10 most common mistakes when traveling to sunny countries

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Many people are still travelling abroad for their holidays despite travel restrictions and flight delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As you can imagine, those travellers need to take extra precautions, such as take face masks and hand sanitiser with them.

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COVID-19 rules and restrictions aside, there are many mistakes that people make when they travel overseas and chase the sun. If you’re planning a holiday somewhere hot and sunny soon, please try not to make the following common mistakes when travelling –

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1. Packing the wrong clothes

Okay, one of the most common mistakes when travelling is people packing the wrong types of clothes. When you go to a hot destination, you’d think that packing light & airy summer clothing is the right thing to do.

That’s true – to an extent. Some of you may might pack lots of dark t-shirts, for example. But, the trouble with dark t-shirts is they soak in the heat, making you feel hotter than if you wore light-coloured ones.

It’s also essential to take one or two outfits suitable for a rainy day. Because weather can be unpredictable, no matter where in the world you go! The last thing you want is to go out for the day unprepared and get drenched!

2. Forgetting sunglasses

Let’s face it: when you go somewhere sunny, you need a pair of sunglasses. If you don’t wear sunglasses when out in the sun, you risk damaging your eyesight. What’s more, sunglasses make it easier to see things in the middle of a hot, sunny day.

Did you know you can buy prescription sunglasses? If you have to wear standard prescription eyeglasses each day, you can buy sunglasses that have the same prescription as those. That way, you won’t have any difficulty seeing things up close or far away.

3. Travelling without much money

When you travel to a destination where you’re spending a few days, it makes sense to have some cash with you. Otherwise, you’re likely to have a dull time and possibly go hungry as not all small businesses & restaurants accept credit card!

Amazingly, some holiday-makers travel overseas without taking nearly as much money as they need.

It will help to have some local currency plus a credit card when you travel. That way, you can fall back on the credit card if you run out of cash. You may need to inform your card company where you travel in advance for security reasons.

4. Not checking for decent currency exchange deals

As mentioned previously, you’ll likely want to travel with some local currency. These days, you can buy foreign currency in most places. It makes sense to research the best currency exchange deals before you approach a currency exchange counter in your area.

Doing so will mean that your local currency will buy more foreign currency, resulting in extra spending money. It’s also worth looking at prepaid debit cards that you ‘load’ with your local currency.

Such cards can typically get used for transactions or withdrawing cash with little to no fees. Plus, it can feel safer than carrying a lot of currency around with you as cash. Cards such as Revolut make it easy to spend your money abroad and keep tabs on your spending.

5. Travelling with no insurance

Everyone assumes they will have a wonderful time when they go on holiday. When you’re jetting off to sunnier climes, the last thing you’ll think about is whether you might injure yourself or become ill when you’re abroad.

Yet, those are the two things that happen to some individuals who venture overseas. As you can appreciate, medical bills and hospital fees can potentially cost thousands. Foreign doctors and medical facilities won’t make you better for free.

Unless you’re a millionaire and can afford any treatments, it pays to take out a travel insurance policy. The great thing about travel cover is the policy doesn’t cost much to buy. In fact, you’d be surprised how little you need to pay for it!

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Should the worst happen during your holiday in the sun, you’ll have peace of mind knowing your medical bills will get covered. All you typically need to do is inform the medical facility treating you that you’ve got private health insurance, and they’ll take care of the rest.

6. Forgetting to bring prescription medicine

It can be challenging to get the prescription medicine you need abroad. That’s why if you need to take medicine regularly, you should bring it with you. Plus, you should also ensure you’ve got plenty of medication to last the length of your holiday. It also pays to take your prescription with you, in case you get asked for it by airport authorities.

Be sure to arrange all your medical needs in advance of your travel. Doing so will mean you can enjoy yourself in the sun without worrying about your medicine!

7. Not correctly researching entry requirements

Believe it or not, some people book a holiday and jet to their destinations without sorting out their visas or permits first. As you can imagine, it can be quite a shock when you get refused entry to a country just because you didn’t fill out the right paperwork.

Those tourists sadly have no choice but to go home on the next available flight, effectively ruining their holiday before it’s even begun. It’s crucial such a scenario never happens to you; keeping that in mind, always do your research on entry requirements before you fly!

The good news is that some countries allow you to arrange visas or tourist permits to their countries electronically. You don’t have to wait for any paperwork to get posted to you. Your details are already cleared at border and customs controls.

If you purchase a holiday from a travel agency, they will typically advise you on your entry requirements. Otherwise, conduct due diligence by researching online.

8. Carrying illegal items in luggage

You would think that common sense would prevail when packing items in luggage. But, either some tourists haven’t done their research, or they want to try their luck. The rule is plain and simple: don’t take anything illegal with you in your luggage.

Border officials can easily spot when someone is trying to sneak in drugs, weapons, or other prohibited items into their country. If you do get caught with illegal things in your possession, your stay in the country will be much longer than anticipated!

You can typically research prohibited items online before you travel. Generally speaking, you should avoid taking any drugs like cannabis or cocaine with you. And you should especially avoid bringing any weapons like guns or knives.

9. Not downloading the right smartphone travel apps

Wherever you go in the world, you’ll need to know a few things:

  • How to get to places;
  • Where to eat;
  • Where to stay;
  • The best points of interest;
  • How to use public transport.

Smartphone apps such as Google Maps and Waze can give you directions and show you how to get to places. Such apps are useful because they give you guided instructions, and they help to save you money.

You should never entirely rely on locals to help you when you’re stuck. The sad truth is some people (usually in poorer nations) try taking advantage of tourists. Don’t forget to download offline maps to your phone in case of inadequate network coverage.

10. Not learning the local language

You should consider learning some essential words and phrases of the local language of your travel destination.

It might seem pointless to you, especially if you’re only staying in a tourist area. However, at some stage you are likely to come across people that don’t speak or understand any English.

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Enrolling in a language course for beginners is an excellent way to get around any potential language barriers. If you’ve not got the time for that, you’ve got some other options at your disposal:

  • Use Google Translate;
  • Take a book of basic words and phrases with you (or use the app equivalent);
  • Watch some YouTube videos.

11. Not learning about local customs

Last but not least, the worst thing you can do is go to a sunny travel destination and not learn or be mindful of local customs. In some nations, the things you might consider ‘normal’ might be alien to people from different nationalities, and vice-versa.

You should always do some research of the place you go for a holiday before you travel, as you’ll easily learn about local customs in advance.

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