Bad Travel Advice That You Should Probably Just Ignore

UPDATED FEB 2020. There is no shortage of travel advice out there so I thought I could go through some of the bad travel advice that you should probably just ignore. I wish I could add the frog and tea emojis (if you know your memes, then you get that). For now, though, a pic of me holding tea as the featured image will have to do. These are the worst tips I usually hear, but I’m wondering what is the worst travel advice you have received? Feel free to share it in the comments. (If you don’t see your comment show at first, it’s probably just gone to spam and I will move it across).

Bad Travel Advice That You Should Probably Just Ignore

The worse travel advice – you need this credit card

Sure, points are good.

But, unless you are disciplined with your spending and manage the credit card well, it’s a very fine line between being something that will benefit you or something that will ultimately restrict you.

I know many people can manage them, but far more people don’t.

They end up with a lot of credit card debt which takes away the freedom to be able to travel.

Before you think about getting a new credit card for traveling, I recommend building the discipline to live within your means, getting rid of your current debt, and reducing the amount you need to live off.

This will bring you a lot of freedom, then you can look into getting a credit card to maximize the benefits.

The idea of just getting a credit card to help you travel more is not good advice on its own.

Credit cards are only beneficial if you are truly disciplined with money and have control over your impulses – otherwise, they are a trap. That’s the bad travel advice tea.

Anything about needing to get to more countries

I think someone bragging about their country count is as tacky as someone bragging about how much money they make.

People seem to use it as a display of status, the same way people use flashy cars or ginormous houses. If there’s any advice that induces travel FOMO in you, to make you feel like you need to race through more countries, feel free to disregard it.

Traveling isn’t a race, and a quality over quantity approach is a healthier one.

Besides, most people who have these super high country counts have barely seen the places they’re counting. It might’ve been a one day stop just to tick it off, which doesn’t really make sense to me.

You’re not a ‘real’ traveler unless you…

Feel free to disregard any advice that claims you have to do this or that to be a ‘real’ traveler.

That’s really just elitist BS and there’s no one way to travel that suits everyone.

The most important thing you can do with your travel adventures is to experience them the way YOU want to.

If you like luxury travel, go for it. Gritty destinations with little tourist infrastructure more your style? Go for it. If you like to take tours, go for it.

It’s all real.

As long as the experience is what you want out of the holiday, that’s all that matters.

[insert country/city] is completely safe

I’m sorry to break it to you but nowhere is completely safe.

Not even the comfy hometown you live in.

There is a risk of danger everywhere you go. In some places, the risk is higher. In some places, the risk is lower. But there is always a risk.

Just because you didn’t see it or experience it, doesn’t mean danger doesn’t exist.

When I see any travel advice that mentions ‘don’t worry this place is completely safe, you’ll be fine’ I always disregard every piece of advice from the person.

They either see the world with rose-colored glasses or don’t have a good ability to think critically and neither of those are helpful.

You don’t have to make an effort, they know you’re a tourist

Of course, in most places you visit, you will stand out as a tourist. There’s not really much getting around that.

But, it doesn’t give you a free pass to be lazy.

It’s still appropriate to learn a couple of phrases of the local language, dress appropriately to the culture of the destination, and follow some of the social norms.

I always use the example of if I go to America, can I just not tip anyone every time I eat out & say ‘oh it doesn’t matter, I’m a tourist’.

No, that would be douchey.

I think it’s important to make an effort. In my experience, people appreciate it when you do.

It’s too dangerous to travel alone

Ok, if you’ve been reading my blog for a while, I’m sure you know that I think this is just plain bad advice.

I think most of the time this advice comes from a good place of not wanting anything bad to happen to you.

But it’s really not as dangerous as people think.

Since living in Italy, I’ve had one man try and break into my car with me in it because he was angry I wouldn’t have a drink with him. Another time I was surrounded by 4 men at a train station and they tried to steal my stuff.

Nobody has ever told me not to live in Italy, but they will still say that traveling somewhere alone is dangerous.

There is risk everywhere and life is meant to be lived – not to hide away in bubble wrap from everything scary.

You have to haggle for the lowest price

This advice, which is usually given for when you are visiting street markets in poorer countries, always rubbed me the wrong way.

Yes, in most of those places the original price is way overpriced, and you shouldn’t accept the first offer.

But, you shouldn’t haggle down to the lowest price just because you can.

You’re privileged enough to be on holidays and I think it’s important to check that.

I recommend that you don’t accept the first offer, but don’t haggle down to the last cent.

In many cases, the few dollars you save won’t make a huge difference to you, but it can make a big difference to the person working at the market.

It doesn’t hurt to be kind.

Use Tinder instead of renting a car

Look, I think this is a fantastic strategy if you want to get raped and/or murdered.

But if you’re trying to avoid those things, this is terrible and unsafe advice.

I just think that using people for convenience or to save money is never a good idea, especially from a dating app where there might be other underlying expectations.

Whether you like it or not, you’re putting yourself in a riskier situation.

Be an adult and rent a car, use public transport, or take a day tour instead.

Touristy activities are a waste of money

I think this goes with the ‘real’ traveler point because people that say that are usually against tourist activities.

If you don’t want to do them, that’s cool, but they can be a whole lot of fun!

Sometimes they can add to the experience of being on holiday, away from work and the usual things you need to take care of.

There’s no shame in having tourist activities on your itinerary.

We are tourists after all.

You have to plan everything or nothing

Planning out every single detail of every single day really restricts you from being able to explore the unexpected things you will find on your trip.

While planning nothing is just a bit irresponsible.

If you need a visa or certain vaccinations, the responsibility is on you to plan for that.

I think if the advice is at either end of the extreme on this one then it’s bad advice, and the real answer is somewhere in the middle.

Enough planning to be prepared and enough flexibility to be open to adventure.

Good travel advice to help you prepare for a trip

• How To Get The Courage To Travel Alone When Everyone Says You’ll Die

• Solo Travel For Introverts – How To Talk To People Even If You’re Shy & Awkward

• How To Stay Safe As A Solo Female Traveler – A Practical Guide

• 30 Trips To Take Before You Turn 30 – The KSB Edition

If you liked this post, return the favor by sharing it or following me on Instagram!