and the locals together for the best travel experience so that you do not have to rush from one location to the next. Locals can create a personalized and perfect match travel plan for you, and you can enjoy the trip without feeling like missing out.
4-Getting Sick / Travel Insurance
Getting sick is a nightmare for all travelers, but it is one of the most underestimated sides of planning travel. Sickness is not an unfavorable thing just because it affects your trip and the enjoyment you get from it. If you have a severe sickness, you have to visit the hospitals or health centers in that country, and getting healthcare abroad brings enormous unexpected costs to you. To not harm your budget, basic precautions exist. Also, you can avoid unexpected costs by having travel insurance.
Firstly, never forget to stay hydrated. It will help you prevent some unpleasant symptoms, but it will also help you clean your system. Secondly, you can begin taking vitamin C or other supplements before and during your vacation. Last but not least, hand sanitizer is the key to avoiding sickness because all the tourist spots are generally very crowded and gather people worldwide. Nobody can know which type of viruses can be there, so hand sanitizer has a crucial role.
5-Bad Weather
The weather is one of the least controllable sides of a trip. Because we do not have superpowers that provide us with control of the weather, the only solution for us is to learn how to be prepared for it.
Packing smartly is the key to being prepared for all weather conditions. You should bring different types of layers that let you add or take when it’s necessary. Second, start following the weather forecast for your destination. Approximately 2 weeks before will be enough for more accurate predictions. Also, the previous years’ weather conditions for the exact time period will tell about. Another must to plan is to always bring just-in-case items because the weather forecast can misdirect you.
6-Hidden Costs
Hidden costs are always a bothersome problem for all travelers. Planning travel requires detailed budget planning (if you are not a millionaire ofc), and the trip’s route is mainly created according to the budget. If you reach your dream destination and realize that you don’t have enough budget, you have to change your trip overall. The best solution is detailed research for on a budget trip alternatives that include where to stay, eat, have fun, and how to use transportation on a budget.
Despite all the research, the other way to plan your budget is contacting a local. Due to no one knowing a city better than a local, the costs will be known better to locals. For example, you can try Citory to contact the locals easily. The locals can help you see all the spending and even teach you the hidden gems on a budget that will help you save money on a trip.
7-Getting lost
Getting lost is a scary experience for every person at every age, whether you are abroad or in your hometown. Most people panic when they get lost and can not think sensible. Getting lost often reminds us of a forest or a crowded street, but you can get lost anywhere: in a store, airport, or museum.
New technologies enable us to use online or offline maps that provide detailed route information wherever you want to visit. It is a perfect plan until your battery runs out. Usage of physical material to note the addresses will be a sensible backup plan.
Getting around in the town with a local is also a logical option to avoid getting lost. Think about getting lost in your own neighborhood. Isn’t that ridiculous? How can someone not know the city that he or she has lived in for many years? Same for locals too! They know how to get from one place to another and the shortcuts between places. The shortcuts, local stores, and the local experience are just a few of the advantages of traveling with a local besides not getting lost on a trip. Citory enables you to reach your destination with a perfectly planned trip without these little annoying distortions, of course with the help of locals 🙂
8-Breaking up with a partner
One of the common problems that occur on vacation is the breakdown of relationships. We mention not only romantic but best friend and family relationships. Traveling with another person can be challenging because our everyday habits and traveling habits can differ from each other, and you can meet a whole different person on the trip.
We all tend to think and imagine a vacation overall perfectly and do not add any flexibility for unwanted situations. When things don’t go the way we want, we get angry, and travel partners can behave aggressively toward each other. In this case, the first thing one should do is be calm and understand the real reasons behind the tension.
Also, the interests differ from person to person, so you may not want to visit the same locations and have similar experiences every day on a trip. The most beneficial precaution is planning the central locations you want to see together and the other ones. In this way, you can decide your route much earlier and in a healthy mindset. The other precaution is being honest about your wants related to that trip and communicating openly.
9-Baggage not Arriving
Here is one of the desperate situations a traveler has to deal with, baggage not arriving! After a perfect flight full of dreams about your travel, the city, or the trip to-do list, realizing your baggage didn’t arrive at the airport with you is the whole mood killer. Plus, there are really few things to prevent or solve that problem.
Firstly, try to avoid airlines with a bad reputation for baggage. A quick research can save you from losing several days on a trip. Secondly, use your carry-on luggage effectively. Dividing your clothes between your luggage is a sensible solution to avoid losing all your clothes with your one baggage. Of course, it is not a solution for preventing it, but it saves you from having one pair of clothes and waiting to continue your trip until your baggage arrives.
Despite all the precautions, if you lose your baggage at the airport, you should directly talk with the airport crew and learn how the process will go. You may have to plan your trip according to their return policies because some airlines can send your baggage to the place where you stay while others wait for you to come and get the luggage.
10-Packing
Packing is a complete dilemma when it comes to whether you overpack or less because you will have problems in both scenarios. It is a stressful decision process because every item we have starts to seem more interesting and useful when we pack for a trip. The fear of arriving at the hotel and realizing you didn’t bring enough items can cause us to overpack.
Packing not the clothes but the outfits can save you from overpacking. You won’t have to think about which clothes match each other and bring just-in-case items. Also, stopping the fear of buying the items you need at the travel location enables more relaxed and sensible packing.
Overpacking will tire you physically and mentally. Carrying many items and trying to not lose any are unnecessary thoughts that deal with on a trip. To prevent it, you can also talk with a local via Citory. If you mention your trip to a local or create your trip with a local, you can learn which items you will need exactly and organize your baggage accordingly. Also, you can learn about which stores you should visit in case you forget something at your home and try to fix it in a budget-friendly way. Plus, contacting the locals enables you to wear harmoniously with the weather and the culture in the city.
